Free Republic

President Obama told automakers Monday they should focus on making smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles. Another breathtaking show of arrogance from a Harvard Law-trained social activist? Call it a breathtaking show of ignorance. “You can’t just make money on SUVs and trucks,” Obama said at a Minnesota town hall. “There is a place for SUVs and trucks, but as gas prices keep on going up, you have got to understand the market.” Automakers know their market just fine. It is Obama who needs a lesson. In claiming to have “turned around” the U.S. auto industry, Obama apparently has no idea that...

The Obama administration has reached a compromise with automakers on a new fuel economy target for cars and trucks, ending months of negotiations on this pivotal mandate for the auto industry. Automakers' fleets will now have to average 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025, according to people familiar with the plan. Chief executives at the major automakers could sign off on the plan as early as Wednesday night, one of the people said. President Barack Obama will officially announce new guidelines on Friday, the White House said.

The Obama administration is considering a fleetwide average of 56.2 miles per gallon for all new cars and trucks sold in the U.S. by 2025, two people briefed on the matter said. The proposal would roughly double current fuel-economy targets, and would likely raise the price of some cars by several thousand dollars. The proposal isn't final, and could be adjusted over the next several weeks as regulators prepare a formal draft to send to White House budget officials. The administration has said previously that it is looking at requiring cars average between 47 and 62 mpg by 2025. The...

Detroit is no longer stuck in first gear. At least that's the message from Vice President Joe Biden, who trumpeted what he calls an impressive comeback for the U.S. auto industry. Mr Biden credited the Obama administration's intervention for the American auto industry's recovery from 'the brink of extinction' and pointed to Chrysler's early repayment of the federal loan that saved it from disaster. Mr Biden said: 'This announcement came six years ahead of schedule - and just two years after Chrysler Corp. emerged from bankruptcy. 'It's a sign of what's happening throughout the American automobile industry'. The announcement Saturday...

So typical of the RATS. She criticizes the GOP and claims we would be driving foreign cars if it were up to them. Oops, she drives an Infiniti. ENJOY THE MOCKING SING ALONG - "Driving Miss Daisy"

Stockholm— Scrambling for a quick fix for its cash-strapped unit Saab, Spyker Cars NV on Monday signed a distribution deal with the Chinese company Pang Da, but postponed plans to start production in China to avoid regulatory issues. The Netherlands-based Spyker Cars said Pang Da will inject $92 million for a 24 percent stake in Spyker, and the two will form a 50/50 joint venture for the distribution of Saab cars in China.

TOKYO (AP) — Toyota Motor Corp., which is likely to lose its spot as the world's No. 1 automaker to General Motors Co. later this year, reports its fiscal fourth quarter results Wednesday. WHAT TO WATCH FOR: Toyota's production capacity was sorely hurt by a devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan on March 11. The twin disasters nearly washed away Japan's northeastern coast, home to a network of key auto-parts suppliers. The maker of the Camry sedan and Prius hybrid overtook GM as the world's biggest automaker in 2008, a distinction that the American car manufacturer had held since 1932....

Ford and Chinese partner, Changan Ford Mazda Automobile Ltd., plan to build a $500 million engine plant in China. They signed a memorandum of understanding with the city of Chongqing on Saturday. Construction is to begin next year with engine production starting in 2013. The plant can make 400,000 engines annually; more than double the partnership's existing engine capacity in China. The partnership operates two assembly plants in China, including one in Chongqing. It is building a third to produce the Ford Focus...

General Motors filed for an initial public offering of stock on Wednesday, clearing a key hurdle toward repaying taxpayers fora controversial bailout just over a year after its bankruptcy. GM's initial filing with U.S. securities regulators did not say how many shares would be sold or give an expected price range for what will likely be one of the biggest IPOs ever. GM filed for an IPO of up to $100 million. That does not represent the full amount that GM hopes to raise, people familiar with the situation have told Reuters. GM could raise up to $20 billion in...

As many as 100,000 Americans who lost their jobs, or will soon, because of GM and Chrysler dealership closings can thank Barack Obama and his "mandate for shared sacrifice," according to a top Obama official. In a scathing report on the federal auto industry bailout, Special Inspector General Neil M. Barofsky notes that the Obama administration rejected initial automaker plans which would have required relatively minimal dealership closings, insisting instead on far more drastic cuts -- as many as two thousand dealerships between the two corporations. (snip) And Barofsky's report even questions whether the closures would lead to any real...

