Category Archives: results

Zipcar Expands Car Sharing to Tacoma

Zipcar today announced the expansion of its car sharing program to the city of Tacoma, Washington. Ten vehicles will be available, including Honda Insight Hybrid, Mazda 3, Volkswagen Golf and Ford Focus models. Six Zipcars will be located in downtown … Continue reading

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Honda Says New Steel and Aluminum Welding Process Cuts Weight

Honda Motor Company says it has a newly developed technology for the continuous welding of the dissimilar metals of steel and aluminum. Continue reading

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Milestones: GM Tonawanda Builds 4.2 Million Ecotec Fours

The General Motors Tonawanda Engine Plant has built its final 2.4-liter Ecotec four-cylinder engine, 13 years after production began in 1999. Since the New York State GM plant opened in 1938, more than 70 million engines have been assembled there. Continue reading

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GM and SAIC Open the Largest Proving Grounds in China

General Motors and its Chinese communist government dictated partners – SAIC, Shanghai GM and the Pan Asia Technical Automotive Center – have opened China’s largest proving grounds with 37 miles or 60 kilometers of test roads. The 5.67-square-kilometer (2.18 square miles) Guangde Proving Ground in Guangde County, Anhui, represents an investment of RMB 1.6 billion ($253 million). Shanghai GM and PATAC are managing the proving ground’s operation, which includes support facilities to test 67 different driving conditions

It is the latest transfer of white-collar professional salaried jobs from the U.S. taxpayer controlled company to the businesses operating in the world’s largest auto market, which is strictly regulated by the Chinese Central government in a successful jobs creation program that requires local partners and onshore investment as the price of doing business. Continue reading

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Ford CAW Approves First Four-Year Two-Tier Wage Contract

Now for the first time at Ford Canada under a “New Hire Grow-In program” fledgling union workers start at C$20.40, equal to 60% of the current highest member $34 base rate, and only get full compensation after ten years. The Obama Administration broke the power of the UAW in the U.S. as required terms for financing bankruptcy reorganizations at Chrysler and General Motors. As a result, unionized costs in the U.S. are now lower than in Canada and at some Japanese North American plants. Continue reading

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U.S. September Vehicle Sales Projected Up. SAAR at 14.5 Million

September new-vehicle retail sales are projected to come in at 952,200 units, which represent a seasonally adjusted annualized rate (SAAR) of 11.8 million units. The forecast in September is more than 1 million units higher than September 2011. Total light-vehicle sales in September are expected to increase 11% from September 2011, with volume at 1,152,700 units for a SAAR of 14.5 million. Continue reading

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Chrysler Moves Forward on Eliminating Printed Owner Manuals

Chrysler Group, the first automaker to eliminate the conventional owner manuals from its vehicles and offer industry-first vehicle-information apps in a cost cutting move, will now apparently be the first in the auto industry to offer vehicle-information kits in Spanish for the U.S. market. Continue reading

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Ford Fusion Hybrid Sedan Said to Top EPA Fuel Economy Ratings

Many brands now have a claim of some sort to use in fuel economy marketing, which likely means all of them will advertise fuel efficiency this fall, making the issue so confusing that it might no longer be effective for selling cars. Buyers will assume that fuel economy is a given in the entire class of vehicles and forgo the nuances. A similar situation has occurred in the marketing of auto safety during the past decade, with it increasingly difficult for companies to draw a competitive advantage in a continually improving field of what is now demonstrably the safest fleet of new vehicles ever sold in the U.S. Continue reading

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EU Cars Sales Drop 9% in August as Eurozone Crisis Continues

The crisis in the Eurozone continued unabated as new car sales dropped 9% in August year-over-year after declining by 7.8% in July. As a result, in the 27 countries that comprise the EU, sales dropped to 688,000 vehicles. Year-to-date sales are down to 8.3 million units, the lowest in decades and the fifth straight year of sales declines. Continue reading

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Toyota Hybrid in First Win Beats Audi in Six Hours of Sao Paulo

A Toyota hybrid turned in a dominant performance at the Six Hours of Sao Paulo this weekend going from the pole to first place during the fifth round of the FIA World Endurance Championship. It was the first overall win this year for the new hybrid racing team, which challenged Audi’s clear dominance in endurance racing by showing up at Le Mans last June, a year ahead of announced plans. Continue reading

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Milestones: 50 years of Mustang at Watkins Glen

It was 50 years ago that Ford Motor Company decided to show a mid-engine, V-4 powered two-seat concept car at the Watkins Glen Grand Prix.  While the striking handsome white car – still residing at the Henry Ford museum in … Continue reading

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SAIC-GM-Wuling JV in China Sells 1,000,000 Vehicles

SAIC-GM-Wuling has sold 1,000,000 vehicles in China for the fourth consecutive year. It is the earliest the General Motors China joint venture – required by the communist government as a successful job creating policy – has reached the milestone. In 2011, SGMW sold its 1 millionth vehicle in October. Continue reading

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More U.S. Companies Working on Sustainability and CO2 Reduction

The Carbon Disclosure Project released today an analysis showing that S&P 500 companies are making progress towards reducing carbon emission when compared to the so-called Global 500. CDP claims its results show a “tipping point” has now been reached in American C-suites and boardrooms to integrate a sustainability agenda into overall business strategy. This apparent acknowledgement of the growing spending and voting power of the green movement is occurring without comprehensive regulatory requirements in the U.S. to reduce CO2, and despite the goal – sometimes actually stated this election season – of Republican party candidates to abolish the Environmental Protection Agency and ignore climate change and possible remedial actions. Continue reading

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Toyota Says 2013 Avalon Lightest in Class. But Where’s the MPGs?

Toyota claims its new 2013 Avalon is 110 lbs. lighter than the 2012 model, at 3,461 lbs. compared to 3,571 for the 2012 model. When Avalon arrives at dealerships later this fall, it will be the lightest-weight vehicle in the premium mid-size segment, according to the world’s largest automaker.

This is a claim without a real distinction, though. The V6 powered Avalon is EPA-rated at 25 mpg combined and 21 city, 31 highway – not exactly world beating. For comparison consider the Buick La Crosse, which comes standard with a mild hybrid or so-called e-assist system, is rated at 29 combined, 25 city and 36 highway. Continue reading

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Ford Recalls 2013 Escape for Engine Fires, the Third Recall So Far

This is the third major recall on the best-selling Ford crossover SUV, which received a redesign for the 2013 model year, its first major revision since its 2001 model year debut. Ford did not publicize the recall, which became public because of a required legal filing with the Department of Transportation. Continue reading

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