Otis Raring of Austin, Texas, went shopping for a minivan on Cars.com and found a 2008 Honda Odyssey Touring with only 2,600 miles on it at a dealership in Riverhead, N.Y. This already sounded like a great deal before the salesman said that the minivan had just been returned on a two-year lease by Jerry Seinfeld.

For anyone who doesn’t see the absolute majesty of this story, there is a classic episode of “Seinfeld” in which George Costanza buys an ’83 Chrysler LeBaron Town & Country because he thinks it used to belong to actor Jon Voight. (Turns out it belonged to a dentist named John Voight.)

Despite living in Texas, the barely used Odyssey was too good a deal to pass up for Raring — whether it was owned by Jerry Seinfeld or Gerri Seinfeld.

So he flew out to New York and used uShip.com to cut down on his traveling expenses. Through the site, Raring hooked up with a couple of people and agreed to transport a few items on his road trip back for money. We’ve heard many stories of users flying to pick up a car, but this is the first one mentioning this creative way to help offset the cost.

As icing on the cake and proof that it was once Seinfeld’s car, the GPS unit had the comedian’s Hamptons address still programmed in.

For the record, Cars.com does not claim it can find more celebrity minivans, though we hear Ted Danson’s Sienna may still have a lightly chewed pencil in the glove compartment.

From New York to Texas, a Seinfeld Odyssey (Wheels)

Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood and others attribute the drop in deaths to the recession and folks driving less. But because the rate is also lower, it’s likely that safety improvements to new cars are another reason. Others have pointed to safety campaigns for wearing seat belts and drunken driving prevention as well.
 
Traffic deaths at lowest level since '54 (Detroit News)

This represents a bump in price from last year’s model, which started at $80,790.

The price range for the competition is vast because base models can start relatively low but skyrocket when you start adding goodies. For instance, the 2010 Porsche 911 starts at $77,800, but the price climbs rapidly once you start moving up the trim levels.

The 2010 Chevy Corvette Z06 has a starting MSRP of $74,285, but it can hit north of $100,000 just as easily as the GT-R or 911.

The 2011 Nissan GT-R can be found at select Nissan dealers.

The settlement over the E320, which Marquez bought in 2005 for $56,000, has ballooned because the lawsuit kept getting ruled on and overturned. In 2007, a judge ruled in Marquez's favor with an award of $202,000, but then an appeals court overturned the ruling and sided with Mercedes. Then, most recently, another judge overturned that verdict.

All the rulings have pumped up the settlement to nearly $500,000 with only $168,000 actually covering the cost of the car’s doubled purchase price plus interest.

Marquez said he’s not interested in buying another Mercedes. And with this settlement, he can probably start looking at a Bentley.

Mercedes-Benz Hit with Large ‘Lemon Law’ Judgment (Associated Press via The Consumerist)

Treasury wiped out the shareholders of those automakers and demanded detailed plans for how the companies would return to profitability; that was not the case for GMAC. Treasury also did not require an increase in consumer lending.

Chairwoman Elizabeth Warren of Harvard Law School said the Treasury Department should have taken GMAC into Chapter 11 bankruptcy to increase accountability and protect taxpayer investment.

GMAC and Treasury both insist the company is solvent and that GMAC will continue to lend money to auto dealers and consumers while paying back taxpayer dollars.

GMAC lost $8 billion in 2009 when its mortgage lending subsidiary ResCap imploded after pursuing a high degree of subprime mortgages and selling them in bundled securities.

Panel: Some Aid to GMAC Will Never Be Repaid (Detroit Free Press)

Starting Monday, March 15, through Friday, March 19, you need to have a computer or smartphone handy. Follow Jeep on Twitter, and each day Jeep will tweet a new Jeep-branded trivia question to followers. The first person to answer the question correctly will win a trip for two to the 2010 New York International Auto Show next month.

