Tag Archives: autoinformed

Ford, UAW and UAW Trust Launch ‘Cost Cutting’ Health Care

The two-year gambit is voluntary for hourly employees and non-Medicare retirees and comes from the 2011 Ford-UAW contract negotiations. The UAW, whose health care plans will ultimately be severely taxed for their lavishness under the misnamed “Affordable Health Care Act” has its own needs to institute a reform. Continue reading

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Supreme Court Dismisses Ethanol Waiver Case

The United States Supreme Court today dismissed a petition by the American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers or AFPM challenging an EPA regulation that allows for 15% ethanol in gasoline. Continue reading

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U.S. June Vehicle Sales Forecast Up. Prices Highest in History

Unfortunately, for buyers, the strong selling rate is matched by strong transaction prices. Thus far, in June, the average transaction price of new vehicles is $28,900, the highest ever for the month, according to J.D. Power, the source of the data. Continue reading

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Jeep Fuel Tank Fire Fix Inadequate Center for Auto Safety Says

The Center for Auto Safety, a consumer pressure group closely aligned with product liability lawyers, says the proposed recall fix for Jeep fuel system fires is inadequate. CAS is calling on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to crash test the proposed fix that would install trailer hitches on Jeep SUVs that do not already have them. “Chrysler’s announcement means the argument shifts from whether the 1993-98 Jeep Grand Cherokees and 2002-07 Liberty’s are unsafe and whether there will be a recall to what the recall remedy will be and how to make the Jeeps safe from rear impact fires,” CAS said in a statement. CAS wants Chrysler to install skid plates under the fuel tanks instead. Continue reading

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Porsche and General Motors Top Power IQS Quality Survey

Luxury brand Porsche and populist Chevrolet lead initial quality reports for 2013 models. As a manufacturer, General Motors leads other automakers by far. These claims come from the latest J.D. Power and Associates IQS – Initials Quality Survey – that polled more 83,000 owners after 90 days of experience with their new car or light truck. Continue reading

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New GM Pickup EcoTech3 V6 Rated at 24 and 22 MPG

The new 4.3-liter V6 engine used in the 2014 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra full-size pickup trucks is rated at 22 mpg EPA highway for 4×4 versions and 24 mpg for 2wd. This means they are competitive with – or better than V6 engines – used in the Ram, Ford F-150 and Toyota Tundra pickup trucks. Continue reading

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Chrysler Finally Agrees to Fix Jeep Fuel Systems after a Long NHTSA Probe and Formal Recall Request

Chrysler Group will recall 1993-2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee and 2002-07 Jeep Liberty vehicles, it announced this afternoon. The reversal follows two years of investigation and a recent disagreement on 4 June between Chrysler and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, aka NHTSA, when Chrysler refused to recall the vehicles. NHTSA appears to have stared down the Fiat-controlled company in what was a growing public relations disaster. Continue reading

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Milestones – 90 Years of the Alfa Romeo Quadrifoglio Verde

In the Anglo Saxon world, a green four-leaf clover should call up images of Irish luck, but by a fourfold twist of European fate, this legendary symbol is identified with some of Alfa Romeo’s sportiest Italian models going back to 1923. Continue reading

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U.S. Unemployed Far Outnumber Job Openings

The April Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) released last week by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that job openings fell by 118,000 in April to only 3.8 million. Job openings have seen little improvement during the last year and remain depressed. In 2007, there were 4.5 million job openings each month. April’s rate of 3.8 million is more than 16% below the levels before President Bush’s Great Recession took hold. Continue reading

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Multiple Ram Truck Recalls Active at Chrysler Group

Chrysler Group is recalling 2012 and 2013 Ram trucks for three different safety defects, according to NHTSA documents just made public. The recalls are for defective headlamps and taillights, as well as a bad weld affecting the front driveshaft. The latest safety defects come shortly after Chrysler Group refused a NHTSA request to recall almost thee million Jeeps for an allegedly defective fuel tank design. Continue reading

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New ACEA Head Announced as EU Crisis Continues

The automotive sector contributes positively to the EU trade balance with a €92 billion surplus, much of it at the expense of American autoworkers who pay taxes to underwrite lavishly NATO and European defense budgets giving German automakers in particular an unfair subsidy according to a growing number of critics of the U.S. defense budget and the State Department under the ‘no jobs’ Obama administration. Continue reading

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NHTSA Forces Expanded GM Recall because of Fires

In this safety defect, water may enter the driver’s door module, causing corrosion that could result in a short in the circuit board. Continue reading

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Gerald Johnson New VP of GM North America Manufacturing

A GM lifer, Johnson’s most recent role was executive director of Global Program Quality and Launch, where he tried to improve global product launches. Continue reading

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GM Maintains Number One Spot in China over VW Group

In the closely watched sales race in China, the world’s largest car market by far, the reigning champion GM held off its strongest contender, VW Group, for the Number One position, according to sales numbers through May. Continue reading

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Automaker Defense of Hands-Free Devices Hooey AAA Says

The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety is taking on the oft-used automaker defense their profitable selling of hands-free electronic devices that are expanding exponentially in new cars. The latest data show that dangerous mental distractions exist even when drivers “keep their hands on the wheel and their eyes on the road.” Continue reading

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