LEWIS, TUNDRA, SOLO MERCURY

McLaren Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton, last year's runner-up in Formula 1, was fined about €800 for driving over 120mph (190+km/h) in a 80mph (130km/h) zone. His Mercedes was confiscated and his license suspended.

He will be permitted to test his McLaren racer. In fact, Lewis can drive anywhere except France, where, for one month, Lewis isn't permitted behind the wheel.

Poor fella. Ironically, former F1 champion Michael Schumacher, a man widely considered to be a potential candidate for best driver ever, is under investigation for an exciting taxi ride through Munich last week. Schumi figured he could get his family to the airport faster than cab driver Tuncer Yilmax. So, that's what Schumi did, giving his family and Mr. Yilmax the ride of their lives. They made their flight, but German police don't like the fact that Michael broke the law. You're not allowed to commandeer taxicabs. Whatever.

MotorTrend has named the Toyota Tundra its truck of the year. Don't be too hard on MT for picking a truck that was just named in a recall (a recall that doesn't include any accidents or injuries). Afrer all, what truckmaker hasn't come under a recent recall?

Silly I know, but Mercury was, until recently, selling cars at Mercury-only dealerships. The last such store, Community Motor in Pennsylvania, just closed its doors. Community Motor sold new Mercury's for 57 years, but their best yearly total was way back in 1989.

Also, just minutes ago, the "35mpg by 2020" bill in the United States Congress passed and will head for the ballpoint pen of George W. Read this for more info on the bill.

THE DETROIT THREE OFFERS TOO MANY TRUCKS? BY THE NUMBERS

Wall Street insiders attempting to predict the demise of the Detroit Three (GM/Ford/Chrysler) blame most of the domestic auto manufacturing difficulties on the rise and fall of the SUV. They believe that General Motors, Ford Motor Company, and Chrysler LLC (mostly under the management of Daimler-Benz) didn't have the foresight to build high quality cars when money was pouring in from easy-profit vehicles like the Ford F-Series, Chevrolet Tahoe, and Dodge Ram. On the surface, these insiders appear to be correct. 

Take American luxury cars, for instance. In the early part of this millenium, the only prominent vehicles at Cadillac and Lincoln were their jumbo SUVs, the Escalade and Navigator. Mainstream brands like Chevrolet and Ford were offering an abomination called the Malibu and an ancient design called the Taurus. The few takers snapped them up at rock bottom prices.

For a deeper look at the gravity of the situation in numerical terms, check this Numbers post from a few days ago with figures supplied by TIME. For perspective on the issue, read The Good Car Guy's question from yesterday. For facts about automaker offerings in the U.S. domestic market in 2009, keep reading. Oh, and by the way, to attempt to sway the argument in favour of cars instead of trucks, models like the F-150, F-250, and F-350 were lumped together. It didn't help. Also, TSV means anything that isn't a car: trucks, SUVs, and vans.

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TOTAL CARS @ GENERAL MOTORS: 21

TOTAL TSVs @ GENERAL MOTORS: 26

TOTAL CARS @ FORD MOTOR CO.: 10

TOTAL TSVs @ FORD MOTOR CO.: 14

TOTAL CARS @ CHRYSLER LLC: 8

TOTAL TSVs @ CHRYSLER LLC: 16

Buick cars/TSVs: 2 to 1

Cadillac cars/TSVs: 4 to 3

Chevrolet cars/TSVs: 6 to 9

GMC cars/TSVs: 0 to 8

Hummer cars/TSVs: 0 to 2

Pontiac cars/TSVs: 6 to 1

Saturn cars/TSVs: 3 to 2

Ford cars/TSVs: 4 to 10

Lincoln cars/TSVs: 3 to 2

Mercury cars/TSVs: 3 to 2

Chrysler cars/TSVs: 3 to 2

Dodge cars/TSVs: 5 to 7

Jeep cars/TSVs: 0 to 7

DOMESTIC AUTOMAKERS MAY/08 RESULTS

It was a common belief at the beginning of May, when automakers released their sales date for April, that the first couple days of June would reveal bad news, as well. The commonality of any belief does not prove that belief to be true; however, the statistics manifest as proof that the common belief held true.

