by Paul A. Eisenstein | Feb 17, 2012
A recent survey found that the overwhelming majority of Millennial motorists would like to buy a hybrid. The numbers aren’t all that much lower for Gen-X and Baby Boomers, either. Yet desire doesn’t translate into action when it comes to the marketplace, it seems,...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | Feb 17, 2012
Honda’s hybrid mileage headaches may soon get a lot worse as a California judge considers whether to accept, reject or revise a class action settlement in a case filed by owners frustrated that their Civic Hybrid models failed to get nearly the mileage the maker...
by Joseph Szczesny | Feb 17, 2012
Chrysler Group LLC has withdrawn its application for an Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing loan from the U.S Department of Energy. The maker originally had hoped to receive as much as $7 billion through the program, designed to assist in the development of...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | Feb 16, 2012
With the nation’s top automotive safety regulator calling distracted driving an “epidemic,” the Obama Administration is demanding that automakers put a limit on technologies that permit motorists to text or make cellphone calls while driving. Transportation Secretary...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | Feb 16, 2012
President Barack Obama wants to turn on the electric vehicle market and is proposing a significant increase in the already sizable tax credit available to buyers of battery cars and plug-in hybrids. As part of his latest budget proposal, the President has proposed...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | Feb 16, 2012
How do you judge a company that is still months away from launching its first truly significant product? That’s the question that drove after-hour traders into a frenzy when Tesla Motors reported its financial results for 2011. On the down side, Tesla revealed a...
by Joseph Szczesny | Feb 16, 2012
Despite continuing losses in Europe and a drop in income from Asia, General Motors Co. reported a 60% increase in income for 2011, reporting it earned $7.6 billion, or $4.58 per share, up from $4.7 billion, or $2.89 share, in 2010. But the maker saw earnings flatten...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | Feb 16, 2012
Hold that tiger. Porsche has named it new small crossover/SUV the Macan, a name it derived from an Indonesian word for tiger. Set to be the fifth product in the expanding Porsche line-up, it will begin production in 2013. Macan replaces Cajun, the original codename...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | Feb 15, 2012
If you want to go green expect to pay a significant penalty in terms of range, performance and price – or so goes the conventional wisdom. But when former Aston Martin designer Henrik Fisker set out to develop the eponymous Fisker Karma, nearly four years ago, he was...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | Feb 15, 2012
Toyota and its Lexus luxury brand dominate the latest Vehicle Dependability Study, according to J.D. Power and Associates, though the annual VDS study shows that today’s cars, on the whole, are proving more reliable than ever. But the Power report also reveals that...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | Feb 15, 2012
There’s something about that new car smell. Unfortunately, while some folks love the scent of a vehicle that’s just rolled out of the showroom the volatile chemicals found in many automotive interiors can make others quite ill. So, a new study is naming names and...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | Feb 15, 2012
When Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda suggested he wanted to put more passion into the Lexus brand few might have thought he meant that in its more lustful interpretation. But that’s apparently how the marketing folks at the luxury brand took it. They gave a hint of a more...
