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June 2009
- Recession Drives Boom in Auto Fraud
  
  Newsweek | Jun 19, 09 1:23 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Car-insurance fraud spurred by the recession is continuing unabated, Newsweek reports. “Give-ups”—feigning theft or arson to collect insurance money on an unwanted vehicle—are up 24% this year over last, according to an industry group. And claims stemming from suspicious car fires are up 27%. “Normally honest people are cracking under financial stress,” an insider said. More »
- Jeep Wrangler Is Star of Reborn Chrysler
  
  Toledo Blade | Jun 11, 09 12:02 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - With the Fiat-Chrysler alliance finalized, workers must get hopping to churn out more Jeep Wranglers, the military-vehicle-turned-adventure-ride that’s one of just three American cars whose sales are up this year. It’s “probably one of the main reasons why Chrysler is still here,” an auto analyst tells the Toledo Blade . And Chrysler has only a 30-day supply remaining. More »
- Done Deal: Fiat Buys Chrysler Assets
  
  New York Times | Jun 10, 09 10:31 AM CDT
  
  (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 also provide a glimpse into the future of General Motors, also navigating bankruptcy. More »
- GM's Car of the Future Sparks Doubt in the Present
  
  Washington Post | Jun 7, 09 12:19 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Success has many fathers, and for the forthcoming Chevrolet Volt, paternity claims could stretch from Detroit to Washington. But if the GM hybrid turns out to be an orphan, it could be because many of its backers, including a top GM exec, are ambivalent about its potential to rejigger the company’s gas-guzzling image, Michael Leahy writes for the Washington Post. More »
- 1 in 5 Drivers Would Flunk Test: Survey
  
  Los Angeles Times | Jun 5, 09 4:38 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - An annual survey of driver smarts is out, and the coasts fare poorly, the Los Angeles Times reports. Conducted by GMAC, the survey posed questions from US drivers license tests and found that 20% of current drivers would fail a written exam. New York ranked dead last and California 48th, sharing the lower rungs with New Jersey and Hawaii. More »
- GM Strikes Hummer Deal
  
  Wall Street Journal | Jun 2, 09 7:21 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - General Motors has announced a "tentative" plan to sell its Hummer brand to a buyer who could take control by the end of the third quarter, says the Wall Street Journal . The firm didn’t say who was buying it or for how much, but noted that the purchaser plans to continue growing the brand portfolio and eventually create alternative-fuel Hummers. GM will keep building Hummers for the new owner “through at least next year,” the Journal notes. More »
- GM Declares Bankruptcy
  
  Wall Street Journal | Jun 1, 09 7:38 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Once king of the auto industry, General Motors filed for bankruptcy this morning, the Wall Street Journal reports. The firm must cut some 21,000 workers and close 12 to 20 factories and 40% of dealerships, adds the New York Times . GM says it owes $172.8 billion and has assets of $82.3; for the US government, which will own 60% of the firm, some $30 billion hangs on GM’s return to profitability. More »
May 2009
- GM Bondholders OK Debt-for-Equity Plan in Vote
  
  Wall Street Journal | May 31, 09 9:08 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - GM bondholders voted yesterday to forgive $27 million in debt for equity in the restructured automaker, the Wall Street Journal reports. The move opens the door for a bankruptcy filing tomorrow morning, the New York Times notes. The Treasury Department was in charge of deciding whether enough bondholders backed the offer; “more than 50% agreed,” said an insider. More »
- Big Three See Bumpy Road With 20-Somethings
  
  BusinessWeek | May 29, 09 2:23 PM CDT
  
  (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 »
- GM's Opel, Vauxhall Get a Shot at Survival
  
  Wall Street Journal | May 29, 09 11:48 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Canadian auto supplier Magna wants to buy GM’s European brands, offering Opel and Vauxhall a chance at survival, the Wall Street Journal reports. A deal for Opel would need temporary German funding. Angela Merkel’s government is debating putting up some $2 billion—but wants GM and the US Treasury to separate Opel from the rest of the Detroit firm to ensure the loan doesn’t end up in US creditors’ pockets. More »
- Two Crash on Lap 1 of Indy 500
  