In a month where total vehicle sales fell over 10%, car sales climbed over 2%. Small cars were especially successful. Two cars that have not grabbed critical acclaim, Ford's Focus and the Dodge Caliber, jumped 52% and 7%, respectively compared with May of last year. 

It doesn't seem that long ago that America's love affair with truck-based SUVs and cheap gas led to a majority of vehicle sales being classified as trucks. In the 31 days of May, that former majority dropped to the low 40s%. Here are the Numbers for American automakers and their sub-brands in America in May... in agony.

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37.8 - posted percentage loss for Buick for May 2008 compared with the same period one year earlier

26 - posted percentage loss for Cadillac, May/08 against May/07

27.1 - posted percentage loss for Chevrolet, May/08 against May/07

28 - posted percentage loss for the whole Chrysler group, May/08 vs May/07

16.6 - posted percentage loss for Ford, May/08 against May/07

38.8 - posted percentage loss for GMC, an all truck and SUV brand for May of this year against May/07

61.7 - posted percentage loss for Hummer, an all heavy-duty SUV brand that GM is interested in selling, for the May/08 vs May/07 comparison

42 - percentage loss for luxury brand Lincoln for May of '08 against the same period last year

28 - percentage drop in sales faced by Mercury, Ford's pointless brand, for May/08 against May/07

25.9 - percentage drop in sales for Pontiac, a brand featuring some new models, for this May against last May

28 - percentage drop in sales for GM-owned Saab for May/08 against May/07

32.7 - percentage plummeting in product sales for Saturn, featuring its best model lineup ever, for May/08 vs May/07

24 - percentage drop in sales for Ford-owned Volvo for May/08 against May/07

18,455 - lead, in sales, that the Chevrolet brand had over the whole Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep group in May

15,603 - combined sales in May for FMC's luxury duo (Volvo and Lincoln), out-performing GM's Swedish-American dup (Saab and Cadillac) by 107

97.5 - Pontiac Vibe's percentage points lead it held over the Pontiac brand as a whole in May-vs-May sales

23.4 - average decline in sales for Ford's four main SUVs, the Escape; Edge; Explorer; and Expedition

44.3 - jump in sales this May vs last May, measured in percent, for the Chevrolet Aveo

HIGHWAY FUEL ECONOMY - by the Numbers

According to CNNMoney.com, here are some numbers we should all be keeping in mind as fuel prices climb. And climb. And climb. Do you wanna be responsible with your cash? Can you manage making a one hour trip a 70 minute trip, if need be? It'll be a struggle, but these numbers might convince you. You can check out other Fuel-oriented articles here or check out the GCBC Numbers here.

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40 - percentage of energy wasted by your vehicle just "pushing air" around at highway speeds

4 - fewer miles per gallon your vehicle (and we mean pretty much any vehicle) will travel for every 10 extra miles per hour you manage

0.54 - equivalent extra cents per gallon you 'pay' for every 10mph over 60mph

28 - a vehicle that achieves this kind of mpg at 65mph would achieve just 24mpg at 75mph

3.6 - number of gallons required by the 28mpg vehicle for every 100 miles driven

1.93 - extra money, with gas at $3.25/g, required to drive the same car at 75mph rather than 65mph, using an extra 0.6g

30 - mpg of a Toyota Camry at 75mph rather than the 35mpg it achieved at 65mph, according to Consumer Reports

18 - mpg of a Mercury Mountaineer at 75mph rather than the 21mpg it achieved at 65mph

6.19 - extra dollars spent by the Camry owner when driving at 75mph rather than 65mph over a 400-mile road trip; or $10.32 for the Mountaineer

50 - minutes saved by driving at 75 rather than 65mph over the same 400 miles