Journal auto writer Peter Elsworth talks to Bob Masse, and tells you the secret to dropping off your car without getting your hair wet.

The story is on E1 of the Saturday Providence Journal Cars section.

By Paula Constantine, Providence Journal Cars Editor

It keeps popping up for a day or two at racing events or at independent theaters, then speeds out of town faster than the handsome and charismatic three-time world champion racer, who was killed at the San Marino Grand Prix in 1994 at age 34.

But you have a chance to catch the film this weekend at the Avon Cinema in Providence starting on Friday night. Be sure to call 421-avon or go to their website to check showtimes, but right now their website is listing 8:55 p.m. evening showings starting Friday, plus 4:10 afternoon matinees on Saturday and Sunday. The movie will be playing until Thursday, Oct 20.

The Avon is at 260 Thayer St. on Providence's East Side. There are many restaurants in the area, but parking is a nightmare, so come early.

Read a review of the movie that ran in the Providence Journal here.

"Senna"
Directed by Asif Kapadia
Rated PG-13
105 Minutes

"The Spark EV ... complements Chevrolet's growing range of electrified vehicles, including the Volt extended-range EV and the 2013 Malibu Eco with eAssist technology," said Jim Federico, global vehicle chief engineer for electric vehicles at Chevrolet, in a prepared news statement.

Feedback from participants in Chevrolet's electric vehicle demonstration fleets in Shanghai (Sail EV), Korea (Cruze EV) and India (Beat EV) are being incorporated into the Spark EV.

Further payments are expected to be made this week and by October 22, the company added.

Swedish Automobile didn't say how much the initial payment was, but a report in Swedish daily Dagens Industri, said Saab had received about $15 million.

The money will be used to pay wages at Saab when a government salary insurance scheme runs out, the paper said. The salary insurance plan started when the company received creditor protection in late September.

Not too long ago Dollar Thrifty found itself being pursued by both Hertz and Avis. But Avis took itself out of the bidding in mid-September, leaving Hertz as the lone bidder.

Dollar Thrifty said Tuesday that it had given suitors until Monday to submit their "best and final" offers. It said in August that it needed a bid that would pass antitrust muster.

But the rental car company from Tulsa, Okla., said it did not receive any proposals meeting this criteria, so it will continue to run as a stand-alone company.

A new spirit is heard in the euphoria for its professional sports teams: The Tigers are in the American League Championship Series, while the Lions are tied 5-0 with the Green Bay Packers for the best record in National Football League.

That spirit is celebrated in the Emmy-winning Super Bowl ad for the Chrysler 200 that touted the city's working-class roots. It's felt in the resurgence of the auto industry, which has seen sales rebound with new products and improved technology three years after almost collapsing.

"There's a tendency to think about Detroit as this Rust Belt, throwaway city," USA Today quotes Susan Mosey, president of Midtown Detroit Inc., whose group is offering financial incentives for people to move into the city. "All this has reframed that conversation. ... There is a moment in time for Detroit."

Who ever thought the words "imported from Detroit" -- tagline of the Super Bowl ad -- would be cool?

Dave Zuchowski, Hyundai's executive vice president of sales, said the dealers are investing a combined $358 million in the renovations.
Zuchowski estimates that about 150 more Hyundai exclusives still need major renovations.

"We think within two to three years our stores will have a very consistent look," he said.
The dealers currently making improvements account for nearly 40 percent of Hyundai's U.S. sales, Zuchowski said. A small number of dealers are erecting new facilities.

Exteriors are being renovated with outside wall coverings that look like brushed aluminum, a blue overhang that wraps the dealership and other design elements. Showroom changes include new lighting and Hyundai-branded displays.

Hyundai dealers can choose from the menu of exterior and showroom options to craft a renovation plan that fits an individual dealer's store and budget.

Tesla's plant, the former New United Motor Manufacturing joint venture between Toyota and General Motors, has been gutted and transformed with new robots and stamping equipment.

Tesla is ramping up with about 180 employees and eventually will have 500 people on the plastics line and 300 on the stamping line, said Gilbert Passin, vice president of manufacturing. Prototype parts assembly begins this month.

Work also is under way on a compact sedan, but that car is a few years away from production, Jaguar officials said.

One of Jaguar's disadvantages: Its main engine is the 5.0-liter V-8 used in all three models -- the XJ, XK and XF. New engines are in development but are unlikely to arrive for a few years.

Tata Motors of India, which bought Jaguar from Ford three years ago, is investing $2.45 billion combined annually in Jaguar and Land Rover over the next five years to develop new products, engines and production facilities.

Saab has run out of cash and for the restructuring process to proceed it needs to be able to pay wages after a state salary insurance scheme runs out on Oct. 21.

Should the administrator call an end to the restructuring process, the court would likely declare the company bankrupt.

Neither Saab nor the administrator could immediately be reached for comment.

A trial using the police trucks on some of Britain's busiest motorways has uncovered examples of truck drivers watching DVDs, using laptop computers and playing video games.

The worst case saw one trucker warming up food on a stove in his cab, police said. Another driver was pulled over after he was discovered holding a mobile phone in each hand and sending text messages on both of them.

One officer drives an unmarked truck cab while a second uses a hand-held video to capture truck drivers on film. If they are committing any offense, they are pulled over by a marked police car.

Officers hailed the police truck a success and forces are hoping to deploy them across the country. Trucks are involved in a disproportionate number of accidents because of the time they spend on the road.

The regulations, which take effect on Saturday, are not without limits, but they were welcomed by Cubans, most of whom have not been able to own cars for more than five decades.

The liberalizing of car sales was one of more than 300 reforms put forth by Castro and approved in April at a congress of the Communist Party, Cuba's only legal political party.

Previously, only automobiles that were in Cuba before the 1959 revolution could be freely bought and sold, which is why there are so many 1950s or older cars, most of them American-made, rumbling through Cuban streets.

There are also many Soviet-made cars, dating from the era when the Soviet Union was the island's biggest ally and benefactor. They have been available for those with government permission, including assorted officials, athletes, artists and doctors returning from service overseas.

The new regulations will only allow Cubans with government permission and foreign residents to import cars, while all others will be limited to autos already on the island.

Ford and the UAW negotiators agreed on the deal early Tuesday. Under the contract, Ford also pledged to hire 5,750 new U.S. workers and invest $4.8 billion in its factories.

The signing bonus will be paid if Ford workers ratify the agreement. Votes are expected to take place next week.

The Jeep will be smaller than the brand's current entry SUVs, the Patriot and Compass.

The model will be produced in Fiat's home plant of Mirafiori in Turin, alongside a similar vehicle for Fiat brand that will replace the Sedici and an Alfa Romeo subcompact car for sale in Europe and North America.

Fiat, which owns 53 percent of Chrysler, had initially planned to build in Mirafiori the replacement for the Jeep Compass and Patriot and an Alfa SUV that would have shared systems and components with the Jeep model.

The order for the month of September totaled 132 giving the program almost 5100 plate sets to date.

The program has now raised over $100,000 for the iconic historic structure as the Friends continue to raise funds for the continuing maintenance of the lighthouse.

Money from plate sales has already paid for a $50,000 repainting project during the summer of 2010, and this past summer additional maintenance work was completed in a job that cost over $4000.

The Friends are also announcing today that the deadline for Rhode Islanders wishing to purchase the PBL Lighthouse License plate as Christmas gifts have until October 31 to get their orders in.

The plates take about four to six weeks to be made by the state prison print shop and this month's order is the last that can guarantee delivery in time for the holidays.

For more information about the lighthouse, visit www.plumbeachlighthouse.org
For more information and to order plates, visit www.pblplate.org