Category Archives: news analysis

Bankrupt Highway Trust Fund Could Send One Million More Taxpaying Workers to Unemployment Lines

Left out from the speech was the fact that it was the failure of politicians – starting with President Obama and his Secretary of Transportation, Ray LaHood – to act on the bankrupt Highway Trust Fund issue two years ago – in effect kicking the problem down to what now looks like a dead end road. Continue reading

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Saab Files for Bankruptcy in Sweden. State to Pay Workers

In the months ahead, the Swedish government will pay Saab’s 3,700 workers while a reorganization plan is debated. Saab suspended worker payments in July, as the company only sold fewer than 13,000 automobiles and posted a loss of -€201.5 million during the first half. The grim reality is that Saab Automobile after decades of losses, changes of ownership and financial engineering has limited financial resources and options remaining. Continue reading

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Honda Recalls a Million Vehicles for Fires, Software Problems

The latest Honda recalls are part of much larger global quality problems that affect almost one million Honda vehicles with potential fatal safety defects, including the Honda Fit, which was already recalled in the U.S. Worse, Honda recalls during the last year show that Honda’s once vaunted reputation for manufacturing and design quality is in shambles. Continue reading

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Unemployment Unchanged as Zero U.S. Jobs Created in August Amid Political Posturing, Inaction, Policy Failures

While private companies add 17,000 jobs in August, those meager gains were cancelled by the loss of 17,000 government jobs in August, meaning the unemployment crisis continued. Zero, zilch, nil, no jobs were created during another month of inaction, which saw the U.S, Congress take an extended paid vacation as the U.S. economy limped along with an official – and hugely understated – unemployment rate of 9.1 %, according to data released today by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. This devastating unemployment rate has shown no change since last April. Continue reading

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Ford Motor August Sales Increase 11% led by Trucks, SUVs

Ford Motor Company’s August sales totaled 175,220 vehicles, an increase of 11% compared to a year ago, largely because of an increase of 16% by Ford brand sales of trucks and sport utility vehicles to 117,000 units. Continue reading

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Chrysler Group August Sales Up 31% in U.S.

Chrysler Group August sales were 130,119 vehicles in the U.S., a 31% increase compared with sales in August 2010 of 99,611 units. The smallest of the Detroit Three said this was the best August sales since 2007. Based on early sales numbers this was much greater growth than average auto industry growth in August. Continue reading

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General Motors U.S. August Sales Increase 18%

General Motors today reported total August sales of 218,479 vehicles, an 18% increase compared with August 2010. The August sales gains were evenly divided among car, crossover and the truck segments that GM reports on. Continue reading

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August Auto Sales Down Again, Below Recent Predictions

Hurricane Irene only added to ongoing auto sales woes, as consumer confidence declined yet again. Housing prices also dropped and not only the ones under water; the Federal government admitted, finally, that real GDP growth for the first half of 2011 was less than 1%; while Federal Reserve Board meeting notes showed that the governors were at a loss as to what to do next to stimulate a stalled economy. Continue reading

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Most Active Speed Traps Revealed in U.S. and Canada

A speed trap exists in NMA’s view wherever traffic enforcement is “focused on extracting revenue from drivers instead of improving safety.” NMA opposes the use of enforcement tactics that are intended to generate revenue from technical violations of “under-posted” speed limits. Continue reading

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Book Review: Car Spy – an Inside Look at an Auto Culture Past

Car Spy is entertaining, funny, and sardonic. It captures the voice of Dunne – caveat here – whose adventures I sometimes participated in, whose photos I ran in various publications and still run in AutoInformed.com, and whose stories related in Car Spy I heard first hand. Continue reading

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U.S. DOT Proposes Elimination of 46 Traffic Sign Regulations

In the regulatory areas that AutoInformed covers, little reduction has resulted at DOT, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), or the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) thus far. Continue reading

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Milestones: 20 Years of FAW-Volkswagen in China

FAW-Volkswagen is currently the second largest of China’s largest automobile manufacturers, behind GM and its Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC) and FAW partners. Continue reading

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4,547 Worker fatalities in 2010 About Same as 2009 – 12 a Day

Because of the way data are gathered it is difficult to directly tally automaker fatalities. In Michigan, Indiana and Ohio, all heavily dependent on the auto industry, more than 350 workers died in manufacturing related positions; motor vehicle or parts dealers were involved in 49 fatalities across the U.S. And this doesn’t include trucking, warehousing or other transportation injuries, which could be auto related. Continue reading

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Driving More – 31.5 Million Travelers During Labor Day Holiday

The current national average price for regular unleaded gasoline is approximately $3.57 per gallon, about 86 cents higher than one year ago. Down nearly 10% from their May peak, gas prices will have less of an impact on Labor Day holiday travelers than they had on Memorial Day and Independence Day holiday travelers, during which 42% and 44% of travelers, respectively, stated gas prices would impact travel plans.

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General Motors and LG to Jointly Develop Electric Vehicles

The high cost of developing new technologies to meet increasingly stringent CO2 and fuel economy regulations prompted the deal. Earlier this week Ford Motor and Toyota announced a collaboration on new hybrid trucks. Continue reading

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