Tag Archives: taxpayer subsidies

GM Ups Ante Calls Out Other Automakers on EVs?

The 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV has an EPA-estimated range of 238 miles (383 kM) from its 60-kWh battery pack that is made in Korea. What the future holds depends energy prices, and EV prices – roughly $40,000 or more with options for a Tesla Model 3 or Bolt mid-size car. Continue reading

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Unifor FCA Autoworkers Ratify Four-Year Deal

Diverse workers at Fiat Chrysler Automobiles attended local ratification meetings on Sunday and voted to ratify a four-year contract that secures both investment and wage improvements for 9,750 *Unifor members Continue reading

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More Taxpayer Subsidies for Rich Automakers Proposed

It is another raid on the U.S. Treasury sponsored by U.S. Senators Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Gary Peters (D-MI), along with Lamar Alexander (R-TN), all from auto making states. Continue reading

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New ACEA Head Announced as EU Crisis Continues

The automotive sector contributes positively to the EU trade balance with a €92 billion surplus, much of it at the expense of American autoworkers who pay taxes to underwrite lavishly NATO and European defense budgets giving German automakers in particular an unfair subsidy according to a growing number of critics of the U.S. defense budget and the State Department under the ‘no jobs’ Obama administration. Continue reading

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Treasury Selling More GM Common Stock

The U.S. Department of the Treasury today announced that it would sell another 30 million shares of General Motors Company common stock in a public offering in conjunction with GM’s return to the S&P 500 index. Continue reading

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Spark EV Electric Motor Manufacturing Starts in Baltimore

General Motors today celebrated becoming the first U.S.-based automaker to manufacture electric motors and drivetrains in the U.S. for electric vehicles for the upcoming Chevrolet Spark EV. GM moved the jobs from a plant in Mexico to its Baltimore Operations plant in White Marsh, Maryland. The Baltimore plant is also GM’s exclusive manufacturer of A1000 transmissions for heavy-duty pickup trucks. Continue reading

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Nissan Cuts Leaf EV Price by $6,400 on U.S.-Assembled Model

Nissan announced that pricing for the 2013 Leaf electric vehicle starts at $28,800 for the newly-added S grade – think SALE – making it the lowest priced five-passenger electric vehicle sold in the United States. The least expensive 2012 Leaf had a starting price of $35,200 without taxpayer subsidies. Continue reading

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Chevrolet Volt Leads New Owner Satisfaction Report. Again

For the second straight year, virtually all owners of the Chevrolet Volt hybrid said they would buy one again. Fully 92% of respondents who own GM’s Volt – much decried by anti-government extremists – said they would definitely buy it again. This earned the $40,000 four-seat car the distinction of being the top-scoring model in the latest Consumer Reports Owner Satisfaction Survey. Continue reading

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Melbourne Airport Caught Stealing from Taxpayers in NASA Scam

The misuse of NASA funding by two airport entities has resulted in millions of dollars of fines under the False Claims Act, which is used to look after taxpayer funded government grants. The Technological Research and Development Authority will pay $15 million to resolve allegations that it violated the Act in connection with grants from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the Economic Development Administration (EDA) of the Department of Commerce, the Justice Department said Continue reading

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Green Talk from EV Makers Ignores Key Buyer Concern – Cost

While existing buyers of electric vehicles are true EV believers, the vast majority of car shoppers are not. In a new study, nearly half of current EV buyers claim the best benefit of their ac/dc wheels is lower emissions when compared with emissions from gasoline- or diesel-powered vehicles, and it’s not clear if they know how their electricity is generated. However, when you get past this “puddle” of EV buyers – they don’t even form a “pool” since they comprise only about 2.5 % of the U.S. new vehicle market of 14 million – and that’s if you include hybrids as EVs; pure EVs have less than a 1% share – other people need to be brought into the clan. This assumes auto manufacturers are interested in recouping the billions invested so far in electric modes of transportation, prompted almost entirely by government regulations. Continue reading

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French Government Backs €7B in PSA Peugeot Citroën Debt

The French State will provide up to €7 billion in refinancing guarantees for new bond issues during the 2013-2015 period. It is the latest example of a taxpayer bailout of an ailing auto company facing increasingly limited credit options in the private capital markets, if they now exist at all. The subsidy is subject to EU approval by the Competition Commission in Brussels, and is vehemently opposed by the German state of Lower Saxony, the second largest owner of VW, the largest automaker in Europe by far. Continue reading

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A123 Files Bankruptcy. Johnson Controls to Purchase its Auto Assets

A123 Systems (Nasdaq: AONE), a developer and manufacturer of nanophosphate lithium iron batteries and systems, today filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. A123 ran out cash as demand for EVs and its batteries remains weak to almost non-existent. As part of a proposed reorganization Johnson Controls (NYSE: JCI) will supply $72.5 million in “debtor in possession” financing to support A123’s continued operations as JCI purchases parts of A123. Continue reading

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Tesla Motors Delivers First Model S EVs at $100,000

Tesla Motors delivered its first electric Model S sedan over the weekend at its factory in Fremont, California. The financially challenged company – it has never earned a profit – says it will build 5,000 electric vehicles by the end of 2012, followed by 20,000 cars in 2013. Tesla claims it has already received more than 10,000 reservations worldwide for Model S. Continue reading

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Treasury and Education Departments Tout Higher Education

A new report released today by the U.S. Department of the Treasury with the U.S. Department of Education looks at the economic case for higher education. The election year maneuvering comes as President Obama calls on Congress to keep interest rates low for the 7.4 million borrowers who are expected to take out subsidized Federal student loans next year. Federal financial aid now represents 55% of all financial aid to undergraduates at two- and four-year institutions. Auto companies are struggling to hire engineers, particularly in electronics and telematics fields. Continue reading

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New 2013 Ford Escape Enters Production in Louisville Plant

The upgraded plant is in theory capable of making up to six different vehicles at the same time, thus it is Ford’s most flexible U.S. plant. Louisville is also one of 11 Ford facilities in the U.S. that is participating in the Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Loan Program – in Ford’s case almost $6 billion total – initiated by Congress under the Obama administration, which also put $80 billion into other auto bailouts, including the forced and politically contentious bankruptcies of Chrysler and GM. Continue reading

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