  Associated Press | May 24, 09 2:02 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Today's Indianapolis 500 had barely started when Mario Moraes drifted to the outside and made contact with Marco Andretti, sending both cars into the wall going into the second turn. "The kid doesn't get it, and he never will," Andretti said, blaming Moraes for the crash. "He's just clueless out there." More »
- Ford Courts GM, Chrysler Customers
  
  Detroit News | May 22, 09 12:25 PM CDT
  
  (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 »
- Hatch: Save the Hummer ... for the Environment
  
  Washington Post | May 21, 09 12:12 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Many Republicans won’t touch fuel economy issues, but not Sen. Orrin Hatch. He’s been an advocate for alternative-fuel vehicles for a decade, and yesterday got behind the wheel of the most muscular hybrid ever, reports Dana Milbank of the Washington Post . A company from Hatch’s native Utah has created a plug-in Hummer that gets 100 mpg. Just two problems: General Motors is jettisoning the Hummer brand, and Hatch apparently can’t drive. More »
- Toyota Forecasts First-Ever Annual Loss
  
  Reuters | May 8, 09 5:29 AM CDT
  
  (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 strong yen battered the company. Toyota lost 1.5% on the Nikkei stock exchange today. More »
- With 203K Orders, Nano Grabs 17% of Indian Market
  
  Bloomberg | May 4, 09 2:38 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Indian automaker Tata has 203,000 domestic orders for the Nano—the world’s cheapest car—which will start delivery in July, Bloomberg reports. The first editions of the $2,500 vehicle will go out to just 100,000 eager buyers, who will be chosen by lottery and must put about $1,900 down. The groundswell of enthusiasm will net the company $501 million—and 17% of India’s auto market for the fiscal year ending in March. More »
- 'Cash for Clunkers' Plan Hits Skids With Auto Experts
  
  MSNBC | May 2, 09 5:00 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - “Cash for Clunkers,” a congressional effort to remove older, gas-guzzling cars from the road, is gaining traction on Capitol Hill, but remains controversial elsewhere, MSNBC reports. The plan would offer drivers a $4,500 voucher toward new, fuel-efficient cars in exchange for trading in their environmentally unfriendly vehicles. “There are more effective policies out there,” said one expert. More »
April 2009
- $1B Buys Quiet, 'Potent' Ride
  
  Wired | Apr 29, 09 11:49 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - To allay skepticism about progress on the development of the much-ballyhooed Chevrolet Volt, GM let Chuck Squatriglia of Wired take an engineering prototype for a spin. The vehicle—a Chevy Cruze with a Volt drivetrain—didn’t look like much, and not all of the features worked, but the ride "was remarkably smooth," and "out on the road, the covert Volt was potent." More »
- Honda Ready to Take On the Prius
  
  Wall Street Journal | Apr 28, 09 7:31 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Honda is rolling out a fresh—and worthy—competitor to Toyota’s Prius, king of the hybrid market, writes Joseph P. White in the Wall Street Journal . The 2010 Insight will sell for just under $20,000, some $2,000 less than the most popular Prius model, and gets “minicar mileage” while offering enough room for a bike in the back seat. "Honda has already rattled the champ," writes White , "and the first round hasn't really begun." More »
- Pontiac Dies, But Its Greats Live On
  
  Jalopnik | Apr 27, 09 3:57 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - As General Motors' Pontiac line is phased out, Ben Wojdyla, on Jalopnik, remembers the truly great cars that bore the mark. If you've got one, keep your garage clean and await a payday. 2009 G8 GXP: "GM should be saved for no other reason than to put the G8 GXP on the road." This car fulfills the promise of the Pontiac brand in spades, 415 HP V8 and all. 1964 GTO: The vehicle that "ignited the original muscle car wars" will "always have a special place in every car guy's heart." A 325-horsepower V8 doesn't hurt. More »
- Five '70s Cars That Plain Suck
  
  Wired | Apr 19, 09 1:06 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The 1970s was "a decade of excess mediocrity in so many quarters it's hard to catalog it all," Tony Borroz writes in Wired . But you can start with the cars. Here follow five total flops. Ford Mustang Cobra II: "An over-glorified Pinto" that made a "mockery of the venerable Cobra name" and the car "that launched the pony car revolution." Mercury Bobcat: Basically a Pinto, but "by porking up the platform by that much, Mercury succeeded at making a bad car even worse." More »