A woman's guide to properly exiting a vehicle

Contrary to what trashy celebrity gossip magazines would have us believe, it is possible for young ladies to exit a car with a certain amount of decorum. There’s a company called Sheila's Wheels, whose primary aim is to sell insurance to British women, but they've also come up with a plan to preserve feminine dignity and mystique throughout the civilized world.

This trio of ladies known as The Sheilas conducted some research and found that 64% of women polled have been involved in at least one unfortunate incident when getting out of a car, which resulted in the embarrassment of revealing more than they intended. Respondents considered Britney Spears to be the worst celebrity offender, with Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan also perceived as strangers to modesty.

So the services of etiquette expert Jean Broke-Smith were secured to help these poor unfortunates. Here are her seven top tips (imagine them being said in a crisp, school-marmy voice)...

1. Ensure knees are together at all times.

2. Avoid traveling in low-level sports cars when wearing a skirt that ends above the knee.

3. If you have chosen to wear a short skirt, have a pashmina, wrap or scarf with you at all times and drape it over your legs as you exit the car.

4. Try to twist your body as you leave the car -- this will help ensure that your legs remain together.

5. Ask a fellow passenger to give you a helping hand when getting out of the car, allowing you to glide out with ease.

6. If traveling in an SUV, beware of higher seats catching the back of your skirt as you slide out.

7. Try to avoid drinking excess amounts of alcohol when being driven by car, you are likely to lose your inhibitions a little too much.  Be warned!

Sheila’s Wheels has one more thing to add -- practice, practice, practice. Y’know, like singing and acting lessons.

-- Colin Ryan

Photo: AP

Paris Motor Show 2008 -- French confections coming soon...

Paris (France, not Texas) is known as the City of Light, but from October 4 to 19, it’s going to be the city of headlights. That’s when the 2008 Paris Motor Show takes place. Interestingly, the first-ever car show happened in Gay Paree, way back in 1898. Ever since then, it’s been the event that kicks off the auto show season and gets the automotive rumor mill grinding from Tokyo to Detroit.

For European marques, Paris is especially important. That’s why Porsche and Lamborghini are revealing their latest models here. Both are all-new, not a variation of some existing car. For Porsche, it’s the Panamera sedan. For Lamborghini, word has it that this too will be a sedan. In the meantime, all the companies have done is release teaser shots.

As for car brands we don't get to see on the streets of L.A., there's more teasing from Peugeot with its RC Concept, which looks like another swoopy four-door. There seems to be a theme developing here. The RC has what its makers call “highly innovative hybrid architecture” -- whatever that means. Citroen takes a similar “don’t use too much light in this shot” approach with its GT Concept.

What else can we expect from Paris? How about a two-door compact SUV from BMW, a VW R42 and a Lexus IS 250 convertible? Voulez-vous rouler avec Dan Neil? Our man on all things auto will be loading up on croissants and Orangina to give us the full report, and we’re also curating our own little Louvre -- a gallery of voitures that tickle our fancy.

>>Production Cars from Paris Motor Show

>>Concept Cars from Paris Motor Show

-- Colin Ryan

Photo: Peugeot

<< Click here for more 2008 Paris Motor Show coverage. >>

A Deer's Greenest Nightmare

Finally, an electric vehicle even Sarah Palin could love.

Most electric vehicle manufacturers promote their products by touting benefits such as curbing global warming, advancing energy independence and cutting operating costs. But one Mississippi company is working a different angle: all the better to kill deer with.

According to Bad Boy Enterprises, the chief reason to buy its all-electric $9,995, 20 mph 35 miles-per-charge, four-wheel-drive off-road utility terrain vehicle, called the Bad Boy Buggy, is that it's so quiet, deer won't hear your approach. In fact, that's the company's slogan: "They'll never hear you coming."

This might seem a bit extreme, but we at Up to Speed find it a bit refreshing. After all, not all vehicles are used for trips from Venice Beach to the nearest Trader Joe's to load up on organic vegan soysages and pomegranate wheat grass cocktails. Simply put, you can't use a Prius to race over sand dunes, haul manure or stalk white tails through the brush.

And if the idea behind electrification is to break the carbon chain, then, heck, we don't just need electric cars, we also need electric motorcycles, electric half-ton pickups and yes, electric big game killing machines.

Midnight Club: Los Angeles

One day last week, a bunch of bearded Brooklyn hipsters stood around in T-shirts and tight-fitting jeans in the searing California desert heat waiting to ride around a track in a Saleen Mustang, a Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder or an Audi R8. Clambering out of the yellow Lambo, one, wearing suede brown oxfords with no socks, pulled a racing helmet off his head to reveal a huge grin. "That was amazing," he said, slapping his friend's back. "I want to go again."

And he did. Only this time he wasn't driving around a cloistered track in Rosamond. He was powering the 10-cylinder beast down Sunset Boulevard at over 100 miles per. He was grinning again, though perhaps not quite as widely. After all, this time around he was only playing a video game.

Apparently, the surest way to a gamer's heart is through the seat of his pants.

