by Denise McCluggage | Apr 13, 2011
Sam Mitani made a point in his May Road & Track column that resonated through me like a temple gong. I’ll get to that but first you’ll welcome some background. Trust me. In the first running of the Indianapolis 500 in 1911 Ray Haroun strapped a mirror in his race...
by Joseph Szczesny | Apr 13, 2011
As he did during the company’s last shareholders meeting, Daimler AG chief executive Dieter Zetsche emphasized the German giant was well on its way to profitable growth now and in the future. “Our company is operating successfully,” he told more than 5,000...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | Apr 13, 2011
It’s apparently not enough to be king-of-the-hill for the first time in decades. To celebrate its 45th birthday, Chevrolet wants to give Camaro some more muscle. The maker is unveiling a special 45th anniversary edition for 2012, featuring an array of distinguishing...
by Joseph Szczesny | Apr 13, 2011
Mercedes-Benz plans to introduce a plug-in hybrid version of S-Class by mid-decade and launch an electric version of the SLS AMG “gull wing,” Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsch told shareholders at the company’s annual general meeting in Berlin. “We now manufacture four fully...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | Apr 13, 2011
The hot topic may be fuel economy, these days, but performance still matters, especially to luxury car buyers, it seems. So, Cadillac is planning to put the focus on “red-blooded luxury” with a 3.6-liter direct-injection V6 that it plans to drop into the popular SRX...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | Apr 13, 2011
Karen Silverman scowls as she starts to fill up her 2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee, the numbers on the dial spinning too fast to follow until the pump clicks off at $62. “When I got the Jeep, it wouldn’t cost me half that,” she laments. “That’s money I could use for a nice...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | Apr 13, 2011
And you thought you were paying too much? Even at $4 a gallon, most Europeans envy us Americans. Then again, in some of the OPEC markets, pump prices are so cheap you might get change back on a buck. There’s no question that fuel costs are rising. The Libyan crisis...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | Apr 12, 2011
The last-minute budget compromise that kept the federal government going will take its toll on the auto industry – among other things eliminating the “car czar” position that helped the White House manage the 2009 bailouts of General Motors and Chrysler. The...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | Apr 12, 2011
Ford Motor Co. has warned, in a government filing, that it expects to feel a significant impact from the Japanese auto industry meltdown due to ongoing parts shortages. The crisis has already begun to affect the maker’s production and will soon disrupt operations,...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | Apr 12, 2011
It’s going to be a busy week for the motoring scribes heading to New York for the upcoming New York Auto Show, which may be why Lexus has decided to stage an early, online reveal of the all-new LF-Gh hybrid. Set to replace the aging Lexus GS450h hybrid, the new...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | Apr 12, 2011
Renault’s second-in-command is stepping down, as are four other senior executives implicated in a spy scandal that has shaken up the French automaker – but CEO Carlos Ghosn has apparently been spared in a purge ordered by the maker’s largest shareholder, the French...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | Apr 12, 2011
General Motors will roll its next-generation Chevrolet Malibu into dealer showrooms four months earlier than previously planned – part of a full-court press to speed up the company’s product development program. Production of the new midsize model, which will be sold...
