by Kevin Kelly | Jul 16, 2009
Eyebrows rose when Edward Whitacre, Jr., General Motors’ new Chairman admitted that he had little knowledge of how the auto industry worked. “I don’t know anything about cars. A business is a business, and I think I can learn about cars. I’m...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | Jul 16, 2009
Porsche is the most APEAL-ing automotive brand on the market, according to a new study by J.D. Power and Associates, though Volkswagen has four of the most APEAL-ing products on the road, more than any other manufacturer. The auto industry, on the whole, is producing...
by Joseph Szczesny | Jul 16, 2009
Fledgling Tesla Motors is spreading its wings with today’s opening of its first sales and service center on the East Coast. The facility, in Manhattan’s Chelsea Art District, is targeting affluent urban drivers who might be less worried about the...
by Ken Zino | Jul 15, 2009
With Minnesota Democrat James Oberstar’s sweeping bill to reform Transportation policy and fix the bankrupt Highway Trust Fund apparently blocked by the Obama Administration, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is pushing to renew the existing bill for six more years....
by Ken Zino | Jul 15, 2009
One out of every 20 vehicles driven in Ontario, Canada will be electrically powered by 2020 if the huge incentives proposed by the provincial government are effective in forcing the market to favor electric vehicles. The government of Premier Dalton McGuinty said in a...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | Jul 15, 2009
We’ve reported frequently on the Cash-for-Clunkers program, in recent months. More formally known as the Car Allowance Rebate System, it’s loosely modeled after programs that have popped up around the world, effectively spurring sluggish demand for new...
by Ken Zino | Jul 15, 2009
This past Saturday, Subaru of America Inc.’s Great Lakes Region, organized what was said to be the largest parade of Subaru cars ever made — 339 cars, in the Village of Itasca, Illinois, U.S. Guinness World Record adjudicator, Carlos Martínez, officially...
by Kevin Kelly | Jul 15, 2009
U.S. President Barack Obama entered what could be labeled the belly of the U.S. economic beast on Tuesday when he visited the campus of Macomb Community College, in Warren, Michigan, to announce his new American Graduation Initiative, which will provide $10 billion in...
by Joseph Szczesny | Jul 14, 2009
Last winter, lots of people predicted this day would never come. But mark this day down — one of the recipients of the government bailout money, Chrysler Financial, has repaid the U.S. Treasury, sending the $1.5 billion it received in January back to Washington....
by Paul A. Eisenstein | Jul 14, 2009
We all know those car buyers who can’t wait for the newest models to show up at their local dealership. My own uncle felt that something was wrong with life itself if he wasn’t in a position to trade in at least every other year, if not sooner. But while...
by Joseph Szczesny | Jul 14, 2009
A happy customer, it’s been said, is a repeat customer. Yet a surprising number of automakers and their dealers seem to almost go out of their way to frustrate potential buyers, sending them scampering over to the competition. That’s a key finding of the...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | Jul 14, 2009
Move or get out of the way. That seems to be the mantra for Bob Lutz, the 77-year-old General Motors Vice Chairman who was planning to retire as head of product development, but has “re-upped” with the post-bankruptcy automaker as the new global boss of...
