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Road presence, Bose audio system, ad campaign that states “For 25 years Audi have made quattro for cars, now we've made the car for quattro”.

Interior space when compared to exterior, brakes, headlamps

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CargoGear Recycles!

CargoGear.com cares about the environment, as do many of our customers. That's why we offer you the option of helping us re-use cardboard boxes. While ordering online, just look for the checkbox after entering your shipping info. Click the box and we'll happily ship your items in a pre-loved carton, if possible. We will always pack your order with care and make sure that the box is in good shipping condition.

Cargo Gear strives to use recyclable materials. We also make the best use of non-recyclable packing materials that we may receive,
like bubble wrap and styrofoam.

The mighty cardboard box.

The cardboard shipping boxes we use are recyclable. Corrugated shipping containers are one of the most commonly accepted materials by either curbside recycling programs or at recycling centers nationwide.

Ford Motor Co.'s transmission plant in Sharonville is trying to put the automaker's recovery strategy in gear.

The 51-year-old plant produces gears and other transmission components for most of Ford's key models, including the redesigned 2010 Taurus full-sized sedan, which is debuting later this summer and is seen as a key element in Ford's recovery plan.

Unlike General Motors and Chrysler, Ford has reorganized without a federal government bailout or bankruptcy. The automaker used a media tour for the new Taurus Monday to show off the productivity, quality and spirit at the 2.4 million-square-foot Sharonville plant, which employs 1,500 hourly and salaried workers.

"This is one of the most advanced plants of its kind in the world," said Darryl Hazel, senior vice president and president of Ford Customer Service. "All Ford products have some piece of this plant in it."

At a time when jobs lost to foreign manufacturing is a growing concern, he said the Sharonville plant is net exporter of goods to China, where it ships gears for the Chinese version of the Focus.

The Sharonville plant also produces gears -- which account for about a third of the transmission content -- for other Ford and Lincoln-Mercury vehicles, including the Ford Fusion, Flex, Edge, Expedition and the Mercury Milan and Lincoln MKS.

The plant also assembles the 5R110W heavy-duty transmission for the F-150 pickup trucks. The plant produces more than 7,000 gear sets a day.

The plant is also putting the finishing touches on a $200 million Ford investment, announced two years ago, for a new six-speed transmission which Ford has under wraps. Tom Thieman, plant manager, said he couldn't discuss that project.

"We'll have you back in soon to discuss that," he told a reporter during a tour of the plant.

The Sharonville plant in the early 1980s was the first Ford plant to adopt a team leadership approach, which gives hourly employees a voice in productivity, quality, safety and other factors. The day-in and day-out operations of the plant are supervised by 105 hourly team leaders. It's been a key to the plant's success, officials of the company and United Auto Workers Local 863 at the plant said.

Despite U.S. car and truck sales being down 60 percent from where they were just two years ago, Gary Alexander, UAW committee person, said morale among his members "is surprisingly upbeat. We're a real industry success story."

Ford, he noted, has posted higher market share in seven out of the last eight months. "Our quality is the level of anybody in the world including Toyota and Honda," Alexander said.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) announced today that it has concluded its investigation into television presenter Richard Hammond’s high-speed crash last September. The investigation identifies omissions by two of the parties involved, but finds no grounds for prosecution.

The crash occurred on 20 September 2006 while Mr Hammond was driving the Vampire, a jet powered modified drag racer at Elvington airfield, near York, during filming for BBC TV’s Top Gear programme. The car was owned by Northants-based Primetime Landspeed Engineering (PTLE), who also provided Mr Hammond’s training.

The immediate cause of the accident was a catastrophic failure of the Vampire’s front offside tyre at 288 mph on the seventh high-speed run of the day. Examination of this tyre and video footage showed that the tyre was damaged, as a result of an object (or objects) having entered the sidewall immediately adjacent to the edge of the tread, during the latter part of the previous run. A blister was visible in the tyre’s outer side but this appears to have subsided and was not apparent immediately before the final run commenced.

HSE’s investigation team pursued three lines of enquiry: the planning and preparation undertaken by the BBC and PTLE, the training given to Richard Hammond, and a technical examination of the vehicle and its tyres. HSE acknowledges the assistance provided by the BBC and PTLE during this investigation, and the support provided by North Yorkshire Police.

The investigation used evidence from the BBC’s filming of the day, up to and including the accident, and telemetry data recorded as part of the filming. Specialist evidence was obtained from within HSE on ergonomic issues, from the Transport Research Laboratory Ltd on the tyres, and from North Yorkshire Police on the vehicle and crash scene.

