In Detroit, Obama Rocks Boat

Some Republicans were ready to let GM, Chrysler die: Jonathan Cohn

(NEWSER) - Barack Obama reportedly plans to make the auto bailout a key part of his reelection campaign, and Jonathan Cohn of the New Republic thinks that’s a great idea. Chrysler and GM are in much better shape, he argues—GM in particular is “reporting big profits, it is winning design awards, and, most important of all, it is selling lots of cars.” More importantly, employment is creeping higher in states like Michigan with a heavy auto industry presence. More»

Transportation Department, EPA make new targets official

(AP) - The Obama administration is setting tough gas mileage standards for new cars and trucks, spurring the next generation of fuel-sipping gas-electric hybrids, efficient engines, and electric cars. The heads of the Transportation Department and the Environmental Protection Agency will today sign final rules requiring 2016 model-year vehicles to meet fuel efficiency targets of 35.5 miles per gallon combined for cars and trucks, an increase of nearly 10mpg over current standards. More»

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 admittedly "able" CEO. It's time to appoint someone who brings an auto legacy and outsider's skepticism to the table: Mitt Romney. More»

(NEWSER) - The new, strict and streamlined national fuel efficiency standard President Obama will announce today could be a victory on three fronts, the Climate Change argues in a piece running on the New York Times web site. Obama will boost his climate change cred, help floundering automakers, and resolve the federal spat with California all in one fell swoop. Obama’s plan will require cars to meet a 35.5mpg by 2016, four years earlier than the previous target date. More»

Parochial concerns results in a less-than-unified response

(NEWSER) - Republicans were caught off guard by Obama’s auto moves yesterday, and they responded in wildly different ways, Politico reports. Some complained the president hadn’t been hard enough on GM and Chrysler, while others groused that he’d been harder on them than he’d been on Wall Street. Still others, like California’s Darrell Issa, said he’d “struck the right chord.” The reason? Parochialism. More»