Pontiac

An Ellicott City man has been charged with numerous traffic violations stemming from a three-car collision in Baltimore County on Thanksgiving night that killed a 62-year-old woman, police said. Rakhmat Shuhrat Yusupov, 26, was driving a 1999 BMW on Reisterstown Road about 10:05 p.m., said Bill Toohey, a county police spokesman. The BMW, heading south, rear-ended a 1994 Crown Victoria that had just made a right onto Reisterstown Road from Greenspring Valley Road, Toohey said. The Victoria spun counterclockwise into the path of a Pontiac Bonneville heading north.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- It was just a little game of chess."He moves, I move, he moves, they move," said Dale Earnhardt, after he and Bobby Labonte had won the two Gatorade 125-mile qualifying races that determine the starting lineup for Sunday's 41st Daytona 500.Earnhardt won for an unprecedented 10th straight time and will start fourth Sunday, in the same spot he did a year ago, when he went on to win the 500 for the first time in 20 tries."

A woman was killed and four children and a man were injured Saturday when two vehicles collided at an intersection in Largo, said Prince George's County police.Police said Adediwura Odu- tayo-Okanlawon, 38, of Bowie was driving a 1987 Mitsubishi van south on Harry S. Truman Drive about 6: 30 p.m. when it collided with a 1999 Pontiac Grand Am traveling west on Prince Place.The van overturned and Odutayo-Okanlawon, who suffered extensive injuries, was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.

A Westminster man was being held yesterday at the county jail in lieu of $50,000 bail after he was arrested on charges of breaking into a garage and stealing $23,000 hidden in an ammunition box.Michael P. Manner, 30, of the 100 block of Pennsylvania Ave. was arrested Saturday and charged with second-degree burglary and theft over $300. The theft occurred in September in the 100 block of Carroll St. in Westminster.In charging documents, police said they received an anonymous tip in November that linked Manner to a blue Pontiac.

DETROIT -- General Motors Corp. said yesterday that it plans to consolidate its North American sales unit and cut several hundred jobs in an attempt to reduce costs and become more competitive.The company expects to save as much as $300 million annually by cutting as much as 20 percent of the staff of about 5,000 by January. It also will reduce the role of executives at its Chevrolet, Pontiac-GMC, Buick and Oldsmobile divisions.The move is the latest by marketing chief Ronald Zarrella to speed decision-making as the company's U.S. market share, which has fallen to 31 percent this year from 45 percent in the 1970s, continues to decline.

Automotive history was made here this week when the principals of a holding company signed an agreement with General Motors Corp. to acquire three Pontiac dealerships in the Baltimore area. "When we signed the papers on Monday, it was the first time, other than with Saturn, that GM has allowed a dealer to have more than one store selling the same brand in a marketing area," Tony March, co-president of March/Hodge Holding Co., said yesterday.The holding company acquired the former Admiral Pontiac and a GMC truck dealership in Glen Burnie, the former O'Donnell Pontiac in Ellicott City and the former Columbia Pontiac Buick GMC.The four outlets had previously been acquired by GM, which had already combined the Glen Burnie dealerships.

One of two men in a stolen car that crashed into a parked truck while attempting to elude a Baltimore County police car died yesterday, police said.Carl A. Pitts, 24, of the 1900 block of N. Payson St., the driver of the stolen car, died at Maryland Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore, police said.Police said the other man was released from Sinai Hospital after treatment for injuries and was being held last night at the White Marsh Precinct pending charges.The incident began on Monday, according to police spokesman Bill Toohey, when a resident of the 2900 block of Linganore Ave. in Parkville reported the theft of a bulldog valued at $1,000.

County police arrested seven people and seized about 3 ounces of marijuana, a vehicle and $1,610 in a daylong prostitution sting in the 4900 block of Ritchie Highway in Brooklyn Park Tuesday.Police said they staked out the area from 9: 30 a.m. to 11 p.m. after receiving complaints from residents.Arrested on charges of solicitation were: Wynne Hardaway, 50, of in Baltimore; Michael Dale Myrick, 40, of the 1900 block of Oakley Road in Glen Burnie; Mark Leroy Grim, 38, of the 4400 block of Eldone Road in Baltimore; Dyna Nam, 30, of Newport News, Va.; Michael S. Haskas, 51, of Tarpon Springs, Fla.; Gigi Christine Weeks, 25, of the 1300 block of Pontiac Ave. in Baltimore; and Michael Anthony Song, 20, of the 7400 block of Hawkins Drive in Hanover.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Indy Racing League champion Tony Stewart pulled the No. 1 starting position for tomorrow's International Race of Champions, and then rambled through his long schedule, showing how popular he has become."

LineupPos., Car, No., Driver, Hometown, Car, Qualifying time31, Mike Skinner , Susanville, Calif., Chevrolet, 189.8132. 41, Steve Grissom, Gadsden, Ala., Chevrolet, 188.31888, Dale Jarrett, Hickory, N.C., Ford4. 3, Dale Earnhardt, Kannapolis, N.C., Chevrolet5. 28, Ernie Irvan, Modesto, Calif., Ford6. 24, Jeff Gordon, Pittsboro, Ind., Chevrolet7. 23, Jimmy Spencer, Berwick, Pa., Ford8. 94, Bill Elliott, Dawsonville, Ga., Ford9. 4, Sterling Marlin, Columbia, Tenn., Chevrolet10. 33, Ken Schrader, Fenton, Mo., ChevroletvTC 11. 6, Mark Martin, Batesville, Ark., Ford12.

