Troutman Police Chief Matthew Selves found a stolen vehicle Wednesday and an officer later arrested a man for taking the truck.

Shawn Guy, 34, of Troutman was charged with larceny of a motor vehicle and possession of a stolen vehicle.

Selves said sometime Tuesday night, a 1992 Dodge truck was reported stolen from a residence on Talley Street.

The next afternoon, Selves discovered the vehicle at the corner of Fourth Street and Old Charlotte Road in South Statesville.

The truck’s ignition was damaged, as were the drive shaft and steering.

A witness told police someone known as Shawn brought the truck there the night before and it became disabled. The witness said Shawn and another man worked on the truck for a while before leaving it.

Selves said the witness didn’t know Shawn’s last name, but knew he worked at Arby’s near Troutman.

That led police to Guy, who was arrested.

Cpl. Joe Gentle questioned Guy, who admitted to taking the truck, Selves said.

Dodge Pickup Truck Accessories

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OK, now I’m just bragging, but meandering up the coast of California on a sunny morning with the top down in a little Mazda Miata is a pretty damn good way of making a living. The sun’s out, the road is winding and I have nothing to do today other than enjoy the scenery. Though I’m not quite sure why I’m driving the aforementioned Miata. Or, more accurately, I’m sure I’m going to be disappointed, ambivalent or just plain confused about the major change Mazda has wrought to its iconic little roadster for the new model year — a retractable hardtop.

When Mazda announced it would be building a collapsible hardtop version of the MX-5, it seemed like the answer to the proverbial question that nobody asked. After all, nobody much complained about the soft-top, and the electro-hydraulic retracting tops on the market are notoriously expensive, not to mention that, when stowed, they eat up cargo space already at a premium in most convertibles, especially a little one like the MX-5.

Imagine my surprise then when Tony Harold, the product planning guru for Mazda Canada, announced that the power retractable roof would cost but $2,195 extra and that it would be available on all trims levels of the MX-5 from the base GX ($28,095) to the top-of-the-line GT ($34,195). What were Mercedes, Jaguar et al. talking about when they claimed that the high cost of retractable roofs was the justification for their high prices and the reason for not installing such a collapsing top on their expensive convertibles? What makes this even more amazing is that MX-5s ordered with the folding roof also get all-new quarter panels and a taller trunk-lid to blend into the collapsed roof’s silhouette.

As for my second concern, trunk space, it turns out that, when stowed, the entire roof is stored ahead of the MX-5’s trunk so none of the little Mazda’s admittedly precious cargo capacity is diminished. I confirmed this by transferring all of my luggage from the trunk of a soft-top to a hardtop version.

If anything, the hardtop version has a smidgen more cargo space. Once again, I have to ask, why does a much more expensive Mercedes-Benz SLK have to lose so much of its trunk space every time I want to drive alfresco? Surely, if a minuscule MX-5 can accomplish the task of stowing a hard roof without penalty, so can a more expensive SLK.

The rest of the MX-5 stays much the same. The roof and its related gear exact a 36-kilogram weight penalty, but the 166-horsepower (163 in the automatic version) 2.0-litre four handles that without much difficulty. The rear suspension has been stiffened to accommodate the extra avoirdupois so there’s no difference in handling. And the roof is only 10 millimetres taller than the soft version, so the Miata doesn’t look much different with this hardtop than it would with the old-style roof that required stowing in your garage. And there are plenty of bonuses. In situ, the roof adds to the chassis’ structural rigidity, calming the ride and aiding handling a bit.

The big advantage, however, is in the greatly diminished wind noise. Anything over 120 kilometres an hour in the soft-top version makes anything less than a bellow unintelligible to the passenger even though he’s barely half a metre away. With the hardtop up, it’s quite easy to hold a conversation without constantly screwing your face up in the “eh?” mode. For that reason alone, the $2,195 Mazda Canada is asking for the hardtop is a steal.

