by Paul A. Eisenstein | May 23, 2013
General Motors will begin selling its new Chevrolet Spark EV at select dealers in California and Oregon next month for a base price of $27,495 including destination charges. Since the little battery-electric vehicle will qualify for a federal tax credit of $7,500,...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | May 22, 2013
Tesla Motors today confirmed it will pay back a more than $450 million loan it received from the Department of Energy, part of a controversial Obama Administration program intended to encourage the development of clean, high-mileage automotive technology – but which...
by Joseph Szczesny | May 22, 2013
Kia has grown quickly in recent years by offering consumers an array of interesting and well-designed vehicles that belie the brand’s original image as the maker of stripped-down econoboxes even while Kia maintains its focus on value. The introduction this month of...
by Joseph Szczesny | May 22, 2013
General Motors will close its New York Treasurers office and move the operation to Detroit by the middle of next year in what amounts to a wholesale shakeup of GM’s corporate culture, which has long been dominated by finance operating from offices high above...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | May 22, 2013
It’s the sort of problem that can plague anyone – even President Barack Obama, whose limousine broke down during a visit to Israel earlier this year. It turned out that someone inadvertently filled up the tank of the armored Cadillac sedan – nicknamed “The Beast” –...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | May 22, 2013
Whether by choice or through financial reality, the number of American households without a car has doubled over the past two decades – and is now approaching 10%. Significantly, the shift is affecting older Boomers as well as Millennials. The impact of this trend...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | May 21, 2013
Fiat/Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne has apologized for using what some took as an offensive term for Italian-Americans during the Detroit Auto Show last January. Describing his frustrations with the slow effort to return the Alfa Romeo brand to the U.S. market,...
by Joseph Szczesny | May 21, 2013
General Motors is teaming up with Stanford University’s Center for Automotive Research in Palo Alto, California – the Detroit maker’s latest step in building up its high-tech research and development capabilities in Silicon Valley. The announcement comes just...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | May 21, 2013
What do you get when BMW and Toyota set down to develop a sports car? We’re apparently about to find out, their joint effort reportedly set to make its eagerly awaited debut at this year’s Tokyo Motor Show. The midsize sports car is one of several projects that the...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | May 21, 2013
Three former Saab Automobile AB executives, including one-time CEO Jan Ake Jonsson, have been detained by Swedish authorities and could face charges involving tax and accounting fraud. The unexpected development comes nearly 18 months after the long-struggling...
by Joseph Szczesny | May 21, 2013
John Krafcik, president and chief executive officer of Hyundai Motor America, has been named “Automotive Executive of The Year” for 2013. The award for the one-time Ford Motor Co. engineer comes as the Korean carmaker sees a modest – but anticipated...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | May 20, 2013
While we’re not exactly sure when or where it happened, some green-minded U.S. motorist helped the nascent battery car market reach a critical milestone this past weekend, purchasing the 100,000th plug-based vehicle – or so claims the advocacy group Plug-In America....
