by Paul A. Eisenstein | May 31, 2012
Baseball, hot dogs, apple pie and Chevrolet? That may have been the automaker’s mantra in the 1950s and ‘60s, but with six of every 10 Chevys now being sold in markets as far afield as Berlin and Beijing more and more of the maker’s marketing effort is focused...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | May 31, 2012
Even as it announced a new marketing alliance with the world’s most valuable soccer team, Manchester United, General Motors revealed plans to donate 1.5 million soccer balls to needy children around the world. The charity program is “the work I’m most proud of,” said...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | May 31, 2012
Can the Motor City shed its rust belt image and take on a persona more in line with high-tech communities like San Francisco, Palo Alto, California or Seattle? Yes, says Ford Motor Co. Chairman Bill Ford, who contends Michigan, as a whole, can be repositioned as the...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | May 31, 2012
Hoping to squeeze every last mile out of a gallon of gas? Automakers have been launching a flood of new “eco” models designed to do just that. But a new report warns that the minimal extra mileage isn’t worth the hefty price tag – which in some cases would require...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | May 31, 2012
Even in the depths of the Great Recession there were plenty of folks willing and seemingly able to buy new cars. The problem for many was a lack of loans. Banks and other lenders all but shut off the spigot, refusing to do business, in some cases, with even the most...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | May 30, 2012
With U.S. sales expected to increase by as much as 30% for May Volkswagen is looking at all its options to keep that momentum going – including the addition of all-new products to its American line-up. The maker could start importing several models not currently sold...
by Joseph Szczesny | May 30, 2012
The rail strike that crippled freight service across Canada and parts of the American Midwest has ended, but it has left automakers with a backlog of undelivered vehicles that could take weeks to unsnarl. More than 4,000 employees of the Canadian Pacific Railroad are...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | May 30, 2012
Is this the end of the Bangle-Butt? Since the re-launch of the flagship 7-Series sedan, a decade ago, BMW has adopted a very distinctive styling language perhaps best defined by the high rear deck critics quickly labeled the “Bangle-Butt,” a reference to the maker’s...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | May 30, 2012
It wasn’t all that long ago that American motorists were being greeted with shrill headlines forecasting $4, even $5-a-gallon gas by summer. It certainly seemed plausible after the rapid run-up during late winter and early spring, prices at the pump coming within...
by Bryan Laviolette | May 30, 2012
This is a story about the Volkswagen Beetle, not the New Beetle, which is actually the old Beetle. But not the really old Beetle, the one designed by Ferdinand Porsche for Adolf Hitler prior to World War II. That’s because the old Beetle was actually called the New...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | May 30, 2012
With the market for minivans steadily declining Chrysler will kill off one of its two remaining models and replace it with a more trendy crossover vehicles, according to company sources. But the automaker has apparently reversed its original plan and will now drop the...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | May 29, 2012
Another sizable earthquake has been reported in Italy, this one shaking up a region known to automotive aficionados as Speed Central. It’s not yet clear how much damage has been suffered in Modena, home to high-performance makers Ferrari, Lamborghini and Maserati but...