Then, on Thursday, April 1, all five winning contestants will have the opportunity to win the new Wrangler Islander by digging through a massive sandbox constructed specifically for the show. They’ll barrel through the sand until they find the “Golden Tiki,” which wins the new Islander.

To take part in the competition, start following @Jeep at www.twitter.com/Jeep.

Starting Monday, March 15, through Friday, March 19, you need to have a computer or smartphone handy. Follow Jeep on Twitter, and each day Jeep will tweet a new Jeep-branded trivia question to followers. The first person to answer the question correctly will win a trip for two to the 2010 New York International Auto Show next month.

Then, on Thursday, April 1, all five winning contestants will have the opportunity to win the new Wrangler Islander by digging through a massive sandbox constructed specifically for the show. They’ll barrel through the sand until they find the “Golden Tiki,” which wins the new Islander.

To take part in the competition, start following @Jeep at www.twitter.com/Jeep.

This week’s news of two Toyota Prius hybrids experiencing alleged sudden acceleration has reminded us that Toyota hasn’t tackled every car it has recalled. To date, Toyota says of the 5.7 million vehicles included in the various recalls, more than 1 million have been repaired.

The 5.7 million figure is the total vehicles affected by the recalls and not the total number of recalls issued; nearly 1.7 million vehicles overlap between the two accelerator-related recalls. It also includes the nearly 150,000 Prius and Lexus HS 250h hybrid recalls due to faulty brakes. Toyota was not able to provide a breakdown of each recall's repair rate.

Toyota spokesman Bryan Lyons says that while the first recall over floormat entrapment was issued in early November, the company only started to implement fixes in January, and it views completing more than a million recall-related repairs in the past two months as “phenomenal numbers.”

Lyons did say that the fixes for the Prius and the other models in the first floormat recall will be developed and implemented throughout 2010.

So far, only the 2007-10 Toyota Camry, the 2005-10 Toyota Avalon and the 2007-10 Lexus ES 350 have a solution devised and are being worked on at dealerships. Lyons says that makes up 50% of owners involved in the floormat recall, which was for 5.3 million vehicles. Meaning, even if every repair to date were for just those three specific models that would leave roughly 1.5 million owners, who are able to receive repairs, without them. Obviously, the number is much more than that. The other 50% of owners, which would be 2.6 million, still waiting on a fix to be even developed include:

• 2004-09 Prius
• 2005-10 Tacoma
• 2007-10 Tundra
• 2008-10 Highlander
• 2009-10 Corolla
• 2009-10 Venza
• 2009-10 Matrix
• 2009-10 Pontiac Vibe
• 2006-10 Lexus IS 250 and IS 350

The more recent recall over sticky accelerator pedals included 2.3 million vehicles and does have a fix. However, even if the more than 1 million repairs made were for this specific recall that leaves more than half of the recalled vehicles without the new shim. If you’re one of the owners of the vehicles below, you should contact your Toyota dealer immediately to schedule service.

• 2009-10 RAV4
• 2009-10 Corolla
• 2009-10 Matrix
• 2005-10 Avalon
• Certain 2007-10 Camry models
• 2010 Highlander
• 2007-10 Tundra
• 2008-10 Sequoia
• 2009-10 Pontiac Vibe

This week’s news of two Toyota Prius hybrids experiencing alleged sudden acceleration has reminded us that Toyota hasn’t tackled every car it has recalled. To date, Toyota says of the 5.7 million vehicles included in the various recalls, more than 1 million have been repaired.

The 5.7 million figure is the total vehicles affected by the recalls and not the total number of recalls issued; nearly 1.7 million vehicles overlap between the two accelerator-related recalls. It also includes the nearly 150,000 Prius and Lexus HS 250h hybrid recalls due to faulty brakes. Toyota was not able to provide a breakdown of each recall's repair rate.

Toyota spokesman Bryan Lyons says that while the first recall over floormat entrapment was issued in early November, the company only started to implement fixes in January, and it views completing more than a million recall-related repairs in the past two months as “phenomenal numbers.”

