by Joseph Szczesny | Oct 29, 2009
After a run of heavy losses totaling almost $6 billion, Daimler AG expects to finish 2009 with a fourth quarter profit. The German automaker finished the third quarter with a net profit of $60 million despite a steep 26% plunge in sales. Daimler chief executive,...
by Joseph Szczesny | Oct 29, 2009
As other automakers reel under the pressure under the pressure of the recession, Toyota’s U.S. dealers are sinking more money into their showrooms and service bays. As many buyers know since they provide the input, Toyota’s customer satisfaction ratings have...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | Oct 29, 2009
There’s an old adage, in the auto industry: “There’s no replacement for displacement.” But in an era where even muscle car fans are paying attention to fuel economy, downsizing is rapidly becoming a way of life. In an era when turbos and superchargers are gaining...
by Ken Zino | Oct 28, 2009
The Rocky Mountain Institute announced this morning the inaugural meeting of the North American Council for Freight Efficiency. The immodest goal is to reinvent the U.S. trucking industry to carry just as much freight on half as much energy. RMI claims there is a...
by Ken Zino | Oct 28, 2009
The numbers are alarming. One in nine seniors – five million people – is facing the threat of hunger every day, according to the Meals on Wheels Association of America (MOWAA). It is projecting that 75% more seniors will be facing the threat of hunger by 2025....
by Paul A. Eisenstein | Oct 28, 2009
It isn’t much. Let’s get that out of the way right up front, but it’s nonetheless the first glimpse we’ve been given of the midsize sedan Volkswagen plans to produce at its all-new Chattanooga assembly plant, which is still more than a year away from opening....
by Paul A. Eisenstein | Oct 28, 2009
While the recovery is just taken hold, there are positive signs in the economy, and that’s translating into some measurable gains for the post-bankruptcy General Motors, company officials declared during a Wednesday meeting with the news media. The struggling...
by Ken Zino | Oct 28, 2009
Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) said in Tokyo this morning that its global production dropped more than 24% during the first half of its fiscal year, which ended in September 2009. Its export business from Japan is off 45%, which will put extreme pressure on financial...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | Oct 28, 2009
Senior Bigone rides again…and this just might be the most important race of his life. Few automotive executives have done a better job of playing a Hollywood leading man than General Motors Vice Chairman Bob Lutz. He’s been a Marine fighter pilot and a lifelong...
by Ken Zino | Oct 28, 2009
Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) announced today that a consortium led by Zhejiang Geely Group Holding Co. Ltd. is its preferred bidder in the ongoing discussions concerning the possible sale of Volvo Car Corporation. The confirmation comes after almost a year of press...
by Ken Zino | Oct 27, 2009
Toyota Motor Sales (TMS), USA, has released the “Prius Experience App,” which is available free from the App Store. The Experience App has four modes to help educate and entertain iPhone users interested in learning more about the EPA-rated 50 MPG 2010 Toyota Prius...
by Ken Zino | Oct 27, 2009
General Motors R&D received a $2.7 million federal award on Monday that will help build a prototype using Shape Memory Alloy, or SMA, that would generate electricity from the heat in automotive exhaust. The grant from the Department of Energy’s Advanced Research...
