Sep30
The program, which ends Wednesday, was one of the most high-profile efforts so far to bring new-car sales online. But the experience illustrates why car retailing, which involves peculiarities such as franchised dealers with exclusive territories and the tradition of haggling in person, makes an odd fit for the Web, where consumers expect to comparison shop for the lowest price.
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Sep29
With final dealer payments being processed under the enormously successful CARS program, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced today that the agency has crossed the finish line for paying back eligible and complete dealer submissions. “This is the final curtain call for a program that took the entire nation by storm and succeeded beyond expectations,” said Secretary LaHood. “There can be no doubt that this program drummed up more business, for more people, in more places...
Mazda Motor Corp., which lacks its own hybrid and electric drivetrains, today unveiled a new generation of fuel-efficient engines that it hopes will keep its models competitive in an age of high-tech green vehicles. Mazda will introduce the engines, to be known as the Sky series, in 2011 as part of a push to boost the average fuel economy of its fleet 30 percent by 2015 from 2008 levels. The engines will consume less fuel and deliver higher torque, as a result of Mazda's re...
Sep25
GMAC Financial Services is starting a new dealer rewards program after it canceled its benefits for “platinum” dealers a year earlier in an effort to stay in business. The program, called Ally Dealer Rewards, is more “holistic” than the Platinum offer, spokeswoman Sue Mallino said today. The program, similar to those offered by credit card companies and the travel industry, will give greater benefits to dealers as they reach different thresholds of participation with GMAC.
General Motors Co. could extend its offer of a 60-day, money-back guarantee for consumers when the marketing program expires at the end of November, GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz said today. "It's possibly renewable. We'll see what kind of experience we have," Lutz said in an interview on CNBC. Lutz said that GM expects "way under 1 percent," of consumers who buy new Cadillacs, Chevrolets, GMC or Buick vehicles will return them in the guarantee program. Two weeks ago GM launched an...
Sep23
Stimulus, indeed! Car dealers turned in 642,277 vouchers to the the Cash for Clunkers program, and they’ll get $2.7 billion from the government, according to the latest statistics. But the program, some consumer experts say, was poorly designed and executed, saddling dealers with risk; consumers with precious little protection; and taxpayers with the bills. For the $4,000-plus per car that taxpayers shelled out, “we could have gotten a lot more,” wrote Lisa Margonelli. a senior...
Sep22
Cash-For-Clunkers program Top 30 Sellers, Two pickups are among the top 10 new vehicles purchased under the cash-for-clunkers program, new government data show. That gives credence to claims that the incentive boosted truck sales as it promoted cars, which have better fuel efficiency. The Chevrolet Silverado ranked No. 8 among cash-for-clunkers purchases, and the Ford F-150 finished 10th.
CarMax Inc., the largest retailer of used cars in the United States, posted a higher quarterly profit, helped by improving customer traffic trends. "The government's CARS, or "cash for clunkers," program resulted in a spike in traffic in late July and August," CEO Tom Folliard said in a statement. CarMax, which saw traffic spike in late July and August, is an indirect beneficiary of the clunkers program that the government introduced earlier this year to boost new car sales.
Washington, DC -- Energy Secretary Steven Chu today announced a $528.7 million conditional loan for Fisker Automotive for the development of two lines of plug-in hybrids that will save hundreds of millions gallons of gasoline and offset millions of tons of greenhouse gas emissions by 2016. The project will result in approximately 5,000 jobs created or saved for domestic parts suppliers and thousands more to manufacture a plug-in hybrid in the U.S. Investment will save or create at...
Sep21
The U.S. Transportation Department says it has paid or approved $2.6 billion in cash-for-clunkers transactions, or 90 percent of the $2.9 billion submitted, as accelerated payments to dealers continue. A total of 534,598 claims for $2.3 billion were paid as of Sept. 18, said a posting today on the federal cars.gov Web site. An additional 76,775 submissions for $322.3 million have been approved but not paid yet.