Lyons did say that the fixes for the Prius and the other models in the first floormat recall will be developed and implemented throughout 2010.

So far, only the 2007-10 Toyota Camry, the 2005-10 Toyota Avalon and the 2007-10 Lexus ES 350 have a solution devised and are being worked on at dealerships. Lyons says that makes up 50% of owners involved in the floormat recall, which was for 5.3 million vehicles. Meaning, even if every repair to date were for just those three specific models that would leave roughly 1.5 million owners, who are able to receive repairs, without them. Obviously, the number is much more than that. The other 50% of owners, which would be 2.6 million, still waiting on a fix to be even developed include:

• 2004-09 Prius
• 2005-10 Tacoma
• 2007-10 Tundra
• 2008-10 Highlander
• 2009-10 Corolla
• 2009-10 Venza
• 2009-10 Matrix
• 2009-10 Pontiac Vibe
• 2006-10 Lexus IS 250 and IS 350

The more recent recall over sticky accelerator pedals included 2.3 million vehicles and does have a fix. However, even if the more than 1 million repairs made were for this specific recall that leaves more than half of the recalled vehicles without the new shim. If you’re one of the owners of the vehicles below, you should contact your Toyota dealer immediately to schedule service.

• 2009-10 RAV4
• 2009-10 Corolla
• 2009-10 Matrix
• 2005-10 Avalon
• Certain 2007-10 Camry models
• 2010 Highlander
• 2007-10 Tundra
• 2008-10 Sequoia
• 2009-10 Pontiac Vibe

Chrysler has restarted discussions with Cummins to continue development of an all-new light-duty diesel engine for Ram pickup trucks.

“We’re in discussions with Cummins,” said Joe Veltri, Chrysler vice president of product planning, at the 2010 NTEA Work Truck Show. “There’s no contract [with Cummins] but [a light-duty diesel] is in our plan.”

Chrysler’s light-duty diesel program — rumored to be a 5.0-liter V-8 — has a complex past. In January 2009, we were told the program was postponed until at least 2011. Then in June 2009, a light-duty diesel engine development and manufacturing contract with Cummins was voided as part of Chrysler's Chapter 11 bankruptcy restructuring.

Under Chapter 11, Chrysler's assets and liabilities were assigned to two entities: Old Chrysler and New Chrysler. Fiat, which merged with New Chrysler after that portion of the company emerged from bankruptcy and became today’s Chrysler Group LLC, did not assume the light-duty diesel contract, leaving it with the Old Chrysler.

But things appear to be getting back on track.

Veltri said the new oil burner could find a home in both light- and heavy-duty Ram pickups. Cummins has been supplying its diesel engines for Dodge Ram heavy-duty pickups since 1989. Today’s Ram HD Cummins diesel is a 6.7-liter six-cylinder.

“Think about, ‘Could I also put it into a three-quarter-ton truck? Does every guy need a 6.7-liter diesel?’ It could certainly package in a heavy duty,” Veltri said.

Smaller displacement would mean better fuel economy in both light- and heavy-duty applications, Veltri said.

Chrysler would be unique in the full-size truck segment if it can deliver a light-duty diesel for its customers. GM, Ford and Toyota have indefinitely postponed development of similar programs, citing high engine costs and gasoline engine alternatives.

Veltri agrees that pricing is a challenge, but truck buyers are very familiar with diesel engines.

“The customer really understands diesel technology. The challenge is cost,” Veltri said. “You need to be able to demonstrate to the customer that there’s a benefit. If I can demonstrate lower maintenance costs and [higher] resale value, I can demonstrate a business case. You’re paying for [the diesel] up front. You’re not going to get it back until you sell it.”

A light-duty diesel could also be a quick way for Chrysler to develop fuel-efficient full-size pickups in time to meet aggressive new fuel economy standards that will be phased in between now and 2016. Diesels are up to 30 percent more efficient than gas engines.