NEW DELHI: While the global car market shrank, India’s auto industry displayed its resilience and strength, racing past several developed markets to emerge as the world’s second-fastest growing light vehicle market, second only to China and ahead of Germany, France, Japan and the US. The government’s economic revival package gelled well with the country’s low car penetration, stable economic growth, new model launches and lower interest rates to increase the footfalls at showrooms and keep the demand ticking.

The U.S. auto industry isn't dead, but it isn't back, either. Americans still disdain Detroit's cars. They'd rather have a Camry than a Malibu. The cover of April's Motor Trend magazine informs us that "Buick Is Back." That followed by a few weeks the front page of Barron's declaring that "GM Is Back." My investment advisor, AllianceBernstein ( AB - news - people ), brags at its annual meeting that it's buying Ford. Toyota ( TM - news - people )'s troubles, of course, will send traffic to Ford and General Motors showrooms. If only it were that easy for...

April 1 was certainly no fool's joke in Fremont, where the last car - a Corolla - rolled off the assembly line at the Nummi auto plant. It was the end of an era for a city that had built a local economy with the auto plant at the hub of the wheel. The automaker employed 4,700 workers, and related industries that provided services employed another 20,000 people. Nummi was the last auto plant operating in the state, and its shutdown closes another chapter in the life of the blue-collar worker, once a symbol of American middle-class life. Read more:...

A blizzard of safety concerns surrounding Toyota has put the Obama ­administration in a delicate position as it seeks to avoid the temptation of boosting the fortunes of Detroit's struggling US carmakers by bullying the Japanese manufacturer too aggressively. Toyota has swiftly become the butt of jokes in the US. The talkshow host Jon Stewart this week dubbed the firm's pedal problems "the Toyotathon of death". Speculating on the reaction of the bosses of General Motors and Chrysler, Stewart said: "Boys, we're back in the game! All we had to do was have the leading competition become a death trap."...

Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) joins the "Morning Joe" gang to discuss the impact that job creation is having on her home state, as well as health care reform.

"•For 2011, Mustang makes sports coupe news with a new, high-performance, all-aluminum Duratec 3.7-liter DOHC Ti-VCT V-6 that delivers 305 horsepower and an expected best-in-class 30 mpg highway with six-speed automatic transmission - no other vehicle in the industry can beat that combination •Six-speed transmissions - manual and automatic - combine with newly standard limited-slip differential and revised suspension for road-carving driving dynamics and handling •New technology and convenience features include standard integrated spotter mirrors, message center, MyKey(TM) programmable vehicle key and Universal Garage Door Opener

DETROIT (Reuters) - There's a simple way to get Americans to drive fuel-efficient cars, according to auto executives, but they are not going to like it -- sharply hike the gas tax. [snip] Gradually raising gas taxes to the point where fuel costs $4 to $5 at the pump will do more to stimulate demand in next-generation vehicles like General Motors Co's forthcoming Chevy Volt plug-in hybrid than any other policy initiatives...

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) -- Big cars and trucks are out. Smaller ones that offer more for your dollar are in. And many drivers will hang onto the new cars they buy longer. We've seen some of this before -- in the 1970s. But there's reason to believe that this time, American car-buying habits have changed forever. Scarred by the worst financial crisis since the 1930s and still leery of high gas prices, people are walking into showrooms intent on spending less. The trend is strongest among baby boomers, who are 44 to 63 years old and make up a...

"Taxpayers may not recover all of the bailout money awarded to the auto sector, said Elizabeth Warren, chair of the Congressional Oversight Panel in charge of the Troubled Assets Relief Program [TARP]. “When Treasury wants to get tough, it knows how to do so,” she said. “And it did it in the case of the auto industry. Whether that ultimately will be enough to get all of the money for the American taxpayers, I don’t know"

A Congressional oversight panel warns taxpayers are facing huge losses on the government’s $81 billion auto industry bailout. Elizabeth Warren, the panel’s chair, discusses the findings. * The report said that a $5.4 billion portion of the $10.5 billion owed by Chrysler is “highly unlikely” to be repaid. * Full recovery of the $50 billion sunk into GM would require the company’s stock to reach unprecedented heights. * The report also recommended that the Treasury Department provide a legal analysis justifying the use of financial rescue funds for the automakers. * In all, the government has invested $74 billion in...

