Report: Rattner bio reveals Obama Administration wanted Ghosn to run GM
3rd Sep 2010

Steven Rattner, former automotive adviser to President Barack Obama, has just written a juicy account of last year's automotive bailout, complete with insights on the coming and goings of CEOs, courting foreign saviors and the General Motors plan to abandon its Renaissance Center headquarters. In his book, "Overhaul: An Insider's Account of the Obama Administration's Emergency Rescue of the Auto Industry," Rattner says that GM wanted to walk away from its expensive towers in downtown Detroit and move to Warren, MI. While the move would have likely saved the company plenty of money and lent the impression of a hands-on management approach, the Obama administration apparently refused to allow the move, saying that...

Source: The Detroit News | Image

Rumormill: Toyota working on FT-86 sedan?
3rd Sep 2010
Toyota FT-86 SedanThat's what the crew at Car Guide would have us all believe. According to the website, Toyota is looking to hedge its bets by producing a second model on the same platform as the upcoming FT-86. As the theory goes, If the two-door doesn't find the kind of favor the company is hoping for, it will at least have a four-door version to pick up a few sales. The site points to a shadowy Toyota executive as the source of the information, and it's even worked up a rendering to show the world exactly what the sports sedan could look like.
That all sounds reasonable and all, but we're still having a hard time swallowing this one. Toyota isn't exactly the kind of company to take huge manufacturin...

Source: Car Guide

Spy Shots: BMW M5 prototype gets towed off the 'Ring
3rd Sep 2010
BMW M5 towed from NurburgringBMW M5 prototype gets towed home – Click above for high-res image gallery
Occasionally, we find ourselves wondering why manufacturers continue to insist on testing their prototype vehicles at the infamous Nürburgring. Yes, the track is 13 miles of some of the most abusive variations in elevation and apex around, but it's also flooded with legions of hungry spy photographers just waiting to publicize the carmakers' latest efforts. You'd think they'd come up with a locale with a smidge more privacy.
But the truth is that the Nürburgring offers a unique combination of length, speed and legality that's difficult to come across elsewhere in the world. Those three factors combi...

Source: CarPix

Paris Preview: GM unveils Chevrolet Cruze hatchback for Europe
3rd Sep 2010
Chevrolet Cruze HatchbackChevrolet Cruze Hatchback – Click above for high-res image gallery
General Motors will be expanding Chevrolet of Europe's lineup by adding a five-door Cruze, and while we won't get our first look at this new hatchback for a few weeks, GM has decided to preview it early with a few pictures on the web. Sure to be one of the major draws at the Paris Motor Show in just a few weeks, the liftback ought to compete nicely with the 2012 Ford Focus five-door, but don't expect GM ...

Source: General Motors

Associated gallery: Chevrolet Cruze Hatchback

Chevrolet Cruze Hatchback Chevrolet Cruze Hatchback Chevrolet Cruze Hatchback
Report: Former GM CEO Fritz Henderson to lead Sunoco spinoff
3rd Sep 2010
Fritz Henderson looking contemplative
If you've been wondering what former General Motors CEO Fritz Henderson has been up to since getting the boot, The Detroit News has the skinny for you. Henderson is now headed to Sunoco to fill in as the company's senior vice president, at least for now. The company is currently planning to spin off its SunCoke Energy arm during the first half of 2011, and when that happens, Henderson will become the subsidiary's chairman and CEO.
SunCoke produces metallurgical coke used to manufacture steel. The company currently operates plants in Virginia, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio, and is currently building a second, high-capacity facility in the Buckeye State. That plant, in Middleton, is slated to produce 550,000 tons of ...

Source: The Detroit News | Image

Ford settles $131m Explorer rollover case
3rd Sep 2010
2001 Ford Explorer gravel road
Ford's second-generation Explorer has just cost the company $131 million. Despite the popularity of the seminal SUV, it's had more than its fair share of legal scrapes regarding its rollover resistance. And while the Explorer/Firestone tire kerfuffle has long since exited the headlines, the Blue Oval continues to get its pocketbook dinged by the SUV. According to WheelsNews sister site AOL Autos, this week, a jury in Jackson, Mississippi was to decide on possible punitive damages in the lawsuit over the death of Brian Cole, a promising baseball player headed for the New York Mets. Ford settled with the family over the matter of the 2001 rollover accident after a jury awarded $131 million in damages. Punitive damages were the n...

Source: AOL Autos

Who pays the highest auto loan interest rates in the country?
3rd Sep 2010
Map
Map Powered by TableauIt's that time of the year again, kids. Manufacturers are busy trying to put people in cars in order to move leftover stock and make room for incoming models, and many are doing so with ridiculously low financing rates. But who's the fairest of them all? As it turns out, that depends entirely on where you live. The crew over at Kicking Tires has compiled average loan interest rates from across the country and organized the data into the incredibly handy map you see above.
As it turns out, car buyers in places like Los Angeles and Las Vegas are getting...


Cities under consideration for Fiat 500 sales outlets listed?
3rd Sep 2010
Fiat 500C with supermodels
Fiat 500 receives a model introduction – click above for high-res image gallery

We've been anxiously awaiting the availability of Fiat's 500 bubble bauble in the States for so long that we're beginning to feel like we're waiting for Godot and that the four-wheeled confection will never actually arrive at all.
But there appears to be hope on the horizon.
Earlier this week, Chrysler hosted hundreds of potential dealers at its Auburn Hills, MI headquarters as it is working to pull together a network, and it's understood that the automaker ...

Source: 500Freaks

Associated gallery: Fiat 500C UK launch

Fiat 500C UK launch Fiat 500C UK launch Fiat 500C UK launch Fiat 500C UK launch Fiat 500C UK launch
Mercedes-Benz updates Mbrace app with 'Concierge' service
3rd Sep 2010
mercedes-benz mbraceMercedes-Benz and its partners at Hughes Telematics have released an updated version of its Mbrace app for the iPhone, and 2.0 brings along a new line of location-based services.
In addition to the usual array of safety and convenience features (locking and unlocking doors, finding the Benz in a parking lot, etc.), the app now includes Mercedes-Benz' Concierge service which can pull down everything from driving directions and traffic updates to movie times and restaurant listings and then ports them directly into the navigation system. The Roadside Assistance program has also undergone a rework and Mbrace Plus subscribers can download it now from the App Store. Full details in the press blast below the fold.Show f...

Source: Autoblog

Report: Toyota gets overwhelming response for new hires at Mississippi plant
3rd Sep 2010
Toyota Mississippi Moving Forward banner
If you want a job at Toyota's still under construction Mississippi assembly plant, you'd better get in line. In fact, you'd best fill out an application post-haste, because the Japanese automaker reportedly received 9,600 applications in its first week. Anyone surprised? Americans want and need jobs, and they're chomping at the bit for a chance to earn a steady income of $15 to $20 per hour.
According to Edmunds Auto Observer, applications came from 33 different states in the Union, with 8,000 of the applications originating from the state of Mississippi. David Copenhaver, ...




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