Nov20
New Ford M-Sport Fiesta S2000, Lee Noble Launches Fenix Automotive, New Lamborghini M-Sport reveals their new Ford Fiesta S2000 Rally Car, Fenix Automotive -- a new company founded by Lee Noble, looks to be developing their first car. Also, some Lamborghini rumors in the Internet Rumor Mill, and Commenter of the Week. Hosted by Derek DeAngelis.
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Ford Motor Co. plans to invest 2 billion reais ($1.15 billion) in Brazil through 2015, most of it on a plant in the northeastern Bahia state, to expand production and benefit from expected growth in Latin America's largest economy, the state governor said on today. As part of the investment plan, which will be officially unveiled in a ceremony with President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva later today, Brazil's government will extend state and federal tax breaks to Ford, Bahia state...
Nov19
Porsche puts out another track-car, the 911 GT3 R. Volkswagen has closed a 3-week-long hiring period with great success. Also, the Internet Rumor Mill has a bunch of goodies. Toyota-Subaru's partnership has some more news info on the FT-86 Concept, and could Ferrari be working on a GTO version of the 599GTB? That's all today, plus Shakedown with Leo Parente. Hosted by Derek DeAngelis.
Forecaster J.D. Power & Associates said today that it expected U.S. auto industry sales to increase slightly on an adjusted basis in November from a year earlier due to stable retail sales and growth in fleet sales. U.S. auto sales are expected to grow by 0.4 percent in November when taking into account two fewer selling days this year than last year, J.D. Power said. The seasonally adjusted annualized rate of sales, a key measure for economists, is expected to rise to 10.2 million...
Nov18
Shoppers looking to buy the safest 2010-model cars will have 67 fewer choices this year than they did in 2009. That's because the test for safety ratings got a lot tougher. A new roof-strength requirement aimed at protecting passengers in rollover crashes cut the number of top-rated vehicles to 27 for the 2010 model year, compared with 94 in 2009. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety added the roof test to the already-rigorous tests it uses to address increasingly specific...
Nov17
Ford Motor Co. stock today reached a new two-year high after disclosures that billionaire investor George Soros' hedge fund bought a 7.3 million-share stake in the automaker. Ford shares briefly hit the $9 mark this morning for the first time since October 2007. Ford shares closed the day at $8.98, up 27 cents or 3.1 percent on heavy volume. According to a regulatory filing on Monday, Soros Fund Management took the 7.3 million stake in Ford during the third quarter. The stake...
Nov16
LeaseTrader.com estimates that more than 50 percent of car lease shoppers today are not qualifying for a tier-1 lease price at a dealer with many turning to the secondary lease swap market for the right deal. Failing to qualify for tier-1 pricing because of a confusing credit threshold can end up costing consumers thousands over the life of a new lease.
General Motors Co. posted a $1.15 billion loss during the third quarter following its exit from bankruptcy and said reduced costs and stabilizing sales would allow it to begin repaying $6.7 billion in U.S. loans. "We have significantly more work to do, but today's results provide evidence of the solid foundation we're building for the new GM," CEO Fritz Henderson said in a statement. The "managerial net loss" was for the period from July 10, the day GM exited court protection, through...
Nov13
Two days after GM Chairman Ed Whitacre said the government should loosen its restrictions on executive pay for bailed-out companies, the White House pay czar signaled his willingness to raise salary caps for new hires. Kenneth Feinberg, the U.S. Treasury's special master for executive pay at the seven firms that have received taxpayer bailouts, last month ordered pay and bonuses cut in half on average for the top 25 earners at the companies. That included executives at General Motors...
Nov12
Porsche Automobile Holding SE's loss comes after the company failed in its bid to take over the much larger Volkswagen AG. A Porsche SE statement said the main factor in the loss was a write-down on cash settlement options to VW shares. The loss was also influenced by the "hidden reserves and liabilities" identified in the course of the purchase price allocation for the shareholding in VW, the company said.
Nov11
The new inflatable rear seat belt that debuts as an option on the 2011 Ford Explorer SUV is a collaboration between Ford Motor Co. and Key Safety Systems, a supplier of airbags, seat belts and other safety devices. Last week, when Ford announced the inflatable rear seat belts -- an industry first -- officials wouldn’t name the supplier. Ford engineers have been developing the system for eight years, trying several designs.
Nov10
GMAC Financial Services, which has received $12.5 billion in federal aid, is negotiating for a fresh infusion of taxpayer funds because it has not raised enough capital to survive a deepening recession, the Federal Reserve said. The auto lender is the only one of 10 large banks ordered in May to raise capital that had not met its goal, the Fed said Monday. "The one exception, GMAC, is expected to meet its remaining buffer need by accessing the TARP Automotive Industry Financing...
Texting while driving, which President Barack Obama banned for federal employees two weeks ago, is clearly hazardous. But other driving distractions -- such as putting on makeup -- are even more dangerous. At least that's the opinion of most of the 3,000 respondents to a survey by LeaseTrader.com, which manages auto lease transfers.
Nov05
Models On Their Way Out
* Jeep Patriot (end of 2012) * Jeep Compass (end of 2012) * Jeep Commander (end of 2010, may continue being sold internationally) * Chrysler PT Cruiser (end of 2010) * Dodge Dakota (mid 2011) * Dodge Caliber (mid 2012) * Dodge Viper (mid 2011, may return in 2012)
Nov04
Chrysler Group's new vehicles will be American on the outside with a lot of Fiat on the inside.In a wide-ranging presentation today, Chrysler executives unveiled a two-pronged strategy for the next five years. The U.S. automaker will rework many current vehicles next year while working on new vehicles with Fiat powertrains and platforms for the following few years. Chrysler's dismal U.S. sales in October -- down 30 percent, for a 22nd straight month of decline -- underscored the...
Nov03
Tomorrow, we'll get the official skinny from Chrysler on what the automaker's product plans are over the next few years. As the Fiat-directed new (and new again) Chrysler looks to break free from the shackles of mediocrity and reinvent itself, a filing at the U.S. Patent and Trademark office appears to confirm an Allpar report published earlier this month, showing the new winged logo that will presumably adorn cars coming from the Chrysler division.
Nov02
General Motor Co.'s U.S. sales rose for the first time in 21 months in October following analysts' forecasts of the strongest month this year not aided by government incentives.GM advanced 5 percent and Ford Motor Co. was up 3 percent. Among the biggest Japanese automakers, Nissan North America climbed 6 percent and Toyota Motor Sales gained less than 1 percent. Subaru, Daimler AG, and Porsche were all also up.
Ford Motor Co. posted a surprise net profit of $997 million in the third quarter and its cash position turned positive, reversing a long stretch of cash burn. Ford's pre-tax operating profit of $1.1 billion for the quarter marked its first quarter in the black on that basis since early 2008. The automaker ended the quarter with $23.8 billion in cash, up $2.8 billion from the end of the second quarter. Its North American unit posted a pre-tax operating profit of $357 million, for its...
Oct30
A total of 690,000 new vehicles were sold under the Cash for Clunkers program last summer, but only 125,000 of those were vehicles that would not have been sold anyway, according to an analysis released Wednesday by the automotive Web site Edmunds.com. Still, auto sales contributed heavily to the economy's expansion in the third quarter, adding 1.7 percentage points to the nation's gross domestic product growth.
Oct29
AutoNation Inc., the largest U.S. dealership group, posted its biggest profit of the year and said it would boost spending by 65 percent next year to update and buy stores.The net income of $65 million compares with a $1.4 billion net loss in the previous third quarter. “We are optimistic for the long-term prospects of the auto industry based on the successful restructuring of the domestic auto industry, the move to a demand-pull system and the rationalization of the dealer network...
Oct28
Airtime: Wed. Oct. 28 2009 | 4:40 AM ET
The auto sector has had a rocky road this year with falling demand and increased pressure to make greener vehicles. CNBC's Steve Sedgwick investigates the latest environmentally-friendly cars and Alessandro Vitelli from IDEAcarbon has analysis.
Chrysler's Dodge is slashing prices on its all-new heavy-duty Ram pickup trucks -- hacking almost $2,000 in the case of one model. 2010 Ram 2500 and 3500 Heavy Duty pickups will offer more features at a lower price, Chrysler says. Base prices will be $28,165 for regular cab models, $31,415 for crew cab models and $36,865 for Mega Cab models. All prices include $950 for destination.
New capital could range from $2.8 billion to $5.6 billion, according to report, GMAC, the former lending arm of General Motors Co., is in talks with the Treasury Department for a third injection of taxpayer aid, a further sign of the U.S. government's entrenchment in the U.S. auto industry. The Treasury Department mandated earlier this year that GMAC Financial Services raise an additional $11.5 billion in capital after undergoing a "stress test" along with 18 other banks. While...
Oct27
Ford Motor Co. has made the most progress in improving vehicle quality among major automakers, while Chrysler ranks at the bottom of the industry for reliability, according to an annual Consumer Reports survey released today. Asian automakers dominated the magazine's influential list of recommended vehicles, with Toyota Motor Corp.'s Scion ranked the top brand followed by Honda Motor Co.'s flagship brand. Toyota's flagship brand placed third.
Oct26
Former U.S. President George W. Bush urged the Obama administration to sell the government’s stakes in banks and carmakers “as quickly as possible,” arguing that only private companies can spark an economic rebound.Government “has got to get out of the private sector
What's in a name, you ask? A lot, especially when you're trying to increase market share against such storied brands as Aston Martin, Jaguar and Mercedes-Benz, to name just a few. Maserati took the wraps off its first proper four-seat convertible at last month's Frankfurt Motor Show. But while the open-air version of the GranTurismo coupe will be sold as the GranCabrio in
Oct23
it's tough sometimes shopping for car insurance when it seems like every auto insurance agent that tells you lies on how much auto insurance that you really need. You should go online and visit many auto insurance companies and fill out their application forms. This way you can guarantee yourself that you will get the best auto quote for your car.
Oct22
The National Automobile Dealers Association is trying to negotiate a deal between GMAC Financial Services and Chrysler Financial to help Chrysler dealers transfer their inventory credit lines to GMAC. Some Chrysler dealers are caught in a tug of war between the two finance companies over which lender should have priority over the dealership assets, said Forrest McConnell, chairman of the regulatory affairs committee for NADA, in a message to members. If the dispute isn't resolved...
Oct21
The first rule is to pay on time the minimum payment due (on or before due date) If you get in the mail new credit card offers that have: 0% APR for purchases for one year and 0% APR for balance transfers, take it. If not check online or go to any bank and ask about it. Transfer money from the credit cards that have smaller amounts (it will be ideal to result in 0 debts on one, two or even three credit cards). This will help you consolidate your credit cards and besides you will not...
Oct20
Until cars drive themselves and we absolutely can't get lost, automakers and sat nav companies are steadily enhancing the graphics of navigation systems to make it easier to find the next right turn. Navigation systems in Renaults, for instance, provide a graphic representation of buildings that you'll see as you drive along, and now Microsoft, working with researchers at the University of Konstanz in Germany
When two Visalia, Calif., police officers swung their cruisers behind a sport utility vehicle that had been carjacked at gunpoint early Sunday, they prepared for a dangerous high-speed chase.
The 2009 Chevrolet Tahoe roared away with officers in pursuit, but shortly after the suspect made a right turn, operators at General Motors Co.'s OnStar service sent a command that electronically disabled the gas pedal and the SUV gradually came to a halt.
The terms “hard pull” and “soft pull” or “hard credit check” and “soft credit check” often pop up when people talk about credit report, credit history, or credit inquiries. So what exactly are they and how do they affect credit scores? The following are what I have found out. What they are
Delegates to the UAW Ford Council, representing workers in UAW Ford facilities across the United States, voted overwhelmingly to recommend ratification of modifications to the 2007 UAW Ford labor agreement. “We appreciate the support of the UAW Ford Council for the work accomplished by our negotiating team during these discussions with Ford,” said UAW President Ron Gettelfinger. “This agreement is another step in meeting the challenges of a very difficult time in the U.S. auto...
Oct19
Everyone is talking about the dangers of texting while driving and even President Obama recently signed an executive order prohibiting federal workers from sending text messages while driving government vehicles. But are there other distractions more dangerous than texting while driving that have plagued people for years? LeaseTrader.com polled more than 3,000 drivers to ask men and women if there are more dangerous driving distractions. Texting while driving is getting the attention...
Oct15
Rumors of a possible motorcycle brand for Volkswagen aren't anything new. It's a well-known fact that Ferdinand Piëch, Chairman of Volkswagen's Board, wishes that the German automaker had purchased Ducati back in 1985 when the Italian bike manufacturer was in dire financial shape, As recently as last year, Piëch – himself a Ducati rider even at age 72 – commented that Volkswagen could still purchase an unnamed motorcycle manufacturer if the conditions were right. Strike up the...
In 2002 a Buick ad campaign evoked the image of Harley Earl to help sell a stable of uninspired vehicles. The late Mr. Earl, a celebrated General Motors design director, probably hasn't rested in peace since. Where his designs were exciting and hinted at the future, more recent Buicks were stodgy and dated. Adding to the indignity, few potential customers even remembered Mr. Earl, who died in 1969.
Oct14
Renault has created a new website that is dedicated to promoting its upcoming model range of battery powered cars. The site is actually about more than just the Fluence, Kangoo, Zoe and Twizzy. It also offers explanations of how Renault hopes to make these cars mainstream and affordable. It appears from the information provided that Renault plans to sell all of its EVs without a battery pack. The energy storage system will all be leased separately with payments going to a chosen...
Oct13
If sales of the Chevrolet Camaro are any indication, it takes more than a recession to suppress the midlife crisis. Buyers are snapping up Chevy's newly revived muscle car even though it lacks the kind of comfort, practicality and fuel economy many car shoppers increasingly seek. 2010 Camaro sales have grown to lead the "midsize sporty" segment since it came onto the market in the spring.
Ford Motor Co. has reached a tentative agreement with the United Auto Workers union that would freeze entry-level wages, implement a no-strike clause and pay a bonus to workers for agreeing to new concessions, according to people familiar with the matter. The UAW confirmed that the agreement will be presented to the union's National Ford Council delegates for a recommendation Tuesday afternoon.
Oct12
Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group Inc. said today it would cut back sharply on 2010 car rental purchases from Chrysler Group and had diversified its fleet in an effort to protect itself from future automaker difficulties.Chrysler, which had made up 76 percent of Dollar Thrifty's total U.S. fleet purchases in 2008, will make up about 30 percent of 2010 fleet purchases, said the company, which rents under the Dollar Rent A Car and Thrifty Car Rental brands.
Oct09
General Motors Co., working to cut its U.S. brand count in half as it recovers from bankruptcy, has completed a deal to sell the Hummer SUV brand to China's Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Co.The companies did not disclose financial terms in announcing the deal today. News reports said Thursday that Sichuan Tengzhong would pay $150 million for the U.S. brand.
Its no surprise that credit companies are getting harder and harder to deal with, Bad service is increasingly commonplace in today's fast paced world. Here's how to address it without being bad yourself. Have a clear idea in your head of what it is that you are complaining about. Make sure it even merits complaint, and it is something that can be changed. Know exactly what went wrong for you to feel like you should complain.
Having Problem with your Auto Finance Company, How to file a complaint, Telephoning doesn't seem to work. Emails apparently get lost in the internet shuffle. Dealing with staff members produces no success. And you're beginning to fume and become upset with a specific finance company. No help towards a remedy to your situation seems to be forthcoming. Here's a tried and proven way to get some action.
Oct08
From motorcycles to lawnmowers, life is full of noise, but new research shows that it presents a bigger danger for some people than others, A study of more than 5,000 people in the United States aged 20 to 69 found that males were three times as likely to have noise-related hearing loss as women. The research was recently presented at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Otolaryngology -- Head and Neck Surgery in San Diego, California.
