It looks like speed demons in Utah have been given a little more leeway to satisfy their need for speed after the Utah Department of Transportation recently raised the speed limit in various stretches of I-15 up to 80 miles per hour.

So far, the little experiment has received positive results after the UDOT determined that traffic in the area is safest when cars are going in the neighbourhood of 80 mph.

According to the Newspaper, the 85th percentile speed, which represents the speed at which 85 percent of free-flowing traffic feels is the safest, have achieved the best results as far as traffic safety among commuters are concerned. “Engineers have determined that the greatest safety can be achieved when speed limits match the 85th percentile speed,” the article said. Based on crash histories that have been recorded over the years in certain sections of I-15, the UDOT determined that increasing the speed limit in these sections would eventually end up being beneficial not only to the drivers’ safety, but also in ensuring the seamless free-flow of vehicles, thus avoiding continuous traffic.

This comes as good news to a lot of people that have been frustrated with the lower speed limits. Let’s just hope that the rest of the country follows Utah’s lead because, as you know, traffic and car accidents are two things we can all live without.

Utah's 80 mph speed limit proving to be a boon to motorists originally appeared on topspeed.com on Wednesday, 28 October 2009 07:00 EST.

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The California based Fisker Automotive corporation has just been granted a sizable loan from the U.S. Government that will rapidly facilitate the automaker’s full scale production of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. The U.S. Department of Energy has signed off on and agreed to the terms of a conditional totaling over half a billion dollars so that Henrik Fisker’s car company can create affordable, fuel efficient hybrid electric vehicles that are made right here in the U.S.A. The $528,000,000 loan will also allow Fisker Automotive CEO, Henrik Fisker to create at least 5,000 jobs for autoworkers right here in the U.S.

If only General Motors and Chrysler had lineups as desirable as Henrik Fisker’s then perhaps the U.S. Government would have been a bit more eager to step in and help out with their financial needs. It is no doubt that fuel efficient gas electric hybrids are going to be the next generation of personal transportation and it is confidence inspiring that there is an automaker who not only believes in the future, but also believes that we don’t have to sacrifice fun in order to save fuel.

Fisker Automotive is awarded $528 Million loan from the U.S. Department of Energy to build plug-in hybrid vehicles originally appeared on topspeed.com on Tuesday, 22 September 2009 15:30 EST.

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Back on August 20th, Top Speed reported that the headquarters of the sports car manufacturer Porsche were raided by German officials in search of specific documents that would lead to prosecution of the Stuttgart based car maker’s former Chief Executive Officer, Wendelin Wiedeking, as well as the former Chief Financial Officer, Holger Haerter, regarding possible violations of the German securities laws and manipulation of the market with regard to the recent financial dealings with the automotive conglomerate Volkswagen.

The German manufacturer has now confirmed that subsequent searches have been carried out at private residences of select lower level Porsche employees. While the automaker has not revelaed the identity of the individual, an unnamed source informed Automotive News, "The investigators found what they were looking for." Just as we previously reported, Porsche is denying any allegations of bad conduct and continues to cooperate fully with the German government’s investigation.

The German regulatory body BaFin, which is similar to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, is mounting the investigation against the former Porsche CEO and CFO for alleged market manipulation and insider trading. While the investigation focuses on individuals who no longer work with company, the proceedings should not have an adverse affect on the sports car maker’s day to ay activities, however this wave of suspicion could do a number on the much larger Volkswagen AG, who just acquired a 42% share of the sports car maker from Stuttgart.

The Porsche investigation continues, this time with talks of insider trading originally appeared on topspeed.com on Thursday, 3 September 2009 11:00 EST.

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Be extra careful when you’re texting and driving anywhere near Utah these days. If you get caught, that’s 15 years in the slammer.

In an unprecedented move to curb accidents caused by texting while driving, the State of Utah has now passed a law to crack down on texting while behind the wheel of a car. Anybody who’s caught doing so can now face up to 15 years behind bars.

The bill, which has been on the burner for quite some time, was officially passed after an incident in the area cost the lives of two scientists after their car got hit by another car whose driver was pre-occupied with his phone.

While other states have already banned texting while driving, the punishment’s for being caught have been nothing more than just slaps in the wrist, with a little monetary penalty to go with it.

In Utah, that’s not the case anymore.

Utah now taking texting drivers seriously; draws it along the same lines as drunken driving originally appeared on topspeed.com on Monday, 31 August 2009 11:00 EST.

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If you’re the type who has always wondered what kind of car the US president rides on, then you should head out to your local bookstore and buy ‘President’s Secret Service: Behind the Scenes with Agents in the Line of Fire and the Presidents They Protect’.

While the book doesn’t entirely dwell on cars, it does provide a detailed look at the official presidential ride: a 2009 Cadillac limousine.