This month, beleaguered General Motors announced that after 83 years, it was finally eliminating its Pontiac division in hopes of averting bankruptcy. This news catapulted me back to another time, when Pontiacs were Kings of the Road. I was also awash in Pontiac nostalgia because the first family car I really remember was a Pontiac. With the outbreak of World War II, automakers ceased production. With the return of peace, Americans were eager to take to the highways once again . The pent-up desire was fueled by cheap gas, big postwar salaries, and a desire to drive the fastest and most stylish models Detroit could provide.

Before I headed to my first real - i.e., paying - newspaper job years ago, my parents bought me a used car. I can still remember getting behind the wheel, giddy and exhilarated to be on the road and starting the life I always envisioned for myself as a big-city reporter. It was a Pontiac, and I was driving to Detroit. I thought about that car this week for the first time in years, when the news came that the once-mighty and now-faltering General Motors was killing its Pontiac line, unloading it along with thousands of employees and hundreds of dealerships in a desperate attempt to stave off bankruptcy.

3 men shot, one fatally, on West Preston Street Three men were shot last night, one fatally, in the 500 block of W. Preston St. by an unknown gunman, Baltimore police said. All three victims were taken to Maryland Shock Trauma Center, police said. A man who was shot in the head died shortly after arriving at the hospital, while another man was in critical condition late last night, police said. The third victim was in good condition and was expected to survive. About 9:30 p.m., police said, the men were walking along a footpath between Samuel Coleridge-Taylor Elementary School and an apartment building when they were approached by someone who opened fire and ran. Police do not have any suspects.

April is a propulsive force in the north. Snow melts and the flotsam of spring appears: a child's mitten in the mud, a soap bubble ring; the lilac bushes bud, a light haze of green shows in the tops of trees. The cry of the lawn mower is heard. Mating begins, females ruffling their tail feathers, young males biting the alpha male in the rump to drive him off. And soon, suddenly, all of nature will open up, leaf out, burgeon, thrive and prosper. And then in the midst of it comes the anniversary of the massacre at Virginia Tech, with "survivors" talking on NPR about their pain and the healing process and how vulnerable they feel and how their lives have been affected.

An Ellicott City man has been charged with numerous traffic violations stemming from a three-car collision in Baltimore County on Thanksgiving night that killed a 62-year-old woman, police said. Rakhmat Shuhrat Yusupov, 26, was driving a 1999 BMW on Reisterstown Road about 10:05 p.m., said Bill Toohey, a county police spokesman. The BMW, heading south, rear-ended a 1994 Crown Victoria that had just made a right onto Reisterstown Road from Greenspring Valley Road, Toohey said. The Victoria spun counterclockwise into the path of a Pontiac Bonneville heading north.

New Year's parties at 2 public libraries The Abingdon and Joppa branches of Harford County Public Library will have parties Friday from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. for middle and high school students to celebrate the new year. Activities will include flashlight limbo, board games, and Beat the Clock. At the Abingdon branch, teens can watch a movie; at the Joppa branch, the library's Xbox game system will be available. Snacks will be provided. To register: Abingdon, 410- 638-3990; Joppa, 410-612-1660.

Arc holding raffle to support clients The Arc Northern Chesapeake Region is conducting a raffle of a new Pontiac Solstice with proceeds to support people with developmental disabilities who receive services from The Arc. The tickets are $25 each or five tickets for $100. The winning ticket will be drawn March 4 at the Arc's "After dArc" event, which will be held at the Maryland Golf and Country Clubs in Bel Air. The event will feature American and international cuisine served by celebrity chefs, music and dancing, a martini bar, wine tasting and live and silent auctions.

DETROIT - Facing its worst financial outlook in more than a decade, General Motors outlined a new product development and sales strategy this week, saying that from now on Chevrolet and Cadillac would be the company's only brands to offer a full lineup of vehicles. That means GM's other six brands in the United States will focus on a narrower selection of segments. GMC and Hummer will continue to sell trucks while Pontiac, Saab and Saturn will focus mostly on cars and smaller SUVs, with Buick offering some of both.

YOU CAN expect to hear some complaining out of Jacksonville, Fla., this week. The football press and football fans always expect a tropical Super Bowl, whatever the geography of the host city. Wait until they figure out that Jacksonville is more Georgia than it is Florida. And it isn't the least bit Miami. Temperatures might not get out of the 40s and 50s all week. But Jacksonville isn't Philadelphia in January. And it certainly isn't New England. And it isn't Detroit in the dead of winter, either.

On January 29, 2004, AUDREY K. LUCAS (nee Nicholson); beloved wife of the late James M. Lucas, Sr.; devoted mother of Diane Nash and the Rev. James M. Lucas, Jr. and wife Donna. Also survived by six grandchildren, Carrie Frias, Brandan Nash, Tabitha and Jessica Lucas, Jonathan and David Maurath and great-granddaughter Emily Frias. A Memorial Service will be held at Brooklyn United Methodist Church, 401 Pontiac Avenue, Brooklyn, MD 21225, on Wednesday, February 4, at 3 P.M. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Brooklyn U.M.C.