by Ken Zino | Jun 22, 2009
Renault and EDF, the French electric utility, today announced the strengthening of their collaboration on “zero-emission” electric vehicles that dates back to the Paris Auto Show in 2008. The two partners are moving on to a later phase in the development...
by Brenda Priddy | Jun 22, 2009
Diesels may be in the dumps when it comes to light-duty pickup trucks but things are starting to get hot in the heavy-duty segment. New federal emissions rules set to take effect in 2010 have sent Ford and General Motors back to the drawing boards (the current Dodge...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | Jun 22, 2009
Despite distracting financial problems, Detroit’s Big Three automakers showed a substantial improvement in off-the-assembly-line quality, according to the latest Initial Quality Survey by automotive gurus J.D. Power and Associates. Chrysler, Ford and General...
by Ken Zino | Jun 22, 2009
Volvo, like most makers of its day, offered a chassis cab model, which could then be converted to a wide variety of custom uses. In Sweden this happened shortly after Volvo started making cars in 1927. These Volvo cars were still built on separate frames after Word...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | Jun 22, 2009
When you consider the countless number of cars that come to market, each year, only a handful ever really make all that much of a difference – a handful for any individual automaker. For Ford, the list would include the Model T, of course, and the Mustang. And...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | Jun 21, 2009
This time of year, things are quiet in the verdant Bavarian mountainside surrounding the old castle of Schloss Elmau. Wander the hilly grounds and you’ll hear cowbells, perhaps the buzz of bees and the distant roar of glacier-fed streams. But for a few days,...
by Ken Zino | Jun 19, 2009
Yesterday Judge Robert E. Gerber of the United States Bankruptcy in New York granted GM’s request to invalidate its leases on seven corporate jets and its huge hanger at the airport in Wayne County, Michigan. Since the motion was unopposed — would anyone...
by Ken Zino | Jun 19, 2009
Duration of Program: Cash for Clunkers will be effective immediately upon enactment of the legislation (it is expected to be signed into law by President Obama in the next week). However, it will probably take the U.S. Department of Transportation 30 days or so to...
by Marty Bernstein | Jun 19, 2009
EyesOn Design Creates “Expressions” of Willie G. Davidson The Detroit Institute of Ophthalmology is celebrating its 23rd year of raising money to support research for the visually impaired, through the efforts of EyesOn Design’s annual Vision Honored...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | Jun 19, 2009
Porsche has a way of coming up with the unexpected and confounding conventional wisdom. Despite the naysayers, the German maker’s sports car/SUV, the Cayenne, has become its top-selling product in the critical U.S. market. And despite its miniscule size, this...
by Ken Zino | Jun 19, 2009
The U.S. Department of Transportation has proposed a new, “consumer-friendly replacement tire label,” which would include for the first time information about the tire’s impact on fuel economy and CO2 emissions. Tires with lower rolling resistance...
by Ken Zino | Jun 19, 2009
Late yesterday the U.S. Senate went along with a slimmed down version of the Cash for Clunkers bill already approved by the House of Representatives last week. The bill offers incentives of $3,500 to $4,500 to car buyers who trade in their vehicles for more...