Naturally, a car that had the president of the United States inside should be far from ordinary, and this particular Cadillac limousine is unlike any other. The car, which has been coined as ‘The Beast’, was built on top of a GMC truck chassis making it tougher and stronger than most limos out on the road these days.

New book goes into detail regarding the presidential limousine originally appeared on topspeed.com on Monday, 31 August 2009 09:00 EST.

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It didn’t take as long as anticipated and you can’t question the fact that the Cash for Clunkers program got the results it wanted. The program that was supposed to last until November on a $1 billion budget has finally come to an end – and not without the government having to shell out another $2 billion for the program.

All in all, the program generated a little over 700,000 car sales with a total estimate of a staggering $2.877 billion. Percentages of car sales saw that the most popular purchase were pick-up trucks, with 84% of all participating customers buying one of their own. Additionally, 59% purchased passenger cars while the remaining 41% fell on the other vehicle lines.

Curiously, the three most purchased cars under the program – although it is still being questioned by a number of sources – all belong to Japanese manufacturers. Sitting on top was the Toyota Corolla followed closely by its chief rival, the Honda Civic. Rounding out the top 3 is the Toyota Camry. As far as local brands are concerned, the Ford Focus – which for a time, was in the top spot - and the Ford Escape were the top sellers.

The CFC program also showed that most Americans actually prefer foreign brands more than their local counterparts – 61.8% of all cars sold were from foreign automakers while the 38.6% belonged to the three Detroit brands.

The numbers are in for Cash for Clunkers originally appeared on topspeed.com on Thursday, 27 August 2009 12:30 EST.

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No, that’s not President Barack Obama’s new ride.

That car, the No. 48 Chevy, belongs to Nascar driver Jimmie Johnson, who, along with colleagues Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, and Dale Earnheardt Jr, dropped by the White House on the invitation of the Commander-In-Chief. Mr. Obama gladly took some time off – what we can only assume – his hectic schedule to honor Johnson, the three-time Sprint Cup titleholder and defending champion.

We all know the President is a sports nut but we didn’t figure that he ranks Nascar right up there with the NBA and the NFL. While a number of celebrated athletes have all been invited by the President, this is the first time he’s met with NASCAR drivers, something that he’s been looking forward to for a long time. When the time finally came, Obama showed why a lot of Americans have called him the ‘People’s President’, cracking jokes with Johnson and the rest of the NASCAR constituents.

Continued after the jump.

President Barack Obama hosts NASCAR stars at the White House originally appeared on topspeed.com on Sunday, 23 August 2009 13:00 EST.

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Early this morning in the sleepy town of Stuttgart, a group of German police inspectors arrived at the Porsche headquarters in Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen complete with search warrants in hand in an attempt to uncover some evidence of suspicious activity. The search order was handed down by their local public prosecutor’s office and dealt with the suspicion of breaching a publication duty as prescribed by the German Stock Corporation Act which means that they could have been manipulating the German market. The boys in blue who were on the scene were said to have seized numerous business documents by the end of their exploration.

Of course the German sports car manufacturer denies any allegations and are cooperating fully with the German officials in the hopes for a speedy resolution. Off the news that Porsche is making major moves on the financial market, recently selling 10% of their stock to a state run Quatar based investement group and only a short period of time after the Porsche/VW merger was completed, the perfect time for a world wide corporation to fudge some paperwork, not that this is the case. However now that the authorities are involved, this incident can’t help but make you think back to this past January when one of the richest men in the world, Adolf Merckle, took his own life after betting wrong in a big way on the German automotive conglomerate VW, which is now quite entangled with the sports car maker Porsche.

Press release after the jump.

Something's rotten in Stuttgart, German officials search the Porsche headquarters originally appeared on topspeed.com on Thursday, 20 August 2009 11:00 EST.

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This is something we never saw coming. We were recently watching an episode of Glenn Beck at FOX News when the broadcaster turned to a subject near and dear to our hearts: cars.

As it turns out, Beck – and some of his constituents, we think – talked about the repercussions of using your computer to try to avail of the Cash for Clunkers program. Apparently, when you want to trade in your clunker, a warning box pops up, which says:“This application provides access to the DoT CARS system. When logged on to the CARS system, this computer is considered a Federal computer system and is the property of the US government.”

It doesn’t end there.

Continued after the jump.

Video: Cash for Clunkers is a government scam to gain access to your computer? originally appeared on topspeed.com on Tuesday, 4 August 2009 08:00 EST.

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It can be argued that Steven Rattner, the head of US President Barack Obama’s auto task force was the person responsible for saving the US auto industry. After all, he was the one who oversaw the bankruptcies of both GM and Chrysler and he was the one who initiated the bail-out plan that ultimately saved both companies from extinction.

