automaker – News Stories About automaker - Page 5

Apr 24, 2009 2:03 PM CDT

US Lends GM Another $2B

Funds mean firm can keep working towards restructuring deadline

(Newser) - The Obama administration provided General Motors with another $2 billion in low-cost federal loans today, MarketWatch reports. The funds are intended to keep the company operating as it attempts to restructure ahead of a June 1 deadline. GM has so far received $15.4 billion in loans from the government....

Volkswagen Challenges
Toyota's No. 1 Ranking

Apr 17, 2009 12:36 PM CDT

Volkswagen Challenges Toyota's No. 1 Ranking

Global sales surge on Germany, China stimulus, Toyota lags

(Newser) - Volkswagen may have beaten Toyota in global sales in the first quarter, Reuters reports. Although VW sales declined overall, the company's market share increased to 11% with 1.39 million vehicles sold. Toyota has not released sales figures, but it estimated its first-quarter sales at 1.23 million. Volkswagen had...

Obama Snaps Up 17,600 Fuel-Efficient US Cars

Apr 10, 2009 7:56 AM CDT

Obama Snaps Up 17,600 Fuel-Efficient US Cars

Government will buy thousands of fuel-efficient cars

(Newser) - President Obama announced yesterday that the government plans to buy up 17,600 American-made hybrid and fuel-efficient cars for the federal fleet, reports the Washington Post. In addition to being a way to get some more money to the automakers, the plan will boost the efficiency of the government fleet...

GM in 'Intense' Planning for Bankruptcy

Apr 7, 2009 1:10 PM CDT

GM in 'Intense' Planning for Bankruptcy

Firm could be split into 'old' and 'new' companies: insiders

(Newser) - General Motors is making “intense” and “earnest” preparations for the possibility of bankruptcy, a source tells Reuters today. The firm could be divided into a “new” and “old” GM, another insider said: The new company would be home to the firm’s healthiest units and take...

Car Lovers Just Don't Get Keyed Up Anymore

Apr 4, 2009 6:15 PM CDT

Car Lovers Just Don't Get Keyed Up Anymore

Romance with Detroit's best is fading

(Newser) - Where have all the car buffs gone? For many, the allure of that new car smell is fading: Figures show new-vehicle sales are down 38%, and despite warranties lasting 7 or 10 years, 40% of last year’s trade-ins were less than 4 years old. But recession is only partly...

Auto Team: Chrysler Needs
Bankruptcy, Fiat Deal

Mar 30, 2009 7:30 AM CDT

Auto Team: Chrysler Needs Bankruptcy, Fiat Deal

Administration offers 30 days more working capital before aid dries up

(Newser) - Chrysler cannot become viable on its own, says the White House's auto task force, recommending “quick and surgical” bankruptcy restructuring and the proposed Fiat partnership as the automaker's best shot at survival. The administration will provide Chrysler 30 days’ more working capital to finalize a deal, but the federal...

Ford-UAW Deal Shows Detroit the Way Forward

OPINION

Mar 10, 2009 1:39 AM CDT

Ford-UAW Deal Shows Detroit the Way Forward

Compromise reveals Detroit's 'dinosaurs' can adapt to survive

(Newser) - The deal hammered out between Ford and the UAW offers Detroit a rare glimpse of hope for the future, Jim Jelter writes in MarketWatch. The deal, ratified by workers yesterday, lets Ford pay half its health-care costs for workers in shares instead of cash, binding workers fortunes' closer to the...

German Car Firm
'Used Auschwitz Hair'

Mar 3, 2009 5:43 AM CST

German Car Firm 'Used Auschwitz Hair'

Nazi links may torpedo Schaeffler's hopes of a government bailout

(Newser) - A German auto parts firm's hopes of a government bailout have been dealt a serious blow with the discovery that it used the hair of Auschwitz prisoners to make fabric, the Independent reports. The Schaeffler company denies the accusations, but an Auschwitz historian says two tons of hair, shaved from...

Auto Suppliers Seek
Their Own Bailout

Feb 26, 2009 2:12 AM CST

Auto Suppliers Seek Their Own Bailout

Trade groups warn industry could collapse from bottom up as Big 3 troubles filter down

(Newser) - The auto industry is warning that it could collapse from the bottom up if the government doesn't immediately assist America's car parts suppliers, the Washington Post reports. Suppliers are struggling to use their unpaid billings to troubled automakers—usually 45 to 60 days behind deliveries—as collateral for operating loans,...

Fiat, Chrysler Talk Partnership

Jan 19, 2009 1:39 PM CST

Fiat, Chrysler Talk Partnership

Deal could allow US firm quick access to small-car parts

(Newser) - Chrysler is in talks with Fiat to form a partnership that could boost the troubled automaker, Automotive News reports. In the deal, Fiat may offer Chrysler access to its platforms, engines, and transmissions for smaller cars, enabling Chrysler to quickly put out a new line of front-wheel-drive, low-emissions vehicles. Fiat...

