Tag Archives: autoinformed

Porsche Sales Up 11% in July

During the month of July, 13,700 Porsche customers around the world took delivery of new cars and trucks, an increase of 11% from last July. Of these, 2,285 911 Carrera Cabriolet and Boxster customers celebrated summer in their new convertibles. Continue reading

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Honda Project Drive-In Aims at Keeping American Icons Open

Honda said that giving people easy ways to get involved would ensure that this drive-ins, a historic part of American cinema and car culture, live on. At www.projectdrivein.com people can vote to determine which five drive-in theaters will receive a new digital projector from Honda. Continue reading

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Ford Recalls Focus EVs for Defective Lights

Ford Motor is recalling 2012-2013 Focus BEV vehicles equipped with High Intensity Discharge (HID) headlights because of bad wiring, which causes the front side-marker lamps to stay dark. Continue reading

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ExxonMobil to Pay Fine for Fracking Wastewater Dumping

The consent decree, lodged in the Middle District of Pennsylvania, is subject to a 30-day public comment period and almost certain court approval given the DOJ’s laughably lenient treatment of corporate criminals. Continue reading

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Toyota Recalls 342,000 Tacoma Pickup Trucks

Toyota along with Ford Motor Company has the dubious distinction of paying record fines to NHTSA because of cover-ups on known safety defects. The brief Toyota statement does not provide accident or fatality details or any information on how the safety defect became known. . Continue reading

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Keselowski Watkins Glen Win Prompts Hertz $22 Rental Deal

Hertz is offering race fans a $22 discount to celebrate this weekend’s Nascar win at Watkins Glen by defending Sprint Cup Champion Brad Keselowski. This was Keselowski’s first win in the Hertz Ford Mustang and his 18th Nationwide Series win driving the No. 22 for Penske Racing. Continue reading

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Global Light Vehicle Sales up 14% in July 2013

While global light vehicle sales slowed during July, the selling rate is still ahead of year-ago levels with a Seasonally Adjusted Annualized Rate or SAAR at 82.2 million. In the U.S. during July, sales were once again strong, with a SAAR of nearly 15.8 million, an increase of 14% versus July 2012. Continue reading

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GM CFO Shows 2015 Chevy Colorado, GMC Canyon Pickups

Colorado and Canyon will join the all-new 2014 Silverado and Sierra 1500s, and the upcoming Silverado and Sierra HDs to give Chevrolet and GMC customers a lineup of pickups that cannot be matched by Ram or Ford F-Series. Both Ford Motor and Chrysler Group have inexplicably abandoned the mid-size segment to Japanese automakers, notably Toyota. Continue reading

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Audi Sport Racing Teams Key to Selling Street Machines

During a speech at the CAR Management Briefing Seminars, Audi of America President Scott Keogh claimed the culture infusing the Audi Sport racing teams is what’s needed mindset to establish luxury market edge. Whether true or not, there has been a 92% improvement in Audi U.S. sales since 2004. Continue reading

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Honda Prepares 2014 Endurance Racing Engines

Honda will field a factory team in Formula One, but will not compete directly in endurance racing against Toyota, which has been racing hybrid cars in the fastest most expensive P1 class for two years now against Audi, which has dominated endurance racing in recent years with diesel cars. Things will get more interesting when Porsche returns to endurance racing next year. This is not for the slow or under financed because there are competitive privateer teams from Porsche, Ferrari, Aston Martin and Chevrolet Corvette. Continue reading

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Chrysler Group to Invest $52 Million in Michigan Engine Plants

Chrysler Group today announced that it would invest $52 million in its engine plants in Trenton and Dundee, Michigan, to increase capacity of the four-cylinder Tigershark engine, creating 298 new positions at the Trenton plant. Continue reading

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GM UAW VEBA Warrants at $3.85 allow $42.31 Share Buy

The UAW Retiree Medical Benefits Trust (UAW VEBA) secondary public offering of up to 45,454,545 warrants to purchase GM common stock was priced at $3.85. They allow the purchase of one share at $42.31. The warrants expire 31 December 2015. Continue reading

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Auto Research Labs Help keep Young Minds in Detroit

“Detroit is the place to be,” said Snyder. The governor went on to say that a lot of it (the so-called brain drain) has to do with a “marketing” and “perception” problem. That problem disappears when people actual visit southeastern Michigan. In addition, Snyder noted there is a looming housing shortage in Detroit due to the young moving in. Continue reading

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License Plate Recognition is a Valuable not Abusive Tracking Claims Pressure Group. After NSA that’s Tough to Believe

License plate recognition technology is a tool that helps law enforcers solve crimes and save lives, according to a new survey of law enforcement professionals. However, license plate readers mounted on police cars or on road signs and bridges, use small, high-speed cameras to photograph thousands of plates per minute as federal and state governments continue their relentless pursuit of spying and abusive data collection, according to critics. The TSA is subsidizing the technology under the Obama Administration through grants to buy the readers. Continue reading

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Economics, Not Disinterest Explains Low Car Sales to Young

Disinterest in new cars by young people is a myth that ignores fundamental economic trends, General Motors Chief Economist Mustafa Mohatarem said at the CAR Management Briefings in Traverse City, Michigan. New car affordability, a crushing student loan debt and higher operating and insurance costs are delaying young people from buying new vehicles. “It’s not a permanent withdraw from the market, it’s more of a delay,” Mohatarem said. Continue reading

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