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July 2008
- Honda Profits Jump 8% on Fuel-Efficient Lineup
  
  newser | Wall Street Journal | 5 hours, 23 minutes ago
  
  Honda announced an 8.1% gain in net profit yesterday for the quarter ending June 30, riding demand for its fuel-efficient models and beating analysts’ estimates, the Wall Street Journal reports. Honda has been hurt less by falling demand than rivals Toyota and Nissan because it's the least invested in truck and SUV lines. "Honda is better positioned than anyone else in the industry," one analyst tells the Journal. More »
  
  Tags
  
  auto industry • Toyota • earnings reports • quarterly earnings • fuel efficiency • Honda • Nissan • Japanese auto industry
- NASCAR Fans Sneer at Toyota
  
  newser | Wall Street Journal | Jul 24, 08 9:51 AM CDT
  
  In an effort to curry favor with millions of American NASCAR fans, Toyota joined the league’s top circuit 2 years ago, but fans aren’t warming to the Japanese automaker, the Wall Street Journal reports. Many fans felt betrayed last year when champion racer Kyle Busch traded in his Chevy on a Toyota, and he's been met with boos and a barrage of beer cans after recent victories. More »
  
  Tags
  
  Japan • auto industry • Toyota • NASCAR • cars • Kyle Busch
- Ford Posts $8.7B Loss, Will Make Fewer Trucks
  
  newser | Associated Press | Jul 24, 08 9:08 AM CDT
  
  Ford Motor Co. lost $8.67 billion in the second quarter and will retool two more North American truck and SUV plants to build small, fuel-efficient vehicles, the company announced today. The net loss includes $8.03 billion in writedowns due to a decline in the value of its truck and SUV inventory, as well as Ford Motor Credit Co.'s truck-heavy lease portfolio. More »
  
  Tags
  
  auto industry • Ford • earnings reports • writedowns • trucks • earnings • second quarter earnings
- Shopping in US Looks Like the 1970s: Analyst
  
  newser | Associated Press | Jul 20, 08 8:01 PM CDT
  
  Retailers and marketers are closely watching American shopping trends, knowing that recession habits can linger for years, the AP reports. Studies show that 63% of Americans have cut down spending by coupon-cutting, biking to work, and buying store brands. They're also buying smaller cars and shopping at discounters. "We are looking at stuff that reminds me of the 1970s," one investment manager said. More »
  
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  auto industry • Wal-Mart • Toyota • consumer • consumer spending • consumer goods • consumer products
- McCain Flips on Emissions Standards
  
  newser | Detroit News | Jul 18, 08 3:37 PM CDT
  
  John McCain seemed to flip-flop on auto-emissions standards today, telling a group of General Motors engineers he supported states’ rights to set their own levels, the Detroit News reports. McCain told the newspaper last month he supported a nationwide standard. Automakers support a national standard because they fear the expense of catering to different restrictions in different states. More »
  
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  John McCain • auto industry • General Motors • vehicle emissions • Rick Wagoner • Chevrolet Volt • emissions standards • carbon dioxide emissions
- Smart Car Scores Big on Cute
  
  newser | Washington Post | Jul 18, 08 9:45 AM CDT
  
  Mercedes’ Smart cars are selling brilliantly—the US waiting list is 30,000 long—and the tiny two-seater's performance at the gas pump isn't the whole story. Yes, they’re the most fuel-efficient non-hybrids around, but only barely—some Hondas and Toyotas almost match their 33mpg. There's also the cute factor, the Washington Post reports. “The Jeep was stylish,” says one SUV convert, “but I never got the attention before that I get with this.” More »
  
  Tags
  
  auto industry • fuel efficiency • SUVs • Mercedes Benz • Mercedes • Smart Car
- Drivers Order Big Extras for Small Cars
  
  newser | New York Times | Jul 17, 08 2:12 AM CDT
  
  American drivers are ditching their SUVs for smaller vehicles in droves—but they're cramming in all the extra comforts they can, reports the New York Times . Buyers are spending thousands on bonus features such as heated leather seats and top entertainment systems. The trend gives a rare glimmer of hope to Detroit, which has always struggled to make money from small cars. More »
  