Four years after they saw their vacation pay go up in smoke, more than 500 employees of a Washington auto dealership chain will get what's owed them. Announcing the $2.6 million award Wednesday, attorneys for the AutoNation employees said the dealership chain has exhausted its appeals and agreed to pay the ordered sum.
Average new tires used on cars typically start with 10/32" to 11/32" of original tread depth. Tires are considered "worn out" In most States when they reach 2/32" of remaining tread depth. U.S. coins can be substituted for a tire tread depth gauge as tires wear to the critical final few 32nds of an inch of their remaining tread depth. Place a penny into several tread grooves across the tire. If part of Lincoln's head is always covered by the tread, you have more than 2/32" of tread...
Oct07
Once a crowded urban center, Detroit has become a large city with many buildings and too few people. By mid-2008, its population had dropped to 912,062, about half the number of residents in 1950, In the first installment of what it says will become an exhaustive look at the downfall of Detroit,Time magazine had plenty of blame to spread around when it comes to showing how what was once America's fourth-largest city took a series of wrong turns. The former mayor, Coleman Young, and...
Oct06
During the summer, he was shut out of the popular initiative, which allowed only new-car franchises to participate. Now, the inventory he normally buys at auction is sharply limited, a direct result of Clunkers sending close to 700,000 gas guzzlers to the junkyard. That's driven wholesale prices to new highs at a time when cost-conscious consumers, who sometimes rely on dated information from guide books, aren't paying more.
Mexico — Speed bumps are so common here that residents sometimes decorate them for the holidays, painting "Happy New Year" or "Happy Independence Day." One rock band, The Sam-Sam, even has dedicated a song to them. Yet concerns over the environment — and the utter annoyance of having to brake and accelerate frequently — have prompted one Mexican state government to embrace a "smart" speed bump that could make driving smoother, without sacrificing safety.
Oct05
Electric carmaker Tesla Motors is launching a maintenance plan where mechanics travel to owners' homes or offices to perform repairs and tuneups.Tesla, which makes the $109,000 Roadster electric car, said the plan is convenient for customers who won't have to bring their vehicle to a showroom, while cutting costs by making a large network of Tesla service locations unnecessary. "You know how there's a Chevy dealer on every block or strip mall? We don't intend to have a footprint like...
In the eleventh hour of Roger Penske's venture to acquire Saturn from General Motors Co. to keep the brand alive, Renault's executive committee in France concluded, “Ca fait deux.” Rough translation: “It's not going to come together.” Despite Penske's statements that his organization had been in discussions with automakers around the world, ultimately his hopes had been pinned on only one: Renault SA.
Oct01
Ford Motor Co.'s U.S. sales fell 5 percent in September following two straight months of year-over-year gains, as demand plunged after the U.S. cash-for-clunkers program. The decline matched the projection of analysts, who forecast drops at each of the Detroit 3 and the biggest Japanese automakers. After August's year-high seasonally adjusted annual sales rate of 13.7 million units
General Motors Co. said it will begin to phase out Saturn -- the car company conceived more than 25 years ago to fend off imports -- after bidder Penske Automotive Inc. failed to secure a source of vehicles to keep the brand afloat. Penske had been negotiating with France's Renault SA to acquire autos for Saturn once a production agreement with GM had expired. Those talks collapsed, scuttling the Saturn acquisition by the dealership group and its CEO, Roger Penske.
Chrysler Financial said today that it is laying off about 12 percent of its 3,000-strong U.S. work force or about 360 employees. The layoffs will affect both the company's field offices and its Detroit headquarters. The move is part of a downsizing that has been going on since the U.S. Treasury Department appointed GMAC Financial Services as Chrysler Group's captive finance company on April 30, the day Chrysler's automotive operations filed for bankruptcy
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.
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
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.
For the first time in decades, new-car dealers are pounding the pavement in search of used cars to sell. They're critically short of stock at a time when used-car customers have begun to stream onto their lots. With new-vehicle sales down so much, dealers will take in almost 4 million fewer used vehicles this year, says Paul Taylor, chief economist for the National Automobile Dealers Association.
Sep17
Legislation to provide $2.9 billion over five years for research into advanced technology vehicles and medium- to heavy-duty commercial truck technologies passed the House on Wednesday. The authorization bill would increase U.S. Department of Energy funding by over 50 percent to $550 million for fiscal 2010, said Rep. Gary Peters, D-Mich., who sponsored the bil. Funding would increase by $10 million a year, reaching $590 million by 2014, Peters said.
Sep16
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood today said his department will make extra efforts to pay all cash-for-clunkers claims on time by Sept. 30 but revised downward the department's updated reimbursement figures. The Transportation Department has paid or approved 565,690 applications for $2.38 billion as of today, the agency said in a statement.
Sep15
* The information gathered for this post originated directly from GM’s website.
We know that your new vehicle purchase is an important one. And we're so certain you'll love your new Chevy, Buick, GMC or Cadillac vehicle, we're proud to offer our 60-day Satisfaction Guarantee. How does it work? Simple:
* When you purchase a new Chevy, Buick, GMC or Cadillac, keep it for 30 days.
China unveiled data today that showed tire exports to the United States actually fell in the first half of 2009, rebutting Washington's accusations it had breached its WTO agreements by flooding the U.S. market. Both countries moved to allay concerns of a trade war, but the row over Washington's decision to impose added duties on Chinese-made tires showed no signs of abating as Beijing said the U.S. move was sending the wrong message to the rest of the world.
Powering the Galibier concept will be a version of Bugatti's ridiculously powerful eight-liter W16 powerplant. Unlike the mill propelling the Veyron to ludicrous speed, this version is mounted up front and is capable of running on ethanol fuel, which may or may not allow the automaker to squeeze a few more ponies out of the engine... not that it needs it, of course Current reports peg the Galibier's top speed at 217 miles per hour (350 kilometers per hour)
Sep14
GM Launches 60-Day Satisfaction Guarantee; Offer Bolsters Campaign to Earn Consumer Confidence
· ‘May the Best Car Win’ marketing effort demonstrates GM’s confidence in the quality, durability of its cars, trucks and crossovers
· 60-day Satisfaction Guarantee covers 2009 and 2010 Model Year vehicles
· Builds on 100,000-mile/five-year powertrain warranty
China on Monday called for talks over the China-U.S. trade dispute in a sign the disagreement may be containable, as evidence emerged that the economic value of the affected sectors is relatively small. China's Ministry of Commerce is referring the U.S. move to levy punitive import duties on Chinese tires to the World Trade Organization, ministry spokesman Yao Jian said. "China's move to seek consultations with the U.S. is a legitimate act in line with a WTO member's rights and a...
Sep11
Just three months out of bankruptcy, Chrysler Group is preparing for a likely return to consumer leasing, say auto dealer sources briefed on the plan by the company. The leases, which will originate with GMAC Financial Services, will be offered only on select vehicles. Probable vehicles include the Dodge Journey crossover, Nitro SUV, Ram pickup and Grand Caravan minivan; Jeep Liberty SUV; and Chrysler Town & Country minivan.
Sep10
General Motors Co., seeking to win the trust of American consumers after its U.S.-funded bailout, will offer a 60-day money-back guarantee on its vehicles. The deal will be part of a new advertising campaign led by the automaker’s new chairman, Ed Whitacre. In an echo of Lee Iacocca’s “If you can find a better car, buy it” charge to Chrysler Corp. customers in the early 1980s, the GM commercials will say, “May the best car win.”
he Transportation Department has repaid dealers for more than a third of the vouchers they gave consumers under the cash-for-clunkers program, a federal spokeswoman said today. As of this morning, the government has paid dealers $1.22 billion for 289,000 vouchers, said Jill Zuckman, spokeswoman for Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.
OnStar is not for sale, and General Motors is working to fine-tune the well-known service and position it for the future, a top executive said today.Despite the recent jettisoning of several GM brands, OnStar is safe and officials are optimistic as it prepares to expand in December with a launch in China. “At this point, OnStar is firmly a part of the new GM and is an integral part of GM's future strategy,” said Chet Huber, the outgoing president of OnStar.
General Motors Co.'s board recommended selling its Adam Opel GmbH unit to a consortium led by Magna International Inc., German Chancellor Angela Merkel said. The board also recommended the sale of GM's U.K. Vauxhall operations to Magna, people familiar with the matter said. The Opel Trust said it will host a news conference at 4:15 p.m. in Germany, 10:15 a.m. in New York, to announce a decision on the chosen investor for Opel and Vauxhall. The trust controls 65% of Opel, while GM...
Sep09
One would think that U.S. tire makers are excited about getting rid of cheap Chinese imports. Not so. “Most major U.S. tire manufacturers have tire plants in China or import from there.,” writes the Washington Post. The increasingly popular budget end of the tire market has been nearly completely moved to low-cost producing countries. The 5000 union jobs were lost, because Americans want cheap tires. The tariff would hurt American companies who import them, and American buyers who...
Sep08
China sent back Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Co.’s application to acquire General Motors Corp.’s Hummer unit, Vice Minister of Commerce Chen Jian said today at a trade and investment forum.“I, based on the current situation, understand that” Tengzhong’s application has been sent back, Chen said at the forum in the city of Xiamen. “It’s not in coordination with our nation’s industrial policy,” he said of the acquisition, without elaborating.
Consumer groups are collecting data on cash-for-clunker deals that became clunkers for buyers and plan to bring the data to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to make sure buyers are treated fairly. Auto website Edmunds.com is looking for people who traded a clunker, took home a new car and later were dunned by the dealer to pay another $4,500 when the dealer's rebate application was rejected by the government. Edmunds is asking affected consumers to e-mail the site
Before the electric car became the transport of tomorrow, it was the horseless carriage of yesteryear. At the turn of the 20th century, electric-powered cars were more popular than their noisy, smelly, gasoline-fired cousins, which had to be started using a hand crank that had a tendency to backfire. Among the best selling, and most basic,
Sep04
Citing intensive restructuring that has boosted Ford Motor Co.'s viability, Moody's Investors Service on Thursday raised its rating on the automaker. Moody's also said it may raise the ratings on Ford's finance arm, Ford Motor Credit Co.The rating action affects about $25 billion of debt, Moody's said."The period of greatest risk in Ford's restructuring has passed," Moody's said in a statement. The rating service also said Ford should be able to fund its cash burn until the industry...
Two crossovers taking the Class by storm, There are so many small luxury crossovers on the market now, it's getting difficult to keep track of them all – and to distinguish one from another. At a glance, doesn't the new Mercedes-Benz GLK look much like a Land Rover LR2? And who can really tell the difference between a Mazda CX-7 and an Acura RDX? Thankfully, Audi and Volvo have added spice to the market -- both in style and function, if not in name. Indeed the Audi Q5 3.2 and Volvo...
Booming North American demand pushed cumulative sales of hybrid vehicles at Toyota Motor Corp. past the 2 million-unit mark last month as the Japanese automaker marched closer to its goal of selling 1 million gasoline-electric cars per year. As of Aug. 9, Toyota sold 2.017 million hybrids worldwide since their debut in 1997. North Americans snapped up nearly 1.15 million of those hybrids, more than half the global total, the company said on Thursday. Japan soaked up another 615,800....
Sep03
WASHINGTON -- The Obama administration expects to take until the end of the month to pay properly completed claims under the cash-for-clunkers program, a government official said today. “We plan to pay all eligible and complete dealer submissions by September 30,” a Transportation Department official said. The agency didn't release an official figure of how many dealer submissions have been paid. A National Automobile Dealers Association survey released yesterday found that 5.7...
Sep02
Fueled by cash for clunkers, U.S. auto sales ended a 21-month skid in August, registering the first month-to-month increase since October 2007. But the increase was modest -- a mere 1.0 percent above August 2008. Industry sales totaled 1.3 million units, topping the 1 million mark for the first time since last August. Demand hit a 13.7-million-unit annual rate, the highest since August 2008. ...
Sep01
The federal government is starting to make random, unannounced visits to dealerships to audit their compliance with the cash-for-clunkers rules, dealer associations said. The Transportation Department auditors’ focus is on possible fraud in the disposal of trade-in vehicles, said National Automobile Dealers Association spokesman Bailey Wood.
Ford Motor Co.’s August U.S. sales rose 17.2 percent, buoyed by a government cash-for-clunkers program that lifted industry demand to its highest levels this year. The year-over-year monthly increase was Ford’s largest since July 2005. That was less than analysts’ predictions of about a 34 percent increase. Still, it was enough to sustain industry predictions that sales would pass the 1-million-unit mark for the first time since August 2008. Ford’s gain follows its 2.4 percent...
Ford, Toyota and American Honda posted August U.S. sales increases, while Chrysler Group's and General Motors' declines were worse than the previous month, as the government's cash-for-clunkers program lifted industry demand to its highest levels this year. Honda's light-vehicle sales increased 9.9 percent, their biggest year-over-year monthly lift since Mary 2008. Ford Motor Co.'s light-vehicle sales rose 17.2 percent, for their largest boost since July 2005. The gain follows Ford...
Aug31
The cash-for-clunkers program pushed Ford Motor Co.’s U.S. light-vehicle sales to the company’s second-straight year-over-year increase in August while lessening sales declines for Chrysler Group and General Motors Co., analysts say. Ford’s August sales were expected to grow 34.4 percent, according to an average of five analysts’ predictions gathered by Automotive News. That would be Ford's largest year-over-year monthly lift since October 2001. The company's 2.4 percent increase in...
Tata Motors reports a net loss of $67 million, Tata Motors Ltd. plunged into a consolidated net loss for the fiscal first quarter as a liquidity squeeze world-wide hurt demand for its Jaguar and Land Rover luxury cars. India's biggest auto maker by sales Monday posted a net loss of 3.29 billion rupees ($67 million) in the three months ended June 30, compared with a net profit of 7.2 billion rupees a year earlier. Consolidated net sales rose 13% to 162.9 billion rupees from 144.14...
Aug28
Chrysler Group LLC said on Thursday it is now confident enough about its business to accept product defect claims that arise on vehicles built before its sale process was completed in June. Chrysler's predecessor, Chrysler LLC, filed for bankruptcy protection on April 30 and the sale of substantially all of its assets was completed on June 10 to Chrysler Group LLC, which is managed by Italy's Fiat S.p.A.
Aug27
Volkswagen of America wasn’t among the automakers that benefited most from the federal “cash-for-clunkers” program, but the German automaker did sell out of its 2009 diesel models, most notably the Jetta TDI, as customers traded in gas guzzlers for federal rebates. That may be a small accomplishment, given the 700,000 cars sold overall, but CEO Stefan Jacoby says he’s now ready to tackle some bigger things. He said Wednesday that he plans to make VW’s U.S. operations profitable and...
Aug26
Chrysler Group, whose new Italian partner, Fiat S.p.A., is preparing to supply Chrysler dealers with European-designed small cars, today scrapped plans to share vehicles with Nissan Motor Co. The decision means:
The Detroit 3 accounted for only 38.6 percent of the 690,114 vehicles sold under the cash-for-clunkers program, far below their 45.3 percent share of the U.S. market through July, federal data show. The figures, as of yesterday’s 8 p.m. deadline for filing transactions, suggest that foreign manufacturers got a bigger boost than domestic automakers from the $3 billion government program.
Aug25
General Motors Co. is dropping the GM logo on its cars and trucks. The badge is a small silver square with the blue “GM” embossed on it. It’s usually on the lower edge of the front fenders.
