"Chrysler Celebrates National Relaxation Day and Stresses the Importance of Taking Daily Mini-Breaks."
* Expect the Dodge Durango, Chrysler Aspen, and Grand Cherokee to one day soon share a platform.
* Remember the campaign "Ask Dr. Z"? Go ahead, ask Dr. Dieter Zetsche, the DaimlerChrysler chairman, anything about DCX vehicles at www.askdrz.com and he'd tell you? In case you have a late-night craving to ask him wassup, know that it will now redirect to minivan crap at Chrysler's Web site. Don't try ".org" unless you want holistic treatment for that burning and itching.
* Jeeps and people everywhere! OK, it was localized to Virginia and it was the 13th annual Camp Jeep. Almost 3,000 Jeeps were there, making it the biggest yet.
* The Internet exploded from a game of telephone when one person swore a photo of a Jeep was a JT pickup undergoing street testing. That hysteria caught on like hysteria because everything on the Internet is correct. Someone get the hose-it was just an overseas military version of a Wrangler.
New Law: Annual Smog Inspection In CaliforniaThere's a bill in California that had moved right on through to the state senate that would've required annual smog inspections for vehicles more than 15 years old if it went through. It would've also put the cash made from the additional inspection fees into an account that would've been used to scrap older cars. Anything pre-'76 would've remained exempt based on an existing law. Not in California and don't think it affects you? Based on California's forward (backward) thinking, it could've.
* Rubicon Express is rumored to be working on a TJ short lift that will still fit 37-inch tires and should be available in early 2008. Other RE news includes a rumor that singer Justin Timberlake recently purchased a JK and installed an RE lift. Sources say he liked it so much he bought two more JKs and outfitted them just the same for his cronies to drive.
* Could a light-duty diesel pickup from Chrysler come sometime after 2009?
* Allison Transmission and Aisin Seiki are ending their Aisin General Motors Allison relationship. They're breaking up after 10 years. One will eat Hggen-Dazs to cope.
* Michelin is going to acquire Oliver Rubber Co., which is a subsidiary of Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. Michelin is also investing $350 mil to expand all of its manufacturing facilities in South Carolina over the next four years.
* The BlueRibbon Coalition says a record crowd showed up to object to a federal trail plan that would close 75 percent of OHV routes in Eldorado National Forest in the Sierra Nevadas. Don Amador, the western rep for BlueRibbon, said it was the largest access-related meeting he'd experienced in California since he started with BlueRibbon in the early '90s.
* According to The Associated Press, the Wienermobile got a ticket after parking illegally with its hazards on. A Kraft spokesperson said that is against company policy, "even if you're driving a company vehicle that's shaped like a giant hot dog." We wonder how many times she's had to whip out that line.
*Celebritycarparade.com is a site that shows celebrities getting into cars/trucks/SUVs, riding inside cars/trucks/SUVs, putting groceries into cars/trucks/SUVs . . . you get the picture.
* A GMAC Insurance study says that 94 million Americans don't know the safety procedures regarding school buses. Isn't 94 million, like, everyone?