It also adds to new-found all-round ability of the recently revised MX-5. While the new MX-5’s greater power and sporty handling have been applauded, there’s been an even bigger jump in the roadster’s everyday ability. Not quite as small as it once was, the new MX-5 also doesn’t feel as tiny. The overriding impression is of a teenage runabout that’s matured into an adult automobile. The new MX-5 feels more planted, more stable and less nervous than Miatas of old.

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Daimler AG, the world’s second- largest maker of luxury vehicles, said first-quarter profit dropped 32 percent, more than estimated, after a stake in former U.S. unit Chrysler dragged down earnings and truck sales fell.

Net income declined to 1.33 billion euros ($2.07 billion), or 1.29 euros per share, from 1.97 billion euros, or 1.89 euros, a year earlier, Stuttgart, Germany-based Daimler said in a statement today. Analysts had predicted a profit of 1.46 billion euros. Revenue barely rose to 23.5 billion euros.

Daimler’s 20 percent stake in Chrysler, the third-largest U.S. automaker, wiped 491 million euros from earnings as a slowing economy hurt sales. Revenue at the truck business, the world’s largest, fell 13 percent to 6.33 billion euros as U.S. deliveries plummeted 47 percent. Mercedes-Benz Cars boosted both profit and sales.

“The relatively weak truck sales clearly show that this business is not a one-way street,” said Juergen Meyer, who helps oversee 1.2 billion euros, including Daimler shares, at SEB Asset Management in Frankfurt. “The profit development at the passenger cars unit was, on the other hand, quite pleasing.”

Chief’s Forecast

Chief Executive Officer Dieter Zetsche said demand from Russia and China means full-year operating profit should still be “well above” 2007’s level, excluding the impact of Chrysler. Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, the No. 1 maker of luxury cars, said today that first-quarter profit fell 17 percent on the U.S. slowdown while predicting a gain in full-year pretax profit.

Daimler, whose year-ago earnings were swollen by a gain from the sale of a stake in European Aeronautic, Defence & Space Co., fell 69 cents, or 1.4 percent, to 50.19 euros. The stock has declined 25 percent this year, reducing the company’s market value to 48.4 billion euros.

Zetsche sold 80.1 percent of Auburn Hills, Michigan-based Chrysler to New York-based buyout firm Cerberus Capital Management LP in August, severing a nine-year tie that cut Daimler’s market value by $12.6 billion.

Daimler’s remaining holding had a negative impact of 491 million euros in the first quarter, including a 340 million- euro operating profit reduction and a 151 million-euro writedown on the residual values of Chrysler vehicles.

The CEO said this month that industry sales in the U.S. would be “much lower” as a result of the credit crisis and a declining level of confidence in the economy. He predicted a 2 percent increase in car deliveries worldwide.

EADS Disposal

Daimler booked a gain of 1.56 billion euros in the first quarter of 2007 from its holding in EADS, owner of Airbus SAS, the world’s largest maker of commercial aircraft.

The carmaker is 80 percent hedged against shifts in the dollar this year and more than 40 percent hedged for 2009.

Mercedes-Benz Cars, which has cut 9,700 factory jobs since 2005, reducing costs by 7.1 billion euros, boosted operating profit 45 percent in the first quarter to 1.15 billion euros. The division’s revenue increased 4 percent on demand for new models. The unit’s earnings will rise this year and operating profit will reach 10 percent of sales by 2010, Daimler has predicted.

Mercedes is seeking to wrest back market share from Munich- based BMW while fending off Volkswagen AG’s Audi unit and Toyota Motor Corp.’s Lexus division.

The truck division’s operating profit fell 24 percent to 403 million euros as demand in the U.S. plunged 47 percent to 21,204 trucks. Western European sales also declined because of production stops connected to a supplier’s lack of capacity, the company said.

Daimler’s first-quarter earnings were boosted by a 449 million-euro gain from the sale of property in Berlin.

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Mack Financial Services and Mack Canada announced that truckers Gordon Hooge and Kenneth Lawrence are the top winners of the “Mack Highway Free Payment Extravaganza” for the fourth quarter of 2007. Customers in Canada who financed any new Mack highway model were entered into the program for a chance to win free payments. A total of 24 customers won free payments in 2007.

