15:15:40

"Pimp My Cart" tries to get teens to Racine library

With no driver's licenses and no cars to work on, about a dozen teens and preteens here redesigned library carts as part of the "Pimp My Cart" program.

Brittney Putzer, 13, said working on the old carts of the Racine Public Library was better than "sitting at home doing nothing."

The effort to get more teens to the library was a spin off of the popular MTV show "Pimp My Ride," where average cars are given new life with new parts and features for a more distinguished look.

The weekend event even got a few complaints that the library would use the word "Pimp" in promotional materials, said Anne Callaghan, the organizer and the children's services librarian.

"I don't think you should use an old dictionary to try to defend a modern meaning of a word," said Callaghan.

19:46:04

Honda to produce green diesel cars: Report

TOKYO: Honda Motor Co plans to become the first Japanese carmaker to produce passenger vehicles with low-pollution, fuel-efficient diesel engines, a report said Wednesday. These vehicles emit 20 percent less carbon dioxide than petrol-powered ones while substantially reducing emissions of particulate matter and nitrogen oxides compared with conventional diesel cars, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun said without citing sources. Other Japanese carmakers are also bolstering efforts in this area, signalling that diesel may become the new environmentally-friendly alternative in the automobile industry, the business newspaper said. Although conventional diesel vehicles consume less fuel and emit less carbon dioxide than gasoline-powered cars, they do release harmful substances such as particulate matter and nitrogen oxides.

8:21:20

Suzuki Bandit 1250S And BMW K1200R Sport - Cross Dressing

Trying to find that perfect companion is difficult for many motorcyclists. Quite a few don't want anything to do with the increasingly narrow-focus offerings that are sitting on showroom floors. They're looking for a big-bore, four-cylinder bike that can fill multiple roles with some sportbike influence, without the pretension of racy full fairings-but they don't want their ride to be bare naked, either.

BMW is looking to chop up its four-cylinder K-bike market segment yet again, with the K1200R Sport. Essentially the same as the K1200R naked bike we tested back in Dec. '05 ("Exhibitionist's Delight"), the K12R Sport adds a frame-mounted half-fairing utilizing the headlight assembly from the R1200S. The rest of the bike-from its 1157cc four tilted forward at a radical 55 degrees to its innovative Duolever front/Paralever rear suspension-is basically identical.

13:28:20

Saturn dealers to offer Camry, Accord drives to Aura shoppers

The reinvigorated Saturn is one of the best things GM's got going right now. May 2007 sales were up 68% over the previous year (what a difference appealing product makes), and overall, it's up 30% YTD versus 2006. Now comes word from Bloomberg News that starting tomorrow, June 11, all but 5 of the 430 Saturn dealers in the US will offer prospective Aura shoppers comparison test drives in the Honda Accord and Toyota Camry. According to Saturn's Lisa Hutchinson, its participating dealers are buying the imports that'll be used for the program, which runs through July 31. GM's showing a lot of confidence in its new products -- remember, Chevy dealers will have Camrys on the floor to compare to the new Malibu when it arrives, too. This is all good, and it could probably be even better. Follow the jump for a bit of editorializing.[Source: Bloomberg News] .