When he was 14, Joe Gildea drove a Chevy up and down his driveway just to feel the thrill of a set of wheels. By the time he was a high school senior, the Quincy native had saved $160 to buy a yellow 1953 Chevy Bel Air with a white hardtop.
Now 62, Gildea has lovingly pieced together a collection of more than a dozen Cadillacs, but he failed to pass down this passion to his daughter, Michelle. To her, a car is just a car. The 20-year-old recently inherited her grandmother’s used 2002 Toyota Camry, but it’s her new BlackBerry that has her pumped.
“I don’t care what kind of car I drive as long as it runs and gets me to and from work,’’ Michelle Gildea said.
For many young Americans, the automobile is …Â Details
As part of its turnaround plan, General Motors Corp. said Friday it plans to experiment with auctioning new cars on eBay, expanding on an existing partnership covering certified used vehicles on the online marketplace.
GM CEO Fritz Henderson said the company is working on an “innovative new partnership” with eBay Inc. to let consumers in California bid on vehicles as they would in a normal eBay auction, or choose a “Buy it Now” option to purchase the car at a set price. Dealers would still distribute the cars…Â Details
Cambridge University has unveiled a solar-powered car that’s touted as Britain’s brightest hope for a 3,000-kilometre race across the Australian Outback this autumn.
Previously codenamed “Bethany,†but launched under its official name — “Endeavour†— the solar racing car reaches speeds of 60 mph using the same power as a hairdryer. It was created by Cambridge students and unveiled this week by F1 World Championship leader Jenson Button at the Goodwood Festival of Speed.
One of the projects marking Cambridge’s 800th anniversary, Endeavour is student team … Details
Dennis Borem and Darrell Hoffman of Pro Motor Engines made history in May, capturing their record third consecutive Mahle Engine Builder Showdown in the closest finish in the 10-year history of the competition.
In a fierce neck-and-neck battle, the Pro Motor Engines team built a complete Chevrolet R07 race engine and successfully ran it for one minute in an incredible 19 minutes, 27 seconds, edging the Roush Yates Engines team of Mike Kasch and Jim Snyder by a mere 17 seconds (19 minutes, 44 seconds).
In what was a rematch of the 2008 final, the Roush Yates team seemed to …Â Details