First prize is free payments for a year. Second prize, won by Keith White Trucking and Nidish Enterprises, is no payments for six months. And third prize winners Gerald Herter Trucking and Warren Transport are free from payment for three months.

Mack Financial Services is a division of the Volvo Group and supports Mack Trucks, Inc.

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Dunbar Public Works Director David Nelson has asked the city council to buy a couple of new dump trucks for his department.

At a council meeting Monday, Nelson requested a new GMC C5500 truck that could be using for hauling. Nelson said General Truck Sales has offered the city a deal if it purchases two new trucks.

The new trucks would haul the same amount as the city’s one current truck, he said. Drivers could operate the new vehicles without being required to have their commercial driver’s license.

Nelson told council that the dump truck the city uses now is 12 years old and has been driven 210,346 miles.

“My goal is to save the citizens of Dunbar some money,” Nelson said. “We need the trucks. I believe we should purchase the trucks.”

Council member Connie Boardman expressed reservations about acting too quickly. Boardman suggested the city solicit bids to get the best deal on the purchase.

“I just want to make sure that the City of Dunbar is getting the best price and the best trucks,” Boardman said.

In other news, the city’s two new police cruisers have been put into operation.

Mayor Roger Wolfe said he’s already received positive feedback from residents since the new cars made their debut.

Also Monday, city officials announced they need lifeguards at the city pool this coming summer.

Anyone interested should bring a copy of his or her lifeguard certification to the city recreation center and fill out an application.

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More than 100 dump truck drivers convoyed to Washington, DC, honking their horns while circling the U.S. Capitol to protest high diesel fuel prices on Thursday, April 10.

Truckers met in Forestville, MD, to line up for the convoy to DC. They drove in a loop several times around the National Mall to raise Congressional awareness on the impact that recent changes in the economy, including fuel, have had on the trucking industry.

One dump truck had a sign attached to the side that read “Fair compensation,” according to The Associated Press.

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Plummeting car sales have led to a slump in prices, and some car sellers are headed for the wreckers’ yard, says an industry commentator.

“There’s blood on the showroom floor and it’s inevitable that some car retailers are going to go to the wall this year,” said Clive Matthew-Wilson, editor of the Dog & Lemon Guide for car buyers. “On a positive note, there are some real bargains out there at the moment.”

But while car buyers might be happy, Mr Matthew-Wilson predicted a grim year for sellers.

“Car prices traditionally go up with the sun and come down with the rain: we are heading into winter at a time of global uncertainty and local economic gloom. Couple this with cautious buyers and an oversupply of cars in the New Zealand market, and you’ve got a perfect recipe for disaster.”

According to Independent Motor Vehicle Dealers Association chief executive David Vinsen, the used-car market is “slow and slowing”.

Land Transport NZ figures show new-car registrations for 2008’s first quarter rose 3.6 per cent. Used imports fell 8.2 per cent. Comparing March 2008 to March 2007, sales from the public to dealers have dropped nearly 21 per cent, private sales are down by over 7 per cent, while sales from dealers to the public are down nearly 20 per cent.

Sales from dealer-to-dealer have fallen nearly 28 per cent, while registrations of used imports of have dropped nearly 18 per cent.

Mr Matthew-Wilson blamed a combination of factors.

“The economy is in decline, which has made buyers suddenly cautious,” he said. The new vehicles on sale were ordered during boom times, so there is now an oversupply.

“Although overall imports of Japanese secondhand vehicles are falling, a few dealers brought in vast numbers of vehicles in anticipation of tighter government controls on vehicle emissions,” Mr Matthew-Wilson said.

“There are now too many vehicles chasing too few buyers.”

The recession had also hit optimistic car buyers who had already bought expensive vehicles during the economic boom and were now suffering financial pressures as the downturn begins to bite.

Turners Auction general manager for marketing Todd Hunter said repossessed vehicles going to auction had risen 100 per cent in the year to March 2008, with 700 going under the hammer.

The Fairfax-owned online auction site Trade Me - now the dominant force in car sales - was the only retailer reporting growth, and increasing numbers of commercial car dealers were using the website to move stock.

