Tag Archives: auto informed

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

Posted on 1 September 2011 by Ken Zino

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.

Posted on 1 September 2011 by Ken Zino

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%

Posted on 1 September 2011 by Ken Zino

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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BMW Developing Laser Lights for Vehicles; Safety Issue?

Posted on 1 September 2011 by Ken Zino

While LED lighting creates about 100 lumens per watt, laser lights generate about 170 lumens. Aside from being more efficient, the diodes used in laser lights also are much smaller, presenting the option of drastically reducing the size and shape of conventional headlights that are crucial to automotive front end design. Continue reading →

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August Auto Sales Down Again, Below Recent Predictions

Posted on 31 August 2011 by Ken Zino

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

Posted on 31 August 2011 by Ken Zino

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

Posted on 30 August 2011 by Ken Zino

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

Posted on 30 August 2011 by Ken Zino

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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2012 Cadillac SRX Dries Wet Brakes Automatically

Posted on 29 August 2011 by Ken Zino

Building on ESC technology, Cadillac has announced that 2012 SRX SUVs will use its electronic stability control (StabiliTrak) to automatically dry wet brakes. This is not as frivolous as it may seem on first glance: data that predates Hurricane Irene, the U.S. Department of Transportation says 620,000 crashes on the nation’s roadways in 2009 or 10% occurred in the rain. Continue reading →

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Volkswagen Opens Engine Rebuilding Plant in China with FAW

Posted on 29 August 2011 by Ken Zino

While all major automakers are scrambling to establish and maintain new vehicle manufacturing and sales in China, the so-called aftermarket is not being pursued with the same vigor, repeating the same mistake U.S. automakers made as their home market expanded 100 years ago. Continue reading →

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Milestones: First Speeding Ticket in U.S. issued in 1899

Posted on 27 August 2011 by Ken Zino

Today more than 100,000 people a day receive a speeding ticket in the U.S. – it’s a big revenue raising business for local governments and the makers of speed traps with automatic cameras. The average citation costs $150 and often results in sizable increases – for years – in insurance rates based on dubious claims from insurance companies since traffic fatalities are at an all-time record low. Continue reading →

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Cadillac Escalade, Ford F-250, Chrysler 300 Liked by Thieves

Posted on 26 August 2011 by Ken Zino

Immobilizers can’t prevent all types of theft, and even Escalades have them as standard equipment. Moreover, the devices don’t affect theft of property from a vehicle, which also is reflected in the rankings. Continue reading →

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Milestones: 20 Years of FAW-Volkswagen in China

Posted on 26 August 2011 by Ken Zino

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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FAA Announces More Commercial Spaceport Taxpayer Grants

Posted on 26 August 2011 by Ken Zino

In 2009, U.S. commercial space transportation and the services and industries it enables accounted for more than $208 billion in economic activity. More than one million people were employed as a result. Continue reading →

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Flames Instead of Primer in New GM Paint Process for Plastic

Posted on 26 August 2011 by Ken Zino

Emissions from the painting of automobiles have been steadily decreasing under environmental laws as a variety of paint process technologies including water based paints and other new materials that eliminate volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and other emissions, electric coating methods and the now the almost exclusive use of robots to precisely spray coatings have become standard. Continue reading →

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