Rockstar Games, the video game purveyor best known for the Grand Theft Auto series, threw this high-adrenaline marketing party to promote the fourth installment in its popular racing series: Midnight Club: Los Angeles. The game allows players to race a variety of cars through a virtual -- but awfully realistic -- Los Angeles, with little regard for traffic laws. To prepare for its October release, they flew in video game journalists from as far away as Italy, had them sign a few waivers, and then put them in a range of exotic cars that were rented, borrowed or otherwise dragged to the track. 

Schwarzenegger signs GPS bill

GPS users in California can breathe a little easier. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed legislation that makes it legal in the Golden State to mount a navigation device on your windshield.

California was one of only two states -- Minnesota is the other -- that made it a crime to mount navi screens on your windshield. Violators faced a $108 fine.

A bill authored by Sen. Jenny Oropeza (D-Long Beach) easily passed both houses of the Legislature in mid-summer. But it stalled when the governor stopped signing new legislation as part of the impasse over the  state budget, which Schwarzenegger finally endorsed last week. (Read more about SB 1567 in a related story.)

Under the new law, a GPS device can be mounted on the windshield within tightly defined areas: in a seven-inch square in the lower corner of the windshield farthest from the driver, or in a five-inch zone in the lower corner nearest the driver. The device also must be outside the vehicle’s air bag deployment zones.

The law takes effect Jan. 1.

-- Martin Zimmerman

Photo of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signing the state budget by the Associated Press

iPhone app measures your car's global footprint

Here’s another cool iPhone application. It’s called the greenMeter. Among other things, it computes a vehicle’s real-time fuel consumption, helping a driver adapt his or her style to become more economical and more eco-friendly (by creating fewer emissions).

Inside the iPhone (and iPod Touch) is an accelerometer, which this app taps into. And it doesn’t just measure fuel economy. Also displayed in graph form is engine power, carbon footprint and energy impact. It works for gasoline or diesel.

Before setting off, various parameters need to be loaded, such as the price of fuel, the vehicle’s drag coefficient and weight, the tires’ rolling resistance, weather conditions, etc. This sounds a little more complex than it really is. There are some ballpark figures on the app developer’s website and a little cyber surfing might help. The more accurate these figures are, the more accurate the readouts will be.

Scrolling between graphs is done simply by tapping the screen. It should be noted that doing anything that diverts attention from the task of driving is a no-no. Providing the device is within one’s peripheral vision (and secured so it doesn’t move around while driving), the colors displayed impart sufficient information -- green is good, red is bad.

The greenMeter is available from the iTunes App Store for $5.99, so it probably won’t take long to pay for itself. For example, this app shows a difference of about $300 in fuel costs between cruising speeds of 60 mph and 70 mph for a medium-sized car covering 10,000 miles.

-- Colin Ryan

Photo: Hunter Research & Technology

Automotive X Prize considers ways to include 100-mpg Volt

General Motors and federal regulators have reached a preliminary agreement on a fuel-economy testing method for the Chevrolet Volt plug-in electric car that will assure that Volt earns a mileage rating of at least 100 miles per gallon, according to a story from Bloomberg News. The Volt -- an electric vehicle with a range-extending gas-powered generator on board -– is due to go on sale in November 2010. The government’s certification would make the Volt the first production car to reach the century-mileage mark.

So why isn’t GM competing in the Automotive X Prize?

Officially known as the Progressive Insurance Automotive X Prize, the $10-million shootout is open to teams who can “design, build and bring to market 100 MPGe [miles per gallon equivalent] vehicles that people want to buy, and that meet market needs for price, size, capability, safety and performance,” according the AXP organizers. Well, that’s the Volt in spades, isn’t it?

“I know it was considered very carefully,” said GM spokesman Terry Rhadigan. “Candidly, it was because we’re already locked into a hyper-competitive race with other manufacturers and we wanted to stay focused on that.”

So far, more than 120 teams from around the world have signed up to compete in the AXP –- created by the same Santa Monica-based foundation that organized the Ansari X Prize for private suborbital space flight (won in 2004 by Burt Rutan). Notable competitors include Tata Motors of India and rock legend Neil Young, who is entering a hybrid biodiesel version of a 1960 Lincoln Continental. Qualifying competitors will compete in a series of stages beginning in September 2009, with the final stage occurring in the second quarter of 2010. With the exception of Tata, no other mainstream manufacturer has expressed an interest in competing, to the dismay of AXP organizers.

“We would love to have them compete,” said John Shore, senior director of AXP. “The problem for [automakers] is risk.” The AXP competition will be based on vehicles’ mileage (greater than 100 mpg equivalent), their carbon output (less than 200 grams per mile), and their speed (AXP has even approached the Indianapolis Speedway to host the final staged event).

Virtually all the vehicles entered will be lightweight experimental models optimized for speed and efficiency. The Volt, on the other hand (and a plug-in version of the Toyota Prius too) would be weighed down with airbags, comfy seats, air-conditioning and other amenities.

“GM would be understandably nervous about not winning the competition, about some university team or a couple of guys in a garage winning and then the headlines is, 'Small Town America Topples GM,' ” said Shore.

