GM to Temporarily Close 20 Plants

On Friday, General Motors Corp. stated that it will temporarily close 20 of its factories across North America and reduce vehicle production while it tries adjust to the decline in automobile demands. The company will cut 250,000 vehicles from its production schedule for the first quarter of 2009. They normally produce 750,000 automobiles for that quarter. Many of the plants will be closed for the whole month of January and employees will be temporarily laid off and will receive part of their normal wages. They could be able to apply for state unemployment benefits. GM reported that its sales are down 41 percent for November and are down 22 percent for the first 11 months of 2008.

General Motors currently trying to obtain Government loans to be able to stay in business. The White House says that it might go into its $700 billion Wall Street Bailout fund to help GM and Chrysler. The entire automobile industry is having to make cuts due to the decline in the demand of automobiles.

Cop Pulls Gun on Rapper Puff Daddy

At about 3:00 AM in the morning, Puff Daddy, also known as Diddy and Sean “Puffy” Combs, was being driven by an entourage on the Sunset Strip. One of the cars didn't have proper tags and deputies from the L.A. County Sheriff's Department pulled the vehicle over. The other three cars in the entourage pulled over also. It is the policy of the Sheriff Department to call for backup when other cars linger around during a traffic stop.

Backup was called and the driver of the second car had to be detained for being uncooperative with the police. At that time, Diddy and the other five or six members left of the entourage got out of their cars and started walking towards the detained member of their group. One deputy drew his weapon not knowing what they were going to do and not knowing that Diddy was part of the group. Eventually things ended well and the detained man was let go. The vehicle that was pulled over wasn't ticketed because it was a rental car.

Actor Gary Dourdan Charged with Felony Drug Possession

The actor Gary Dourdan, who is a star on the show “CSI,” has been charged with felony possession of heroin, cocaine, and ecstasy since his arrest last month where police found him asleep in his car in Palm Springs parked on the wrong side of the street with his car’s interior light on. He is scheduled to appear in court in Los Angeles on May 28^th.

GM Introduces New Hybrid Pickups

General Motors will introduce a new hybrid full-size pickup and a concept hybrid truck this week at the Chicago Auto Show. The company says that the 2009 GMC Sierra hybrid gives 25 percent more in fuel economy and you don’t have to lose anything in performance. The Sierra is also the next large GM vehicle to get the new two-mode hybrid system. The GMC Denali XT concept gives 50 percent more in fuel economy than most other small pickups. The SUV hybrids are suppose to be on the market early this year and the Sierra is suppose to be on the market at the end of 2008.

Two-mode hybrid cars run without the gas engine at low speeds and at higher speeds the electric motor gives more power. A two-mode system is good for towing.

Hybrid vehicles initially cost more but drivers can driver longer distances before the car needs to be refueled so you can save money in the long run. Small businesses can take advantage of the government tax breaks for hybrids.

GM Looking Into Making Cars That Drive Themselves

General Motors is looking into making cars that could drive themselves and even park at their destinations. The cars could be ready for sale by the year 2018. The biggest problems that stand in the way of making the cars are government regulations, liability laws, and privacy concerns.

Automated vehicles could reduce the number of car collisions and reduce traffic jams. GM plans to use a computer chip and an antenna to link vehicles that have the driverless technology.

Google Added to Gas Pumps

Starting next month, gas pumps will include an Internet connection that will have Google’s mapping service in color on a small screen. People will be able to get driving directions and look through several categories to find local landmarks, hotels, restaurants, and hospitals.

After a person selects a destination, the pump will print out the directions. Someday, they may have it where a person could type in a specific address and get directions.

In the beginning, they plan to have the service at 3,500 gas pumps and then expand if there is a more of a demand. Google wants to do this because they want to make their services available whenever and wherever people would need it.

TV Host Gary Collins Arrested for Drunken Driving

The TV Host and actor Gary Collins was arrested for the investigation of a traffic accident that he was involved in. The accident was caused when the other motorist didn’t yield to oncoming traffic and hit Collin’s vehicle. Collins’ 2004 Ford Explorer then hit two parked cars. Officers smelled alcohol on Collins’ breath and when they gave him a sobriety test he failed it.

Collins was not injured and fault is on the other motorist who was an 89 year old man. The other motorist was taken to the hospital for examination of his injuries. Collins was released on a $40,000 bond.

Snoop Dogg Has Community Service Raking Leaves

Rapper Snoop Dogg has agreed to do 160 community service hours of raking leaves, washing cars, cleaning toilets, and picking up litter for his charge of an illegal possession of a dangerous weapon that he had when he went through security at a John Wayne Airport in September of 2006. Authorities decided not to release the name of the park where he will be “working” at so there will be no disturbances of fans while he "works."

Mike Vick Get a Visit from the Repo Man

An Indiana bank recently sued Mike Vick for not repaying his loans that involved a car rental business. Vick is the chief financial officer of Divine Seven, a car rental company, and bought more than 130 cars through the loans. The bank says it suffered damages of about $2 million dollars because Vick and Divine Seven LLC wouldn’t pay for the vehicles. The bank has repossessed most of the cars.

Last week, Royal Bank of Canada sued Vick for $2.3 million dollars that he claimed he was going to use for real estate investments.

A Car Lands in Chiropractor's Clinic

For the second time in four months and the third time since the shop opened Bob Ziegler has had a motorist drive into his clinic. Luckily there were no patients in the waiting room at the time. In both cases the cars were driven by elderly women. The women were not given tickets. Officers have the choice to not write tickets when cars hit buildings. There were no injuries reported. The clinic owner, Bob Ziegler, wants to talk to his landlord about placing barriers in front of the clinic to stop cars.

50 Cent Was Bankrupt before the Vitamin Water Deal

It is reported that hip hop artist 50 Cent had serious financial problems earlier this year. He was spending millions of dollars on his Connecticut mansion, on members of his entourage, and personal security. 50 Cent was broke with a lot of assets and very little cash. His accountants even suggested that he sell some of his assets.

He put up his Connecticut mansion for sale and sold some of his luxury cars. He was even thinking of selling his interest in G-Unit Records. Luckily he didn’t have to sell anything because Coca Cola announced a $4.1B cash offer for Vitamin Water, which is an "enhanced water" company which 50 Cent owned a minority stake. He gained about $40 million dollars from the deal.

Since then, 50 Cent has taken his mansion and almost all of his luxury cars off the market. Only his silver Lamborghini is still up for sale.

Mattel Recalls More Than 9 Million Toys

It is reported that Mattel, a toy making company, has issued recalls for millions of Chinese-made toys that contain magnets that could be swallowed by children and lead paint. The recall includes 7.3 million play sets, including Polly Pockets and Batman action figures, and 1.5 million die cast cars that contain lead paint.

The Polly Pocket and Batman recalls were announced on the Mattel website and the recall of the lead-painted cars were announced at a Conference by the Consumer Product Safety Commission in Washington.