  Tags
  
  auto industry • fuel efficiency • car dealers • Mini Cooper • small cars • Toyota Yaris
- Eyeing US Market, VW Plans Tenn. Plant
  
  newser | Der Spiegel | Jul 16, 08 8:42 AM CDT
  
  Volkswagen will invest around $1.6 billion to build a factory in the US—20 years after the closure of its last plant, Der Spiegel reports. VW hopes to have the plant, located in Chattanooga, Tenn., running by 2011, and operating at a rate of 150,000 cars per year. The company ambitiously hopes to increase US sales to 800,000 by 2018. More »
  
  Tags
  
  auto industry • auto sales • Volkswagen • factory
- GM Will Cut Salaried Jobs, Benefits to Survive Slump
  
  newser | Wall Street Journal | Jul 15, 08 9:42 AM CDT
  
  General Motors will cut salaried jobs, accelerate factory closings, and eliminate health care coverage for many salaried retirees in order to raise $15 billion to survive the industry's deep downturn, the Wall Street Journal reports. GM will also suspend dividends, sell some assets, lower capital spending, and cut production of pickup trucks and SUVs. More »
  
  Tags
  
  US economy • auto industry • General Motors • SUV • job cuts • downturn
- GM to Announce New Round of Major Cuts
  
  newser | Bloomberg | Jul 15, 08 2:37 AM CDT
  
  General Motors is expected to announce another big round of cost-cutting measures today, Bloomberg reports. Insiders say the ailing automaker, hit hard as consumers leave gas-guzzlers standing in car lots, is likely to slash thousands of jobs and reduce production of trucks and SUVs for the second time in two months. More »
  
  Tags
  
  auto industry • General Motors • job cuts • Rick Wagoner • Hummer • vehicle
- Keep the Hummer: Save America's Soul
  
  newser | Washington Post | Jul 12, 08 2:00 PM CDT
  
  Sure, the Hummer is more of a "cartoon" than a vehicle, a ridiculously over-the-top gas-guzzling monstrosity. But the unbridled optimism it takes to manufacture it—and to fill up the tank—is what makes it uniquely American, writes Matthew DeBord in the Washington Post . If GM axes it, or, heaven forfend, takes it hybrid, we’ll lose yet another chip off the American soul. It's just too cool to die. More »
  
  Tags
  
  auto industry • General Motors • hybrid car • America • SUV • Hummer • American • optimism
- Against the Odds, Maserati Sales Jump
  
  newser | Bloomberg | Jul 10, 08 5:40 PM CDT
  
  Buoyed by wealthy, middle-aged men who can afford to defy high gas prices and a plummeting economy, sales of Maserati luxury cars are up in the US this year, Bloomberg reports. Common brands like Lexus and BMW have seen sales fall, but the very rich don't skimp when they see something that will stand out, analysts say. More »
  
  Tags
  
  gas prices • auto industry • economy • BMW • luxury car • Lexus • conspicuous consumption
- Toyota Will Make Prius in US
  
  newser | Wired | Jul 10, 08 5:00 PM CDT
  
  Toyota plans to start producing its super-popular Prius hybrid in the US, Wired reports. With inventories overwhelmed by demand, the firm will move production lines to a Mississippi plant intended to produce SUVs. The factory won’t make its first Prius until 2010, but with no sign of abating gas prices, Toyota is betting hybrid demand will be even higher then. More »
  
