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"  GM Yanks Kiddie &amp;#039;Vette Ads   Olympics viewers will recall a Chevrolet TV commercial which shows a boy&amp;#039;s daydream of racing a through downtown streets to the tune of the Rolling Stones &amp;quot;Jumpin&amp;#039; Jack Flash.&amp;quot; It&amp;#039;s just a memory now.   The ad, which was directed by singer Madonna&amp;#039;s husband Guy Ritchie, was instantly reviled by a number of safety groups, including Consumers Union and the Center for Auto Safety, as &amp;quot;the most dangerous&amp;quot; spot they have seen in recent years, according to press reports.   The safety groups said in a letter to GM that the spot could encourage children to take their parents&amp;#039; cars for a drive, Reuters reported.   &amp;quot;This ad is certainly among the most dangerous, anti-safety messages to be aired on national television in recent years,&amp;quot; leaders of seven auto safety groups said in a joint letter sent to GM Chairman and Chief Executive Rick Wagoner. &amp;quot;It is doubtful that General Motors would condone the beer industry showing a &amp;quot;dream sequence&amp;quot; of 10-year-old children having an after-school &amp;#039;kegger&amp;#039;,&amp;quot; the letter said.   Even though the ad does include a disclaimer that drivers should operate the vehicle safely and must have a license, GM will stop airing the spot, GM spokesman Joe Jacuzzi said.   &amp;quot;We decided to pull it due to responses and feedback we received,&amp;quot; Jacuzzi said. &amp;quot;It&amp;#039;s a big ad, and it&amp;#039;s been airing for a while, but we&amp;#039;ve got a whole campaign.&amp;quot;   Chrysler Running Short of Hemis   Chrysler said demand for its Hemi V-8 engines was outstripping supply, Reuters reported.   &amp;quot;What we see is a tremendous shortage of our Hemis,&amp;quot; Chrysler President and Chief Executive Dieter Zetsche said.   Chrysler had underestimated demand for the big 5.7-liter engine, which is available in Dodge pickups and sport-utility vehicles as well as the sedan and Dodge Magnum sport wagon.   &amp;quot;It&amp;#039;s a great problem to have,&amp;quot; Zetsche told reporters at a ceremony marking the production launch of an all-new 2005 Jeep Grand Cherokee SUV the 5.7-liter Hemi will be an option on this model and a Dodge Dakota pickup truck. Chrysler is also building an even more powerful 6.1-liter version of the popular engine.   To meet demand for the Hemis, Frank Ewasyshyn, Chrysler&amp;#039;s head of manufacturing, said the company was looking at expanding capacity at the plant in Saltillo, Mexico, where the engines are produced, the story said.   Ford Will Fix Focus Hot Seats   Ford said it will fix malfunctioning heated seats in some 2003 and 2004 model year cars fitted with heating pads that are not properly bonded to the lower seat foam, potentially leading to uneven seat heating, Reuters reported   About 33,000 Focus cars are involved, two-thirds of them in Canada.   &amp;quot;What can happen is it can become too hot,&amp;quot; a Ford spokesman said.   GM Slashes Hummer H2 Production   The once hot-selling sales have plunged by 26% of late, forcing General Motors to throttle back on production to keep the SUVs from backing up on dealer&amp;#039;s lots, the Detroit News reported.   GM has asked its partner in the Hummer venture, AM General Corp. which uses two shifts to build the H2 and the pickup truck version, the H2 SUT, at a plant in Mishawaka, Ind. to cut production by 1,000 vehicles through the end of the year, according to GM spokesman Pete Ternes. &amp;quot;It&amp;#039;s inventory control,&amp;quot; he told the News.   AM General uses two shifts to build the Hummers and the cutback will force one shift to be dropped. Affected workers will be transferred to a neighboring plant that builds the larger Hummer H1 and Humvee military vehicle, the story said. &amp;quot;Nobody&amp;#039;s losing any jobs,&amp;quot; said AM General spokesman Lee Woodward.   Honda Mulls Hybrid Truck   Honda is considering developing a fourth hybrid vehicle, a gasoline-electric light truck, the Detroit News reported.   &amp;quot;We haven&amp;#039;t defined yet which vehicle it will be, but it probably will be something in our light-truck line, probably on the SUV side,&amp;quot; said Tom Elliott, executive vice president of Honda Motor&amp;#039;s U.S. subsidiary.   Honda has several light trucks in its model range, including the Honda CR-V and Pilot SUVs, the Element and the Acura MDX SUV.   A hybrid light truck would help Honda keep pace with Toyota, which is ramping up production of hybrids and hopes to sell 300,000 such vehicles in 2005, the story said. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/a10340/gm-yanks-kiddie-vette-ads/>