by Paul A. Eisenstein | May 19, 2010
Looking a bit like the love child of a crossover and the Volkswagen Beetle, the Start concept isn’t quite the sort of product you’d immediately expect from Ford, but the automaker is giving serious thought to putting it into production, says Ford’s global design...
by Ken Zino | May 19, 2010
The family sedan has gone soft during the past few years, as every entry in the segment has gotten larger, plusher, heavier and more expensive. However, the addition of six or more airbags, vehicle stability control and elaborate electronic navigation and sound...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | May 19, 2010
There’s a new guy on the assembly line, and this former soldier is proving to be an inexhaustible tough guy with great military credentials, according to Ford. Named Santos, he’s being tasked with both helping to improve quality and to reduce worker fatigue in a job...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | May 18, 2010
It’s the goal of every automaker, to turn a new product into something that rises above the rest of a crowded market, and Ford is hoping to turn the 2011 Fiesta subcompact into an American idol by launching the new car with a high-profile ad campaign centered around...
by Ken Zino | May 18, 2010
Chrysler Group is recalling more than 40,000 model year 2010 Chrysler 300, Dodge Challenger, Charger, Jeep Commander, Grand Cherokee and Dodge Ram Vehicles. These vehicles may have been built with a defective wireless ignition switch (WIN) module that sticks. The...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | May 18, 2010
General Motors and its OnStar telematics subsidiary are teaming up with one of the biggest names in the online world, Google Inc., to link vehicles like the Chevrolet Volt to a variety of smartphone applications. Among other services, owners of the Volt will be able...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | May 17, 2010
It’s one of the oldest vehicles in the domestic fleet, regardless of manufacturer, and hasn’t gotten any significant mechanical update since 2001. It won’t meet upcoming changes to U.S. automotive safety standards. And, so far, there are no plans to bring it into...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | May 17, 2010
The new 2011 Ford Fiesta will nudge into hybrid territory when it’s released later this year, delivering a rated fuel economy of up to 40 mpg on the highway, the automaker announced today. The Fiesta is the latest – and most highly-promoted – among a series of...
by Ken Zino | May 17, 2010
As the spring selling season arrives, so does a proliferation of car advertising, with seemingly the same resilience and growth as the dandelions that survive each winter and take over your lawn. In the ads, dealers promise low interest rates, high trade-in allowances...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | May 17, 2010
You may not be able to cost-cut your way to success, but it certainly helped General Motors during the first quarter of 2010, the long-troubled maker delivering a net profit of $865 million on $31.5 billion in revenues. Though currently a privately-held company,...
by Mike Davis | May 17, 2010
In a recent posting on Green Cabs, I promised a follow up on the radical changes in American cities’ street scenes that are coming. For more than three decades, the taxi market has been dominated by the “full-sized” Ford Crown Victoria, with its V8 engine,...
by Ken Zino | May 17, 2010
General Motors Company today said it had revenue of $31.5 billion and operating income of $1.2 billion during the first quarter of 2010. GM’s net income attributable to common stockholders was $0.9 billion ($865 million) resulting in earnings per share on a diluted...
