Hybrids to rejoin cruise events

The Dream Cruise is over and plans for the next cruise are under way. That’s NextCruise, an event held for the first time this year during the Dream Cruise that allowed the public to see and test drive alternative-fueled vehicles.

The event is to be held again in Pleasant Ridge Aug. 14-15, 2009.

More than 30 vehicles from nine auto manufacturers were shown.

Actor to build Spyder kit on DIY

Actor Kevin Dillon will be doing a James Dean imitation of sorts for the next four weeks on the DIY Network.

Dillon, best known for his role on HBO’s “Entourage,” will build a kit car replica of the 1955 Porsche Spyder made famous by the late actor in the 1950s. Dean died in an accident on a California highway in 1955 while driving a 1955 Porsche 550 Spyder on his way to a car race.

The four-episode half-hour series begins at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday and will air weekly through Sept. 24.

Bush officials to finish fuel rules

As the clock ticks down on the Bush administration, the outgoing head of vehicle safety rules says the administration will finish controversial standards on fuel economy and vehicle roof strength before January 2009.

“I have every confidence that they’ll be able to tie up the loose ends,” said Nicole Nason, whose last day as chief of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration was Saturday.

Nason, a lawyer who was appointed NHTSA chief in May 2006, spent much of her tenure on fuel economy, drunken driving prevention and electronic stability control. She oversaw a NHTSA rule requiring electronic stability control on all new vehicles by September 2011, and rushed to challenge a warning from Consumer Reports that many child seats weren’t crashworthy — warnings the magazine had to retract.

Nason said while both rules would be controversial and could face legal fights, the agency had been committed to fair compromises.

“If at the end of the day, everyone’s a little bit unhappy with what you’ve done, you’ve struck a balance,” she said. “We don’t work for the auto industry, and we don’t work for the advocates, either.”

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