Aug24
A law enforcement official tells The Associated Press that the Los Angeles County coroner has ruled Michael Jackson's death a homicide. The finding makes it more likely criminal charges will be filed against the doctor who was with the pop star when he died. The official says the coroner determined a fatal combination of drugs was given to Jackson hours before he died in his rented Los Angeles mansion on June 25. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the findings have...
Used car group AutoStar is recruiting rejected dealers, Several former Chrysler executives and dealers are helping recruit rejected Chrysler and General Motors dealerships to establish a used-car chain called AutoStar Superstore. The plan is to open the first five stores Oct. 1 — one each in Albuquerque, N.M.; Portland, Ore.; Las Vegas; St. George, Utah; and Pittsburg, Texas — says George Lovato Jr., chairman of AutoStar Dealer Network in Albuquerque. Lovato is the founder of Rent...
Dealers have submitted 635,186 cash-for-clunkers claims for $2.65 billion in rebates as of 7:47 a.m. Eastern time today, the U.S. Transportation Department said, indicating that the program is rapidly approaching its $3 billion limit with only 12 hours to go. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood set a deadline of 8 p.m. Eastern time for all dealer claims to be filed. He has said all dealers who submit their deals by this deadline will get paid.
On the cash-for-clunker program’s last weekend, dealerships saw a flurry of last-minute shoppers -- and in some cases, turned them away. Meanwhile, there was no sign that the government would agree to calls for it to extend the deadline for filing clunkers paperwork. Consumer auto Web site Edmunds.com said its analysts estimate the nationwide annual sales rate for the weekend would reach about 15 million units, compared with an 11.1-million-unit rate for the month of July. The...
Aug21
General Motors effort to sell new cars on eBay in California is generating interest but recording few sales on the Internet auction site. In the first nine days of the program, GM dealers listed 16,228 vehicles on eBay and completed 45 sales, according to data available on the Web site. But GM said the eBay exposure is prompting customers to visit dealerships to complete sales that aren't recorded on eBay.
Aug20
National Automobile Dealers Association officials asked the government to suspend the cash-for-clunkers program because a survey by the group found that the $3 billion fund has been exhausted, NADA Chairman John McEleney said. "We asked them to put a halt to the program -- I think we said 'very soon' -- but a suspension at midnight tonight would make sense," McEleney said in an interview Wednesday. "Our survey opened the eyes of the Transportation Department."
General Motors Co. will help cash-strapped dealers waiting for cash-for-clunker rebates by advancing them a 30-day interest-free loan in the amount of rebates that are being processed. GM said it is providing the money so dealerships will have the liquidity to run their businesses and continue to deliver vehicles to GM customers. "Our sales performance in the past two months has exceeded our internal forecast by over 60,000 vehicles, largely driven by the CARS stimulus program...
The National Automobile Dealers Association warned members that they may not be reimbursed by the government for any more cash-for-clunkers deals, arguing that some transactions could take place after the program's $3 billion has been depleted. An informal NADA survey of its 18,000 members this week found that all the U.S. money had been committed, NADA Chairman John McEleney said earlier today.
Aug18
Cadillac joined Lexus as the brand with the most-pleased customers this year, as Detroit makes held three of the top five posts in an annual University of Michigan study of customer satisfaction. Cadillac rose from No. 2 last year to match Lexus with a score of 89 in the American Customer Satisfaction Index, released today. The industrywide tally was 84, or 2.4 percent above last year's and an all-time high for the index, begun in 1994. Customer satisfaction for all Detroit brands...
Toyota Motor Corp. has developed a new technology that may dramatically boost the storage capacity of lithium ion batteries and thus open the door to more practical electric vehicles. The advance -- the fabrication of single crystals of lithium cobalt oxide -- grew out of joint research with Japan's Tohoku University, Toyota spokesman Paul Nolasco said.
Aug17
Recession or not, British luxury icon Bentley Motors Ltd. pulled the wraps off of a new flagship sedan here Sunday that will retail for close to $300,000. The Mulsanne, replaces the soon-to-be discontinued Arnage as Bentley’s global halo car in what the Volkswagen AG unit calls “the pinnacle of the ultra-luxury segment.” “There’s a very difficult business case for this car,” admitted Franz-Josef Paefgen, Bentley’s CEO. “The hope here is not to create volume, but to create a...
Aug14
The U.S. government has agreed to allow dealers to submit cash-for-clunkers transactions for vehicles ordered from factories instead of just those purchased at a dealership. That decision came today from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in response to dealers' complaints about dwindling inventory on lots. The news came amid reports that the agency has rejected about 80 percent of cash-for-clunkers transactions.
Volkswagen AG agreed today to buy a 42 percent stake in the sports car unit of debt-ridden Porsche Automobil Holding SE in another step toward combining the two German carmakers into a European automotive giant. VW will pay up to 3.3 billion euros ($4.7 billion) this year for the initial stake in the unit, Porsche AG, paving the way for the creation of an integrated automotive group by the end of 2011, VW and Porsche said in statements after board meetings. Volkswagen CEO Martin...
Aug13
The U.S. Department of Transportation is advising consumers taking advantage of the “Cash for Clunkers” program not to sign contingency agreements promising to pay back up to $4,500 if dealers don’t receive payment from the government. No contingency agreement is required to participate in the $3 billion program, the Transportation Department said on its Web site.
Aug12
In apparent violation of the new cash-for-clunkers law, the Department of Transportation is more than 10 days late in paying rebates of at least hundreds of thousands of dollars on dealer claims, several dealers said. Brad Wood, a dealer in Salisbury, N.C., said he has 12 unpaid claims for $47,000 pending since Aug. 1. Altogether, he is waiting for $319,000 in rebates and has received only $26,000.
Aug11
General Motors said Tuesday its Chevrolet Volt rechargeable electric car should get 230 miles per gallon of gasoline in city driving, more than four times the mileage of the current champion, the Toyota Prius. GM came up with the figure in early tests using draft guidelines from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for calculating the mileage of extended range electric vehicles, said Tony Posawatz, GM's vehicle line director for the Volt.
The house and senate have both approved the bill for Cash to Clunkers Rebates for American automobile consumers. This rebate is suppose to rid the road of those old gas guzzling beasts that some people are still driving and put more economically fuel efficient cars on the highway. This will not only help out the automobile industries by selling more cars, it will also help our environment by reducing carbon emissions. If you are thinking of buying a new car, and trading in that old...
Aug10
NEW Dodge Viper Powered by a Ferrari V10 800hp, Way back in 1987, Chrysler bought up a troubled Lamborghini, and within two years put it to work developing a V10 engine program that would eventually give birth to both the Dodge Viper and the Lamborghini Gallardo – two of the first ten-cylinder engines on the modern market. Two decades later, the tables have turned: instead of buying up struggling Italian automakers, it's Chrysler that's troubled and the Italians are coming to the...
They are at it again, and the Obama administration is doing nothing to stop it! Public outrage has boiled over as billions of dollars in bonuses have been handed out on Wall Street, the center of the 2008 financial storm that contributed to the worst recession in generations and left millions of people jobless. Even President Obama joined in, labeling the $18.4 billion in bonuses "shameful" and calling on Wall Street to "show some restraint." Seizing on the populist anger, lawmakers...
After settling a lawsuit last month with disgruntled owners of Michelin run-flat tires, Honda dropped the tires for the 2010 model year. It was another disappointment for Michelin and other makers of run-flat tires in a 17-year effort to win customers in the United States.
GMAC Inc. today said it will resume offering leases on select vehicles in most U.S. states, a year after curtailing the practice. The Detroit-based lender said improved funding flexibility, the restructuring of General Motors Co. and rising used car values have made leasing more viable.
Aug07
The Senate added $2 billion to “cash for clunkers,” ending a week of suspense about whether the popular new program would have to shut down for lack of funds. The bill, identical to the one that passed the House last week, now goes to President Barack Obama for his signature. The administration has pushed hard for the new funding.
Aug04
"Cash For Clunkers" has provided a much-needed jolt to the U.S. economy since bigger-than-expected sales will mean more car production from manufacturers and raw materials producers. Similar to what the car lease transfer industry has witnessed all along, an expedited sales cycle will do wonders for the auto industry.
Ford Motor Co. posted its first U.S. sales increase in 19 months in July and most rivals pared their declines as the federal cash-for-clunkers incentive helped lift industry demand to its highest rate this year. Subaru and Hyundai-Kia recorded their biggest monthly gains of the year as total industry sales fell 12.2 percent, the smallest drop since May 2008. Percentage declines at other automakers -- including General Motors, Toyota Motor Sales, Chrysler Group and American Honda...
Aug03
More than 6,000 U.S. hourly workers have left General Motors Co. under the automaker's latest buyout program intended to make it a leaner company after its emergence from bankruptcy. GM, which exited bankruptcy on July 10 by selling most of its assets to a group funded by the U.S. Treasury, said the latest round of buyouts has brought the total number of its U.S. factory workers to 48,000.
The Obama administration will fund the cash for clunkers program until the Senate decides whether to add $2 billion to the original $1 billion fund that is likely to be depleted this weekend, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said today. He said the administration would honor dealer rebate applications filed at least through Tuesday, Aug. 4. If the Senate doesn't expand funding next week, the program will be suspended, LaHood said.
Jul31
WASHINGTON -- The House passed legislation to inject $2 billion into cash for clunkers after the administration reported that the $1 billion federal program was running out of money shortly after it began. The bill, which goes to the Senate next week, would transfer the new money from a U.S. loan-guarantee program for renewable energy systems that was funded under the stimulus package earlier this year.
The federal cash-for-guzzlers program continues to operate this morning despite dealer reports that it was to be suspended at midnight last night because it was approaching its $1 billion limit. “It is not suspended,” a White House spokeswoman, who asked not to be named, said in an interview today. “We continue to assess the program and its budget.”
Jul30
The cash-for-guzzlers program will run out of its $1 billion funding “well before” its Nov. 1 expiration date, a spokesman for the National Automobile Dealers Association said today, after the government said dealers have already applied for 10 percent of the funds. “Accordingly, NADA is currently working with (the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) to ensure that every dealer is reimbursed by NHTSA for a valid deal and that the wind-down to this program is fair and...
Jul29
Demand for leases on a several GM models has increased over the past year, according to statistics from LeaseTrader.com, which tracks activity in the secondary lease market. "It has always been imperative for GM to reintroduce car leasing programs for the millions of people that see leasing as the best fit for their automotive needs," Sergio Stiberman, CEO of LeaseTrader.com, said in a statement.
General Motors and GMAC, the company’s lending division, may begin leasing vehicles again on August 1, according to a Tuesday report in The Wall Street Journal. GM is currently ironing out details of its leasing program, which would be limited to its more expensive car models including Cadillac. Breaking back into leasing in the luxury car market would allow GM to target customers with more cash on hand who are more likely to be buyers in future.
Penske Automotive Group Inc. today said it posted a 63 percent decline in quarterly profit as the recession hurt consumer demand for new vehicles. The second-largest U.S. car dealership group, which has agreed to buy General Motors' Saturn brand, said due diligence and negotiations are continuing.
Jul28
NEW 2010 Saab 9-5 Photo Images It didn't take long for the floodgates of official pictures to open after the first set of leaked images gave us an early glimpse at the new 2010 Saab 9-5 inside and out. Just as before, we're cautiously optimistic that this attractive sedan (though it's appearance is certainly polarizing to many)
“CARS” Cash-for-clunkers eligibility list changed again, As it prepared for its "cash-for-clunkers" program, the government rejiggered gas mileage figures on about 100 older vehicles last week in a way that changed whether they would be eligible for up to $4,500 in sales inducements.
U.S. incentives paid to dealers under the cash-for-guzzlers program won’t be treated as taxable income, a spokesman for the National Automobile Dealers Association said Monday. “There’s no net taxable income for the dealers,” said the NADA's Bailey Wood, citing a clarification by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Jul27
Last year, the story from many people getting rid of a lease was trying to save money to pay expensive mortgages, said John Sternal, the company's vice president of marketing and communications. This year, they hear that people are just trying to cut back on expenses.
WASHINGTON -- Despite the overwhelming rush to cash in on guzzlers, the Car Allowance Rebate System program could come back to bite dealers at tax time. The $3,500 and $4,500 rebates the federal government is paying to entice consumers to trade their old vehicles for more fuel-efficient new ones may be treated as federal and state taxable income for dealerships.
FRANKFURT (Reuters) -- The Porsche and Piech families were prepared to offer Porsche AG CEO Wendelin Wiedeking 140 million euros ($199 million) for his resignation, his lawyer told Reuters on Friday. The payout would have been easily the highest severance package in German corporate history.
Jul24
President Obama signed into law a program the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is calling the Car Allowance Rebate System (CARS). This is a federal program that helps you purchase a new, more fuel-efficient vehicle when you trade in a less fuel-efficient vehicle. See the Frequently Asked Questions for more details.
Jul23
Although we haven't gotten the chance to drive it yet (we will be soon), Audi has plunked a price tag on its 2010 Audi R8 5.2 FSI Quattro – better known as the V-10 R8. The mid-engined ten-cylinder wundercar will start at $146,000 for manual gearbox models, while the R Tronic commands $155,100 (*both are subject to a $1,200 destination charge).
Infiniti is attempting to fan sales through August with 0 percent loans and lease deals across its lineup. The program, supported by an unusual TV ad approach, offers 0 percent financing on all models except the G37 convertible, which was introduced in June. Lease rates include a $379,
Jul22
Chrysler Group is offering consumers $4,500 on most of its 2009 models, doubling the cash-for-guzzlers incentive offered by the federal government. “Double Ca$h for Your Old Car,” offers up to $4,500 cash or 0 percent financing for 72 months on qualifying new vehicles, even if the consumer’s trade-in doesn’t qualify for the federal incentive.
Jul21
The Obama administration’s automotive task force, after successfully moving General Motors and Chrysler Group out of bankruptcy protection, is ending the government-financed warranty program for the two automakers. Ron Bloom, the new head of the task force, informed a House Judiciary subcommittee about the decision in testimony here today.
Jul20
Porsche Automobil Holding SE has wracked up 14 billion euros ($19.75 billion) in debt in its failed attempt to take full control of Volkswagen, Germany's Bilnewspaper reported on Monday, citing an informed source. Sources told Reuters recently that Porsche's debt was "clearly" higher than 10 billion euros.
The Iron Mountain Autoplex has been forced to shut down its sales department after the Colorado Department of Revenue suspended its licenses for not paying off liens on trade-in vehicles. Iron Mountain Autoplex includes lots under the Champion name selling Chevrolet, Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge, Mazda, Kia and Mitsubishi automobiles.
Jul17
Auto Dealer offers AK-47 with each new truck purchase A Missouri truck dealer hopes to reverse a nationwide slide in sales with a catchy offer: An AK-47 with every new truck purchase.
The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday approved a measure that tries to help automobile dealerships hit by the bankruptcies of Chrysler and General Motors. The House voted 219-208 for a $24.2 billion spending bill for the fiscal year starting Oct. 1.
Jul16
Porsche again ranked as the industry’s most appealing brand while Dodge and Ford scored big gains in a U.S. rating of vehicles’ ability to excite owners. Porsche’s victory was its fifth straight in the annual APEAL study, released today by J.D. Power and Associates. Dodge jumped 37 points and Ford 17 points to finish above average.
Ford Motor Co. is expected to gain U.S. market share in the next few years and rivals General Motors and Chrysler may see sharp declines following their bankruptcies, a report says. Ford’s share of the U.S. market could rise 3 percentage points over the next four years to about 18 percent
Jul15
Former General Motors CEO Rick Wagoner, ousted in March by the Obama administration, will retire in August with a package worth $8.6 million in the first five years. Wagoner's retirement will take effect on August 1, and he will draw sharply reduced benefits after GM's federally financed bankruptcy, the company said on Tuesday.
