Autos
*Mazda’s redesigned 2009 Mazda6 will go on sale in late summer with new engines and fresh styling marked by a fastback. Mazda has not released specifications but says it will be larger in all major dimensions yet still mid-size. The first-generation Mazda6 came as a sedan, hatchback and wagon; the new one will be sedan only in Sport, Touring and Grand Touring versions.
*Scheduled maintenance will be free on 2009 Volkswagens for three years/36,000 miles, the length of the basic warranty. All Volkswagens except the Routan, a minivan built by Chrysler, will have regular maintenance intervals of 10,000, 20,000 and 30,000 miles.
*GM says the engine for its 2009 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 has an output of more than 638 horsepower and a top speed of more than 200 m.p.h. With such, the LS9 V-8 is the most powerful high-performance engine GM has ever made.
*Four years into building and marketing its first full-size pickup, Nissan plans to give up the effort and buy the next generation of its big truck from Chrysler. Beginning in 2011, a new full-size pickup based on the Dodge Ram will replace the Titan and be built by Chrysler in Mexico. Production of Titan in Canton, Miss., plant will end in late 2010, Nissan says.
Recall
*Ford is recalling 65,000 2008 F-250 and F-350 Super Duty pickups to strengthen the fuel tank mounting to prevent a gasoline leak in a head-on crash. The tank can move forward in a front-impact crash of 30 m.p.h., spilling fuel that could ignite. Ford dealers will add a bracket to help secure the fuel tank at no charge.
FYI
*Coming this fall to a post office near you — nostalgia for the fancy chrome and fins cars of the 1950s. The Postal Service has shown off a set of five 42-cent stamps with paintings of a ’57 Chrysler 300C, ’57 Lincoln Premiere, ’57 Pontiac Safari, ’57 Studebaker Golden Hawk and a ’59 Cadillac Eldorado. They will go on sale Oct. 3.
*The Urban Land Institute says the federal government should consider tapping private funds to improve roads and ease congestion in cities. The 68-page report looked at road systems in 23 U.S. cities, as well as in Europe and Asia.
———-
Quick Trips are compiled from the notebook of Rick Popely and from Tribune news services.
