For those keeping score at home, Fiat now has 25% of Chrysler, 63.5% UAW VEBA, U.S. Treasury 9.2% and Canadian government 2.3%. Time to update the Automotive Family Tree!

Source: thecarconnection.com

If you watch the Travel channel, you see “Theme” style hotels, which some look cool and others just look plain strange and scary to stay. However, in Stuttgart Germany, you can stay at the Meilenwerk V8 Hotel. It has 34 rooms for the auto obsessed people we are! There’s a racing theme room, Cadillac bed, Morris Minor garage theme, carwash theme, which includes a 70’s model Mercedes-Benz, Motorcycle theme and even a Herbie #53 VW Beatle theme bed. One very nice, very large “Zeppelin” suite that will run you $489 per night, room rates vary with season.

Source: autoblog.com

v8hotel.de/eng/

Shell was kind enough to spend me three bottles of 2X Concentrated Gumout Fuel System Cleaner for gas engines. The first three emails I get I’ll send them your way (US residents only). Look for my review at the end of the month. Email address can be found here.

More info: Gumout is a trusted industry leader in providing products to consumers who support sustainable packaging, prefer regulatory compliant formulations and utilize alternative fuels. Now all Gumout® 2X bottles deliver the same effectiveness as before, but now in a small bottle. The new Gumout® 2X fuel additives contain the same high level of additives, but with less carrier fluid so they produce fewer toxins. Additionally, the new Gumout® 2X bottles require less plastic to make, meaning less waste in landfills, plus they are made of 30% PCR (Post Consumer Recycled) content!

I was FINALLY able to update the Automotive Family Tree. If you bought automotivefamilytree2010 in July, you should receive 2010-2 file soon in your email box.

Thanks for your support.

Andy

Automotive Family Tree updates will be coming out soon. Look for the new large diagram, the 2010.1 file, to come out middle of the month, if not towards the end of the month of July. For anyone that buys the large diagram this month will receive the new file for FREE!

Andy

That’s the question I’m putting out there…

I’m considering making an iPhone App for the Automotive Family Tree site. I’d make it free (with ads, someone has to pay the bills), but would it be worth my time and effort to make?

Please email me with any comments on this at toomanycars@suddenlink.net.

Thanks,
Andy

So, you really, really, really want a Bugatti Veyron. You win the lotto and have $2 million to buy the $1.5 million Bugatti. But do you have enough for maintenance?

Bugatti recommends new tires every 4,000 k or 2,500 miles and new wheels and tires (yes wheels) every 10,000 miles. The Michelin Pilot Sport 2s cost $30,000 for a new set of 4, add on the cost of wheels and tires, you’ll spend over $50,000. Major annual service is close to $20,000. Some say the yearly cost is as high as $300,000! Some owners have been known to ship their cars to a particular destination and follow behind in their private jet because it’s more cost effective!

So here’s the math:
1 Bugatti Veyron = $1,500,000
Year maintenance = $300,000
Total cost for one year = $1,800,000

So if you won $2 m, you have $200,000 for gas, then you have to trade it!?

Source:autoblog.com

For the next 5 days you have the opportunity to bid a car once owned by Sharon Stone. What car is CharityBuzz.com auctioning, you asking? Is it a Ferrari or a Porsche or a Rolls-Royce? Nope. It’s the classic 1972 Ford LTD convertible. Can we say, “Cleaning out your closets?” Granted, it’s a fully loaded LTD with a 400ci engine and power everything, but come on…a Ford LTD? This is a charity auction for The Brent Shapiro Foundation, couldn’t Sharon come up with something worth a little more?

At the time of writing, bidding was up to $10,000 from four bidders. It has an estimated value of $15,000. Good Luck!

The Automotive Family Tree is being changed before I had a time to change it. So it saddens me to say that Penske Automotive Group is NOT going to buying Saturn. Penske couldn’t find anyone to help out with building new products beyond what GM has planned. This is too bad, because I like the look of the Saturn’s. I know they are nothing more than Opel’s, but I still like the styling.

So, GM has one less manufacture to worry about. Gone are the days of Oldsmobile, Pontiac and now Saturn. Saturn seems so young to die this early!

Source: nextautos.com

Sorry for not blogging as much as I normally do. My “real” job has had me supper busy the past month, but the deadline is rapidly approaching. I hope to start blogging again next week and maybe even start updating my diagram, if GM can figure out what to do with Opel.

Thanks,
Andy