Jul13
2010 Honda CR-Z confirmed production, Honda has confirmed what's been suspected for some time: the Honda CR-Z is coming next year and the Fit Hybrid will be released in late 2010.
J.L. French Automotive Castings Inc., which makes aluminum die-cast auto parts, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection today, saying it was "over-leveraged with an unmanageable debt load." The company, which filed the petition in U.S. Banrkuptcy Court in Wilmington, Del., listed both estimated assets and estimated liabilities in the range of $100 million to $500 million.
Jul09
Most of the world has been knee deep in a wicked recession for quite a while, and auto sales have been hit especially hard. Here in the U.S., the numbers have been abysmal, as the first half of the year saw only 4.8 million sales through June. China, on the other hand, is running away with the overall sales lead,
Jaguar proudly revealed the all new 2010 Jaguar XJ today in London. The iconic XJ offers a seductive mix of striking design and robust performance made possible by Jaguar's aerospace-inspired light weight aluminum body technology. The all new Jaguar XJ will go on sale in December 2009, with a starting price of $72,500 MSRP. It is available to order today for delivery in early 2010.
Jul08
Nissan Motor Co. said today that while the economic crisis had hammered automakers, the company is in a perfect position to benefit from government loans thanks to its big push in the field of zero-emission cars. Many governments, including the United States, have set aside funding to help automakers survive tight credit markets on condition that the subsidies help the countries' own efforts to meet environmental goals.
General Motors said today it expected its vehicle sales in China to grow by a little more than 20 percent this year, as the fast-growing market remains unaffected by the company's U.S. bankruptcy.
Jul07
Historically speaking, Canada has gotten the blunt end of the stick when it comes to new car pricing compared to its southern neighbors. Pricing on many vehicles versus an otherwise identical U.S. counterpart has long been comparatively inflated, and America's recently passed Cash-For-Clunkers bill has left many Canadian consumers feeling even more short-changed than normal.
A judge approved General Motors' bankruptcy sale late Sunday in a move that will allow the company's most profitable assets to exit court protection under government ownership.
Seating and electronics supplier Lear Corp. on Tuesday put its U.S. and Canadian operations into Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Lear made its filing in the U.S. bankruptcy court for the Southern District of New York, listing total assets of about $1.27 billion and total liabilities of about $4.54 billion.
Jul02
Yamaha files patents for hybrid motorcycle based on Gen-Ryu, LUXAIR concepts Yamaha is reportedly developing a hybrid motorcycle based on the Gen-Ryu concept that first debuted at the Tokyo Motor Show way back in 2005 and the LUXAIR followup two years later. That first concept machine mated up the 600cc inline-four engine from Yamaha's R6
Top 6 Automakers scraping diesels Mainstream carmakers have put the brakes on nine diesel-powered vehicles that had been scheduled for 2010. Honda, Chrysler, Ford, General Motors, Nissan, and Toyota have halted diesel programs because of spiraling costs and other problems.
2011 BMW X1 for sale in the US. As expected after this morning's initial leakage, BMW has released a staggering amount of images of the 2011 BMW X1 showing the brand's new soft-roader in every conceivable environment before it's officially revealed at this year's Frankfurt Motor Show.
GMAC said on Wednesday that it has converted to a corporation from a limited liability company, a move that could allow the auto and mortgage lender to sell shares to the public. In a regulatory filing, the Detroit-based company said holders of common membership interests in the former GMAC LLC on Tuesday received an equal number of common shares in GMAC Inc.
Jul01
Ford Motor Co.’s U.S. sales in June fell 10.7 percent, their smallest decline in 16 months, as early results supported projections that the industry may post its best month of a dismal year. Sales at bankrupt General Motors
Jun29
Federal loans to automakers and suppliers for development of electric vehicles and other advanced-technology cars would be doubled to $50 billion under a bill passed by the House on Friday night. The climate-change legislation -- the centerpiece of which is a cap-and-trade system for power plants, oil refineries and factories -- now goes to the Senate, where its fate is uncertain. The Senate rejected a similar bill last year.
General Motors and China's Tengzhong will begin talking with regulators this week in a bid to obtain government approval for Tengzhong to buy the Hummer brand by the end of September, a GM spokesman said today.
Volkswagen AG denied today that it had presented Porsche Automobil Holding SE with an ultimatum to accept its plan for a merger of the two carmakers. On Saturday, Porsche accused VW and the German state of Lower Saxony of extortion following a report that VW has demanded that Porsche accept a tie-up of the two carmakers with VW in charge. Lower Saxony is VW's second largest shareholder after Porsche.
Jun26
The fact that Jaguar Land Rover accounted for $504 million of that $520 million total loss means that more job cuts and plant shutdowns are in store for the ailing British duo. Says Tata Vice Chairman Ravi Kant:
China's top economic planning agency is likely to reject Sichuan Tengzhong's bid to buy the Hummer brand from bankrupt General Motors, state radio reported on Thursday. The planner, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), is worriedChina's top economic planning agency is likely to reject Sichuan Tengzhong's bid to buy the Hummer brand from bankrupt General Motors, state radio reported on Thursday.
FORD attempts to Cash in on Cash for Clunkers
Do you need a new car? Do you have an old car to part with? Are you confused about how to participate in the "Cash for Clunkers" program you've heard so much about? Ford Motor Company would like to talk to you.
Jun25
How to Jump-Start a Car Battery A car battery. One of the most important car parts. And one that seems to die right when you need it the most: driving to your grandparent’s house for Christmas or some other inopportune time, usually in the winter (
Jun24
General Motors plans to complete a 20 percent cut in its white-collar work force by October, a spokesman said Tuesday. The plan, which was detailed in letters to the bankrupt automaker's employees sent earlier in the day, will eliminate an additional 4,000 jobs through a combination of layoffs and terminations.
Jun23
Obama to give $25 billion more in loans to the automakers Ford Motor Co. will receive a share of $25 billion in government loans designed to help automakers retool factories for making fuel-efficient cars, according to sources familiar with the decision by the Obama administration.
Jun19
General Motors has been tight-lipped about what it's planning to spend on advertising while in bankruptcy, but Automotive News sister publication, Advertising Age, has the answer: $40 million to $50 million per month, which comes out to about same dollars-per-unit rate as before it filed for Chapter 11.
That translates to between $80 million and $150 million, depending on how long it takes GM to dig itself out.
Jun18
The U.S. Senate today beat back a Republican attempt to strip a scaled-back “cash for guzzlers” bill from a spending package for U.S. troops, clearing the way for the measure to be passed and sent to President Barack Obama for his signature.
Jun17
FORD Seeks No-Strike Pledge from UAW Ford Motor Co., the only major U.S. automaker not in bankruptcy, will ask the United Auto Workers to match the no-strike pledge given to General Motors Corp. and Chrysler Group LLC. Ford is talking to the union about gaining the concessions, Chief Executive Officer Alan Mulally told reporters today at the
Obama denies auto suppliers request for $10 billion in aid The Wall Street Journal reported today that President Obama has taken a pass on granting auto parts suppliers' request for $10 billion in aid, leaving the financially-strapped companies to seek succor from Congress instead.
Jun16
Chrysler to restart the first assembly plant, to make Dodge Viper’s Chrysler Group announced Monday that it is restarting a factory, after shutting down all of its manufacturing for nearly seven weeks following the bankruptcy of Chrysler LLC. Chrysler Group is the new company that emerged last week with most of Chrysler's assets and a new ownership structure. The first plant to reopen is the one that makes the Dodge Viper sports car.
Jun15
Th!nk has been saying for some time that it wants to build some of its cars in in the United States. That announcement could come as soon as this week in Louisana. In a report published in Louisiana newspaper The News Star, factory owner Jim Davison will make an announcement on Wednesday of this week. Davison owns a factory that was formerly part of Guide, previously a General Motors lighting division.
Jun11
Aston Martin Rapide in parking lot Who needs spy photographers like Hans Lehmann when you have readers like Car Magazine's Simon Gregg that stumbled upon Aston Martin's all-new Rapide sport sedan sitting in a parking lot without a single trace of camouflage! From what we gather, the test car must be one of the final prototype models of the four-door Aston that is scheduled to be
Jun10
When you think off road, it doesn't get better than the Land Rover Defender. While most of the world's most hard-core off-roaders – Toyota Land Cruiser, Mercedes G-Wagen, Hummer H2 – have all gone luxed-out, the Defender soldiers on as the bare-bones option. Essentially the same body-on-frame design from 1948, the Defender is still hand-assembled. But what's Land Rover to do when the market demands luxury? Lux out the Defender, of course.
The Supreme Court cleared the way for the government-backed sale of Chrysler LLC to a group led by Italy’s Fiat S.p.A., a victory for the bankrupt U.S. automaker and the Obama administration. The high court rejected a request from Indiana pension funds and other opponents of the transaction to delay
Jun09
Dealers will receive the amended agreement by Federal Express tomorrow. In it, GM is changing some terms to address such issues as higher sales objectives and facility upgrades. GM also modified terms that waived dealers' rights to protest anything GM does outside a six-mile radius of their stores for two years.
Jun08
The Chinese heavy machinery maker that agreed to buy General Motors' Hummer brand may find the biggest roadblocks to the deal in its home country.Following last week's surprise announcement that Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery and GM had reached an agreement, analysts and Chinese media were buzzing with talk that the two companies may have jumped the gun. The pitfalls range from regulatory to financing issues.
Jun05
Are you on Twitter? As of May 1st, 2009 LeaseTrader.com, a nationwide online marketplace for car lease transfers opened its Twitter account. this will allow customers to get information on the auto world including question and concerns people have with getting in or out of there car leases. This is a leading step in giving information to the general public says Even Snider PR Manger of LeaseTrader.com
A group of pension funds opposed to the sale of bankrupt Chrysler LLC is ready to take the case to the U.S. Supreme Court if necessary, their lawyer told a U.S. appeals court today. Glenn Kurtz, a lawyer at White & Case representing a group of Indiana pension funds opposing Chrysler's sale to a group led by Italy’s Fiat S.p.A., said his law firm is already working on papers for the appeal to the U.S. top court if necessary.
Penske Automotive Group agrees to buy Saturn from GM Auto entrepreneur Roger Penske's Penske Automotive Group has signed an agreement to purchase Saturn from General Motors by the end of the third quarter. The deal will save nearly 350 dealerships and about 13,000 jobs related to Saturn, said Jill Lajdziak, Saturn's general manager.
Jun04
Chrysler, Fiat Sale Put on Hold! At the same time Chrysler LLC was supposed to be proceeding with its sale to Fiat SpA on June 5th as approved by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New York, objecting creditors will be arguing their case yet again in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in New York City
Jun03
Who is Tengzhong? Why does it want to buy Hummer? A question that all of the China is asking now! A little-known player in China's heavy machinery industry emerged from nowhere to agree to buy General Motors' Hummer brand, raising eyebrows among peers who question whether it can turn around the U.S. auto maker. The tentative deal with privately-held Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Co.
Danica Patrick's SI Swimsuit Shoot! “bad remarks about doping” In an interview with Dan Patrick published in Sports Illustrated, Danica Patrick was asked, if she could take a performance-enhancing drug and not get caught, would she do it if it allowed her to win the Indianapolis 500.
General Motors is offering some dealerships $100,000 to $1 million to wind down their businesses over the next 17 months, according to three sources familiar with the proposals For Pontiac-only franchises, GM is offering only $10,000 to $200,000, according to two sources. The offers are contained in so-called wind-down agreements that the bankrupt automaker has sent to dealerships that will not have their franchises renewed when they expire on Oct. 31, 2010.
Jun02
The Chinese, Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Company made an offer for Hummer today! The Chinese manufacturer planning to buy General Motors' Hummer will expand the brand's lineup -- including alternative powertrains -- and retain its U.S. dealers, Hummer CEO Jim Taylor said today.
MAY 2009 AUTOMOTIVE SALES BY THE NUMBERS Ford Motor Co. and General Motors in May reported their smallest monthly sales declines since last summer, while Honda and Toyota each dropped more than 40 percent from their totals a year earlier, when Americans flocked to small cars because of soaring gasoline prices.
GM finds a Buyer for the HUMMER Brand! General Motors Corp., just after yesterdays filing for bankruptcy protection, announced the they have a tentative agreement to sell off the Hummer brand, elements of the plan is to emerge as a leaner, more-competitive auto maker. GM has been trying to figure alternatives for the brand for over a year now, the new buyer could take possession of the Hummer brand in as little as three months by September 2009.
Jun01
General Motors filed for bankruptcy today, forcing the 100-year-old automaker once seen as a symbol of American economic might into a new and uncertain era of government ownership. The filing is the third-largest in U.S. history and the largest-ever U.S. manufacturing bankruptcy. A huge gamble for the Obama presidency.
A U.S. bankruptcy judge on Sunday approved the sale of most of Chrysler LLC's assets to a group led by Italy's Fiat S.p.A. The OK came hours before an expected bankruptcy filing by General Motors. Judge Arthur Gonzalez approved the $2 billion sale of the assets to a new company that will be 68 percent controlled by a health care trust aligned with the United Auto Workers union.
May29
DETROIT -- General Motors plans to start telling more dealerships that they will be terminated when their franchise agreements expire in 17 months. Two sources familiar with GM's strategy said the automaker planned to shutter as many as 450 additional stores beyond the 1,124 announced on May 15. In an interview late Thursday, GM sales chief Mark LaNeve said the figure is "less than half" that many.
Volkswagen Eos White Night special-edition The new Volkswagen special-edition Eos White Night is big on contrast, with a Candy White body offset by a Deep Black Pearlescent roof, side mirrors, and radiator grille. The look is an interesting one,
WASHINGTON -- The Obama administration plans to inject $30 billion into General Motors on top of the $19.4 billion it has already lent as part of a sweetened offer to bondholders, senior administration officials said today.
May26
Audi AG is the only German premium automaker that has committed to giving its workers a profit-sharing bonus for 2008. The German automaker will pay 157 million euros ( 219.6 Million Dollars) in bonuses by the end of this month. That works out to be an average of 3,600 euros per person. Faced with the need to cut labor costs, Daimler AG's management and union decided last month not to pay out a
Volkswagen unit loans Porsche $980 million dollars STUTTGART, Germany (Reuters) -- Porsche confirmed on Monday it got a 700 million euro ($980 million) loan from its Volkswagen unit but insisted it could cope with its debt woes."Porsche is not on the verge of insolvency even if that is alleged over and over," a company spokesman said, referring to media reports about the German group whose takeover of VW has stalled, forcing it instead to seek a merger with VW.
May22
GM reaches deal with Canadian Auto Workers unionAfter two weeks of intense negotiations, General Motors Canada and the Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) union have reached a deal that will help the automaker cut costs, allowing it to meet the terms for additional government loans. Ken Lewenza, head of the CAW,
May21
General Manager & Dealer Principal Information The UAW says it has reached a tentative new contract with General Motors and the U.S. Treasury Department aimed at helping the automaker restructure. The terms include reworking $20 billion in debt owed to a UAW-administered retiree health care trust known as a Voluntary Employees' Beneficiary Association, or VEBA, the union said in a statement today.
May19
Government regulators will get their prize of higher fuel-economy standards, and automakers will get the certainty of a national emissions standard, under new rules to be proposed Tuesday by President Barack Obama. The fleet average fuel economy for automakers will rise to 35.5 mpg in 2016 under the president's proposal--10 mpg more than today's mandate. At the same time, the president's proposed rule will cut carbon emissions, thought to be a key factor in global warming.