The situation presents the AXP with a conundrum too, namely that the very kind of vehicle the competition is meant to foster –- real-world, mass-production, affordable and hyper-efficient –- cannot actually win.

To resolve that dilemma, Shore said AXP organizers are “looking for ways to allow GM and other OEMs [automakers] to be in the X Prize that don’t subject them to unfair comparisons.” He expects such a proposal might be floated to the automakers before the end of the year. “Until then,” said Shore, “our message to them is: Just don’t say no.

"We strongly believe you don't have to win the competition to win in the marketplace," Shore said.

-- Dan Neil

Big weekend for Southland car shows and events

If you're a car guy or gal, or just an enthusiastic wanna-be, your choices for automotive entertainment in the greater L.A. area this weekend are vast. There are major shows, including a huge custom and classic car gathering, an over-the-top alternative fuel show and a truly snobby collector's concours. There's even a special show for those who happen to be obsessed with the Wankel engine. So support your local car geeks and have a great weekend!

2008 AltCar Expo
Friday - Saturday
10 a.m.- 5 p.m.
Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, Santa Monica
Free admission.

AltCar Expo will feature a prototype Chevrolet Volt, which recently made its debut in Detroit. Many other alternative-fuel cars from Honda and Ford will be featured along with hybrids; plug-in hybrid electric vehicles; hydrogen fuel cell cars; natural gas autos; scooters; electric motorcycles; bicycles and other vehicles powered by propane, biodiesel and ethanol. Several low-speed, freeway-capable vehicles will be available for public "ride-and-drives" and immediate purchase. (Full disclosure: The L.A. Times is a sponsor of the event.)

26th Annual Newport Beach Concours d'Elegance
St. Regis Monarch Beach Resort, Dana Point
Saturday - Sunday
10 a.m. - 4 p.m.
General admission: $60, $50

On Saturday, auto enthusiasts can start the day with a private collection tour -- some collections previously on display include those of Jay Leno, Gen. William Lyon and four-time Le Mans winner Jim Busby. On Saturday night, a 1920s-themed event will take place at Signature Flight Services on the tarmac at John Wayne Airport. There will be dining, music, dancing and a live auction along with '20s-era automobiles and aircraft for viewing. On Sunday, at the St. Regis Monarch Beach Resort in Dana Point, the Concours d'Elegance cars will be displayed. Proceeds benefit Hoag Hospital and Assessment and Treatment Services Center.

Auto sales: From bad to worse

Will September be the cruelest month for automakers?

Automakers have struggled for months to move metal as consumers have been hammered by high gas prices and worries about job security. While those troubles remain, the drying up of credit for auto loans has made a bad situation worse, according to data tracker Edmunds.com.

Santa Monica-based Edmunds is forecasting that auto sales will fall 19.7% in the United States this month compared to September 2007, which would be even worse than last month’s 15.5% decline. It would also mark the 11th straight monthly drop for year-over-year auto sales.

“The automakers and dealers tell us the credit crunch is the No. 1 reason for the drop in sales,” said Michelle Krebs, senior editor at Edmunds’ AutoObserver.com. “People want to buy cars but can’t get financing.”

Besides the actual effect the Wall Street crisis has had on credit markets, it has also had a psychological effect on car buyers, Krebs added. “Consumer confidence ... is another critical factor that just isn’t there,” she said.

It hasn’t helped that several automakers have cut way back on their leasing programs, in part because of the credit crunch.

Edmunds expects total September sales in the U.S. to dip to 1.05 million vehicles. Edmunds analyst Jesse Toprak noted that the last time the industry sold fewer than 1 million vehicles in a month was February 1993.

“Traditionally, October sales are worse than they are in September, so we don’t likely have much to look forward to next month,” Toprak said.

Toyota goes natural (gas, that is)

Toyota is dipping its toe in the natural-gas well.

The Japanese automaker said today that it plans to unveil a concept version of a compressed-natural-gas-powered Camry hybrid sedan at the L.A. Auto Show in November.

Toyota isn’t making any promises about when the CNG-powered hybrid car will arrive on dealer lots — if ever.

“We just decided from a concept perspective to put this out and take a look at CNG as another viable [alternative fuel] option” said Jana Hartline, a spokeswoman for the automaker.

Toyota is arriving a bit late to the CNG game. Honda has been selling out its 1,000-a-year production run of CNG-fueled Civics in recent years, and plans to double production for the 2009 model year to 2,000 cars.

The Civic GX is selling out even though its base sticker of around $25,000 represents a substantial premium over the comparable Civic LX ($18,155) or the even the Civic hybrid ($23,550).

In addition, finding fuel remains problematic. A government website that helps you locate alt-fuel outlets lists 94 CNG fueling stations within a 100-mile radius of downtown L.A., but many of those serve only government or corporate fleets and aren’t open to the public.

So what’s the attraction? Well, for one thing, CNG sells for the equivalent of $2 to $2.50 a gallon in Southern California. Not bad when regular gasoline is going for an average of $3.72 a gallon statewide. And with combined city/highway mileage of 28 mpg, the GX burns that cheap fuel at only a slightly faster rate than the regular Civic; the Civic hybrid, by contrast, gets 42 combined mpg.