Principal Inspector Keith King, who led HSE team, said: "The investigation identified several safety features, which in combination, almost certainly saved Mr Hammond’s life. These included: the structural integrity of the Vampire, which survived the crash intact; the design of the driver restraint arrangements; the crash helmet selected and the emergency rescue services on site at the airfield. Other precautions adopted included the decision not to deploy camera crews along the margins of the runway.

"The investigation also identified failings in the BBC’s safety management systems relating to risk assessment and the procurement of services from others, and by PTLE in their risk assessment for the services they provided to the BBC at Elvington. These failings and other recommendations are being pursued with the two parties involved. However, when viewed against HSE’s enforcement criteria, none of these failings merit prosecution."

The investigation has identified wider issues for the broadcast industry about the preparation and training of presenters for such activities. HSE is passing these findings on to the Joint Advisory Committee for Entertainment.

A detailed summary of the investigation is available on HSE’s website at http://www.hse.gov.uk/foi/releases/richardhammond.pdf

Besides a house, our cars are probably the most expensive thing we own, yet most of us don't give them the love and attention they deserve. Check out this handy guide to get the most out of car valeting services...

Car valeting services: cleaning while you wait
There's a large market for car valeting services. You can visit a car valeting service or have a company come to where your car is parked, whether it's at home, at work, or even on holiday.

Check first to make sure car valeting is permissible
You might need permission to have a car valeting service carried out at client premises, car parks or other locations, so it's a good idea to obtain any permission beforehand.

Think about water and power for the car valeting
Most mobile car valeting companies are equipped with their own power and water supplies, but it's good to check beforehand. Some will require access to a hosepipe at your home. Bear this in mind when comparing quotes.

It pays to pay for car valeting services
If nothing else, regular detailing—a trade term for a full valet service—helps keep the value of your car. Bear in mind, too, that many car valeting companies offer discounts for regular customers. There are also discounts available for group washes, normally at work premises.

Hair styling, shoes, restaurant or car valeting?
As the price of a car valeting service is roughly just the same as a trip to the hairdresser or lunch at a restaurant, it's wise to keep costs in context. Apart from a house, your car is probably the most expensive thing you own.

Check out the long-range weather forecasts
For a proper car valeting service, you need dry weather. Some companies may push back your appointment if it's likely to rain.

Check liability before using a car valeting service
Reputable car valeting firms will insure their staff and take out full public liability cover. It's a good idea to check first, and even request to see a copy of the policy.

Time your car valeting with non-travel activities
Depending on the level of service, car valeting can take between less than an hour for an exterior clean to over four hours for a full all-in treatment. So plan your car valeting to fit in with something you can do nearby while you wait, such as a shopping trip or a film at the cinema.

Shiny cars wait for their appearnce on the Top Gear Live show, which finished its world tour in Hong Kong last weekend. / Courtesy of BBC

By Han Sang-hee
Korea Times Correspondent

HONG KONG ― BBC's hit program ``Top Gear'' launched the final leg of its live show tour in Hong Kong, showing that with the right content and cool cars, anything can be made into thrilling entertainment.

Hosted by two star hosts Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and Hong Kong's favorite racing driver, Marchy Lee, the Top Gear Live venue, the 3000-seat Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center, was packed with fans waiting for more than the British television program. And presumably, they went home happy and entertained.

``Welcome to Top Gear Live,'' started Clarkson, appearing in a paisley shirt and jeans, walking out from a Lamborghini, along with Hammond in a Porsche and Lee in a Maserati.

Famous for his witty and cutting remarks, Clarkson managed to bring his humor right from the program and onto the large stage, along with fellow host Hammond.

``He's even smaller than you!,'' Clarkson said as Lee walked toward Hammond, drawing laughter from the audience.

Lee was a bit overshadowed by the two hosts, but carried out his role well as the Hong Kong representative, translating and also showing some of his own driving stunts and skills during the show.

The stage, which resembled an F1 track, was closer to the audience than expected, offering thrills whenever the cars screeched along the slippery floors.

Stunt drivers appeared in shiny cars, followed by a police car, boasting their driving techniques gracefully and effortlessly with fireworks and pyrotechnics wowing the crowd. The cream of the crop was the commercial-like sequence when a driver instantly parked a car in a tiny space in a row right between two others.

Then came the race between the three hosts on what they called ``car wear,'' which were tiny contraptions that, surprisingly, moved and raced like cars.

Next brought onto the stage was the ``cage of death,'' or a small, circular cage, and a motorbike stunt rider who entered it and was later joined by a total of four other riders as they raced inside it, with audience members holding their breath.

Another interesting segment was the wall of fame, where the audience helped rate different vehicles, including a Ferrari, Lamborghini, Zonda and Bugatti.