Daimler takes 10 percent stake in Tesla Motors Daimler AG has acquired an equity stake of nearly 10 percent of California electric car maker Tesla Motors Inc., During a press conference held at the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart this morning. Daimler said its stake in Tesla will allow the companies to collaborate even more closely
May07
The small town of Tracy, CA is the place to buy a new car! The municipality is giving away 800 $500 gift certificates to any one of the city's car dealerships and the dealers apparently love the program. Auto Sales in the region are down 50% versus previous years, and a Volkswagen store has already closed, and a Cadillac/Pontiac/GMC store is set to follow suit at the end of this month.
May06
Chrysler offers up to $6,000 worth of incentives As of May 6 2009, Chrysler is offering $4,000 Consumer Cash on all 2009 model year Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep vehicles. But that's not all, if you own a current vehicle from one of those three brands, you get an additional $1,000 off on most 2008 and 2009 models (Chrysler doesn't say which ones in its press release after the jump, though). But wait, th
May01
APRIL 2009 AUTOMOTIVE SALES BY THE NUMBERS Ford, Honda and General Motors posted their smallest sales declines of the year in April, while Nissan and Toyota had their largest, as the industry improved from depressed levels of February and March. Drops of 33 percent at Ford Motor Co. and GM were in line with ana
Apr30
Chrysler LLC filed for bankruptcy today in New York and charted its future by entering an alliance with Italy's Fiat S.p.A. Despite intense negotiations over the past few weeks, Chrysler failed to gain the full support from its lenders to avoid the first-ever bankruptcy filing by a major U.S. automaker.
Apr29
Swine influenza – U.S. Deaths & confirmed cases
As of April 29, 2009, 11:00 AM ET the United States has 91 confirmed cases and 1 Death
28 April 2009--The situation continues to evolve rapidly. As of 19:15 GMT, 28 April 2009, seven countries have officially reported cases of swine influenza A/H1N1 infection. The United States Government has reported 64 laboratory confirmed human cases,
Apr28
Swine Influenza (Flu) Key Facts
First! At this time there is no vaccines to protect humans from swine flu!
The human swine flu outbreak continues to grow in the United States and internationally. Today, CDC reports additional cases of confirmed swine influenza and a number of hospitalizations of swine flu patients. Internationally, the situation is
Apr27
Mazda's new CEO Takashi Yamanouchi introduced the Brand new 2010 Mazda CX-9 at the New York Auto Show.
Mazda is continuing to use the international auto show circuit to roll out its revamped model lineup, bringing its updated 2010 Mazda CX-9 to the 2009 New York Auto Show along with the refreshed CX-7 and the new Mazdaspeed3, both of which are making their debuts on U.S. soil.
Apr01
MARCH 2009 AUTOMOTIVE SALES BY THE NUMBERS Ford Motor Co. and General Motors posted the Steepest sales declines among major automakers as the industry headed toward its sixth straight monthly drop of more than 30 percent.Ford's March sales fell 42.1 percent and GM's were down 44.7 percent, for its fifth decline of more than 40 percent in the past six months. Chrysler LLC tumbled 39.3 percent, its smallest percentage slide since October.
Conficker Worm Virus, How To Protect Your Computer From the United Kingdom to servers of corporations in the United States to the average user across the globe, the Conficker Worm is attacking anything and everything in it's path, wreaking havoc and killing Internet connections, slowing corporate functions
Mar03
February saw a 41% decrease in sales making it the worst month since December 1981 The numbers are in and they are worse then forecasted, The industry total of 689,794 was the lowest of any month since December 1981 -- and the second-lowest since comprehensive light-vehicle monthly sales totals became available for comparison in 1975. Are we in a Automotive Recession or Depression? Between Chrysler Co.(-44%), Ford Motor Company (-48.4%) and General Motors (-52.9%) taking the big hit...
Feb03
The numbers are in! We just received the automotive sales for January 2009 and everything looks Gloom! Subaru, the only automaker to post any increase in U.S. sales last year, was up 8 percent along with Hyundai and Kia combined up 8.5 percent. Ford and General Motors fall more than 40 percent in January 2009 making this the worst month since August 1982,
Jan26
Chrysler and Fiat will bring seven new vehicles to North America under their new alliance, Automotive News said on Monday, citing sources who have seen the product-sharing agreement.
Of the seven vehicles—which will be built at Chrysler plants in North America and sold through select Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep dealerships—four will be sold under the Chrysler brand name and three as Fiats or Alfa Romeos, the magazine said.
CNBC.com
Italy's Fiat unveiled a deal last week to take a 35...
LLC is not actively pushing its dealer consolidation program and is instead focusing on maintaining whatever retail sales volume it can as the industry struggles with crippling sales declines, a top company executive said Saturday.
On the eve of last year's National Automobile Dealers Association annual convention, Chrysler officially announced Project Genesis, a plan to encourage greater dealer consolidation among the company's Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep stores and renew emphasis on...
Jan23
Jan22
WASHINGTON — U.S. Treasury secretary nominee Timothy Geithner said President Obama will send Congress a sweeping plan in the next few weeks to shore up banks and unlock credit markets, warning it will require action on a scale "not seen in generations" to address the worsening economic crisis.
Geithner and former Federal Reserve chairman Paul Volcker, now an Obama adviser, told the Senate Finance Committee that Washington must take bold steps to shore up credit markets, in addition...
WASHINGTON -- The Obama administration will require substantial changes from the U.S. auto industry and assemble a team of people to oversee the government's rescue package, the nominee for U.S. Treasury secretary told a Senate committee Wednesday.
The question was spurred by Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., who asked how Fiat SpA could arrange for a large stake in Chrysler LLC without providing any cash. Under the outlines of the agreement announced Monday, Fiat will get 35% of Chrysler...
Jan21
The target date for General Motors to get its second installment of government loans passed last week, but a top company executive says he expects the money to arrive in the next several days.
Fritz Henderson, GM's president and chief operating officer, said without the second installment of $5.4 billion, the company would run out of cash long before March 31. In December, the Treasury Department authorized $13.4 billion in loans for GM and another $4 billion for Chrysler to keep...
General Motors and Chrysler LLC have four weeks to win deep concessions from unions and creditors to prove they are viable, or they risk losing the $17.4 billion in government loans that are keeping them from bankruptcy.
But there are serious questions as to how great that risk is and what exactly GM and Chrysler have to show the government.
The term sheet also says that GM (GM, Fortune 500) and Chrysler have to reduce unsecured debt by two-thirds, but it is not specified how many...
The target date for General Motors Corp. to get its second installment of government loans passed last week, but a top company executive says he expects the money to arrive in the next several days.
Fritz Henderson, GM's president and chief operating officer, said without the second installment of $5.4 billion, the company would run out of cash long before March 31.
In December, the Treasury Department authorized $13.4 billion in loans for GM and another $4 billion for Chrysler LLC...
Jan20
Industrywide U.S. auto sales have weakened a bit after being relatively strong in the first half of January, Ford Motor's marketing and sales chief said Tuesday.
Farley said that of Tuesday, Ford had enough liquidity to fund its product plans.
He said he believes the new Obama administration will put in place some type of program to spur consumer demand, whether with a direct stimulus package or some other strategy. Asked about the alliance between Chrysler and Fiat announced...
Chrysler LLC, rescued last month with $4 billion in federal loans, is trading a 35 percent stake to Italy’s Fiat SpA as the two companies work to create viable carmaking operations.
Cerberus Capital Management LP’s Chrysler, the third- largest U.S. automaker, would get access to Fiat’s small-car lineup and global sales network to wean itself from dependence on trucks and the North American market, while Fiat would expand a U.S. foothold now limited to its luxury brands.
An alliance...
Jan19
Mid-Michigan auto dealers say it's a little tougher than it was to find financing for new vehicles, but many customers' worries that they can't get loans at all are overblown.
Mid-Michigan banks and credit unions say they continue to have money available to loan to creditworthy customers. In October, several local bankers said their institutions hadn't changed their credit requirements and were weathering the financial storm that affected larger, more aggressive institutions.
The...
So as the Detroit auto show highlights a new world of hybrids and high-tech battery-powered cars, the major concern for most consumers continues to be last year's pitiful model for auto financing. Can they get a car loan? And if so, how many hoops will they have to jump through to get it?
Credit, while still an issue, appears to loosening up from the extremely tight standards that hit in late '08. Thanks to federal bailout money, GMAC LLC in late December lifted some strict...
The government expanded its bailout of the nation's troubled auto industry yesterday, announcing a new $1.5 billion loan for Chrysler Financial while Ford Credit said it was in talks to obtain federal aid.
The money for Chrysler Financial will come from the government's $700 billion financial rescue program. Senior officials from the Treasury and Federal Reserve are hoping the assistance, combined with earlier support for General Motors' chief lender GMAC, will keep auto loans...
Less than a month from today, GM and Chrysler will have to give the federal government an update on how they are doing in restructuring their companies.
The clock is definitely ticking.
The question is whether GM [GM 3.93 0.01 (+0.26%) ] and Chrysler will be ready to answer the bell when it rings in the middle of February? Both companies say yes, they will (what else would you expect them to say?) be ready.
Both claim that they are moving fast to change their companies. And...
Jan16
If you thought the auto industry and economy might be close to bottoming out and getting some traction, think again.
The world's two largest auto makers are sending fresh signs that things will remain as bad, if not worse in 2009.
Get ready for a rocky first quarter of the year.
So what does all of this mean?
Taken as a whole, it tells us the economy and consumer confidence remains weak. And don't expect that to change anytime soon. Sure, congress is passing bills to spark the...
Jan15
General Motors said on Thursday it expected U.S. auto sales this year to drop to the lowest level in 27 years, cutting a key planning forecast as it works to cut its debt and labor costs.
GM logo, General Motors logo
GM said it would plan on U.S. auto sales dropping to near 10.5 million units in 2009.
That would be the lowest level of auto sales in the world's largest vehicle market since 1982. It also marks a sharp downward revision from GM's earlier assumption of sales of 12...
Hyundai Motor has put its only U.S. manufacturing plant on a three-day work week schedule for the month of January in response to lower consumer demand, people with direct knowledge of the situation said on Wednesday.
The production cut comes at a time when major automakers are scrambling to reduce a glut of unsold cars and trucks in the face of a plunge in global auto demand.
Hyundai declined to comment on the specific changes to production schedules at its plant near Montgomery...
Jan14
Rod Lache, the Deutsche Bank automotive analyst who set the target price for GM shares at zero, told the Society of Automotive Analysts that GM might have to consider bankruptcy given complications that arose with the rescue of GM's minority-owned financial arm, GMAC.
Lache's remarks were made at the Society of Automotive Analysts' annual Automotive Outlook Conference, which is usually held during the Detroit auto show. This year's event was held at the Detroit Marriott Renaissance...
Jan13
DETROIT — The auto industry is warming up to the idea of higher taxes on gasoline to force buyers to keep considering fuel-efficient and small cars.
Automakers have shifted dramatically to production of small cars and expensive fuel-saving technologies partly to meet looming stricter government fuel-economy regulations.
The carmakers acknowledge that raising the gas tax is an unpopular idea, but they also saw how fast consumer preference shifted toward small cars when gasoline...
Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm said in an interview the state is looking to offer big incentives to car-battery companies and other suppliers to that industry to locate in her state. Ms. Granholm said that as much as $2 billion in aid to the battery industry could be included in a stimulus package from the Obama administration.
Mr. Wagoner said GM has committed more than $1 billion to the Volt. He sought to tamp down uncertainty over the product's future that emerged in mid...
Jan08
It’s that time of year again, the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas Nevada, and we cant wait to see what is going on in the world of electronics.
Sling Media, Incour first stop at the 2009 CES show was the Sling Media table where they previewed their sling box that allow customers to stream TV, movies and more from your computer connection of their table top box.
Auto executives across the globe are increasingly pessimistic about their industry, and only a small number expect their companies' profits to rise in the next five years, according to an annual survey.
The survey of 200 senior executives worldwide painted a bleak picture for the industry, with most predicting continued restructuring and too much factory capacity across the globe, according to the survey conducted by the accounting and advisory firm KPMG LLP.
Many expected Detroit...
Democrats and environmental groups had mixed reactions, on the one hand criticizing the Bush administration for dragging its feet while on the other welcoming the chance for the new administration to set its own guidelines.
The guidelines must be issued no later than April 1 so auto companies have time to engineer 2011 models. "Now more than ever automakers need certainty, and this decision only further delays their ability to finalize future product plans," said Charles Territo, a...
Jan07
Detroit automakers are no longer in the driver's seat when it comes to their own recovery. The U.S. economy is.
No matter what further concessions the United Auto Workers union makes, what debt relief the automakers win in talks with creditors and what kind of additional federal help is made available, U.S. consumers have to start buying cars again.
And a rebound in sales will be difficult, if not impossible, to come by for General Motors (GM, Fortune 500), Ford Motor (F, Fortune...
Miami Florida, LeaseTrader.com an online marketplace for car lease transfers announced yesterday that it had increased business 28 percent from last December.
It would seem that with all the problems people are facing today LeaseTrader.com has given the Car lease holder a choice to get out of their current lease contract.
The Auto Industry is currently suffering from one of the worst sales recessions since 1992 and with no liquidity in the market LeaseTrader.com may be the only...
The historic collapse of the new-car market dragged on in December, raising questions of whether the auto industry will ever again have sales levels that it took for granted just a few years ago.
G.M. and Chrysler received emergency federal loans last week to stave off bankruptcy while they accelerated their reorganization efforts.
But unless consumers change course and return to vehicle showrooms, the entire industry will be forced to make sweeping adjustments to cope with...
Jan06
What American needs the most right now is a responsible Congress whose members put aside their own well being and those of their narrow constituencies for the collective good. But, hey, don't hold your breath, especially if you're Barack Obama and you have big plans to create three million new jobs and spend nearly a trillion dollars doing so.
The president-elect in whom so much hope is placed will find out quickly enough if he doesn't already know that even with his own party in...
FRANKFURT GERMANY, Porsche Automobile Holding Announced yesterday that it now holds 50.76 percent of Volkswagen which in turn generates a mandatory takeover of Scania Group . Porsche Automobile Holding purchased an additional 8.16 percent worth of Volkswagen stock, about $8.5 billion dollars worth bringing it from 42.6 percent to 50.76 percent. In earlier reports Porsche Automobile Holding stated it initially planned to raise its stake in VW to over 50 percent by year’s end 2008. New...
The U.S. auto industry had the worst year since 1992 No one could predict a year ago how bad the auto industry would hit; unfortunately we haven’t seen the worst yet. The total industry fell to over 35 percent from last years leaves despite the amount of incentives offered to consumers. According to Edmunds.com the average incentive rose 8 percent to just over $2,900 per vehicle in December.
After a year in which U.S. auto sales tumbled 18 percent and GM had its worst year in nearly a half-century amid slack demand fueled by a terrible economic outlook and growing job worries, automakers are reluctant to predict when a recovery might occur.
An even sharper sales decline in December alone means that record high rebates and low-interest financing deals will stick around until at least February. But those deals will likely disappear as the remaining 2008 models are sold...
Jan05
With no extra charge to the sticker price, the program pays the difference between the car's trade-in value at the time the owner files a claim and any remaining balance on the loan up to a maximum of $7,500.
Hyundai is offering the program because its own market research showed car shoppers weren't attracted by rebates and other more normal incentives, said Joel Ewanick, Hyundai America's vice president for marketing. People are simply too worried about making payments no matter how ...
The decline means Ford’s sales fell 20.7 percent, a difference of more than 500,000 vehicles, for all of 2008.