In the twelve months to March 2008, about 170,000 vehicles were sold on Trade Me compared to 115,000 the previous year.

But Mr Matthew-Wilson said that despite more new cars and upmarket second-hand models being offered on Trade Me, the median price remained at around $11,000.

“This suggests that while volumes are up, prices continue to soften,” he said.

The second-largest auction house, Turners, did not reveal sales figures but said that lower prices had meant a major increase in bargain hunters on the auction floor.

According to Statistics New Zealand, it was a $41 million fall of 5.8 per cent in the value of car sales which sent the nation’s overall retail sales down in February. That followed falls of 0.6 per cent and 2.5 per cent in January and December.

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You may never get a date with Pamela Anderson, but now you can buy her used linens, old clothes and a chair she once sat in.Anderson is holding a weekend estate sale at a California home in Malibu, offering French country furniture, chandeliers, jewelry, antique toys, dirt bikes and other items.

They include a Chrysler electric car, according to an Internet flyer from Helping Hand Estate Sale Service, which is co-ordinating the sale.

The company set up a pink Web page detailing the sale and headlined with a cartoon blonde straddling the word “Pamela.”

The sale was scheduled through Sunday at a Malibu site that is not Anderson’s home. The notice didn’t indicate whether the former “Baywatch” star would be there.

It’s not the only spring cleaning for Anderson. Her brief marriage to Rick Salomon was annulled in March.

Used Cars for Sale at Ecarjunction.com

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Small cars were the big winners in April, as high gas prices accelerated U.S. consumers’ rush away from trucks and sport utility vehicles and makers of fuel-efficient models scored gains despite the weak economy.

General Motors, Ford and Chrysler all saw double-digit U.S. sales declines compared to last April. But Nissan’s sales were up 7 percent on the strength of its car sales, while Toyota’s sales edged up 3 percent. Honda’s sales figures were delayed because of a technical problem, but the automaker said April sales were likely to be up at least 6 percent.

Pickup sales have been falling for months because of the slowdown in housing construction, and the trend away from SUVs began several years ago as Baby Boomers aged and roomy but more fuel-efficient crossover vehicles gave consumers more choice. But automakers and industry watchers said gas prices are speeding the trend.

“At $3 a gallon, there’s a lot of discussion about the price of gasoline but not much change in behavior,” said Mike Jackson, chief executive of AutoNation Inc., the country’s largest auto retailer. “But in the mid-$3.50 range, with $4 on the horizon, there’s a lot of change in behavior.”

George Pipas, Ford’s top sales analyst, said retail — or non-fleet — sales of passenger cars exceeded trucks and sport utility vehicles combined for the first time in at least 20 years. Pipas said a full-size truck is on the list of the top ten vehicles being traded in for every small car in the industry.

“It’s such a new world for us, because as you well know, for the better part of the last two decades, we’ve been a truck and SUV company predominantly,” Pipas said. “So this requires a big shift in our culture, in our training and our thinking. Not only for Ford but our dealers.”

General Motors Corp. said its truck and SUV sales fell 27 percent, outweighing increases in car and crossover sales and the company’s best-ever month for hybrids. GM’s overall sales dropped 16 percent for the month compared with last April.

“Consumer preference is shifting, and we’re shifting with it,” said Mark LaNeve, GM’s vice president of North American sales. Sales of the automakers’ midsize Chevrolet Malibu shot up 40 percent, but the long-popular Chevrolet TrailBlazer SUV saw sales dip 73 percent.

GM said it produced 130,000 fewer vehicles in April due to an ongoing strike at supplier American Axle and Manufacturing Holdings Inc., which has affected 30 plants. LaNeve said the production cuts didn’t affect sales to individual customers because of the company’s large inventory of trucks and SUVs. But he said GM cut 15,000 sales to rental and commercial fleets in April because of the strike.

Ford Motor Co. said its SUV sales dropped 36 percent in April and its overall sales fell 12 percent. Car sales edged down just 1 percent, buoyed by a 44 percent increase in sales of the Ford Focus small car. The Focus gets 24 miles per gallon in the city and 33 on the highway. By comparison, Ford’s largest SUV, the Expedition, gets 12 miles per gallon in the city and 18 on the highway.

