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NEWS ABOUT: auto industry

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EU Will Toughen Car Ads to Curb Gas Guzzlers

Regulations would require CO2, gas mileage info in every advertisement

(Newser) - Car ads in Europe will soon have to highlight gas mileage and carbon dioxide emissions under regulations in the works from the European Union, Der Spiegel reports. EU commissioners hope regulating ads will motivate more Europeans to ditch gas-guzzling models, but manufacturers and media execs aren’t happy. The plan... More »

Mercury Line May Hit the Scrap Heap

Sales have slipped from half a million annually to 168K last year

(Newser) - Once a four-wheeled icon of cool, Ford's Mercury brand is steadily losing traction and may soon be parked for good, the Los Angeles Times reports. Ford has not yet announced a plan to scrap the line, but one key stockholder is urging the company to let it go.  "... More »

Buy Our Minivan, Give Your College Fund a Boost: VW

$1,500 incentive offered with purchase of Routan model

(Newser) - Volkswagen is offering an innovative incentive to parents to buy their Chrysler-built Routan minivan: $1,500 in a college savings plan, Left Lane News reports. The partnership with Upromise might pale to those with more pressing concerns (or who hate planning ahead), though: Chrysler itself is offering a credit card... More »

US Woes Drive Toyota Profits Down 28%

World's No. 2 automaker sees tough year ahead

(Newser) - Even Toyota—with its array of popular gas-sipping vehicles—is struggling in a slumping global economy, according to the latest figures. The world’s No. 2 automaker today reported that earnings for the last quarter fell 28% to $3.05 billion from $4.2 billion a year ago, reports the... More »

Health Care Costs to US Manufacturers Skyrocket

US employers pay double the price foreign companies do

(Newser) - The cost of providing health insurance to US workers is rising so fast it can't be passed along either to workers or customers, a new study reported in the Los Angeles Times finds. Manufacturers now spend, on average, $2.38 per worker per hour—more than twice as much as... More »

Small Cars Surge Amid Sky-High Gas Prices

1 in 5 vehicles sold in April was compact or subcompact

(Newser) - Facing ballooning gas prices, many Americans are turning to smaller cars, with about one in five vehicles sold in April a compact or subcompact, the New York Times reports. That compares to one in eight 10 years ago. “It’s easily the most dramatic segment shift I have witnessed... More »

Ford Surprises With $100M Q1 Profit

Cost cutting offsets weak sales in US for world's No. 3 automaker

(Newser) - Ford today posted an unexpected first-quarter profit of $100 million, Bloomberg reports, the result of cost cutting in North America and strong overseas sales. Analysts had anticipated a loss on the order of last year's first-quarter drain of $282 million. The world’s third-largest automaker said its revenues increased 1.... More »

Toyota Overtakes GM in Q1

US giant's worldwide sales off 0.6% as overseas growth mitigates domestic dip

(Newser) - GM’s vehicle sales fell 0.6% in the first quarter, helping Toyota, on 2.7% growth, take the global sales lead, the Wall Street Journal reports. Toyota sold 2.41 million vehicles worldwide to 2.25 million for the American giant, which was hurt badly by a 10.2%... More »

More Cuts Planned as Ford Shifts Out of Reverse

Investors rally for Mulally as turnaround picks up speed

(Newser) - Ford was in the worst shape of Detroit's Big 3 a couple of years ago but chief executive Alan Mulally's sweeping changes have put the firm back on the road to profitability, the Wall Street Journal reports. The company has slashed jobs, and will likely cut more, and ditched its... More »

Detroit Looks to Pump Up Exports

US automakers say cheap dollar, low-cost labor puts them in driver's seat

(Newser) - The dollar’s declining value, lower labor costs, and other terms of new UAW deals have US automakers looking overseas as they attempt to reclaim market share and profitability, reports the Wall Street Journal. About half of US vehicle exports in 2007, which totaled $50.66 billion, went to Canada... More »