Other major automakers, including foreign and domestic brands, are expected to say that their sales fell at least 38 percent in December, according to projections by Edmunds.com. The most dismal reports will probably come from General Motors and Chrysler, which both received $4 billion in loans from the federal government at the end of December to help them remain solve...
Auto sales likely dropped a breathtaking 3 million vehicles in 2008, the largest decline since 1974, said Ford Motor's head of sales analysis Friday.
The last time sales fell that much, the country was embroiled in the 1973 to 1974 oil embargo crisis, with drivers lining up outside gas station waiting for fuel.
The 2008 forecast Friday from George Pipas, manager of sales analysis for Ford Motor (F), comes just days before the auto industry is set to release December sales figu...
Jan02
The U.S. Treasury threw the door open to taxpayer financing for more companies and industries by drafting broad guidelines on auto industry aid.
The guidelines, published Wednesday, would let officials provide funds to any company they deem important to making or financing cars. That leaves room to provide money from the Troubled Asset Relief Program beyond loans already committed to General Motors (GM), GMAC and Chrysler.
Dec31
Struggling finance firm GMAC LLC said Wednesday that bondholders tendered $21.2 billion in notes in its bid to raise capital for its new status as a bank-holding company.
The lender's goal had been to raise $30 billion by converting 75% of its issued debt into preferred stock holdings. The offer expired Friday after having been extended four times.
Since then, GMAC has received commitments from the federal government for $6 billion in aid and already announced it would ease re...
As the worst sales year in more than a decade draws to a close, auto dealers are sweetening deals this week in a last-ditch effort to unload acres of cars.
Cash back, 0% interest rates and even wackier deals, such as buy-one-get-one-free, are being tried to squeeze out a few last sales.
General Motors added a last-minute inducement Tuesday by offering 0% to 4.9% financing through Monday on some remaining 2008 models. Financing arm GMAC said the loans were made possible by a $6...
Dec30
GMAC LLC announced today that it will immediately be offering financing for more US consumers, This just after GMAC agreed to sell a $5 billion stake to the government yesterday.
The financing will be provided to retail buyers of new cars and trucks who have credit scores better then 620. This past October GMAC put restrictions on loans to borrowers with beacon scores of less then 700 to control its expositor during the credit crisis.
Credit scores range between 300 and 850, a...
GMAC, the automobile financing company, said Tuesday morning that it would immediately resume financing to a wider range of car buyers, a day after the Treasury Department injected billions of dollars into the lender.
GMAC said in a statement that it would modify its credit criteria to include financing for customers with a credit score of 621 or above, a significant expansion of credit compared to the 700 minimum score put in place two months ago. GMAC had significantly cut back on t...
The auto sector is expected to be the most financially troubled industry in the United States next year, taking the top spot from the homebuilding group, according to a survey of restructuring and bankruptcy professionals released on Monday.
As the nation has slid into recession, auto and auto parts makers have been slammed by dropping sales, pushing industry stalwarts such as General Motors and their suppliers to the brink of bankruptcy.
Homebuilding was named the most troubl...
Dec29
General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC still haven’t figured out how to close thousands of dealerships, a promise in the plan they presented to Congress to win loans, starting with $4 billion that each is due to receive today.
The companies have been hoping that dealers would close or sell stores on their own, as industrywide sales have fallen to the lowest level in 17 years. The attrition hasn’t been happening fast enough, and the automakers have few tools at their disposa...
GMAC LLC refused to reveal whether creditors had backed a $38 billion debt restructuring, despite the fact that the outcome isn't expected to disrupt the efforts by the auto and real-estate lender to become a bank holding company. The lender, owned by General Motors Corp. and a group of private equity holders led by Cerberus Capital Management, stated that the deadline for restructuring passed at 11.59 pm Friday. This is the forth time GMAC had extended the deadline in an effort to win ...
Through three decades of decline, union leaders have been predicting a renaissance that has not come. But labor invested more than $300 million to help elect Mr. Obama and enlarge the Democratic majority in Congress, and it expects both to enact legislation that will make it easier for millions of workers to unionize.
Skeptics say the outlook for labor is as bleak as ever. Business leaders and Congressional Republicans have vowed to block the new legislation, and Mr. Obama might want ...
Dec24
General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co. shares declined for a second day Tuesday as Wall Street continued to absorb the details of the federal government's bailout of the domestic automobile industry.
The White House's $17.4 billion bailout of GM and privately held Chrysler LLC prompted key ratings agencies to slash their outlook for America's carmakers Monday, while fears of a deepening recession have made an already bleak situation that much worse.
As a result, GM's stock lo...
Dec23
The Federal Reserve announced today that it would include floorplan loans for new car dealers, out of the $200 billion bail out program designed to stimulate small business and consumer lending. This has nothing to do with the 17.4 Billion loan program for General Motors and Chrysler received on December 19t The Program called TALF (Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility) is designed to help businesses and consumers get credit. Auto dealers' inventory will also be eligible under the TALF ...
George W. Bush awarded General Motors and Chrysler the $17.4 billion government loan program theoretically saving the US automotive manufactures from filing bankruptcy. But the Bush bailout program never addressed a group pending issues that will ultimately map out the real plan of survival.
Highlights of the deal • GM gets a $13.4 billion loan; Chrysler gets $4 billion. • Government gets stock warrants for the loans. • GM, Chrysler...
The worst U.S. auto market since the early 1990s may force Toyota Motor Corp. to do something that was once unthinkable: cut its North American payroll.
Asia’s largest automaker, which hasn’t shed workers in 24 years of building cars in the U.S., is exhausting options to trim costs after halting work on a Prius plant in Mississippi, idling a Texas truck factory for 15 weeks and planning to pare U.S. and Canadian output next month.
When automakers first came to Congress, Americans overwhelmingly opposed making loans to General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC to help them through their cash crisis. However, a new poll shows that by the time President George W. Bush approved $13.4 billion in automaker loans on Friday, the nation had changed its collective mind.
The poll of 1,013 adults, conducted by Opinion Research Corporation for CNN Dec. 19-21, showed that 63% supported the loans to the two automakers. But if the...
These goals are generally consistent with the conditions I outlined as necessary for the Detroit Three to achieve viability when I testified before the Senate Banking Committee on November 18. For example, laid off workers could no longer sit in the Jobs Banks collecting 90 percent of pay and benefits indefinitely and engaging in productive activities like pinochle.
Financial viability requires projecting a positive net present value, taking into account all current and future costs. ...
Dec22
The tiny town of Lincoln, Ala., is 706 miles from Detroit. But as the U.S. recession deepens, the distance between this Southern enclave of the American auto industry and the Big Three's headquarters to the North seems to be shrinking.
At the edge of the 4,500-resident town looms a massive Honda plant, marked only by two tall towers bearing the Japanese automaker's name and by the sounds of industry that drift into Lincoln on otherwise sleepy afternoons. The plant, which opened in 200...
Gettelfinger said the union is willing to make further concessions, but feels workers are being unfairly targeted under the loan deal.
In the meantime, Wagoner said GM will continue to scour for deeper cost cuts as it struggles to weather the worst sales environment in more than 20 years.
While looking to save money, GM is weighing whether to participate in major auto shows outside Detroit, he said. In November GM opted not to attend the Los Angeles auto show. Major shows in N...
Governor David Paterson of New York has proposed 88 new fees and taxes in his attempts to close a $15.4 billion budget gap. Adding a tax to sporting events, alcohol, Internet downloads, shopping, taxis, soda, movie tickets, cable TV and automobiles. The plan, which needs legislative approval, did not include an income tax increase, but relied on less significant ones to rise over $4 billion from New Yorkers strapped for cash. "The governor is nickel-and-diming the working class fam...
The news of the once-mighty Big Three auto makers getting a financial lifeline from the federal government is a fitting climax to the long and rocky relationship between Detroit and Washington.
Detroit's car makers helped America win World War II by churning out tanks and planes. They then powered the rise of the blue-collar middle class. More recently, General Motors Corp. helped jump-start the U.S. economy after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks by promoting zero-interest financing on car...
Dec19
The Bush Administration's plan to use TARP funding to aid the auto industry and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson’s decision to seek the remaining $350 billion generated more confusion and concern about the already controversial emergency spending program. CNBC.com
Though the auto bailout package was widely expected, Paulson’s decision represented another policy reversal, having told CNBC just days ago
General Motors and Chrysler will receive up to $17.4 billion in short-term loans from the US government as part of an aid package to the troubled auto industry.
President George Bush will make a statement at 9 am New York time Friday, the White House said.
Bridge loans to carry the companies for several months could be announced as early as Friday, said the sources, who were not authorized to publicly discuss the negotiations.
Dec18
Ford Motor Co. announced today that it will close 10 of its 12 North American assembly plants the week of January 5th as part of its previously planed announcement to curb output. The only 2 operating North American assembly facilities during that week will be the Dearborn, Michigan plant which make the F150 pickup trucks and the Kansas City plant which also make the F150 pickup truck, Ford Escape and Mercury Mariner. All plants are scheduled to commence operations the week of Janu...
The comments came a day after Chrysler LLC announced it was closing all its North American manufacturing plants for at least a month as it, General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co. await word on government action. General Motors also has been closing plants, and it and Chrysler have said they might not have enough money to pay their bills in a matter of weeks.
Prices of GM and Ford stocks were down substantially after the White House comments Thursday. Though Ford, unlike General Motor...
Struggling U.S. automakers are launching a round of severe cutbacks as they wait for a government rescue, with Chrysler saying yesterday it will idle all 30 of its U.S. factories for one month.
Chrysler's plants will furlough 46,000 workers beginning Friday, as a planned two-week holiday shutdown is extended to a month and possibly longer. The company, which has told Congress it needed $7 billion to survive the month, also told dealers that it may suspend financing for new cars in a b...
Credit unions are stepping into the auto-finance gap, striking deals with U.S. auto makers to provide loans for cars and trucks sold at discounted prices.
Anchored by institutions in the Midwest, credit unions from a dozen states have agreed over the past week to make $22 billion in loans available to members to finance purchases of any vehicle.
For U.S. auto makers, credit-union members could become an important lifeline as they struggle to compete against foreign-based auto ...
Dec17
Effective Jan. 1. OPEC announced today that it plains to slash 2.2 million barrels from its daily production, bring the grand total to 4.2 Million barrels it includes previous announced cuts that totaled 2 million barrels. "I hope we surprised you," OPEC President Chekib Khelil said when asked whether the size of the cut would shock moribund oil markets into an upward trend. "If you're not surprised we need to do something about it." The market didn’t respond to his ...
A government bailout for automakers was being assembled as quickly and carefully as possible, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said on Tuesday as a new ratings report showed that bankruptcy was the most likely restructuring scenario for the industry.
The Bush administration came under renewed pressure from fellow Republicans who urged the government extract stiffer concessions from labor and other groups than Democrats and the White House previously agreed were needed to qualify for a...
DETROIT -- A pair of new surveys suggest buyers aren't completely unwilling to buy a car from an auto maker in bankruptcy court, as long as the federal government is willing to play a role in helping the company restructure.
This contradicts the conventional view of Detroit auto makers that suggests consumers would shun a bankrupt auto maker over fears related to the resale value of a car, the warranty and the ability to secure service and replacement parts. video
WASHINGTON -- Treasury Department officials are weighing the condition of the nation's banks before they loan money to General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC, possibly by Friday.
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said automakers would soon get emergency loans but the department is still asking detailed questions of automakers before it allocates any money from the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP. GM and Chrysler are seeking up to $15 billion in emergency aid to keep ...
Dec16
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Bush administration could act as early as Wednesday to approve an automaker bailout from its bank rescue fund, with conditions likely to reflect at least those approved by the U.S. House of Representatives last week, key lawmakers and other sources said on Monday.
A Treasury Department official said the agency and auto company executives continued to review financial and other information, and that no decision had been made. The White House is actively invol...
Most Americans continue to oppose a government-backed rescue plan for Detroit's Big Three automakers as majorities blame the industry for its own problems and are unconvinced failure would hurt the economy, according to a new Washington Post-
Overall, 55 percent of those polled oppose the latest plan that Chrysler, Ford and General Motors executives pitched to Congress last week, on par with public opposition to earlier, pricier efforts. But with 42 percent support, the new request fo...
Dec15
General Motors’ bonds are currently yielding a whopping 56 percent. But with the interest rate on U.S. government bonds paying close to 0 percent, are people rushing out to buy these General Motors’ bonds? Do people really think that this is a great way to make a killing? Hardly.
General Motors’ high interest rate means one thing: investors who have their money on the line don’t believe that these bonds will get paid off. In fact, this interest rate is so high ...
As consumers gear up for the holiday shopping season, LeaseTrader.com reveals this holiday season’s top car gadgets according to a recent poll. LeaseTrader.com, a leading provider of automobile lease transfers, polled more than 1000 people that use Leasetrader.com to find the top car-related gadgets that they want this holiday season. “This year there are a number of items we’re excited about, such as Wi-Fi internet for your car, and the smart mirror with GPS,” said Se...
Detroit automakers, their suppliers and the United Auto Workers union hope the Bush administration acts quickly this week on a rescue plan that could avert bankruptcy filings by General Motors (GM) and Chrysler. The sticking points are sure to center on the "meaningful concessions" that White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said will be imposed on the companies, creditors and workers to protect the taxpayers. A $14 billion bailout loan package fell apart last week when Senate Republic...
As the White House and Detroit's automakers continued working together on a new rescue plan over the weekend, following the collapse last week of the $14-billion lifeline for General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC, President George W. Bush hinted Sunday that a new deal was not far from being reached.
The White House said an announcement is still not expected today, but Bush reassured reporters aboard Air Force One during a previously unannounced trip to Iraq and Afghanistan:
Dec12
Bankruptcy update, November 2008, November 2008 was another record month for Companies and individuals seeking court protection from creditors. Data compiled by Automated Access to Court Electronic Records show Bankruptcy filings in the U.S. rose to 91,355 for the month of November. With only 18 business days counted in November the daily filing rate rose to 5,075 a 2.6% increase from October, the first time since the changes in U.S. bankruptcy law back in 2005. Topically if we ...
Senate Republicans voice opposition to auto bailout bill AFP/Getty Images/File – US Senator Tom Coburn (C) speaks as fellow Senate Republicans listen during a news conference on the …
The Senate’s defeat of a White House-backed bailout for the auto industry pushes General Motors Corp. to the brink and puts pressure on President Bush to reconsider his refusal to tap Treasury funds to stave off bankruptcies this winter among Detroit’s Big Three.
SEOUL (Reuters) - The collapse of a proposed bailout for U.S. automakers has raised fears of a deeper economic slowdown and further financial shocks that may jeopardize worldwide efforts to ease a global recession.
Any failure or bankruptcy of General Motors Corp, Ford Motor Co or Chrysler LLC could cost tens of thousands of jobs, hit credit markets and disrupt the auto industry's global supply chain, economists said on Friday.
Financial market reaction to the plan's collapse ...
Dec11
The Wall Street Journal just released their list of top stocking stuffers from Gadgets to Cell phones to Games. Their analysts have determined the best products for the dollar. The Gadgets listed 5 high-tech items that whole family would enjoy.
1. Nikon D90 2. Hewlett-Packard HPTouchSmart Tx2z series 3. Polaroid PoGo Instant Mobile Printer 4. Scan Disk Sansa Fuze ...
WASHINGTON — The prospects of a $14 billion government rescue of the American auto industry seemed to vaporize Thursday morning as the Senate Republican leader, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, spoke out forcefully against the bill, effectively dooming its chances despite the urgings of the White House.
In a speech on the Senate floor, Mr. McConnell said he and other Republicans had drawn a clear distinction between the Treasury’s $700 billion economic stabilization, which the...
