Auto Industry Update
Chrysler Aims to Top Quality Surveys by 2012
Posted: Nov. 20, 2009 09:11:58 a.m.
Ford may have made the slogan "Quality is job one," famous, but Chrysler is taking it to heart.
The Detroit News reports, "Chrysler Group LLC is backing claims that it will be a quality leader by the end of 2012 with a revamped, refocused and much larger quality team, tougher standards and a commitment to achieving sustainable quality gains crucial to its long-term success by changing company culture."
Autoblog acknowledges that the quality climb will be a steep one for ...
GM and Chrysler Won't Be Required to make Electric Cars
Posted: Nov. 20, 2009 09:11:53 a.m.
After the government bailout of Chrysler and GM left the feds in charge of many areas of the companies, there were fears that politicians and bureaucrats would start dictating each company’s product line. The Obama administration is saying that's not the case.
Reuters reports, "The Obama administration's preference for robust electric car production will not influence its oversight of taxpayer equity in General Motors and Chrysler, an administration official said."
As much as the administration would like ...
Saab Dealers Running Out of Cars to Sell
Posted: Nov. 17, 2009 11:11:51 a.m.
Saab dealers are in a bind. Most of their competitors are working to sell off their last stock of 2009 model year cars because trucks laden with 2010 editions are rolling in daily. Saab dealers have 2009s left to sell, but nothing coming in their place. “We have about 10 Saabs left, and they won’t last long,” Ivan Goodwin, sales manager at Jim Ellis Saab in Atlanta, told Bloomberg. “It’s going to be a big problem, but there ...
Report: GM to Begin Repaying Uncle Sam Next Month
Posted: Nov. 16, 2009 11:11:11 a.m.
The federal government may get its first check paying back some of the money is loaned to bail out the U.S. auto industry, just in time for Christmas.
The Washington Post reports, “General Motors is expected to announce on Monday that it will begin repaying its debt to the United States next month, years earlier than required.” An unidentified “source familiar with the matter” tells the Post that “The nation's largest automaker plans to pay $1 billion per ...
Report: Toyota Plans Prius Wagon, SUV
Posted: Nov. 16, 2009 11:11:23 a.m.
The successful Toyota Prius may provide the platform for a whole family of new hybrid vehicles, according to several news reports.
Edmunds Inside Line reports, “Toyota…is planning to expand its Prius hybrid family with a larger variant, possibly a tall wagon or crossover model.” The new car, according to Japan’s Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper, “will sell for the equivalent about $22,000.” It will also be the first Toyota to use a lithium-ion battery pack. Lithium-ion batteries, which several ...
Dealer Taking Deposits on Chevy Volt...But Chevy Hasn't Built it Yet
Posted: Nov. 16, 2009 11:11:18 a.m.
General Motors hasn’t yet started production of its highly-anticipated Chevy Volt electric car. It hasn’t put a price on the vehicle. It hasn’t announced when the Volt will be available, or what dealers will get the first models. It hasn’t told dealers what colors will be available, or whether the car will come with a sunroof or a navigation system or an options package including fog lamps and heated mirrors for cold-weather states. It hasn’t ...
Running Out of Pontiacs
Posted: Nov. 12, 2009 10:11:26 a.m.
If you’ve been considering a Pontiac, get moving. They’re almost gone.
Last spring, General Motors announced plans to close the Pontiac brand by the end of 2009. With just two months to go, the brand appears to be making a smooth exit from the marketplace. On the brand’s official Twitter feed, it has provided an update of what’s left – and the total works out to barely 3,600 cars nationwide.
Many consider the Pontiac G8 to ...
Feds May Probe Reports of Jeep Grand Cherokee Gas Tank Fires
Posted: Nov. 12, 2009 10:11:28 a.m.
Federal auto safety regulators are looking into reports that some Jeep Grand Cherokee SUVs may be prone to gas tank fires.
AutoWeek reports, “Last month the nonprofit Center for Auto Safety complained that,” in Grand Cherokees from model years 1993 through 2004, “The SUV’s fuel tank extends below the rear bumper and is inadequately protected from crashes and rollovers.” The plastic tank is particularly vulnerable in rear-end collisions with smaller vehicles, the group says. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration ...
Volkswagen Steals Toyota's Crown as World's Largest Automaker
Posted: Nov. 10, 2009 11:11:24 a.m.
The people want an empire, apparently, with that unassuming little black VW bug at the head of it.
The U.K.’s Guardian explains, "Volkswagen-Porsche has overtaken Toyota to become the world's largest car manufacturer as the German group benefits from state-backed stimulus packages around the globe." VW has "produced 4.4m vehicles so far this year, outstripping its Japanese rival which has seen 4m cars roll off production lines since January."
Ironically, VW reached the milestone in part ...
Report: GM Will Build Chevy Volt-Based Cadillac Converj
Posted: Nov. 10, 2009 10:11:19 a.m.
There will be a Cadillac version of the highly-anticipated Chevy Volt Extended-Range Electric Vehicle (E-REV), according to the Detroit News. "General Motors Co. has decided to produce the Cadillac Converj" coupe, the News explains. "Cadillac included the Converj, a concept car that wowed industry critics and the public at the 2009 North American International Auto Show, in a presentation made to the automaker's board of directors Nov. 2, according to sources familiar with the production plan." An E-REV, like ...
