Mercedes Benz C320,c240,c320 Right Rear Center Passenger Seat Belt Buckle on 2040-parts.com

Motorcycle deaths spike in 2012

Motorcycle fatalities rose by 9 percent in 2012, totaling more than 5,000 deaths, according to data released Wednesday by the helmet laws play a part, as well. According to the GHSA, only 19 states currently require motorcycle drivers to wear a helmet at all times. This number is down from 26 states in 1997, showing the willingness of states to repeal helmet-required legislation.

Chevrolet Cruze lands in the UK

GM is having its problems, as we’ve chronicled almost endlessly, but they are pushing ahead with the launch of their Focus-sized offering, the Chevrolet Cruse, around the world. So far it has been launched in the Far East and Australia, and now we’re getting it in the UK from the summer. But oddly, it’s not going to arrive in the US until next year.

Crunch watch Dec 08: the auto industry in crisis

By Tim Pollard and Simon Stiel Motor Industry 31 December 2008 14:05 Wednesday 31 December 2008• GMAC, GM's finance arm, said it would immediately revise its criteria for providing loans, after the US government bail-out of the General's credit arm. It will now supply credit for anyone with a score of 621 or more on the Fico scale, the scale used to assess Amercian customers' creditworthiness (Financial Times)• The news means that 80% of US consumers would now qualify for a loan from GMAC – which should improve sales in the depressed US market (Detroit News)• Chrysler is being lambasted for taking out full-page adverts in the American national press thanking the nation for supporting its auto industry. But critics point out this is a fresh waste of bail-out resources, as pages in the Wall Street Journal – one of the titles in which the ad ran – reportedly cost up to $264,000.