Auto Industry Update

Toyota Sued Over Sudden Acceleration Claims

Posted: Nov. 09, 2009 09:11:55 a.m.

An ongoing investigation into claims that some Toyota and Lexus models may accelerate without warning or input from the driver has taken a new twist, as a class action lawsuit has been filed in California.

The Los Angeles Times reports that the suit, “Filed Thursday by two Los Angeles County residents claims that the majority of Toyota and Lexus vehicles made since 2001 contain defective components that can cause unintended acceleration.”  Though there are currently only two plaintiffs, the pair ...

Next BMW 3-Series Spotted in Camouflage

Posted: Nov. 09, 2009 09:11:28 a.m.

BMW’s popular 3-Series sedan isn’t due for a redesign until the 2012 model year, but it appears that the German automaker may be ahead of schedule with the car.  A car believed to be the next 3-Series has been caught by spy photographers.

Motor Trend reports, “What we can see” beneath significant amounts of camouflage “is a sedan with safe styling sure to please those who already like the current car.”  It carries the more upright two-kidney grille ...

Report: Struggling Chrysler Disbands Electric Vehicle Team

Posted: Nov. 09, 2009 09:11:25 a.m.

Faced with a cash crunch as its sales continue to lag well behind its recovering rivals, Chrysler has reportedly disbanded a high-profile engineering team that had been developing a lineup of electric vehicles.

Reuters reports, “The move by Fiat SpA marks a major reversal for Chrysler, which had used its electric car program as part of the case for a $12.5 billion federal aid package.” 

The ENVI research team had shown prototypes of four electric vehicles to members of ...

Cash for Clunkers Sold a Lot of Full-Size Pickup Trucks

Posted: Nov. 06, 2009 10:11:14 a.m.

When the federal government launched a program to clear gas guzzlers off the roads and replace them with more fuel-efficient cars this summer, Americans responded.  We traded in our old big trucks. We bought new big trucks.

The AP explains, “Billed as a way for the government to put more fuel-efficient vehicles on highways, the popular $3 billion Cash for Clunkers program mostly involved swaps of old Ford or Chevrolet pickups for new ones that got only marginally better gas ...

Fiat Unveils Plan to Remake Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep

Posted: Nov. 05, 2009 11:11:42 a.m.

Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep will look radically different by 2013 -- if they can last that long.

Though the company emerged from bankruptcy just months ago, analysts are already wondering if it might suffer a fatal relapse. Last month, MarketWatch notes, "Its sales fell an alarming 30 percent…by far the biggest decline of any major car company active in the U.S. market." Chrysler suffered its sales decline while watching cross-town rivals Ford and General Motors post sales increases, in ...

U.S. Criticizes Toyota for "Misleading" Statement on Floormat Recall

Posted: Nov. 05, 2009 10:11:28 a.m.

Federal auto safety regulators have issued a rebuke to Toyota Motor Company for a press release the company issued this week regarding highly publicized reports of a possible unintended acceleration problem in some Toyota and Lexus vehicles. The company recalled nearly 4 million vehicles, with recall letters shipped to owners this week, claiming that the problem occurs only when floormats are not properly secured, or when a vehicle has the wrong floormats installed.

The Los Angeles Times explains, "In formal ...

Volkswagen, MIT Develop In-Car Robot

Posted: Nov. 02, 2009 09:11:13 a.m.

If you thought the voice-activated navigation system in your car was cool, you ain't seen nothing yet. Your next car could come with a far more advanced navigation aide - one that can hold up its end of a conversation.

The Los Angeles Times reports that Volkswagen and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are working together to develop "a dashboard-mounted robotic device that uses myriad sources of information to help you plan travel routes, dodge traffic jams, find heretofore unrealized ...

GM Insists: We Don't Need More Bailout Money

Posted: Nov. 02, 2009 09:11:25 a.m.

General Motors will not need any more federal aid, its chairman says.

The Washington Post reports, "General Motors chief executive Fritz Henderson was in Washington on Wednesday visiting with the company's major shareholder -- that is to say, the U.S. government." In a meeting with reporters, Henderson insisted that, under "any reasonable planning scenario," GM "will not request more federal aid. The amount of financing provided was sufficient."

GM faces a potential backlash over reports that its former financing ...

The Auto Bailout Isn't Over; GMAC May Get More Aid

Posted: Oct. 29, 2009 10:10:22 a.m.

If you hoped the auto bailout had ended when Chrysler and General Motors emerged from bankruptcy, you might want to stop reading.

The Detroit News reports, "The Treasury Department plans to inject up to $5.6 billion in new capital in GMAC -- the latest effort to help the auto finance giant, a government official confirmed late Tuesday."  The government will accept preferred shares of stock in return.  "The new government infusion would be on top of $12.5 billion in ...

GM Exec Prepares to Race All Comers to Prove Cadillac's Worth

Posted: Oct. 29, 2009 10:10:05 a.m.

General Motors thinks its products can hang with the best in the world, but many Americans don't agree.  It's an issue that can be addressed with several years of carefully-planned marketing and patience. 

Or with a schoolyard dare.

Those who know GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz could have predicted how this would turn out.

Lutz, a 77-year old former Marine Corps fighter pilot who delayed his retirement to guide the company's post-bankruptcy marketing efforts and is known ...