Filed under: Government/Legal , Chrysler , GM , Earnings/Financials 2008 was one crazy, almost surreal year. It was the year when the economy took a nosedive, and the U.S. auto industry nearly ceased to exist.
Excerpt from:
Report: Memo says Bush administration almost pushed GM and Chrysler into earlier bankruptcy
Filed under: Car Buying , Sedan , SUV , Truck , Cadillac , Chevrolet , Middle East Long before the first U.S. soldier laid a boot on Iraq soil in the first Gulf War, General Motors planned to build a manufacturing facility in the country. According to The Detroit News , the years since haven’t been entirely kind to the automaker’s sales efforts in Iraq. That’s no shock given America’s reputation in the Middle East nation, but its prospects are beginning to look up.
Go here to read the rest:
Report: GM’s business in Iraq is booming
Filed under: Government/Legal , Technology , Police/Emergency Law enforcement agencies are now required to obtain a warrant before attaching a GPS device to a vehicle. The Detroit News reports the Supreme Court unanimously ruled today that the Justice Department was wrong when it argued that its agents didn’t need permission to track private citizens without their knowledge. The case in question centered around Antoine Jones, a Washington, D.C.
See the original post here:
Report: Supreme Court: Feds not allowed to use GPS on autos without warrant
Filed under: Chrysler , Ford , Earnings/Financials , Canada Ford has announced that it will give both bonuses and merit-based raises to the company’s salaried workers in the United States and Canada for the first time since 2008, according to Reuters . On average, the manufacturer will offer a 2.7 percent salary increase based on individual performance. The company stopped offering the bonuses after the financial crisis of 2009 sent automotive sales into a plunge.
More:
Report: Ford to pay bonuses and raises, GM and Chrysler decline to do same
Filed under: Hybrid , Sedan , Government/Legal , Safety , Chevrolet It’s a safe wager that no one expected the report of the Chevrolet Volt fire after a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration crash test to turn into a Congressional dressing-down. The short story: NHTSA crash-tested a Volt in May , that car caught fire in June while in storage, and NHTSA alerted the public about the fire in November . Certain politicians have wondered if politics played a part in waiting until November to report the fire, and now a House panel is holding a hearing called “Volt Vehicle Fire: What did NHTSA know and when did they know it?” to find out. According to The Detroit News , the proceedings have now drawn General Motors CEO Dan Akerson into its maw, Akerson agreeing to testify before the panel next week
The rest is here:
Report: GM CEO Akerson asked to testify at Volt hearing
Filed under: Car Buying , Etc. , Government/Legal , UAW/Unions Bob King , President of the United Auto Workers , is adding his voice to those who have already chimed in with support for the new Corporate Average Fuel Economy standard of 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025. In what might be a historic break from the union’s contentious past, King is throwing in for the new fuel efficiency rules because he thinks it will mean jobs for his members as the auto industry reacts to the mandate. In the past, such a decree could have meant much wailing and gnashing of teeth from both the automakers and labor unions.
The rest is here:
Report: UAW President Bob King pumped about new CAFE standards