This came to us via email and has been posted all over the Internet. It summarizing the way most Americans feel about the automotive bailout program. Between the greedy unions and company executives this whole ordeal has left a bad taste in everyone’s mouth. This bailout only represents the US government reward for bad business. What type of motivation are these companies going to have to create better products or run leaner? Their only motivation now is to ask for more mon...
Good morning. It's Thursday. Here's what's making news right now:
Bailout: Slate says some of the nation's major newspapers chose to lead their front pages with the news that members of the House approved an emergency $14 billion bailout for the Big Three automakers. The package now moves to the Senate.
Dec10
In an economy that relies on brand loyalty for sales J.D. Power and Associates released their 2008 Customer Retention Study(SM) today. The six year study measurers the percentage of new car buyers that replace their car with a new automobile of the same brand. Honda has always retained a high standard on the list but this marks the first time in history Honda makes the highest ranks since its inception
U.S. stocks rose, recovering more than one-third of yesterday’s slide, as speculation lawmakers will approve a $15 billion bailout to keep automakers afloat and boost the economy pushed commodity producers higher.
Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. jumped 13 percent amid bets that Congress will approve a rescue, lifting demand for metals. Chevron Corp. advanced 4.5 percent as oil climbed after Russia signaled it may coordinate a production cut with OPEC. American Express Co...
Compared with the other two domestic automakers, Ford looks like it's already been blessed. The automaker has $18.9 billion in cash and $10.7 billion in untapped credit, which Mulally says has his company positioned to survive the market falloff.
Not that Ford isn't hurting: It lost $129 million in the third quarter and says it won't be profitable again until 2010 — at the earliest.
But its cash position puts it in the enviable position of saying it doesn't plan to tap g...
Dec09
Our present global economic slowdown is now projected to be more severe and longer than originally projected. It will bring on more reductions in demand for energy on a global level, there for a continuing decline in all energy prices including crude oil. The average monthly price of West Texas Intermediate crude oil, also known as Texas Light Sweet oil has dropped more than 50% between July and November caused by the rapid decline in world petroleum demand. The average price for WTI is now p...
The draft bill, first sent to the White House Monday, would call on President Bush to select one or more people within the executive branch to authorize, disperse and oversee a loan for the auto industry. Congress and the White House have been hashing out a plan to give General Motors and Chrysler a total, short-term infusion of about $15 billion in low-interest loans to stay afloat in the months ahead.
GM CEO Rick Wagoner told lawmakers last week that without an infusion of $4 billio...
Dec08
The United Auto Workers union, meanwhile, is planning to seek a stake in General Motors and a seat on its board in exchange for concessions by its members.
The draft bill, which is still being negotiated by Congressional leaders and the Bush administration, would provide emergency bridge loans totaling about $15 billion to the foundering automakers, particularly General Motors and Chrysler, which are in the greatest danger of financial collapse.
The president’s appointee...
The UAW believes that they deserve an equity stake in GM for helping them through these tough times. In return for allowing GM to modify the terms and conditions of their health-care agreement and allowing the suspension of the controversial Jobs Bank program that pays near-full compensation to idled workers. The UAW would like an equity stake, that would “most likely" come with a seat on the board of directors. This statement came from a letter posted on the internet by Marc McQui...
Congressional Democrats and the Bush White House had reached an agreement in principle to provide stopgap support for the U.S. auto industry, congressional and industry sources said late Friday.
The deal would keep the most troubled companies out of bankruptcy court at least through the end of March.
Two officials familiar with the compromise talks told CNN that the working target is $15 billion to $17 billion in bridge loans.
While the money is less than the $34 billi...
After an eventful two years, the 110th Congress is apparently going to conclude its business this week - though whether it will be a successful conclusion for the stricken auto industry remains an open question.
The Senate will convene today and the House will essentially be on standby to take up aid to the auto industry after Congressional officials and White House staff worked through the weekend to put together a bill that would provide the Big Three with cash to tide them over int...
Dec05
This week’s sale special, Volvo for $6 Billion Another Sales Special for the week, Ford is asking $6 billion for the Volvo brand name. Ford paid 6.4 billion back in 1999 Sources say that Ford’s attempt to sell Volvo is only a ploy to show congress that it attempts to cut cost thus rewarding the automaker government bailout money. Ford bought Volvo back in 1999 for $6.4 billion. Now, 8 years later, unconfirmed reports say Ford is asking nearly the same amount $...
Saying he's concerned about the viability of U.S. automakers, President George W. Bush called on lawmakers to act next week on a proposal to give the ailing companies $25 billion in already-authorized loans.
The president, acknowledging for the first time that the U.S. is in a recession, expressed concern for workers who have lost jobs in the downturn and said the administration is working to stabilize financial markets and free up credit.
Ear...
WASHINGTON — The chief executives of America’s foundering automobile manufacturers returned to Capitol Hill on Thursday and found themselves confronting years of pent-up anger, the harsh politics of a recession and the realization that even their strongest supporters might not be able to muster the votes to save them.
Fiscal hawks are worried that taxpayers will lose billions. Pro-labor lawmakers are furious that union workers are being blamed for causing the
Dec04
Green Oil or as it is named G-Oil That is right, a Connecticut based Green Earth Technologies has been marketing its G-Oil a Synthetic Oil made from animal fat for lawn and garden equipment now offer it for your car. The G-Oil for small engines has been available at Home Depot, TrueValue, ACE Hardware and other retail suppliers, and is awaiting approval from the American Petroleum Institute new automotive applications. G-Oil is biodegradable, and uses the animal fat would typical...
As executives for the U.S.-based automakers return to Capitol Hill Thursday it's uncertain if they'll get the full financial bailout that they've asked for, but General Motors Corp. could be granted the funds it says it needs to make it through the rest of the year while Ford Motor Co. could get a credit line it wants, an analyst said.
Dec03
UAW president Ron Gettelfinger announced today the he would suspend the Jobs Bank program and allow the Detroit Auto Makers to delay making any payments to the retiree health care trust in 2010. Ron Gettelfinger, feels that this will help the automakers through their cash crisis, He also stated that the union will be making modifications to the 2007 contracts in order to preserve their foothold.
As the fate of the United States auto industry hangs in the balance, a profound question has taken center stage: what about the planes?
The chief executives of Detroit’s Big Three auto companies are hoping to avoid another drubbing like the one they received during a Congressional hearing on Nov. 19 for having flown on their private jets to Washington to plead for a bailout.
Dec02
The Automaker: A Dyeing bread that at one time was profitable like high pieced oil companies charging $145.00 a barrel. I don’t believe you’re surprised to see record losses for the automotive industry. November 2008 was just another kick in pants for the US Automotive Manufacture. It is just one kick of many to come says Mike Silver, Senior analyst for LeaseTreader.com.
Between Ford, General Motors, Toyota and Honda alone lost over 30% of sales in Novembe...
What's so bad about letting Ford, Chrysler and GM slip into bankruptcy? Gary Burtless and Daniel J. Ikenson debate bailing out the Big Three. Two of the Big Three U.S. automakers face grave and immediate peril. They are burning through their cash reserves so fast that they may be forced to seek protection under the bankruptcy laws within the next couple of months. Ford, which is in a stronger financial position than Chrysler or General Motors, may not survive much longer than its more ...
If anyone is to take blame I would first look at the executives of both organizations, the Auto makers and the United Auto Workers Union (UAW).Unions are goods, I can not argue because they gave us fair working conditions, heath care and income security but taking advantage with ridiculous high salaries and programs that pay you for not working is absurd. You can argue this issue to death but in the end unions will ultimately drive the big three into bankruptcy. It is impossible to sustain th...
Dec01
Laid-off auto workers get paid hundred of million of dollar each year.
UAW President Ron Gettelfinger announced today that he would possibly eliminate the job banks program in efforts to help Detroit stay competitive. The job banks program was established during the 1984 labor contract talks between the UAW and the Big Three. (Ford GM and Chrysler)
The union feels it is still hurting from the loss of over 500,000 employees during the recession of early 80’s a...
Nov28
Car dealers, parts makers, union leaders and others hoping to convince lawmakers that the industry is an indispensable piece of the economy are planning a caravan to Washington in early December. The 525-mile drive will occur as auto executives make a second plea for federal assistance. The caravan participants are not asking for money directly, but are among those who would suffer if the industry collapsed.
Nov26
Spencer Platt, Getty ImagesTrucks from Ford's 2009 F-150 series are parked in a lot in Detroit last week. Analysts said yesterday that any emergency cash for Detroit's Big Three automakers would just be a lifeline until Barack ...
The tens of billions of U. S. taxpayer dollars being asked for by Detroit could be the tip of the iceberg, analysts at JPMorgan said yesterday.
With Congress preparing to hand struggling automakers General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LL...
Nov25
Starting next week the Federal Reserve will buy over $100 Billion in bad dept from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac including the 12 Federal Home Loan Banks in an aggressive bidding process through the central bank's primary securities brokers. Federal Reserve will also contract asset administrators to buy over $500 billion in mortgage-backed securities issued by Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, and Ginnie Mae. Unlike Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, Ginnie Mae has always been under ent controlRead More...
Congress took a sensible step in telling Detroit to come back with a plan before lawmakers consider an auto-industry bailout. Now that the heat is temporarily off, Congress should go the full monty and shut the door.
This may seem callous, and also brutally unfair in the wake of all the help that has been doled out to Wall Street. It may also look self-destructive
It was a dose of tough love that President-elect Barack Obama offered the American auto industry Monday. America shouldn't let the auto makers "vanish," he said at a news conference. But the auto companies should get help, he added, only when they show a better plan for pulling out of their downward slide.
Nov24
NEW YORK (Associated Press) - After being skewered by Congress and lampooned on NBC's "Saturday Night Live," the CEOs of Detroit's three automakers may end up making their return trip to Washington by car as they seek a federal bailout.
The Detroit area's auto industry, whose livelihood depends on the health of Chrysler LLC, Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Corp. spent the weekend e-mailing and discussing how to set up a giant car caravan to seek help from Congress.
Auto executive specifics about how they plan to spend taxpayers' money and crimp their highflying lifestyles if they hope to get aid from the federal government, congressional leaders and key members of the incoming Obama administration said Sunday.
Nov21
JD Power and Associates Rakes Jaguar the highest buyer’s satisfaction award moving up from No. 3 last year in the 2007 SSI rankings. Jaguar held the number one position for the three consecutive years prior to last year. Rounding off the top 5 were HUMMER, Lexus, Cadillac and Mercedes. Low in the study Chrysler LLC brands Dodge and Jeep, Mazda, Nissan and Mitsubishi, with Honda, Toyota, Scion, Subaru, Suzuki and Hyundai also coming in under the industry average.
With two of Detroit's Big Three automakers teetering on the brink of collapse, congressional leaders yesterday refused to advance a proposal for a federal bailout, saying auto industry executives had failed to persuade lawmakers that they would make good use of the money.
Instead, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) ordered General Motors, Chrysler and Ford to submit detailed proposals by Dec. 2 explaining how an emergency infusion o...
Ports all across the United States are becoming gigantic parking lots with excess inventory of new cars form Mercedes-Benz, Toyota, and Nissan’s
The amount of new cars rolling off these huge containerships have not changed due to the ordering process , dealers typically place orders months in advance making it hard for them to modify the order for fewer vehicles . By the time the order is changed it has already hit the dock and now becomes excess inventory for the manufacture.Read More...
Over and over, as I watched Rick Wagoner, Alan Mulally, Bob Nardelli and Ron Gettelfinger stumble and pause their way through two days of erratic questioning by U.S. Senate and House committees in Washington, D.C., I kept thinking the same thought.
These guys don't get it.
They're trying to win a $25-billion lifeline of loans for Detroit's auto industry by appealing to the minds of Americans with logic and dense facts and figures -- but the only shot they've got is to...
WASHINGTON – A Democratic Congress, unwilling or unable to approve a $25 billion bailout for Detroit's Big Three, appears ready to punt the automakers' fate to a lame-duck Republican president.
Caught in the middle of a who-blinks-first standoff are countless manufacturing firms and auto dealers — and millions of Americans' jobs.
For now, with the plan headed for a roadblock in the Senate, lawmakers in both parties are engaged in a high-stakes game of chicken, posi...
I am sick and tired of hearing about the Big three Auto Makers begging for money!! I love how the talks went from making better cars for the consumer to begging for handouts from the US Government! I haven’t seen one article on improving operations and changing the type of product they make in the past 5 weeks. It has turned to desperate attempts to get money from daddy! Unless these companies start reinventing themselves they are going to fail. Making prod...
WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)- Proposals to give U.S. automakers $25 billion in funds from the Treasury's financial-market rescue package are "unnecessary and unreasonable," the White House said Tuesday, stiffening its opposition to legislation introduced by top Democrats this week.
"We're going to draw the line at the $25 billion that has already been appropriated," White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said, referring to the Department of Energy loan program designed to ...
Nov. 19 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. auto company executives today will make their plea for government aid for the second straight day, as prospects for a Democratic-backed assistance plan waned.
General Motors Corp. Chief Executive Richard Wagoner, Ford Motor Co.'s Alan Mulally and Robert Nardelli of Chrysler LLC are scheduled to testify today at a House Financial Services Committee hearing after telling a Senate panel yesterday that they need $25 billion to keep operating.
A plan by ...
Ford officially releases its control over Mazda by selling off 20% of its shares and putting a little over $540 Million dollars into its pockets. The sale reduces Ford’s share’s from 33.4% to 13.4% The shares are being sold back to Mazda Motor Co. at 7 percent
The 13.4% will still give Ford significant leverage in their joint venture with Mazda. Ford will still remain the largest shareholder of Mazda Motor Co. and will maintain its seat on the Mazda Board of Directors
NEW MUSTANG, IS FORD NUTS!!!
If you have been looking at any of the recent reports of lately you would know that Ford stock is plummeting. As of today you can buy a share of Ford stock for the price of a cup of coffee $1.74
What is FORD thinking, less then 3 years since the last remodeling? I believe the release of the 2009 Chevy Camaro, inspired Ford to come up with a more masculine style of a muscle car. It even has a lot of the Comaro’s style hood lights and rear quar...
Like concerned parents should we refuse to enable the US Automakers to receive their quick fix that will ultimately result in failure and or make them dependent like crack addicts begging for Handouts.
Giving money out doesn’t make your company improve; it makes your company improve the way it asks for money (hand outs). Like the US airlines, if haven’t learned our lesson from the airline industry we are crazy, the airline industry isn’t better from government ...
LOS ANGELES — General Motors' (GM) Cadillacs and Hummers may be icons of extravagance, but a cash crunch is forcing frugality on the automaker, from paper clips to auto shows.
GM puts its poverty on center stage by its obvious absence from media events at the Los Angeles Auto Show starting this week. It canceled a multiday series of events, including unveiling of a new Buick and Saab and parties and seminars around the show.
GM also has canceled the lavish, star-studded ...
Nov14
Stiff Republican Resistance Could Force Democrats to Wait for Obama and Their Party's Enlarged Majority to Take Office
WASHINGTON -- Congressional Democrats are scaling back plans for an economic-stimulus package as partisan deadlock clouds chances for passage of either that measure or a proposed bailout of Detroit's auto makers until the party's enlarged majority convenes in January.
Former auto worker Willie Daniel leaves a United Auto Workers hall in Brook Park, Ohio, on We...
Having WiFi is a necessity in today’s world, besides the convenience it offers endless applications.
NOW Automobile companies like Ford and Chrysler offer internet access in the car to multiple users at the same time. The WiFi access will allow drivers and passengers to check their email and make reservations and avoid traffic accidents.
