Chicago woman who used a stolen identity to buy a house and an SUV has been sentenced to eight years in prison.Thirty-seven-year-old Denise Williams was accused of stealing the personal information of a woman whose wallet was stolen during a trip to Chicago. Williams pleaded guilty to two counts of identity theft.

Cook County state’s attorney spokesman Andy Conklin says Williams was not accused of stealing the wallet, but she used its contents, including the victim’s Social Security card, to buy a $173,000 house and $24,000 SUV.

Conklin says it’s unclear how Williams obtained the wallet.

Authorities became aware of Williams’ activities after the mortgage company and the car dealership became suspicious and informed police.

Michael Beers pulled his 2001 Volkswagon Beetle into a long line at the car wash. The wait was about 20 minutes, but it was worth it to him, he said.

“I live on a rural road in Greene, and they use a lot of salt on our roads,” Beers said. “Too much salt, in my opinion. It makes a mess.”

His concern: rust.

And rightly so, says Joe Conaty, owner of Wash At Joe’s, 1431 Upper Front St., Town of Chenango, where Beers brings his car once a week in the winter. Rust is a big issue, and it comes about from the salt used on the roads during snowstorms. “Salt,” Conaty said, “is a car eater.”

It may make the roads safer, and reduce the ice and hazards that come from slipping and sliding while driving, but salt has another effect, too, Conaty said. “It eats your finish and once through paint it gets into the metal and continues from there.”

The corrosive action of the salt, is “winter’s worst hazard,” he said.

But salt isn’t the only hazard. Cars just need a little more love come winter, experts agree. The engine needs a different weight of oil, drivers will want to top off wiper fluid regularly — and don’t be surprised if vehicles need more than one set of wiper blades, too, the Car Care Council says. “Over 70 percent of motorists admit that they did not have their cars winterized in preparation for inclement weather,” according to a survey they conducted. “Winter only magnifies existing problems like pings, hard starts or sluggish performance, so make certain the engine is in peak condition.”

Getting a regular wash is important this time of year to remove the mud and sludge, in addition to the salt.

“A frequent wash will remove the salt, especially underneath where it can get caked on, on the undercarriage,” Conaty said.

Some car washes offer special undercarriage cleaning, which can be very helpful for removing salt you may not realize is even there.

Laser washing, on the other hand, offers “touch-free technology” that avoids any kind of contact with brushes or friction that might cause or accelerate the paint corrosion that can be such a problem in winter.

Conaty also suggested that vehicle owners maintain car exteriors with a good wax job a couple times of year, “to keep the finish looking its best.”

The line at Joe’s was similar to the lines at every car wash in Greater Binghamton last week, due to the spring-like weather conditions. “We might get 200 cars a day on days like that,” Conaty said. “As long as it is dry out, people tend to want to get the salt off as quickly as possible, and sunny or mild weather certainly brings them out in forces.”

It brought out Alicia Smith of Chenango Bridge, another person who lives on a muddy road and worries about salt on her SUV. “I come once a week in winter,” she said.

So does Bob Prambo, also of Chenango Bridge, who brought in his Dodge 4×4 pick-up for a wash: “I am here for one reason, but it is important: to get that salt off.”

Mercedes-Benz seems to be riding high in the automotive industry. The Daimler AG has announced that its Mercedes-Benz Cars division recorded a two percent increased sales of Mercedes-Benz, AMG, Maybach, and smart passenger vehicles worldwide in 2007. With sales totaling 1,285,900 vehicles as against the 1,260,600 units sold in 2006, the company said the division had set a new sales record with a two percent growth.

According to Dr. Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of Daimler AG and head of Mercedes-Benz Cars, the current models in the Mercedes-Benz stable drew appreciable response from its customers in 2007. “Our current models are drawing a very positive customer response. In 2007 we succeeded in laying the groundwork for sustainable, profitable growth, particularly with the market launches of the new Mercedes-Benz C-Class and the new smart fortwo. The basis for achieving the sales record was the most successful year in the history of the Mercedes-Benz brand: worldwide sales of passenger vehicles were up more than three percent, reaching a record 1,185,300 units as against 1,148,500 in 2006. Thus, Mercedes-Benz registered even stronger growth in 2007 than the global automobile market overall,” he said.

He explained that despite increased competition, Mercedes-Benz was able to raise its market share in nearly all key regions. In the United States for instance, he said the brand posted figures that were markedly better than those of the overall market. He said passenger vehicle sales in the U.S. climbed two percent to a record 253,400 units against 248,100 sold in 2006, making 2007 the fourteenth year in a row that Mercedes-Benz would have succeeded in posting higher sales. He explained that the record-breaking demand for the new C-Class sedan and sport utility vehicle, SUV, models was a key factor for the stronger sales.