Japan’s historic election Sunday gave the Democratic Party an overwhelming victory over the Liberal Democrats that have dominated Japan’s government for 55 years.  The Liberal Democrats oversaw Japan’s industrial policy that supported Japan’s dominant firms during Japan’s rise as a major economic power during the 1960s, 70s, and 80s.  Indeed, many American economists argued the U.S. should do more to emulate Japanese industrial policy and have the government actively involved in supporting dominant corporations to enhance their international competitiveness.American support for industrial policy, where the government actively picks the winners in economic competition, died off in the 1990s when the...

In a series of articles published from 1902-1904, Ida Tarbell attacked Standard Oil, the leading US supplier of kerosene lamp fuel. The centerpiece of Ms. Tarbell's criticism was that the company had engaged in predatory pricing by continually lowering its prices. Her readers must have asked themselves, "How is that a bad thing? Am I supposed to be outraged that the amount I pay for lamp oil has fallen?" Although company cofounder John Rockefeller had retired from actively managing Standard Oil in 1896, Ms. Tarbell vilified him in her articles, even criticizing his elderly appearance. Populist US president Theodore Roosevelt...

SEOUL, South Korea – Talks to end a months-long strike at ailing South Korean automaker Ssangyong Motor Co. broke off Sunday, with management threatening to take steps toward bankruptcy unless the union accepts a compromise offer on layoffs. The fifth-largest South Korean carmaker has been in court-approved bankruptcy protection since February amid falling sales and mounting red ink. Troubles have deepened in the past two months with hundreds of dismissed workers occupying its a paint shop packed with flammable materials at its main plant to protest the massive layoffs. The latest talks to resolve the dispute began Thursday, but no...

DETROIT -- Ford Motor narrowed its operating losses in the second quarter, as it reaped the benefits of cost savings and market share gains at the expense of its domestic rivals.

From a friend of my Father: I attended a breakfast meeting where the speaker/guest was David E. Cole, Chairman Center for Automotive Research (CAR) and Professor at the Univ. of Michigan. You have all likely heard CAR quoted, or referred to in the auto industry news lately. Mr. Cole, who is an engineer by training, told many stories of the difficulty of working with the folks that the Obama administration has sent to save the auto industry. There have been many meetings where a 30+ year experienced automotive expert has to listen to a newcomer to the industry, someone with...

A federal judge approved the sale of General Motors Corp.'s assets to a new government-run company, removing a key hurdle to the auto maker's plan to exit bankruptcy. Judge Robert E. Gerber of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York issued an 87-page ruling late Sunday allowing the sale to go forward. He rejected pleas from dissident bondholders and product-liability claimants who objected to GM's plans. The judge said the only alternative to GM's plans would be liquidation, "a disastrous result for GM's creditors, its employees, the suppliers who depend on GM for their own existence,...

Comcast pulled a cable television advertisement criticizing General Motors' bankruptcy plan earlier this week after the automaker challenged the spot's claims. The ad was paid for by a group of people injured in GM and Chrysler vehicles, who say the taxpayer-funded restructurings should not allow the automakers to escape liability claims for injuries or deaths that occurred before the bankruptcy filings. The ad, which aired in Washington and online starting last week, showed crash tests and criticized the restructuring for throwing "consumer safety protections out the window." ...GM is seeking exemption from past product-liability claims when it emerges from bankruptcy...

Competition on Auto Pilot by: Mytheos Holt, June 23, 2009 At the Hudson Institute recently, two economists and a business reporter discussed ways in which General Motors could avoid turning the lights off on the U.S. Auto Industry. The discussion was moderated by Christopher Sands, a fellow at Hudson Sands introduced the key question of the morning when he asked his audience (and the panelists), “Are these company troubles more lasting?” The answer was unanimously in the affirmative. Thomas Klier, senior economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, warned his audience that “we’ve got to keep our eyes on...

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama said Saturday that current financial rules exploit consumers and he put critics of his proposed overhaul on notice: "While I'm not spoiling for a fight, I'm ready for one." Obama used his weekly radio and Internet address to defend his recent proposal, which is intended to prevent a repeat of the breakdown that has sent the U.S. economy reeling. But such major changes face a fight in Congress and opposition from some leaders in the banking and insurance industries. In the address, Obama focused on a consumer watchdog office that he wants to set up....

On a Saturday morning in May, Emily Bourne donned a cap and gown and collected a diploma in a field hardly known for its job prospects: auto retailing. Like college graduates around the country, Ms. Bourne is entering the worst job market in memory. Her chosen field has been slammed especially hard, both by the slumping economy and the recent news that General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC are going to drop more than 3,000 of their dealers as they go through bankruptcy court. But the 22-year-old from outside Rochester, N.Y., received six offers, and is trying to decide between...