But with cutting edge technology there is always a price
President-elect Barack Obama is asking a Congressional lame-duck session to approve $25 billion to $50 billion in rescue aid for Detroit’s crumbling auto industry.
He also wants to appoint a czar or board to oversee the auto industry’s rescue and reconstruction, Bloomberg reported.
Both are steep requests that would require nationwide support – from Michigan state officials all the way up to President George W. Bush. Without 60 seats...
The effort by General Motors Corp. to secure a federal bailout faces an overlooked hurdle: skeptical politicians, policy makers and industry analysts who don't think the world's largest auto maker is capable of turning itself around.
"Detroit has had a lot of time to understand what it takes to compete. They wouldn't stand up to the labor-union bosses, and now they're facing the consequences," said Rep. Jeb Hensarling, a three-term Texas congressman and chairman of a group o...
President-elect Obama suggested to President Bush that the administration immediately provide extra help to struggling U.S. automakers, aides to the Democrat say, in their first face-to-face meeting since Election Day.
Obama's aides said the president-elect brought up the issue with Bush during their two-hour White House talks on Monday, expressing his view that action is needed now, not just to help the U.S. companies but also the broader economy, because of their enormous reach. Oba...
DETROIT — The press for a federal bailout of the auto industry increased over the weekend.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said in a letter to Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson that the Bush administration should consider expanding the $700 billion financial rescue to include car companies.
"A healthy automobile manufacturing sector is essential to the restoration of financial market stability," they wrot...
How can I save money? Saving money is easier said then done especially in this economy. How, When and Where do I save the money and what do I do with it after I have it saved it? I have set up a realistic approach with a set of goals to keep your spending in with the Pay Yourself First Philosophy.
Government Finds It Difficult to Deny Aid to Detroit in Wake of Wall Street Rescue
The auto-industry crisis is forcing a broader debate over how far the government should go to prop up ailing industries, as the Bush administration resists Democrats' request to use part of the $700 billion financial-rescue fund to aid Detroit's three struggling car makers.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, in a letter Saturday, formally re...
Nov07
How the little things in life can help conserve energy and save you money in the long run Q: How can I save money? It’s as easy as changing a light bulb The incandescent light bulb was invented by Thomas Edison in 1879 scene then a lot of things have changed. We have many shapes and sizes but the new craze is compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFL). Because the wattage of a CFL bulb is much lower than that of an incandescent, you..
LeaseTrader.com, the nationwide online marketplace for car lease transfers, reported a 24 percent rise in customers listing their vehicle for transfer due to job loss and their desire to downsize into a more affordable car.
With the economy slamming on the brakes, a staggering amount of Americans continue to lose their jobs. Naturally, the first thing they look to do is lower their bills. LeaseTrader.com's vehicle lease transfer program allows consumers to escape a lease they can't...
Nov. 7 (Bloomberg) -- Carlos Ghosn should focus on managing Renault SA and Nissan Motor Co. through the worst auto-market slump in years as merger talks between General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC hamper his quest for a U.S. partner, investors say.
``Ghosn needs to concentrate on his companies now, because they're both suffering,'' said Koichi Ogawa, who helps manage $28 billion at Tokyo-based Daiwa SB Investments Ltd. Nissan and France's Renault should tighten the screws at home ra...
Nov06
A top General Motors Corp. (GM) executive on Wednesday said the next 100 days could represent the most crucial time in the history of the troubled company and entire U.S. auto industry.
Troy Clarke, president of GM North America, urged auto industry executives to make the case to Washington leaders that the failure of auto companies would have devastating effects on the economy.
Clarke said GM, expected to release bleak third-quarter results on Friday, is evaluating all its op...
WASHINGTON -- The chief executives of the Detroit's automakers and the UAW president are to meet with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi today to discuss the possibility of a second $25-billion loan to the companies, as General Motors Corp. prepares to report financial results Friday that will sound new alarms about the industry's need for aid.
The meeting among Pelosi and industry leaders likely will pave the way for Congress to include new loans and perhaps other aid in a new economic stimu...
Princess Cruises Announced Earlier this week that it plans to take the monster movie screen concept fleet wide over the next 2 1/2 years
Princess Cruises pioneered the “Movie Under the Stars” concept back in 2004 with the 300 Square foot screen on top deck. Using state of the art LED screens that can work day and night.
The ships that have them already show sporting events, movies and concerts that are limited broadcasting exclusively for Princess.
As GMAC reports recorded earning losses in their third quarter, over 2.52 Billion
GMAC plans to restructure much of its debt, less than four months after completing a $60 billion refinancing. GMAC plans on become a bank holding company,
This restructuring would allow GMAC to raise needed capital to become a bank holding company, and enable it to participate in the U.S. government's plan to recapitalize banks and buy toxic assets.
It is estimated that GMAC would n...
DETROIT -- Gloom enveloping the U.S. auto industry is translating into some hot deals for car buyers.
While tough-to-get credit and a sinking economy is keeping legions of consumers out of showrooms, those able to buy are in a prime position as car makers take unprecedented steps to halt skidding sales.
"The affordability index for the auto industry is at its best level in 28 years," said Bob Carter, group vice president for Toyota Motor Corp.'s Toyota Division. &quo...
Auto finance lenders, which include banks, lending units of auto manufacturers and independent finance companies, are facing mounting delinquencies and charge-offs, higher loss severity due to declining used car prices and rising funding costs due to the ongoing credit crisis.
Charge-offs are loans written off as not being repaid.
Beaudouin did note that ratings actions for large banks, such as Wells Fargo & Co, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Capital One Financial Corp. and Cit...
Ford reports a 29% drop for the month compared with last year; General Motors is down 45%. Among imports, Toyota falls 21% and Honda, 26%.
The last time auto sales were this bad, the U.S. had just gone to war in Iraq -- for the first time. Total U.S. automobile sales in October slumped to 838,156 cars and light trucks, a 32% decline from the same month last year. That's the lowest single-month sales figure since January 1991, when Operation Desert Storm began under President Ge...
DETROIT (Dow Jones) -- The United Auto Workers union has so far said relatively little about a merger of General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC, but now appears set to emerge as a key player in the fate of any deal.
The union, people familiar with the matter said, recently retained a former adviser to GM Chairman Rick Wagoner to help "level the playing field" in any discussions about changes in its current contract that could be needed in a tie-up of the two auto makers.
The discussion in Washington about facilitating the merger of Chrysler and General Motors highlights the turmoil plaguing the US automobile sector. But there is also an emerging automotive finance crisis. The credit crash has triggered a precipitous decline in new car sales, caused in part by a rapid reduction in automotive financing. This in turn threatens to spark additional large write-downs in the financial sector. Rather than allow this systemic risk to spread through our entire economy,...
Oct31
DETROIT — Fall in this city has always felt a bit like spring elsewhere. It is traditionally the season of fresh starts for the hometown industry, a time when the auto companies get a jump on the calendar and begin shipping next year’s models to dealers.
Workers at a Chrysler plant in Warren, Mich. General Motors and Cerberus, the parent of Chrysler, are in merger talks.
There were some new bright spots this fall, too — or at least brighter ones. The once-gra...
DEARBORN, Mich. — With United States vehicle sales down nearly 13 percent this year, most car companies have been cutting production rather than increasing it. Workers at Ford’s River Rouge plant were told that 1,000 laid-off employees would be rehired.
But with 1,200 hourly workers cheering them on, top executives of the Ford Motor Company said Thursday at the ceremonial introduction of a new version of Ford’s most important product, the F-150 pickup, that the...
DETROIT/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Six U.S. governors and a group of chief executives on Thursday urged the Bush administration in a letter to aid the embattled auto industry while the White House rebuffed a request for direct support of a merger between GM and Chrysler.
An administration official said the focus instead would be on speeding of $25 billion of low-interest loans for factory retooling, a step the industry's allies say does not go far enough to reverse a deepening industry cr...
With car sales across the country slowing to a dead stop, America's carmakers could soon find themselves running on empty, CBS News correspondent Cynthia Bowers reports. By some estimates, General Motors is burning through $1 billion a month, and both it and Chrysler could be broke by next summer. How bad is it? So far this year:
Ford's sales are off 19 percent GM's are down 20 percent Chrysler's sales have slid a staggering 26 percent
The timeless elegance for long distance Zeppelin’s has come again. A French design firm is bringing back the airship era.
Designer Jean Marie Massaud and the French aerospace design company ONERA have teamed up to create the "Manned Cloud” or “Le Manned Cloud”
The 700 foot long blimp or should we say Zeppelin is shaped like a blue whale that will swim through the sky effortlessly.
The “Le Manned Cloud” Zeppelin will offer two fl...
The National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) estimates over 700 new car dealerships will close by the end of 2008, a total of 270 more closers then this time last year. When considering employment loss, about 40,000 jobs will be lost just due to the fact that the retail sales fell over 18% to 568 Billion from 693 Billion. Dealership wages account for 13% of the retail payroll. Read more
NEW YORK - Investors are watching what role the U.S. government will play in any merger among automakers as downgrades from credit ratings agencies indicate their financial condition is weakening.
Reports continued to surface Monday over the possibility of a marriage between General Motors Corp. (nyse: GM - news - people ) and Chrysler LLC. The Wall Street Journal reported on its Web site that the U.S. Department of Energy is trying to free up $5 billion of a $25 billion federal loan ...
The Bush administration is working to release to General Motors Corp. a portion of the loans Congress approved for the auto industry, according to a person familiar with the matter, a move that could help ease the way for the company's discussed merger with Chrysler LLC.
WSJ Detroit Bureau Chief Neal Boudette and WSJ reporter John Stoll discuss the very real possibility of a General Motors Corp.-Chrysler LLC merger amid increasingly poor sales that could send the automakers to the poo...
Obama has also said the loan program should to be doubled to provide $50 billion. Douglas Holtz-Eakin, McCain's economic adviser, said on CBS's "Face the Nation" that the funding for the loans "needs to get out the door, and the top priority should be to get it out quickly, not take 18 months." The Ann Arbor, Mich.-based Center for Automotive Research has estimated that General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC may need a $15 billion bailout to su...
Oct. 27 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. automakers' financing units may qualify for financial aid under the $700 billion financial rescue package enacted Oct. 3, the Bush administration said. A White House spokeswoman, Dana Perino, declined to comment on whether other assistance might be available to help General Motors Corp., the largest U.S. automaker, and Cerberus Capital Management LP's Chrysler LLC, complete a merger. On this subject, she referred questions to the Treasury Department....
As talks between General Motors Corp. and long-time rival Chrysler LLC continued over the weekend, a harsh reality has emerged: Without a merger and possibly an assist from the federal government, two of Detroit's Big Three auto makers could run out of cash within a year.
Though GM and Chrysler dismiss the notion, analysts and investors have begun to question whether one of the companies -- locked out of the credit markets and burning cash rapidly -- might have to seek bankruptcy prot...
Oct24
Chrysler LLC announced today that it plans to cut 25 percent of its salaried work force beginning next month.
In a letter to employees today it did not specify how many jobs were being cut. But Chrysler‘s spokesman Michael Palese said that, according to his most recent figures Chrysler has around 18,529 salaried workers. So we can predict that at lest 4,632 jobs will be lost in the up in coming months.
The Merger between General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC majority owner Cerberus Capital Management LP could be a positive outlook for the automotive market as long as they are committed to reinventing their entire operational philosophy. The People first philosophy has worked for Google and made them the clear market leader in the search category because it delivers results around stronger user satisfaction, whereas its competitor, Yahoo!, is focused on appeasing its own...
MAJOR car makers are falling over each other with announcements of plans to produce zero-emission hybrid vehicles.
Experts agree that demand for such vehicles is so high that the industry will probably not be able to meet it fully in the coming years. All the big car makers had an electric-drive vehicle on show including the French, Japanese, German and US manufacturers, at the recent Paris Motor Show. After spending decades in the backyards of hobby mechanics the electric car...
This year's higher gasoline prices are prompting drivers to switch to smaller, more fuel-efficient cars. The trouble is, some of the money they save may be going to higher insurance premiums.
Small cars generally cost more to insure than larger ones because they're involved in more accidents and incur bigger claims, especially for injuries. That's true regardless of the driver profile, though younger and less-experienced drivers tend to buy smaller, cheaper cars.
A 40-year-old...
AP) — Toyota Motor Corp. will post its first decline in annual global sales in a decade this year, hit by slowing demand worldwide amid the financial crisis, a Japanese newspaper predicted Wednesday.
Japan's largest automaker will likely sell 8.3 million units in 2008 on the parent level — excluding subsidiaries and affiliates — down from 8.43 million units in 2007, the Nikkei daily said, citing no sources.
Demand has been weak in the United States, Europe an...
We are told that the Hamann SLR "Volcano" features six exhaust pipes, rear diffuser, deep dish rims, wheel arch flairs, roof mounted air scoop, smoked lenses and a huge rear wing. Perhaps more noticeable is the black and white paint.
Take a look at the Video Teaser
Read more
Tracinda Corp. an investment firm run by Kirk Kerkorian shook up the auto indistry last summer by escalating their stake in Ford Motor Company by making him the largest single shareholder outside the Ford family. He increased their state by 40 million shares to a total of 140.8 million shares, which accounted for 6.49% of the automaker..
Many won't survive. Almost 600 of the about 20,000 U.S. new car dealers have shut their doors this year, and an additional 2,000 will close within 18 months, predicts Mark Johnson, president of a Seattle consulting firm that helps auto dealers buy, sell or merge operations.
In September alone, 61 dealers — two a day — closed shop or downsized to used car lots, says the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA). Wounded by gas prices that killed sales of their most pro...
DETROIT — Negotiators hope to finalize a merger agreement between General Motors (GM) and Chrysler before the presidential election and are lobbying for government financial assistance to help clinch the deal, says a source who has been briefed on the talks.
They are pointing to the impact on the U.S. economy if either company were to fail, compared with the viability of a merged colossus that would control 36% of the U.S. auto market. Those are the chief selling points in askin...
Oct16
GMAC LLC, the big home and auto financing company, this week began restricting new loans to the most credit-worthy buyers after an attempt to raise new funds failed. The move threatens to crimpGeneral Motors Corp.'s U.S. sales, forcing the struggling auto maker to push its potential buyers to other lenders.
Like GMAC, GM has struggled to raise $15 billion in cash amid a shutdown in the credit markets. The auto maker hopes to bring in $5 billion through asset sales and secured financin...
Recently Hot Vehicles Sport Low-Rate Financing, Rebates And Special Leasing Offers
They're this year's hot vehicles. But as the effects of the financial crisis deepen, even small and midsize cars are seeing declining sales -- and that means better deals for prospective buyers.
Manufacturers had generally pulled back on incentives for smaller vehicles this year, after record-high gas prices spiked demand. And the discounts still aren't as juicy or widespread as those on fuel-th...
DETROIT — October is shaping up to be as miserable a month for automakers as September, according to industry analysts, as lenders tighten financing standards and many consumers steer clear of showrooms because of the weakening economy.
Tom Libby, senior director for industry analysis at J.D. Power & Associates’ Power Information Network, which monitors car sales on a weekly basis, said the first week of October was “very, very weak” for the automakers like...
General Motors announced today that it will be closing its Grand Rapids metal and die plant
General Motors Financial Services also announced yesterday that it no longer will lend money to vehicle buyers with credit scores lower than 700 Read more
I don’t know where you can buy one but it looks kind of cool, I can tell you one thing, it is not going to be on my list of must haves this coming holiday season
UR-202 is designed to appeal to sport car fans and is the world’s first watch with the winding rate regulated by fluid dynamics. Its patented Revolving Satellite Complication with telescopic minutes hands make it easy to read. The URWERK 202 also uses air friction to control the rate of winding like 18 Read more