by Paul A. Eisenstein | Sep 28, 2011
Ford Motor Co. has pulled a controversial ad in which a “buyer” tells a staged news conference he wouldn’t buy a car from Ford’s unnamed Detroit competitors because they took federal bailouts. The campaign was clearly aimed at helping Ford market itself as the only...
by Warren Brown | Sep 28, 2011
Conventional wisdom says this city makes nothing, that we are just a place of words and bureaucracy. Conventional wisdom is not quite right. Washington manufactures crises—big-time crises, completely unnecessary crises, costly crises, the kind that drain money and...
by Joseph Szczesny | Sep 28, 2011
Despite economic turmoil and increasing fears of a double-dip recession, sales of new vehicles continued to hold steady during September, according to preliminary industry estimates. For September 2011, new light vehicle sales in the U.S., including fleet, are...
by Bryan Laviolette | Sep 28, 2011
Maximum Bob is back. Again. Someone should talk to him about the definition of “retirement.” Just weeks after General Motors announced that former Vice Chairman Bob Lutz was coming back as a consultant, VIA Motors, a Utah startup, has announced that Lutz would join...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | Sep 27, 2011
A $25 billion fund created during the Bush Administration to help promote the development of clean, fuel-efficient automobiles has survived an assault by Republican lawmakers who had hoped to chip away $1.5 billion for use in disaster relief efforts. Conservatives,...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | Sep 27, 2011
Facing intense criticism from Capitol Hill and calls for a government investigation, General Motors’ OnStar division has dropped plans that would have allowed it to track detailed personal driving information about both current and former subscribers. The telematics...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | Sep 27, 2011
Small is big, or so it seems, these days, with all manner of new products, small, smaller and smallest coming to market as buyers put a premium on fuel efficiency. But no brand has done more to change the perception of what a small car can be than Mini, the British...
by Joseph Szczesny | Sep 27, 2011
With one of the biggest displays of new cars, crossovers and concept vehicles ever, the biennial Frankfurt Motor Show saw public attendance surge by 10%, according to the show’s organizers, suggesting the auto industry’s future is brighter than the turmoil in the...
by Joseph Szczesny | Sep 27, 2011
United Auto Workers Union negotiators have intensified talks with the Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler Group LLC as the union pushes for settlements with both automakers. Obstacles, however, remain including the union’s desire to win a larger signing bonus than at...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | Sep 26, 2011
The name alone might explain why they didn’t sell more. The world’s oldest running automobile carries a name that would almost wrap around its tiny body. But expect that someone will be writing a check with nearly as long a price tag when an 1884 De Dion Bouton et...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | Sep 26, 2011
Struggling under court protection to raise cash and pay off angry creditors Swedish automaker Saab hopes to get back into the business of building cars by sometime in mid-November. That is just the latest in a series of plans to restart the company’s headquarters...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | Sep 26, 2011
Ford Motor Co. may try to tap into the potentially huge market for electric vehicles in China, echoing the strategy of its rival General Motors. Ford has already committed to producing at least five battery-electric vehicles, like the Ford Focus Electric, and plug-in...
