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BRUSSELS (AFP) - Car makers are not doing enough to meet proposed EU targets for cutting carbon dioxide emissions, according to a report Tuesday, with some German and Japanese brands facing the biggest challenge to make the grade. The European Commission wants all carmakers to reduce average emissions to 120 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometre (0.6 miles) by 2012. < > The average car emission last year stood at 158 grams... < > The Friends of the Earth environmental group believes that the planned EU measures do not go far enough to address the problem of global warming and...

GM to invest $500 million in new compact Published: Aug. 22, 2008 at 1:57 PM DETROIT, Aug. 22 (UPI) -- Auto giant General Motors Corp. is preparing to invest $500 million in a new compact car, slated for production in Lordstown, Ohio, the company said. The Chevy Cruz is one of the company's answers to consumer demand for fuel-efficient vehicles and will reportedly run 45 miles on a gallon of gasoline, The Detroit News reported Friday. The company plans to spend $150 million on development and $350 million on its Lordstown factory, the News reported. GM lost $15.5 billion in...

Top 10 Underappreciated All-American Cars And Trucks Many of the most important vehicles built in the United States since the end of World War II—cars that defined new style, pioneered new technology or just plain kept companies going—are overlooked to this day. The innovations implemented by these cars and trucks seemed at the time so minor that few realized they were, in fact, revolutionary. So, this Fourth of July weekend, we celebrate our favorite unsung American car heroes. By John Pearley Huffman Published on: July 3, 2008 1986 Ford TaurusBy the mid-1980s American buyers were fleeing traditional American family cars...

Electric and hybrid vehicles may be good for the environment, but a California lawmaker says they're bad news for the blind. State Sen. Alan Lowenthal, a Long Beach Democrat, is pushing a bill aimed at ensuring that the vehicles make enough noise to be heard by the blind and visually impaired when they're about to cross a street. The state Senate approved the bill Tuesday on a 23-12 vote and sent it to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who has not taken a position. It would establish a committee to study the issue and recommend ways the vehicles could make more noise....

General Motors Corp., pushing to speed up cost cuts after a $15.5 billion second-quarter loss, said it will halt its sponsorship of the movie industry's Academy Awards and television's Emmy Awards after at least a decade. "With the current business challenges and the tightening of budgets, we decided to focus our promotional dollars on activities that reach the most customers and get us the most return on investment," Kelly Cusinato, a spokeswoman for the Detroit-based automaker, said Monday in an interview.

...High energy prices also have an unforeseen bright side, forcing the nation to reduce its carbon emissions and delivering the encouraging message that, although we might not regain the freewheeling way of life that came with cheap gasoline, we have more ability to shape our fates than the caricature of the soft, spoiled American implied. The first sign was when SUVs went from being the belles of the freeway to oversized wallflowers. Thirteen miles per gallon isn't just expensive; it's no longer chic. As U.S. automakers gear up for a new motoring sensibility, we can look forward to a more...

The Chevrolet Silverado is arguably the best half-ton truck for towing and the Two-Mode hybrid version is arguably the best half-ton Silverado for towing. It's absolutely amazing watching a Silverado pull a 5000 pound trailer and not hearing anything as the rig pulls away. If you're gentle with the gas, you could make it to 30 mph before the gasoline engine fires up. The silent operation is eerie, but the big news is how smooth this half-ton truck feels with a trailer in tow. Some may think of hybrid systems as being fragile or only useful for improving fuel...

Although it is the home of hulking C-130 cargo planes and scorching F-16 fighter jets, I headed out to the Selfridge Air National Guard Base in St. Clair, Michigan, for a drive in something more green than mean: electric Chevrolet S10 pickups. The transportation department at Selfridge has been constantly tinkering with alternative fuel vehicles (including a hybrid-electric tow tractor, CNG-fueled pickups and hydrogen fuel cell-powered SUVs), but the use of the electric S10s came by chance. When other military installations were finished with the trucks, they offered them up to Selfridge, who happily placed them on active duty around...

JINHUA, CHINA -- 08/12/08 -- Kandi Technologies, Corp. (NASDAQ: KNDI), one of China's leading designers, manufacturers and exporters of all terrain vehicles (ATVs), utility vehicles (UTVs) and its number one exporter of go-karts, announced today that the first shipments of its exciting new, gasoline powered, off-highway low-speed super mini cars, that can achieve up to 60 mpg, have begun to arrive in the U.S. It expects shipments will continue to build in succeeding months to meet anticipated strong customer demand. The Company said that sales, marketing and distribution in the U.S. of the new COCO super mini are being...

RAYONG, Thailand (AFP) - General Motors will invest 445 million dollars to build a new diesel engine plant and to upgrade an existing assembly plant in Thailand, chief executive Rick Wagoner said Wednesday. The new plant in the industrial coastal town of Rayong will start production in 2010, with a capacity to produce more than 100,000 engines per year, he said. About 90 percent of the engines will be used in GM's nearby assembly plant, which will be upgraded to produce the new model Chevrolet Colorado small pickup truck, he added.

(Reuters) - General Motors Corp (GM.N), looking to trim its nearly $5 billion-a-year health-care tab, is cracking down on workers who are collecting medical benefits for ineligible dependents, the Wall Street Journal said Wednesday. GM is giving its 67,000 hourly workers until Aug 20 to voluntarily remove ineligible dependents from their health policies, after which, they would have to prove the eligibility of covered-family members through an official document, the paper said.

