Auto News
December 22, 2008 – 4:10 pmUncertainty Grows Over Parent’s Role In Chrysler
Unlike General Motors, Chrysler has provided few specifics on how it plans to overhaul its operations after receiving federal loans.
Chrysler: Government Loan Unlikely To Be Repaid
With GM, the bailout is pretty straightforward. Give us money or the economy dies. With Chrysler, it’s a lot more… complicated. In case you hadn’t noticed, ChrCyo owner Cerberus is looking for an exit strategy.
Chrysler Deconstruction Inevitable
President George W. Bush finally released the crucial billions needed to keep General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC around to see the New Year, but with the real work just beginning, the wrenching save-Detroit soap opera seems to be grinding towards just one certainty: Chrysler LLC isn’t going to make it.
Ford Exec Answers Employee Questions
The following are excerpts from an internal company live email chat on Friday during which Ford President of the Americas Mark Fields answered questions from Ford employees.
Spy Photos: 2010 Ford Taurus
One of Alan Mulally’s first acts after taking the helm of the Ford Motor Co. was revive the Taurus nameplate, for the large sedan that had been christened the Five Hundred.
Chevy Offers Peek At Next Equinox
Over the weekend, Chevrolet released pictures of its 2010 Equinox, to be publicly unveiled next month at the Detroit auto show. Last week, I saw it in person at General Motors’ Design Dome on the campus of its Technical Center in Warren, Mich.
Honda Forms Battery JV
Honda Motor Co Ltd and GS Yuasa Corp reached a basic agreement on the establishment of their joint venture for the Li-ion secondary battery business Dec 17, 2008.
Hyundai, Kia Slash Sales Forecast
Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Motors Corp. cut their joint 2008 sales forecast by 12.5 percent Monday and said they would freeze pay for managers amid slumping vehicle demand.
Hyundai Goes Green
For years, Hyundai Motor studied Toyota’s renowned meticulousness in manufacturing to improve the quality of its own cars. Now the Korean company is setting its sights a lot higher: By 2015 it wants to leapfrog Toyota in green car technologies in the U.S. market.
Tata To Ask For Long-Term Financing
Tata’s agreement to provide limited immediate support for Jaguar Land Rover will not prevent the Indian company from asking the taxpayer for hundreds of millions of pounds in longer-term support for its UK subsidiary.
Toyota Delays Rear-Wheel Drive Coupe
Toyota has already announced that it has indefinitely delayed a joint venture with Isuzu to develop a small diesel powerplant, and now comes word that dwindling sales have affected another Toyota project.
Toyota Projects First Ever Operating Loss
Toyota Motor Corp. slashed its earnings forecast Monday, projecting that it would report its first annual operating loss for the fiscal year through March — its first such loss since it began reporting results in 1941.
Toyota Plans To Unveil Battery Concept
Toyota Motors plans to display a small battery electric-car concept at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit next month, according to individuals familiar with the company’s plans.
Toyota, Isuzu Diesel Development Stalled
As Toyota attempts to tighten its belt in response to dwindling sales, the automaker announced that it has suspended its joint venture with Isuzu to produce a small diesel powertrain.
Even Used Cars Are Slumping
CONSUMERS have been buying fewer new cars because of the slumping economy, volatile gas prices, tighter loan standards and vanishing lease deals. But, oddly, the used-car market, which typically does well in a poor economy, has also declined.
NHTSA Pushes Back New Crash Ratings
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has announced that it will be delaying more stringent crash test ratings by a full model year.
Edgy, Yet Still Aerodynamic
WAYNE KOESTER was pleasantly surprised. Mr. Koester, who was a Ford aerodynamicist at the time, had been assigned to turn the popular boxy Fairlane design study that was introduced at the 2005 Detroit auto show, inspired by the woody station wagons of the 1940s, into the production Flex crossover.
Detroit’s Biggest Failure: Losing Youth Market
We have all been listening to the debates about the possible future competitiveness of the Big 3. Talk has centered on dollars and cents. Talk has centered on engineering and science. Talk has not addressed lineage.
Auto Adviser Bails Out Of Job
Business leader Jim Arnett has resigned as special auto industry adviser to Prime Minister Stephen Harper after less than three weeks on the job, the Star has learned.
Deal Gives Taxpayers Share Rights
Canadian taxpayers could soon be shareholders in sputtering General Motors and Chrysler. The federal and Ontario governments will receive warrants that give them the right to buy non-voting stock in the country’s two biggest automakers as a condition of providing $4 billion worth of public loans.
CAW: Compromise May Be Only Choice
The head of the Canadian Auto Workers union is signalling he may be prepared to compromise on the contentious issue of pay and benefits for auto workers, a day after Ottawa and Ontario announced a $4-billion lifeline for Detroit car makers.
Bailout Bill Is $4 Billion And Counting
A historic $4 billion lifeline to rescue General Motors and Chrysler in Canada is likely just the first installment of public loans to the sputtering automakers, concedes Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
Downturn Will Test Obama’s Vision
President-elect Barack Obama leveled a stern warning at General Motors and Chrysler last week after the federal government promised them billions to help them survive: “The auto companies must not squander this chance to reform bad management practices.”
Auto Bailout Caps Flawed Relationship
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.
Long Day’s Journey To Deal For Automakers
The most alarming moment of Detroit’s nerve-jangling week in White House limbo came around 10:30 a.m. Thursday. Dana Perino, the White House press secretary, told reporters that “managed bankruptcy” was an option for preventing the collapse of Detroit’s troubled automobile companies.
Bailout: Southern Workers Watch And Worry
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.
Consumer Confidence Is Key
With $17.4 billion in loans finally coming their way, General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC can breathe easier for the next few weeks — but their relief could be short-lived.
Why The Auto Bailout Is Dead End
If the federal government bails out the Big Three, who’s going to buy their cars? Like those homeowners around the country who have found they owe more money than their homes are worth, millions of Americans are similarly underwater on their car loans.
10 Things The Taxpayer Should Now About US Auto Industry
As of the New Year, taxpayers will pretty much own General Motors, as well as Chrysler until that automaker is stripped or its assets flipped into GM
Band Aid Or Bailout?
President Bush announced Friday that the federal government will provide up to $17.4 billion in loans to General Motors and Chrysler, which warned that, without aid, they might go out of business by the end of the month.
Forging New Path Will Be Rough Road
Let the slugfest begin. Now that General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC have a $17.4 billion federal lifeline to take them into the early days of the Obama era, the real action will be with the automakers and the constituencies expected to grant major concessions to keep Detroit out of bankruptcy court.
Visteon, Immersion Working On Touch Based Controls
As more and more electronic devices become integrated into our cars, we need new ways to control them effectively and safely while driving - or at least that’s what Visteon and Immersion are thinking.
Recalls Of Chinese Auto Parts Are A Mounting Concern
Child restraints that may come apart in an impact. Fuses that could catch fire when overloaded. Tires susceptible to tread separation.
OPP: Drivers That Crash In Bad Weather Should Pay
OPP Commissioner Julian Fantino wants the Ontario government to enact legislation that would make drivers pay for accidents caused by negligence.