And now, after only six months on the job, Rattner has decided to call it a day, filing his resignation, which was announced by the White House last Monday. Rattner’s decision - he said was brought about because he wanted to go back home to his family in New York – has resulted in talks that he relinquished his post due to an investigation regarding an investment scandal.

According to the Associated Press, Rattner has become the subject if an investigation with regards to a state pension fund that provides numerous benefits to more than a million government employees. That, of course, comes at the heels of another controversy involving Rattner and his association – he’s an investor - with Cerberus Capital Management, which, incidentally was the former owner of Chrysler.

Continued after the jump.

Steven Rattner steps down as head of US auto task force originally appeared on topspeed.com on Tuesday, 14 July 2009 08:00 EST.

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Currently, tire manufacturers can use their own criteria for rating their tires which can lead to buyer confusion. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is worried that consumers might not be able to easily pick the best tire for their needs. To remedy that situation, NHTSA is proposing a new, consumer-friendly replacement tire label which would include, for the first time, information about the tire’s impact on fuel economy and CO2 emission reductions.

“Today’s proposal takes the guesswork out of buying the best tires for your vehicle,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “Our proposal would let consumers look at a single label and compare a tire’s overall performance as it relates to fuel economy, safety and durability.”

Based on the criteria shown on the proposed label, sticky performance tires may draw the short straw. For example, summer tires aren’t the best in rainy conditions, aren’t particularly durable and because of the soft compounds used and have a higher rolling resistance which yields lower fuel economy. These characteristics would yield a tire report card that would make any parent weep.

Perhaps a fairer system could be devised where tires were rated based on their class. Shading each tire class’ label a different color could prevent an all season, 80,000 mile tire from being compared to a summer only, high performance tire.

Would performance tires fail U.S. Government proposed tire labeling system? originally appeared on topspeed.com on Thursday, 18 June 2009 16:20 EST.

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You drive through a construction zone. It’s early in the morning. There are no workers. You are driving UNDER the normal speed limit. What does that get you? In one woman’s case, five tickets in the mail!

A province of Manitoba, Canada installed speed cameras in its construction zones to ostensibly catch drivers whooshing past workers at unsafe speeds. The problem is, it left the cameras on even when there was no work being done. This scam, sorry, enforcement netted the local government millions of dollars: tickets issued mushroomed from 3000 in 2007 to 60,000 just twelve months later. A provincial court has found that such tickets violate the law, but the local government maintains that payment of a citation is an admission of guilt. As one justice stated, "It’s almost a disincentive for Manitobans to pay their fines because, if the law is challenged, the only way you get your money back is if you didn’t pay."

Guilty? Depends on whether or not you paid your speeding ticket originally appeared on topspeed.com on Wednesday, 20 May 2009 18:33 EST.

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Last week we showed you a Ferrari driver who had a hard time getting his car going. This week we have news of a driver who was pulled over for driving too slowly! The Ferrari was clocked doing 25MPH in a 40MPH zone in the Welsh village of Ogmore-by-Sea . In his defense the driver, Denis Evans, said that the road road was poorly lit, had a nasty bend and was frequented by sheep. Why is it that sheep are so often used as an excuse? The local Assistant Chief Constable reportedly pulled over the pokey Ferrari due to fears it might be stolen.

Ferrari drivers behaving badly: Driving too slowly? originally appeared on topspeed.com on Monday, 18 May 2009 10:36 EST.

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It looks like the next President will be receiving a new set of wheels. The Cadillac based vehicle will most likely replace the current limo President Bush has used since 2005.

It is believed that the limo is based on the 2500 truck line by General Motors. The photos show it riding on the same 19.5-inch Goodyear tires as the trucks. Details past what is seen in the photo’s are unknown. Neither GM nor the Secret Service want to divulge details, go figure. We’ll all just have to wait till January 20 to see what the next president arrives in.

The all new Presidential limo originally appeared on topspeed.com on Monday, 3 November 2008 16:21 EST.

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Not sure if electric cars will actually work in real life? Neither is the British government, so they have decided to offer free trials to citizens if they are willing to give up their gas powered car. The trials will begin in 2009 and involve up to 100 cars in several cities around the United Kingdom. The information will aide the government in it’s decision to embrace electric cars in the future. "A lot of people have a car for long-distance traveling and a small runabout for taking the kids to school. We need to find out whether electric cars are practical." said Geoff Hoon, transport secretary.

The cars used will be a mixture of electric vehicles as well as plug-in hybrids. The study will look at reliability as well as ease of use, such as whether it is practical for someone who keeps their car in a parking garage to recharge the EV. Hopefully the lessons learned will help the UK to build an EV friendly charging structure to raise demand.

A second study will include more than 150 electric vans that will be tested by local authorities in Liverpool, Newcastle and Gateshead, Coventry, Leeds and Glasgow.

British Government wants to trade cars with families originally appeared on topspeed.com on Monday, 3 November 2008 16:10 EST.

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