Mercedes-Benz also posted a sales record in the Asia/Pacific region: the brand delivered a total of 141,200 vehicles to customers, a 12 percent increase over the 126,200 units of 2006. This growth, he said was driven primarily by record-breaking sales in the luxury and upper-range segments and by the high increase in sales of the new C-Class and SUVs.

In Western Europe, he noted that Mercedes-Benz also achieved a new sales record, with 372,400 passenger vehicles sold, a three percent increase over 2006 sales of 361,200. Record-setting deliveries in Italy, France, and Spain played a key role in this success. “The positive development in Europe was possible thanks to Mercedes-Benz’s fuel-efficient models in the compact segment and the vehicles in the C-Class segment.

Mercedes-Benz’ success was especially evident on the key growth markets for the automotive industry. With 26,900 units sold and a growth of 53 percent, Mercedes-Benz’s rate of growth in China was more than twice as rapid as that of the premium market overall. Mercedes-Benz sales also were up sharply in Russia, where 15,300 customers purchased the brand’s passenger vehicles, a 65 percent increase on the previous year’s total. Deliveries of Mercedes-Benz vehicles in India in 2007 rose eight percent, to 2,600 units.

He disclosed that the C-Class sedan became the top-seller by mid-year and as such became the Mercedes-Benz worldwide leader in the luxury segment. He explained that within the year, sales of the sedan rose by 57 percent to 261,500 units. C-Class segment overall increased by 16 percent, with 386,500 vehicles sold. “Mercedes-Benz expects to post even higher sales with the introduction of the new C-Class station wagon, which has been gradually launched in individual markets since December 2007 and which has met with excellent customer response,” he said in expectation of higher sales in 2008.

Meanwhile, the company said its C-Class had passed the European New Car Assessment Programme. NCAP, crash tests with flying colours. The company said the Saloon car was awarded five stars and was described by the Euro-NCAP organisation as one of the safest cars available in the market.

The company stated that the result confirmed that the C-Class safety concept, which was based on the analysis of real-life accidents, also performed extremely well in standardized rating crash tests. “With seven airbags, seat-belt tensioners, belt-force limiters and neck pro crash-responsive head restraints fitted as standard, the Saloon offers its occupants an extremely high level of protection should an accident occur. The body structure has been designed to ensure that, in the event of a frontal collision, the impact forces are distributed over a wide area and on four independently acting impact levels, meaning that the passenger cell remains largely unscathed,” the company analyzed.

It pointed out that around 70 percent of all the bodywork panels were made from state-of-the-art, high-strength steel alloys that minimize weight and maximize safety. These steel grades, the company explained, would also play a key role in protecting the occupants in the event of a side impact. It disclosed that the quadruple-skinned B-pillars and the side members, which absorb the bulk of any side-impact forces and channel these forces into the body structure, were made partially from ultra-high-strength, hot-formed high-tech steel.

“The C-Class safety systems are based on a tried-and-trusted Mercedes concept that takes a holistic approach towards passenger-car safety, with the emphasis firmly on accident avoidance and anticipatory occupant protection.

Standard-fit systems such as ESP and Brake Assist aid drivers at critical moments and help them to remain fully in control should a dangerous situation arise. Accident statistics show that the number of accidents caused by skidding and head-to-tail collisions with serious consequences is reduced significantly if these Mercedes technologies are on board. In addition, Brake Assist also helps to reduce the number of accidents involving pedestrians,” the company asserted. The company said the C-Class was the only car in the world in this market segment to feature an anticipatory occupant protection system in the shape of Pre-Safe.

The retail price of Hyundai Motor Co.’s new Genesis luxury sedan will be higher than that of BMW AG’s 3-Series in the United States, an executive of the South Korean carmaker said Monday. Last week, Hyundai Motor launched the Genesis in South Korea, its first foray in the high-end segment to compete with BMW’s 5-Series, Daimler AG’s Mercedes-Benz E-Class and Toyota Motor Corp.’s Lexus GS.

Hyundai Motor hasn’t yet set a price range for the new model, which will be available for sale in the U.S. in June.

In South Korea, the Genesis is selling at a price of between 40.5 million won (US$43,150) and 53.8 million won, depending on accessories and engine types.

“The prices will be set around April, but they will be higher than those of BMW’s 3-Series,” said Lee Hyun-soon, president of Hyundai Motor’s R&D division, on the sidelines of an auto industry fair here.

The Genesis with a 4.6-liter engine will retail at a price higher than that of BMW’s 5-Series, Lee said.

The Genesis is Hyundai Motor’s first luxury model, aimed at shaking off its image as a producer of cheap first cars.

Launching the new model in South Korea, Hyundai Motor said it expects to sell 55,000 of the vehicles this year, 35,000 at home and 20,000 overseas in the U.S.

Some analysts, however, remain skeptical over Hyundai Motor’s move into the luxury market, citing an expected decline in U.S. auto sales this year because of sluggish demand on the back of higher oil prices and rising defaults on subprime mortgage loans.