Resurgent Ford Has High Hopes for Taurus

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 much better with Gen Y than they did with their parents, or the comeback we keep hearing about may not happen,” says an analyst. More»

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. “We’re going to be aggressive, but we’re not going to be predatory,” said an exec. More»

CEOs to make their case to the House tomorrow

(NEWSER) - The CEOs of the Big Three wrapped up a six-hour session with the Senate Banking Committee during which they asked for a minimum of $34 billion in aid, the Washington Post reports. Chairman Chris Dodd vowed to draft a bill “in the next 24-48 hours" that stood a chance of passing both houses and ducking a Bush veto. The execs face the House Financial Services Committee tomorrow. More»

(NEWSER) - Automakers are predicting a mildly soft sales year for 2008, but analysts warn a “poverty effect” caused by an imploding housing market could send US light auto sales skidding as much as 9.4% to their worst year since 1993, Reuters reports. “I’m just not sure how bad it could be,” said one. “We all know housing is a debacle.” More»

Ford highest-ranked carmaker overall, Toyota falls

(NEWSER) - American automakers scored higher marks on quality than their foreign rivals for the first time since the JD Power survey began in 1986, the Detroit Free Press reports. A dozen Ford models ranked in the top three in their segments, making it the highest-ranked automaker overall. Ford's namesake brand ranked fifth, and General Motors had 10 brands in the top vehicle rankings. More»