automaker

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GM to Try Money-Back Guarantee

Firm hopes 60-day refund period will rouse sales

(Newser) - General Motors is offering a good old money-back guarantee as a ploy to entice buyers to its showrooms, USA Today reports. Buyers will be able to get a full refund on any new GM model within 60 days of purchase. The automaker plans to announce the refund program in ads...

Japanese Mull Noisier Hybrids to Protect Blind

Survey finds blind people are unnerved by silent vehicles

(Newser) - Japanese automakers are looking into ways to make their super-quiet hybrid cars a lot louder after more than half of blind people surveyed said they were terrified of the vehicles, AP reports. The automakers are considering equipping the vehicles with radar to sense pedestrians and make sounds like engine noises...

Chrysler Plans to Build Fiat in Mexico

(Newser) - Chrysler is planning to produce a Fiat-branded subcompact car at a plant in Mexico, insiders tell the Wall Street Journal. The move may anger two key shareholders of the restructured automaker—the US government and the United Auto Workers. Workers at the Toluca, Mexico, plant are represented by a Mexican...

How to Get the Most Out of Your 'Clunker'

Time offers tips for buyers considering CARS

(Newser) - Cash for Clunkers has become a smashing success—but is it right for you? Time explains how to get the most out of your clunker:
  • First, make sure your vehicle really is a “clunker”: Cars that get more than 18 mpg, don't run, haven't been registered and insured over
...

Nissan Reveals Mass-Market Electric Car

LEAF will compete with EVs from GM, Mitsubishi

(Newser) - Nissan yesterday unveiled its entry into the electric-vehicle market, the Los Angeles Times reports. The LEAF is a five-seat compact that gets a top speed of 90 mph out of its lithium-ion batteries. The vehicle can go about 100 miles on a full charge, an attribute Nissan hopes will convince...

Resurgent Ford Has High Hopes for Taurus

Automaker's financial independence has improved its image with consumers

(Newser) - Ford is hoping to use the imminent launch of the 2010 Taurus to cement its newly dominant position among Detroit’s Big Three, MSNBC reports. Ford’s position as the only major US automaker not receiving government aid has been translating into small but significant gains in market share as...

Done Deal: GM Out of Bankruptcy

 Done Deal: 
 GM Out of Bankruptcy 


UPDATED

Done Deal: GM Out of Bankruptcy

Good assets go to US-backed firm

(Newser) - As of 6:30 this morning, the new General Motors is on its way: The old firm sold its good assets to a new automaker backed by the government via a bankruptcy overhaul far speedier than experts expected, the New York Times reports. The new firm, Vehicle Acquisition Company, will...

Judge Greenlights GM Asset Sale

Firm will transform into leaner car maker owned by US, Canada, UAW

(Newser) - GM has won approval for a restructuring plan in which the car maker will sell its most valuable assets to a new firm—also called GM—owned by the US and Canadian governments and a UAW health care trust, the New York Times reports. Judge Robert Gerber agreed with GM...

China Won't Allow Hummer Sale: Report

Country KOs GM deal with manufacturer over environmental worries

(Newser) - Beijing will halt GM’s sale of the Hummer brand to a Chinese machinery firm over pollution concerns, according to Chinese state radio. The purchase would run counter to the government’s goal of reducing pollution caused by manufacturing, the BBC reports. The Chinese firm shrugged off the report. “...

Done Deal: Fiat Buys Chrysler Assets

Administration triumphs as bankruptcy effectively ends

(Newser) - Chrysler finalized its sale of assets to Fiat with a government wire transfer this morning that gave Chrysler $6.6 billion in funds to exit bankruptcy, the New York Times reports. The sale is good news for the Obama administration, which sought an “efficient” restructuring for Chrysler. It may...

Make Romney the Head of GM

 Make Romney 
 the Head of GM 
OPINION

Make Romney the Head of GM

Former Mass. governor could turn around automaker, says Bennet

(Newser) - Barack Obama wants to "take a hands-off approach" with General Motors, but as James Bennet writes in the Atlantic, there's no way to get the bankrupt automaker back into shape "without getting under the hood." GM needs someone who can "bring the hammer down" on its...

General Motors: How a Giant Fell
 General Motors: 
 How a Giant Fell 
ANALYSIS

General Motors: How a Giant Fell

After decades of dominance, automaker blamed others for downfall

(Newser) - General Motors dominated the auto industry for much of the 20th century, and its downfall took place over decades. Many of the attributes GM once saw as strengths, from its rigid structure to its diverse range of vehicles, became liabilities as Japanese competitors sucked away even its most loyal customers,...

Big Three See Bumpy Road With 20-Somethings

Demographic key to rebuilding for US automakers

(Newser) - Detroit automakers face a hard road when it comes to Generation Y—consumers aged 22-32 whose business is crucial to securing the firms' futures, BusinessWeek reports. Their boomer parents broke from tradition by shifting to Japanese cars, and Gen Y is following in those footsteps. Detroit “simply must do...

Fire Sale Sweeps Chrysler Dealerships

Prices hit rock bottom before June 9 deadline

(Newser) - Those well-worn "Rock-Bottom Price!" and "Must Go!" stickers are more than sales pitches at nearly 800 dealerships cut loose by Chrysler, which have to sell by June 9 or lose vehicles to auction. The bankrupt automaker refused to buy back some 44,000 cars, reports ABC...

Ford Courts GM, Chrysler Customers

Helps pay off their loans, trains dealers in 'conquests'

(Newser) - With General Motors and Chrysler struggling, Ford is moving to pick off some of its rivals’ customers, the Detroit News reports. The firm is passing cash to its dealers to ease Chrysler owners’ loan payments—so they can pick up Fords. Ford may soon do the same for GM owners....

GM, UAW Cut Deal on Labor, Health Care

Tentative pact may save struggling auto giant more than $1B

(Newser) - Monitored by the Treasury department, General Motors and the United Auto Workers have reached a tentative deal to modify conditions of their labor contract and retiree health care trust, which could save the flatlining automaker more than $1 billion. Still, Chapter 11 bankruptcy remains likely for GM, and union reps...

Chrysler Junks 789 Dealers —25% of US Salesforce

Move will increase profits, company says

(Newser) - Chrysler plans to eliminate 25% of its US dealers by next month, the New York Times reports. The embattled automaker notified 789 today, citing the need to keep remaining franchises profitable. Chrysler filed a list of those dealerships in bankruptcy court, and a judge could decide to rescue them. General...

Bailed-Out GM to Take More Jobs Overseas

Cars sold here, built elsewhere to double amid taxpayer support

(Newser) - General Motors is set to boost its overseas operations, nearly doubling the number of cars it builds outside the US but sells here—even though billions of government dollars are supporting the firm and its restructuring plans, the Washington Post reports. This puts the Obama administration in a tight position:...

Toyota Forecasts First-Ever Annual Loss

$8.6B loss is far worse than anticipated

(Newser) - Toyota forecast a 2009 loss of $8.6 billion, its first annual loss ever and one far deeper than anticipated, Reuters reports. Only last year Toyota posted record profits and climbed past GM to become the world's largest car maker, but the global downturn in the auto industry and a...

Are Americans Falling Out of Love With Cars?
Are Americans Falling Out of Love With Cars?
ANALYSIS

Are Americans Falling Out of Love With Cars?

Drop in driving could be delayed reaction to gas prices—or not: Silver

(Newser) - Is the fact that Americans are driving less even after the cost of gas has come down a sign that US attitudes are changing, Nate Silver asks in Esquire—or is it just another example of how slowly they respond to changes in fuel prices? “The real test,”...

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