Toyota Motor Corp. said its car sales rose 12 percent, largely on the strength of the hybrid Prius, which was up 54 percent, and the subcompact Yaris, which saw sales rise 46 percent. Toyota’s truck and SUV sales dropped 8 percent.

“We continue to see that fuel efficiency will remain one of the top priorities for purchasing consumers,” said Bob Carter, general manager of Toyota’s U.S. division.

Chrysler LLC said sales fell 23 percent, with cars off 19 percent and truck and SUVs down 25 percent. Steven Landry, Chrysler’s executive vice president of North American sales, said that was partly due to a 33 percent drop in low-profit fleet sales. Landry said it’s clear some buyers are feeling the pinch of the weak economy.

“In some cases the customer is less concerned with the sheet metal and more concerned with getting the payment in line with what they can afford,” he said.

Nissan Motor Co., which agreed last month to build a small car for Chrysler in exchange for getting a pickup built by the U.S. automaker, said its car sales got a 20 percent boost thanks to redesigned versions of the Sentra and Altima sedans as well as the subcompact Versa. But Nissan’s truck sales fell 12 percent, led by plunging sales of the Armada SUV and Titan pickup, which both saw sales dive more than 55 percent.

Retail gas prices began April at $3.26 a gallon nationwide but crept up to $3.57 per gallon by the last week, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. They set a record on Wednesday, rising to a national average of nearly $3.62 a gallon.

Jackson, of AutoNation, said it will be interesting to see if the switch to smaller vehicles is permanent or if consumers return to larger vehicles once their initial shock at the pump has worn off and the economy improves. On Thursday, the major automakers said they believe conditions will improve in the second half of this year.

“We think we’re in the trough in the second quarter,” said Mike DiGiovanni, GM’s executive director of global markets and industry analysis.

GM shares dropped a penny to close at 23.19. Ford shares gained 22 cents to close at $8.48 and Toyota’s U.S. shares rose $1.57 to $103.07.

The Associated Press reports unadjusted figures, calculating the percentage change in the total number of vehicles sold in one month compared with the same month a year earlier. Some automakers report percentages adjusted for sales days. There were 26 sales days last month and 24 in April 2007.

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Sales of subcompact cars, compact cars and compact SUVs surged in March, according to industry analyst Dennis DesRosiers.

“A month where high gas prices dominated the headlines and these high prices were totally reflected in the vehicles consumers in Canada purchased,” DesRosiers said. “Subcompact cars were up 27.1 per cent, compact cars up 9.7 per cent, compact SUVs up 6.9 per cent all reflect the response to high gas prices. Meanwhile, large SUVs were down 27.6 per cent, luxury SUVs down 10.2 per cent, large vans down 25.2 per cent.

“Indeed, if you add together all the large and luxury and sporty models for the month, they were collectively down 16.3 per cent in a market that was essentially flat. All entry-level vehicles together were up 9.7 per cent for the month and are now up 16.4 per cent on the year. During March, if it wasn’t small, it didn’t sell well.”

The top ten best-selling passenger cars in Canada in March were, in order, the Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Toyota Yaris, Chevrolet Cobalt, Toyota Camry, Nissan Versa, Hyundai Accent, Pontiac G5 and Toyota Matrix.

The top ten year-to-date, in order, were in the Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Chevrolet Cobalt, Toyota Yaris, Pontiac G5, Toyota Camry, Hyundai Accent, Nissan Versa and Ford Focus.

The top ten best-selling light trucks in Canada in March were, in order, the Ford F-Series, Dodge Ram, Dodge Caravan, GMC Sierra, Chevrolet Silverado, Ford Escape, Ford Ranger, Honda CR-V, Chevrolet Uplander and Toyota RAV4.

The top ten year-to-date, in order, were the Ford F-Series, Dodge Caravan, Dodge Ram, GMC Sierra, Chevrolet Silverado, Ford Escape, Ford Ranger, Honda CR-V, Chevrolet Uplander and Toyota RAV4.

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