  Tags
  
  auto industry • fuel efficiency • Toyota Prius • SUV • cars • Japanese auto industry • factory • Prius
- Pensions, Benefits Have GM Stalled
  
  newser | New York Times | Jul 10, 08 9:28 AM CDT
  
  General Motors is suffering as oil prices surge and consumer spending wanes, Roger Lowenstein writes in the New York Times . But the biggest, and perhaps fatal, culprit of its recent troubles—with stock prices near a 50-year low—are the generous health care and pension benefits it agreed to lavish upon its workers more than 50 years ago. More »
  
  Tags
  
  auto industry • General Motors • United Auto Workers • auto sales • pensions
- Fiat 500: Mini Package, Max Charisma
  
  newser | Los Angeles Times | Jul 9, 08 11:59 AM CDT
  
  Add adorable to 40-plus miles per gallon and you get the Fiat 500, an Italian compact that, despite taking a while to go from 0 to 60, brings a new sweetness to the term eye candy, Dan Neil writes in the Los Angeles Times : "It's fun to look at, fun to drive, fun to point out to the valet." More »
  
  Tags
  
  gas prices • auto industry • Europe • Fiat • gas mileage
- GM May Cut More Jobs, Brands
  
  newser | Wall Street Journal | Jul 7, 08 9:01 AM CDT
  
  GM is considering slashing thousands of white collar jobs, while simultaneously selling off or discontinuing even more brands, the Wall Street Journal reports, in a furious attempt to return to profitability. For years GM has resisted shrinking its large stable of brands, even as rivals Ford and Chrysler committed to downsizing, but with its stock price at a 50-year low, a shakeup is in the wind. More »
  
  Tags
  
  auto industry • General Motors • layoffs • Chevrolet • Hummer • Big Three • Cadillac
- Prius Shortage Hurts Toyota
  
  newser | Reuters | Jul 2, 08 4:53 PM CDT
  
  Popularity is proving quite the pickle for Toyota: Dwindling supplies of hot sellers like its hybrid Prius fueled the 11.5% drop in US sales last month, Reuters reports. With a waiting list 6 months long, Prius sales fell 26%—even as rival Honda bumped its sales 13.8% thanks to record demand for its fuel-efficient Fit and Civic vehicles. More »
  
  Tags
  
  auto industry • Toyota • hybrid car • auto sales • Honda • Toyota Prius
- Volt Could Spark GM Bailout
  
  newser | Wall Street Journal | Jul 2, 08 8:32 AM CDT
  
  GM is about as likely to turn a profit with the Chevy Volt as the Edsel is to make a comeback, Holman W. Jenkins Jr. writes in the Wall Street Journal. But the ailing automaker may be aiming to improve its image rather than sell cars. With the automaker's image suitably greened, a federal bailout may become more politically acceptable, Jenkins suggests. More »
  
  Tags
  
  auto industry • General Motors • automaker • electric cars • Rick Wagoner • Chevrolet Volt
June 2008
- What's Hot? Some Guzzlers Among the Sippers
  
  newser | Wall Street Journal | Jun 25, 08 10:03 AM CDT
  
  Soaring gas prices have predictably driven sales of gas-sipping vehicles such as Honda’s Fit and Toyota’s Scion xB, which have seen increases of 64% and 59% respectively, reports the Wall Street Journal. But guzzlers such as Toyota's Sequoia and Tundra are also selling surprisingly well (29% and 8.5%, respectively). More »
  
  Tags
  
  gas prices • auto industry • auto sales • Japanese auto industry • fuel economy
- White House Ignored EPA Pollutants Email
  
  newser | New York Times | Jun 25, 08 9:34 AM CDT
  
  The White House didn’t like the findings in a Supreme Court-mandated report on pollutants from the EPA—so it simply refused to open the email, the New York Times reports. Instead, the administration has successfully pressured the agency into releasing a watered-down, recommendation-free report. Among the omitted sections: analysis showing that tougher automobile regulation could produce $500 billion to $2 trillion in economic benefits. More »
  
  Tags
  
  George W. Bush • Bush administration • environment • US Supreme Court • auto industry • Environmental Protection Agency • fuel efficiency • executive power • EPA

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