Monthly Archives: January 2014

Las Vegas Biofuels Fraud Revealed in latest EISA Scam

Two men were indicted by a federal grand jury in Las Vegas for offenses involving the badly audited federal renewable fuels program that passed out taxpayer money for the production of biodiesel among other things. Continue reading

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EU Sales Recover in December. Six Year Trend Still Down

The automaker trade group says that from January to December, the EU market recorded 11,850, 905 new cars. With a decrease of -1.7% in 2013, European new car registrations have been on the decline for six consecutive years. Continue reading

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Chuck Stevens Named GM CFO

General Motors today named Chuck Stevens as executive vice president and chief financial officer Continue reading

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GM Declares 30 Cent Quarterly Stock Dividend

General Motors Company Board of Directors today declared a quarterly dividend of 30 cents per share on its common stock. The dividend is payable 28 March 2014 to all common stockholders of record as of 18 March 2014. The last time GM paid a dividend on common was in the pre-bankruptcy days of 2008. Continue reading

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Ford F-150 Aluminum Pickup Sheds 700 Pounds Late this Year

It is too soon for direct comparisons with the Chevrolet Silverado, Dodge Ram and GMC Sierra because of the lack of detail in the media presentation. Some of the savings no doubt come from substituting smaller engines for a V8, but not all. No curb weights were given. Continue reading

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Predatory Credit Charges on Used Cars Filed by DOJ

The defendants engaged in a pattern of “reverse redlining” by targeting African-American customers for installment sale contracts with inflated sales prices, down payments, and interest rates without meaningfully assessing the customers’ credit. Continue reading

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GM Sweeps NACTOY Car and Truck Awards at NAIAS

The Chevrolet Corvette Stingray and Silverado 1500 are the 2014 North American Car and Truck of the Year, announced this morning at the opening of press days at the North American International Auto show in Detroit. This is the first time Chevrolet has won both awards in the same year. The Silverado was last named Truck of the Year in 2007 and the Corvette was last named Car of the Year in 1998. Continue reading

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Biden and Democratic Pols Out in Full Force at NAIAS

Most of these political appointees will no doubt stick to talking points about the successful auto bailouts that saved the U.S. auto industry, as well as increased safety, emissions and fuel economy regulations. Continue reading

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GMC Shows 2015 Canyon Midsize Truck Ahead of NAIAS

GMC revealed the 2015 Canyon today, ahead of the NAIAS. The all-new mid-size truck and its brother, Chevrolet Colorado – shown late last year in Los Angeles – join the all-new 2014 Silverado and Sierra 1500s, and the Silverado and Sierra HDs to give Chevy and GMC a line of pickups that cannot be matched by Ram or Ford F-Series. Continue reading

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China Sales Propel Buick to Global Sales Record

China sales were the only reason the Buick brand was kept by U.S. Treasury officials while they were killing Pontiac and Hummer during the 2009 taxpayer financed GM bankruptcy reorganization. Continue reading

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New Camaro Z/28 Priced at $75,000

The new 2014 Chevrolet Camaro Z/28 going on sale this spring has a suggested retail price of $75,000, including a $995 destination charge, but excluding tax, title, license and dealer fees. Only a single option, a $1,150 package that adds air conditioning and six audio speakers. The standard Z/28 includes one speaker. Continue reading

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Latest Hot Rod Body Released, a Ford 5-Window Coupe

The 1932 coupe represents one of the biggest auto trends of post-World War II – modifying vehicles and then cruising to the hamburger stands. Original pre-war Ford bodies are now rare and expensive if you can find one. Continue reading

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Chevrolet to Sell 4G LTE Data Connections Next Summer

What this does for the deadly distracted driving problem remains to be seen and depends whether the driver or passengers are surfing the web. There is also risk involved; electronics in automobiles are now the largest single source of customer dissatisfaction if there are glitches, dropped voice commands, screen crashes or problems connecting portable devices. Continue reading

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U.S. Light Vehicle Sales to Soar in 2014 Says NADA

Employment, particularly in the construction, services industries, will improve this year, and a continued moderation in gasoline prices and improvements in the housing market will help to offset stagnation in wages and income in 2014. Continue reading

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Texas RV and Motorcycle Importers Fined for CAA Abuses

Savoia, BMX Imports, BMX Trading, and their owner, Terry Zimmer, allegedly illegally imported motorcycles that didn’t comply with the Clean Air Act, or CAA Continue reading

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