by Paul A. Eisenstein | Jan 31, 2012
Barely a week after declaring “the U.S. Auto industry is back,” in the state-of-the-union message, President Barack Obama and VP Joe Biden took that message on the road, the two men pressing for still more job growth – and for a political advantage in the upcoming...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | Jan 31, 2012
It started out selling antifreeze but, 75 years later, MOPAR has become a key part of Chrysler’s global growth strategy – and a brand in its own right, with its third specially badged model in three years soon to roll into showrooms. The new MOPAR 12 300 is a...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | Jan 31, 2012
With the reborn Dodge Viper scheduled to make its return debut at the upcoming New York Auto Show, the Detroit maker is offering a first vague hint of what’s to come in the form of this stylized silhouette on the SRT Facebook fan page. The original Viper roadster,...
by Joseph Szczesny | Jan 31, 2012
Two of Japan’s largest suppliers of automotive electrical components–Yazaki Corp and DENSO Corp. –have agreed to plead guilty and to pay more than a half billion dollars in criminal fines for their involvement in bid-rigging conspiracies in the sale of parts to...
by Bryan Laviolette | Jan 31, 2012
Everything is smaller when folded, but could that work for cars as well? A consortium of technology companies in the Basque region of Spain is planning to produce a tiny city car that was developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Called Hiriko, European...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | Jan 30, 2012
Borrowing the title of a ‘60s-era counterculture novel, Chrysler executives might say, “Been down so long it looks like up to me,” especially if preliminary estimates hold true on Wednesday. That’s when the long-troubled U.S. maker plans to report its fourth quarter...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | Jan 30, 2012
Bigger is better, or so goes the classic mantra of the American motorist. So, can Fiat improve its fortunes by going just a wee bit bigger with an extended version of its 500 minicar? Company officials confirm they will reveal the stretched version of the Cinquecento...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | Jan 30, 2012
Manufacturers spend millions – in some cases, billions – to get customers to focus on their brands. And traditional auto industry research suggests that there are few things more valuable than a good brand image. Or is there? That may have been true in years past,...
by Warren Brown | Jan 30, 2012
So much of Washington is political theater, meant to do nothing except entertain, advance political ambition, or provide political cover. Consider what happened here last Wednesday. The augustly titled House Subcommittee on Government Reform and Regulatory Affairs,...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | Jan 30, 2012
As many as 10,000 U.S. car dealers will descend on Las Vegas later this week for the National Automobile Dealers Association convention, an annual binge of partying and, in many cases, griping about the problems they have with their manufacturers. It’s not unusual to...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | Jan 27, 2012
Sometimes it can be difficult to please Wall Street. As trading for the week neared its close the automaker’s shares were on track to drop about a half dollar as trader’s lamented the sort of figures that they might have only fantasized about during the depths of the...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | Jan 27, 2012
California’s environmental regulators have announced plans to tighten already strict emissions rules that were previously aimed at putting at least 1.4 million plug-in hybrids and battery cars on the state’s roads by 2025 – a move that could add millions more “clean...
