The good oil: Car of the century

There are 26 cars left in the Car of the Century competition. The 132 jurors on the panel will decide their five finalists in Las Vegas on December 18. A day later, in a live telecast from the New Venetian Hotel, the Car of the Century will be revealed. So, too, will the auto designer, entrepreneur and engineer of the century. By popular demand the 26 cars are: Alfa Romeo Giuletta Sprint Coupe (1954-1968); Audi Quattro (1980-1991); Austin Seven (1922-1939); BMW 328 (1936-1940); Bugatti T35 (1926-1930); Chevrolet Corvette Stingray (1963-1967); Citroen Traction Avant (1934-1957); Citroen 2CV (1948-1990); Citroen DS 19 (1955-1965); Ferrari 250GT SWB Berlinetta (1959-1962); Fiat 500 Topolino (1936-1948); Ford Model T (1908-1927); Ford Mustang (1964-1968); Jaguar XK120 (1948-1954); Jaguar E-Type (1961-1975); Mercedes-Benz S/SS/SSK (1927-1932); Mercedes-Benz 300SL Coupe (1954-1957); Mini (1959-1999); NSU RO80 (1967-1976); Porsche 911 (1963-1999); Renault Espace (1984-1999); Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost (1907-1925); Range-Rover (1970-1999); Volkswagen Beetle (1946-1999); Volkswagen Golf (1974-1984); Willy's Jeep (1941-1945). The Web site is www.cotc.com

Lane lines up Ford


Detroit's Robert Lane set up a Website to offer advice on rebuilding classic Fords. Then confidential documents from Ford's boardroom began turning up in his letterbox. So he published a couple. Ford hollered for its legal eagles, who had Lane's site closed down. Lane went to court and the judge told Ford to butt out, that under an Amendment to the United States constitution Lane could indeed publish what came into his possession. The confidential documents are still turning up on Lane's www.BlueOvalNews.com site. The latest: an all-new Mustang goes into production in 2003.

The race for quality


A survey by German standards authorities, including magazine Auto Motor und Sport, which lends its English name to Friday night's Triangle Television show, found that Japanese carmakers still set the standard for build quality and reliability. But the Germans, who have engineering on their side, say they are catching up. Ian Gibson, Nissan Europe president, told Britain's Autocar magazine: "The Japanese aren't better because their quality standards are more stringent. They follow the development and production processes more closely and in a more disciplined manner than Europeans and involve suppliers at a much earlier stage." Shuhei Toyoda, chief developer at Toyota, told the same magazine: "German engineers are more skilled, but our production people are better. With us, engineers are subordinate to production specialists, who are trained to maintain quality and respect the process. Quality isn't everything, but if you don't have it you have nothing."

We are the world


* Get convicted of drink-driving in parts of Idaho and you'll have to attend a "victim impact panel," where you will listen to stories and watch videos of people affected by drink-drivers, including relatives of accident victims.

* A flasher stepped on to the road in order to expose himself to women at a bus queue in Aswan, Egpyt - and was hit by a bus.

* The latest car sticker displayed in Kobe, Japan: "If you get any closer, you'll need to wear a condom."