Plush New Prius Will Hit 50mpg

Jan 13, 2009 12:36 PM CST

Plush New Prius Will Hit 50mpg

As hybrid market goes mainstream, so does iconic car

(Newser) - Toyota's sleeker, more fuel-efficient update to its iconic Prius, already the most fuel-efficient vehicle on the market, offers a city-highway average of 50mpg—up from 46—and a bunch of new amenities. Unveiled at the Detroit Auto Show, the 2010 model comes with a more powerful engine, a moonroof, and...

Cult Appeal Helps
Subaru Buck Market

Jan 13, 2009 11:51 AM CST

Cult Appeal Helps Subaru Buck Market

Loyal, expanding fan base moves sales, market share up in down year for industry

(Newser) - While other car companies are stuck in reverse, Subaru keeps chugging along, Time reports. While its fan base tends to buy cars only every 7.3 years, it remains fiercely loyal to the brand, known for safety, green operations, and good value. Subaru increased sales last year, and boosted its...

Ford, Hyundai Win
Top Wheels Honors

Jan 12, 2009 1:53 AM CST

Ford, Hyundai Win Top Wheels Honors

Ford F-150, Hyundai Genesis named top 2009 vehicles

(Newser) - Here's some good news for ailing Detroit: The redesigned Ford F-150 was named North America's Truck of the Year yesterday by a team of journalists who preferred its design, handling, drive and value to the other finalists, the Dodge Ram and Mercedez ML320. Korean automakers clinched their first victory...

Detroit's Not the Only Place
That Needs 'Restructuring'

OPINION

Dec 19, 2008 12:46 PM CST

Detroit's Not the Only Place That Needs 'Restructuring'

DC should streamline many useless layers

(Newser) - Lawmakers want to restructure Detroit’s auto industry—but Congress could use a little makeover, too, writes Philip K. Howard in the Wall Street Journal. He offers a prescription to streamline the government as one would a corporation:

Dump “legacy obligations.” Like Detroit, Congress must ditch old promises

...

Chrysler Idling US
Plants for 30 Days

Dec 17, 2008 5:05 PM CST

Chrysler Idling US Plants for 30 Days

Supply to be slowed so it meets lowered demand, company says

(Newser) - Ominous news on the auto front: Chrysler will idle all its North American plants for at least 30 days beginning Friday, a move meant to realign the company's supply with plummeting demand, the Detroit News reports. Ford, meanwhile, will close 10 assembly plants for an extra week in January, the...

Bailout Would Help
German Giants, Too

ANALYSIS

Dec 10, 2008 2:20 PM CST

Bailout Would Help German Giants, Too

Detroit bankruptcies would ripple through entire industry's supply chain

(Newser) - German giants BMW and Daimler are rooting for a bailout of the Big Three, since a bankrupt Detroit would devastate sales and cripple parts-makers they all share, Bloomberg reports. The US is the top market for BMW, No. 2 for Daimler’s Mercedes-Benz. Meanwhile, Fiat, Peugeot, and Renault—which compete...

'We're Sorry,
Now Pay Up,'
GM Tells US

Dec 9, 2008 3:36 AM CST

'We're Sorry, Now Pay Up,' GM Tells US

Automaker apologizes for 'betraying' consumers, makes case for bailout

(Newser) - Remorseful General Motors paid for a full-page ad in Automotive News to tell America: "We have disappointed you." The ailing automaker admitted to manufacturing substandard and "lackluster" products, pushing SUVs on consumers, and committing to "unsustainable" union pay, reports the Washington Post. Before the ink could...

Dem Leaders
Say OK to Auto
Bailout Plan

Dec 5, 2008 8:19 PM CST

Dem Leaders Say OK to Auto Bailout Plan

Shocking jobs figures prompt lawmakers to support rescue

(Newser) - Democratic lawmakers will bail out the Big Three with billions of dollars in loans after all, the New York Times reports. Their change of heart, which comes after 2 days of auto exec hearings, was inspired by today's news that half a million Americans lost their jobs last month. Congress...

Big 3 Execs Finish With Senate

UPDATED

Dec 4, 2008 4:14 PM CST

Big 3 Execs Finish With Senate

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...

Once United, Big 3 Take Different Roads to Bailout

Dec 1, 2008 9:53 AM CST

Once United, Big 3 Take Different Roads to Bailout

Automaker bring different bailout concerns in appeal for federal aid

(Newser) - When the automakers return to Congress this week to beg for a federal bailout, they’ll no longer be presenting one case among them. Each company will unveil its own rejuvenation plan, reports the New York Times. Ford, in best financial shape, wants only the promise of access to federal...