So, in the midst of all the automotive gloom and doom — a recap in case you’ve been on another planet:
- Chrysler shut down for a month starting today.
- Chevy backing out of New Year’s Eve sponsorship deals.
- Ford shutting down 10 plants from Jan. 5-12.
- Toyota operating at a loss.
- Honda scrapping the NSX [...]
Toyota’s decision to halt its plans to build the venerable Prius hybrid at a facility in Mississippi raises a number of interesting considerations. The foreign car companies are not immune to the current downturn in the industry, although they’re not suffering like GM and Chrysler. The real issue here would seem to be the fact [...]
There’s little else that’s been occupying automotive news for the past few days than the $15 billion deal brokered between Congressional Democrats and the Bush White House to bail out General Motors and Chrysler. (Ford wants a $9 billion line of credit, but isn’t asking for loans at this time.) In the end, although Speaker [...]
Ford isn’t quite as bad off as ailing General Motors, saying it has adequate operating capital to last through 2009. If potential customers make their buying decisions on safety standings along, Ford leads the automotive pack with 16 vehicles rated as “top safety picks” for 2009.
The designations are worked up by the Insurance Institute for [...]
For many of us, the Toyota Corolla was our first introduction to Japanese automobiles. Often, they were the first new cars we could afford, back in the days before Kia and Hyundai on the market. Most of us grew beyond our Corollas, but that doesn’t keep us from remembering them fondly. Then there are the [...]
As you know, I have a love / hate relationship with the Tesla electronic roadster. So, I snorted my coffee a little when I read an article in Sunday’s New York Times by Randall Stross, “Only the Rich Can Afford It. Should Taxpayers Back It?” (Not providing a link because you have to have a [...]