SATURDAY CHATTERING

Amongst the world of automobilia comes news that....

General Motors is making a push for Uzbekistan. Apparently, unbeknown to me, GM has already made some inroads in Kazakhstan and plans to develop in Romania as well. All of this comes through their takeover of Daewoo, whose presence in these markets was secured in the 90's. President Karimov must be so excited for his country's economic expansion.....

On April 27th, the eBay bid for Bo Duke's personal General Lee was at $505,000. This Charger is especially, er.... special because it was indeed John Schneider's own General Lee. But yet the final selling price of $9,900,500 does seem extravagant. A Bugatti Type 41 Royale sold for $11 million in 1987. All in all, at the end of the day, when all is said and done, Mr. Schneider's PayPal account is more handsome than mine.....

It was kind of neat in 2003 when the Ferrari/Maserati group won the title of best place to work in all of Italy. Now, the Great Place to Work Institute has given the title of Best Place to Work 2007 to Ferrari, but not just for Italy, but all of Europe. Amidst fun events like new-car unveilings and Grand Prix races come medical checkups for worker and family, preventative medical programs and the recognition of human beings as the 'fulcrum of the company's work systems' and by placing an emphasis on the necessity and importance of each individual worker, regardless of their duty. Forza lavoro.......

The upcoming Dodge Durango Hybrid will offer its hybridized-powertain to its platform mate, the Chrysler Aspen. This means there will be not one, but two, Hemi Hybrids. What a conundrum. Hemi and hybrid......

An atomic orange, gold-ribboned Chevrolet Corvette will pace the Indy 500 this month. Interestingly, McDreamy will become McRacey and do the driving. Patrick Dempsey is an avid race fan and car enthusiast and the co-owner of the Vision Racing team. He raced in the celebrity undercard at Long Beach this year and does voiceover on Mazda commercials, as well....