Hummer owners are an unusual breed, but a little-known Chinese company's surprise purchase of the American maker of gas-guzzling, military-style SUVs is audacious even by their standards. Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Co., which said Tuesday it was buying the General Motors Corp. unit, is four years old and has just 4,300 employees. It makes vehicles, but they are cement mixers and tow trucks, not passenger cars. Tengzhong is based in China's mountainous southwest, far from the east coast heart of China's auto industry. "I had never heard of this company," said Yale Zhang, a veteran auto industry analyst for...

A few years ago, Brian Deese put his studies at Yale Law School on hold to volunteer for the presidential campaigns of Sen. Hillary Clinton LAW ‘73 and, after she dropped out of the race, then-Sen. Barack Obama. After the election, it might have seemed likely that Deese would return to the Law School, where he was once a member of the class of 2008, to receive his degree. But it turned out President Obama had another assignment in store for Deese: He would be made responsible for the fate of the U.S. auto industry. A special assistant to the...

Growing up as a teenager in the 1950s, I could not wait to get my license to drive and I liked the sporty look of the British MG. These days I drive a Volkswagen. In that short tale can be found the seeds of the end of the American auto industry. Here’s some history. In 1952, the merger of several British auto companies resulted in the British Motor Corporation. It was the largest of its day with 39% of British output. Despite established dealerships for the various models, a series of poor management decisions resulted in the loss of market...

Word that the Obama Administration may have used its power over Chrysler’s restructuring process to shut down dealerships whose owners donated to Republican candidates, while leaving open dealerships that donated to Obama is spreading across conservative blogs. But while this kind of abuse of government power is shocking, it really shouldn’t be.

KOKOMO, IND.—Appearing at an afternoon news conference today with the White House auto czar and the head of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), Senator Evan Bayh and Congressman Joe Donnelly today (May 28, 2009), strongly endorsed the administration’s decision to open up a major new source of credit for Indiana dealerships that sell cars, recreational vehicles, boats and manufactured homes.

Now $100 billion (or more) is a lot of money, even in an era of multi-trillion-dollar federal budget deficits so several questions beg: Should the U.S. government be bailing out the automakers (period)? Does America need three U.S.-owned automakers? What kind of return can taxpayers expect on that $100 billion (or more) investment in the industry?

The Tuesday headline was clear: "Obama's new rules will transform U.S. auto fleet." The Associated Press picked it up from there: "Some soccer moms will have to give up hulking SUVs. Nearly everybody else will drive smaller cars, and more of them will run on electricity. The higher mileage and emissions standards set by the Obama administration on Tuesday, which begin to take effect in 2012 and are to be achieved by 2016, will transform the American car and truck fleet. "The new rules would bring new cars and trucks sold in the United States to an average of 35.5...

President Obama will tomorrow announce a "historic" new policy involving new greenhouse gas emission standards and new Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards for vehicles sold in the U.S., sources tell ABC News. The announcement will involve a broad coalition including state governments -- Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger from environmentally-conscious California and Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm from auto-friendly Michigan will be there -- as well as both the Department of Transportation and the Environmental Protection Agency, automakers, environmental groups, and others. The announcement was first reported by Politico's Mike Allen. The Transportation Department will handle the new CAFE standards, while...

Click on the image to read the accompanying Cox&Forkum postJohn and Allen took a Final Bow back in 2007. Yet they've managed to sneak away from their day jobs a few times to brilliantly illustrate the folly of government interference with the free market via Rescue me, Road to Recovery, and Trap.

He came out of nowhere in just a few months time, surprising a nation with his stunning takeover of an operation that he had no knowledge of or experience running. And then he did it again. And he also won an election. Tonight he's coming to Tempe. More than 70,000 people will swarm ASU's Sun Devil Stadium tonight to hear words of wisdom from Barack Obama, who is noted for being the first man ever to run two American automobile companies - at the same time, no less. Less significantly, he's also the leader of what used to be called...

Sergio Marchionne, Fiat chief executive, is on Monday due to outline plans to transform the global automotive landscape by spinning off Fiat’s core cars division, joining it with Chrysler and General Motors Europe, and creating a new publicly traded European car company.Mr Marchionne wants Italy’s largest industrial group to separate Fiat Auto from its other divisions, join them with Opel / Vauxhall, Saab, and GM’s other European operations, and Fiat’s stake in Chrysler to create a company with about €80bn ($106bn) of revenues and sales of 6m-7m vehicles a year – second to Toyota, more than Renault / Nissan or...