Roadblocks Zap Electric Carmakers' Momentum

Infighting and broken promises mar ambitious companies

(Newser) - The more than two dozen startups racing to produce viable electric cars face a bumpy road, the Los Angeles Times reports, as they navigate infighting, skyrocketing costs, and lack of mass-production know-how. Meanwhile, a successful car would face serious competition from several major automakers working on innovations of their own.... More »

Tata's Luxury Buys Tell World 'We're Here'

Jaguar, Land Rover acquisitions add dimension to Indian giant's broad base

(Newser) - Perhaps you’ve never heard of Tata, the Indian company that's the new owner of Jaguar and Land Rover—but it's already a $70 billion globe-straddling giant, the BBC reports, with major subsidiaries in a host of industries. Not content with dominating its fast-growing home market, Tata Motors sells cars... More »

Alfa Romeo Revs Up to US Market

Analysts skeptical due to weak earlier run at American buyers

(Newser) - Italian automaker Alfa Romeo is ready for a second run at the US market, hoping to provide a stylish alternative to BMWs and Audis, the Los Angeles Times reports. A cultural icon in Italy, Alfa failed to win over Americans in the past—and is now sparking skepticism from auto... More »

Chrysler Will Shut Down for 2 Weeks

Forced July vacation part of automaker's revamping effort

(Newser) - Chrysler plans to shut down all operations for two weeks in July to save money and “accelerate Chrysler's recovery and transformation,” CEO Robert Nardelli writes in a company memo. Employees will take a forced break July 7-20 “in order to create better alignment and efficiency across organizational... More »

11 Rides to Scratch Off Your List

Consumer Reports says don't waste your money on these wheels

(Newser) - Beauty may be in the eye of the beholder, but performance isn't. Here are the 11 vehicles Consumer Reports rates the worst in this year's testing:
  1. Jeep Wrangler Unlimited: Handles like a tank
  2. Hummer H3: Poor visibility, fuel economy
  3. Jeep Liberty Sport: Noisy, poor finish, fuel economy
  4. Chevrolet Aveo5: Sluggish,
... More »

Porsche Speeds to $225B Euro Empire

VW acquisition would create Europe's biggest car & truck company

(Newser) - The map of Europe's car and truck industry is set to be redrawn with Porsche's likely takeover of Volkswagen, the Financial Times reports. Porsche's board voted to boost the sports car manufacturer's stake in Volkswagen to more than 50% yesterday, only hours after Volkswagen said it would buy a controlling... More »

US Car Sales Sink in Slow Economy

GM, Ford, Chrysler, and Toyota saw sales fall last month

(Newser) - A tumbling US economy hit Ford, General Motors, Chrysler, and Toyota today as all four posted declining sales for last month, Bloomberg reports. Chrysler fell 14% as Ford dropped nearly 7% and GM suffered almost a 20% drop in light truck sales. "Primarily it's driven by the weak economy,... More »

Are Car Roofs Tough Enough?

US regulators consider stricter strength-to-weight standard

(Newser) - Three-quarters of vehicles on the road today would fail a proposed tougher standard for automobile roof strength, reports the Wall Street Journal. The current standard, unchanged since 1973, requires that car roofs withstand a force equivalent to 1.5 times the vehicle’s weight, but it exempts those more than... More »

Auto Worker Powerhouse Doug Fraser Dead at 91

Ex union boss helped save Chrysler from ruin

(Newser) - Former United Auto Workers president Doug Fraser, who played a vital role in saving Chrysler from bankruptcy, died yesterday at age 91. The cause of death was unknown, but Fraser had been suffering from emphysema, the Detroit Free Press reports. As UAW president during the ’70s and ’80s,... More »

Isuzu Says Sayonara to America

Japanese automaker bailing as passenger sales fall to nearly nothing

(Newser) - Japanese automaker Isuzu, which brought the US such treasures as the SUV and fictional car salesman Joe Isuzu, is closing up shop in the US, thanks to its nearly non-existent sales. Of the 16.1 million cars sold last year, just 7,098 were Isuzus. Said actor David Leisure, who... More »

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