Audience members were given papers that were green on one side and red on the other and would hold up one side, monitored by a special optical device on the ceiling that would count the number of colors and finally show it on the large screen in the middle of the stage. The winner? The Bugatti Veyron.

Other than bringing Lee to just ``localize'' the show, there was also a segment where a martial artist came onto the stage and performed a duel with a vehicle.

There were, however, less astonishing sequences, like the bowling segment where Lee was placed inside a shopping cart and pushed by a Mercedes Benz driven by Clarkson, and a drumming session with a drum kit made out of used car parts.

The highlight of the show was the exhilarating three-against-three soccer match, between the Hong Kong team, led by Lee, and the U.K. team, led by Hammond.

The small Suzukis, driven by professional stunt drivers, were swift, and the game was surprisingly like any other soccer game: the ``injured'' car was sent back to be replaced, the defense cars rushed back to their goals in a split second while the penalty kick was carried out by racing backwards with the plastic soccer ball.

``Hong Kong is famously terrible in soccer,'' Clarkson joked, drawing laughter from the audience.

The game finished with 4:3 for the U.K.

The finale was, ironically, a bit weak compared to the soccer match, when the audience shouted and cheered enthusiastically.

Top Gear's mystery driver the Stig appeared in his usual white uniform and helmet, racing around the stage on a Lotus, trying to get away from an armed helicopter shooting from the screen.

Thanks to the 3D glasses, the helicopter did seem like it was heading toward the audience, but no thanks to the advanced technology in action films and games, the 3D experience did not match up to the soccer match.

With high hopes in bringing the live show annually to other parts of the world, Top Gear Live ended its 75-minute segment with crowds cheering.

The total package was thrilling and entertaining with spectacular ― make that expensive ― cars racing, spinning and competing live for fans.

``The core of the program is cars, we think it's the best invention (in the world),'' Clarkson said.

SUSIE GHARIB: The scorecard for auto sales is still pretty bad. Sales in June were down again for the 20th straight month. Ford's drop was better than expected but the declines at General Motors, the new Chrysler and Toyota were worse than expected. Analysts say that while there is some stabilization in the auto market, the pain is not over. Here are the numbers. Ford sales fell 11 percent last month but the company sold more cars than its competition and says it's picking up market share. GE tumbled 33 percent as the company entered bankruptcy protection on June 1. The Treasury Department said today, that GM has until July 10 to get court approval to sell its assets. If that does not happen, the government will pull its bankruptcy financing. Toyota sales also fell by a third as consumers steered away from the company's once popular Corolla model. And sales at the newly formed Chrysler were miserable: down 42 percent. The company is still adjusting to life after bankruptcy as it deals with tight inventory and dealership closings.

PAUL KANGAS: While new car sales remain stuck in reverse, sales of used vehicles are driving higher as budget strapped consumers seek deals. Analysts expect sales of previously owned cars and trucks will show sizeable sales gains for June. Jeff Yastine has more on the rebound in used vehicle sales and why that could eventually bode well for new car sales.

JEFF YASTINE, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT CORRESPONDENT: It's a good time to be a seller of used vehicles. According to sales tracking firm CNW Research, sales of used cars and trucks jumped nearly 7 percent in April and almost 8 percent in May. And with that jump in demand, used vehicles are now commanding higher prices. Manheim, which auctions used vehicles wholesale to car dealers, says its vehicle value index rebounded sharply in the first half of the year. Manheim Consulting's chief economist Tom Webb says used car prices are a reflection of the auto industry's new car woes.

VOICE OF TOM WEBB, CHIEF ECONOMIST, MANHEIM CONSULTING: It's just a difference in the supply demand dynamics. There are no new vehicle sales going on, so dealers aren't getting trade ins. And their used vehicle retail demand has not fallen off. For some of them it's actually improved.

YASTINE: Webb says that sales trends also depend on the dealer and the location. At Carmax, the national retailer of used vehicles, sales were down 17 percent in its most recent quarter. But Chad Kays, purchasing manager for this Carmax location in Fort Lauderdale, says business is picking up.

CHAD KAYS, PURCHASING MANAGER, CARMAX FT. LAUDERDALE: Things have been very good lately. I think now more than ever customers are very careful in how they spend their money and want to make a good car buying decision. And I think buying a used car is a better value and you get a lot more car for the money.

YASTINE: Manheim's Webb says the gains in used vehicle sales are still being driven by the recession and the troubles at the nation's auto makers. But he says increased sales of used vehicles also reflect an improvement in consumer confidence, which means a rebound in new car sales may not be far behind. Jeff Yastine, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT, Fort Lauderdale.