DETROIT – The NAACP has fought for a century to bring equal and civil rights to blacks, but the Rev. Jesse Jackson believes the organization's current battle is to help the troubled U.S. economy and struggling domestic auto industry. "We must now save the entire industry from itself," Jackson said as part of the keynote address Sunday night at the Detroit NAACP's 54th Fight for Freedom Fund Dinner at Cobo Center. "We cannot have joy while Chrysler is in bankruptcy and GM is in line. There is a sense of joy because it's high noon in our politics, but it's...

Across America, car dealers are getting desperate. Now Uncle Sam is going to put many of them out of business. ~snip~ These are desperate times for auto dealers. Some will do anything to escape their crushing debt. Others are barely holding on to longtime family businesses. Into this maelstrom comes the federal government, which has given taxpayer-supported General Motors ( GM) until May 31 to develop a new restructuring plan, with bankruptcy looming as an option. Overhauling GM's capital structure is the priority, but the government wants other changes, too. Its directives include one to prune the dealer population, now...

DETROIT -- Chrysler LLC will likely get a new chief executive and board of directors appointed by Italy's Fiat SpA and the U. S. government, if Chrysler and Fiat follow through on their plans to form an alliance, Chrysler's current CEO told employees in a letter. Chrysler Chief Executive Officer Bob Nardelli said a new board of directors will be appointed by the federal government and Fiat once a deal is completed. The majority of the directors will be independent. "Upon successful completion of the alliance, a board of directors for Chrysler will be appointed by the U.S. government and...

Just a year ago, working as a product presenter at an auto show was a pretty straightforward job. You stood next to a vehicle, you called it a marvel of engineering, style and comfort and then you fielded softball questions like, “What does this baby cost?” But that was before the bailout. Now that the government has helped General Motors and Chrysler stave off bankruptcy with billions of dollars in loans, these companies are finding somewhat hostile crowds at their exhibits. Which leads to scenes like the one on Friday at the New York auto show, where a blond woman...

I watch Barack Obama speak - with his ever-present teleprompter to help him keep all his lies straight and prevent him from butchering the English language worse than 'Dubya' on his worst day - and I wonder: how does his head not explode trying to contain all the contradictions? Remember when Obama preached on his commitment to end pork spending and earmarks while back-to-back signing porkulus and an omnibus bill containing nearly 9,000 earmarks? Remember Obama preaching "fiscal responsibility" while at the very same time racking up more spending that ALL the past presidents in history, from George Washinton to...

Honda offering local workers incentives to quit Other cost-cutting measures planned; 13 days of production to be cut Tuesday, March 31, 2009 5:19 PM By Dan Gearino THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH For the first time, Honda is offering Ohio employees incentives to resign. The move, which continues the company's tradition of avoiding layoffs, is part of a wide-ranging set of cost-saving measures announced today. "Regardless of job title or level within our organization, each Honda associate will share the responsibility of doing what we must to remain competitive," said spokesman Ron Lietzke. Among the other moves: • Honda will cut 13...

Walking a tightrope between keeping its environmental pledges and trying to help struggling U.S. automakers, the Obama administration announced today the first increase in fuel economy standards for cars in more than 25 years. But to the dismay of environmentalists, the new standard doesn't go as far as a proposal that the Bush administration offered in 2008 but quickly abandoned. The move increases fuel economy standards for light vehicles in 2011 to 27.3 miles per gallon, or 8 percent over the 2010-model-year requirement. New cars will have to meet a standard of 30.2 miles per gallon. The standards will save...

NEW YORK (AP) -- Wall Street's big March rally was officially on hold Monday as concerns about the future of the auto and financial industries led investors to take a break from buying. Major market indicators fell at least 3 percent, including the Dow Jones industrial average, which lost fell 260 points. The White House rejected turnaround plans from General Motors Corp. and Chrysler on Monday, warning that more concessions were needed from unions and creditors before they could be approved. Fears of an automaker bankruptcy have been looming over investors for months, and the latest developments made the market...

Here is video of President Barack Obama today laying out his plans for the future of U.S. Auto Industry. Obama announced that he has given deadlines to both GM and Chrysler to present new working plans for their futures. Obama said plans already submitted were not sufficient. He used the "B" word, Bankruptcy, as the course that may needed to be taken to help GM shed it's debt load and be able to restructure quickly. Obama also said Chrysler is in worse condition, so bad in fact, it will need a "partner" to be able to continue. He named car...