Tag Archives: autoinformed

Chrysler May U.S. Sales Up 10% as Retail Sales Soar 27%

Chrysler Group, the weakest of the Detroit Three, today reported U.S. sales of 115,363, a 10% increase compared with sales in May 2010 and the best May sales since 2008. The strong results came as larger Ford and General Motors posted flat sales year-on-year. Continue reading

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Ford May Sales Flat in U.S. as Retail Sales Rise 5%

Ford Motor Company sales in May were 192,102, the same as one year ago as the economy stalled. Retail sales were up 5% and fleet sales were down 8%. Year-to-date, total Ford Motor sales were 878,600, up 12%. Continue reading

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General Motors May Sales Flat in U.S. as Retail Sales Rise 9%

General Motors dealers in the United States reported 221,192 total sales in May, including a 9% increase in retail sales compared to May 2010. A sharp -16% decline in fleet sales decreased results so that total sales declined 1% compared to last year. Continue reading

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Toyota Recalls Prius for Bad Electric Steering Again

Toyota Motor Sales today announced that it will conduct a voluntary safety recall involving approximately 52,000 2001 through 2003 Prius vehicles sold in the U.S. to replace the electric power steering pinion shaft attachment nuts. This announcement is for U.S. vehicles included in Toyota Motor Corporation’s global recall of 106,000 vehicles. Continue reading

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Automakers Cut Incentives on Small Cars as Fuel Prices Rise

U.S. consumers already embattled by a weak economy and record high fuel prices for the month of May can add another worry to the list – automakers have drastically cut incentives on small, fuel efficient cars. Continue reading

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Renault Tries Humor in New Electric Vehicle Ad Campaign

Renault has kicked off a new series of electric vehicle advertisements in Europe where it is in the process of introducing four EVs. By taking a humorous approach that shows that a car is the only non-electric device in common use, the French automaker is hoping to makes EVs more acceptable. Continue reading

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U.S. Oil Imports Declining Since 2005 Peak. It’s Not All Good

There are several problems with the imported oil numbers since oil is mostly imported as crude, an unrefined product, but is consumed as a refined product. In between there is refinery gain – yes, gain – whereby more comes out of the process of splitting heavier oils into lighter ones. Continue reading

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Consumer Confidence Declines as Economic Woes Continue

The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index decreased in May and now stands at 60.8 (1985=100), down from 66.0 in April. The bad news follows last week’s U.S. unemployment report that says that first time jobless claims soared to 425,000, which means that there is virtually no hiring occurring in the economy as unemployment officially hovers at 9%. The real rate of unemployment is much higher. The latest survey does not bode well for the U.S. auto industry, which is expected to report steep May sales declines tomorrow. Continue reading

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Japan Auto Production, Exports off More than 60% in April

The economic destruction is mounting. The total value of automobiles exported for April 2011 was $5,913.446 million – $2,696.405 million for vehicles and $3,217.041 million for parts. This is a decrease of $5,523.561 million or 48 % as compared with $11,437.007 million recorded for the same month of the previous year. Continue reading

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Tavares Replaces Pélata as COO of Renault as Fallout from Spy Case that Embarrassed French Government Continues

Renault announced yesterday in Paris that Carlos Tavares is its new chief operating officer, replacing Patrick Pélata. It was the latest development in an industrial espionage case that embarrassed the French government and saw the firings of Remy Pagnie, Director of Group Security, as well as his two co-workers, Dominique Gevrey and Marc Tixador. Continue reading

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Small Cars Improve in Latest Crash Tests. Size Still Matters

While you can’t change the laws of physics, you can use them to improve crash test results for vehicles. Six of 13 small cars tested by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety earned the Top Safety Pick award. None earned … Continue reading

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Toyota Adds Wrong-Way Driving Alert to Navigation Systems

In theory there is no reason why Japan’s largest automaker could not expand the use of the wrong-way driving alert to the U.S. and other large markets, where Toyota is struggling with a damaged safety reputation from stuck gas pedals and unintended acceleration recalls. Continue reading

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Toyota, Nissan and Honda April Auto Production Plummets

Toyota, Nissan and Honda – the Japanese Big Three – become a lot smaller in April as production virtually halted in Japan and was severely hurt globally due to parts shortages caused by the earthquake in March. Continue reading

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Ten Fuelish Mistakes Drivers Make, Hurting Their Fuel Economy

A new study by Chevrolet shows that drivers in identical cars can differ in their fuel economy by as much as 16 mpg or 40%. This means that by practicing simple techniques a driver can save as much as $100 a month at the pump. Continue reading

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EPA, DOT Unveil New, “More Useful” Fuel Economy Labels

The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 passed under Republican President Bush specifically said that EPA and DOT must rate available vehicles according to fuel economy, greenhouse gas emissions and smog forming pollutants, which the new labels do.
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