Who Killed the American Car? Nobody! Desolate headlines late last week cried for the death of Detroit’s hold on the auto industry, as imports topped American cars in overall U.S. sales for the first time ever. Our veteran Detroit editor says that’s no shocker—just a natural growth of the global economy that overshadows some of the world’s best cars being made right here by the Big Three. (Click here for our straw poll of car owners on Detroit’s consumer appeal!) DETROIT — In case you hadn’t noticed, the U.S. car market is a true supermarket of brands, both domestic and...

The flight of advertising dollars to the Internet is one explanation for the pain felt by traditional media. Another culprit that is increasingly to blame is Detroit. For all the discussion of new media’s role in hurting profits and revenues at traditional media outlets — newspapers, magazines, broadcast television and radio — the sharp downturn in the auto industry is another big culprit, and is taking an increasing toll on the advertising revenue generated by the media. In the first quarter alone, the auto industry spent $414 million less on advertising than in last year’s first quarter, according to TNS...

5 Classic Cars Detroit Shouldn't Rebuild for the 21st Century It's not just the new DeLorean: The Dodge Challenger, Ford Mustang Bullitt and now Chevrolet Camaro have returned, with even more can't-forget-it rides—muscle and otherwise—possibly coming back soon. But if the throwback trend continues, let's not ruin some of the all-time American favorites for the sake of selling more cars, argues Jalopnik's editor-in-chief in his monthly guest column for PM. DETROIT — The air here these days is so very retro. Faced with a struggling economy that has already squeezed the SUV market, domestic automakers have been working hard to...

Toyota Motor Corp. said today that its first quarter net income dropped 28.1% to 353.6 billion yen, or $3.2 billion, mainly due to the impact of exchange rates between the yen and the dollar, higher raw material costs and the turbulent U.S. market. While Toyota worked to cut costs and said global vehicle sales increased by 24,000 to 2.19 million vehicles, it wasn't enough to overcome a plunge in sales in the United States and Western Europe. For the three months ending June 30 Toyota's total revenue declined by 4.7% to 6.22 trillion yen or $56.9 billion. "The financial results...

I don’t really know many people who have not looked up GM’s Chevrolet Volt electric vehicle and what it might be able to offer. And it seems that most people have two key concerns. The potential price of the, which appears to be climbing and may be closer to $40,000 than to $30,000 and the tiny range of just 65 km – about 40 miles. 40 miles would make the Volt a car almost useless for a typical use. You may make it to work or the grocery store and back, but you may have to take another car for...

Nissan Ad Has Arabs Calling for Boycott Last Edited: Thursday, 07 Aug 2008, 2:50 AM EDT Created: Thursday, 07 Aug 2008, 2:50 AM EDT Nissan Tiida Commercial Nissan Ad The Arab world is fighting mad about a new commercial being aired in Israel by Nissan. In the commercial, Nissan brags about how fuel efficient their new car the Tiida is by showing how mad it is making Arab Shieks, who start to attack the car and complain about how Nissan is costing them millions of dollars. The ad is supposed to be funny, but it plays on old Arab stereotypes....

Should Detroit have seen this disaster coming? Yes. Gasoline prices have been climbing steadily for more than three years now. The Bush-Bernanke debasement of the dollar didn't do Detroit any favors, because the dollar's collapse has contributed mightily to the soaring price of crude oil. But the Detroit Three stuck with a business model based on leasing SUVs for way too long. The two things wrong with that model were, well, leasing and SUVs. The residual values on which SUV lease payments are based turned out to be enormously inflated. With gas around $4 a gallon, the auto makers can't...

Maybe it is because NBC has the broadcast rights for the Summer Olympics being held in China, but big gas-guzzling, greenhouse gas-emitting automobiles made by General Motors are seen as a plus for the communist nation's embrace of capitalism. The August 6 "NBC Nightly News" featured the Chinese people's love of troubled U.S. automaker General Motors (NYSE:GM) - an indicator interpreted as an acceptance of capitalism. "What would Chairman Mao think?" CNBC correspondent Phil LeBeau asked. "Six decades after the Communist Revolution, China has become the hottest capitalist engine on earth. And ironically, some of the most revered symbols of...

After the acquisition of upscale British brands Jaguar and Land Rover from Ford Motors and the launch of its Rs1 lakh small car Nano, Tata Motors are making a giant stride towards history – making a car that runs on compressed air. Tata Motors has signed an agreement with Moteur Development International (MDI) of France to develop a car that runs on compressed air, thus making travel very economical and totally pollution free. Although there is no official word yet on the roll-out of the car, it is expected to be for commercially will be commercially manufactured for India,...

Last update - 12:21 06/08/2008 Israeli TV ad poking fun at oil sheikhs draws Saudi ire By Haaretz Staff and Channel 10 Saudi Arabia's MBC TV began its Sunday night news edition not with Syrian President Bashar Assad's trip to Iran, nor with Palestinian infighting in Gaza - but with an outraged report on an Israeli TV commercial. The advertisement shows wealthy Arab oil barons enraged that a Nissan car is so fuel efficient.

Nissan Motor Co. unveiled a new prototype electric vehicle Wednesday with batteries twice as powerful as conventional technology, aiming to take a lead in zero-emission cars. Japan's third-largest automaker said the front-wheel drive, boxy-shaped car has a newly developed 80 kilowatt motor with advanced lithium-ion batteries installed under the vehicle's floor to avoid taking up space. The laminated batteries, jointly developed with electronics giant NEC Corp., pack twice the electric power of conventional nickel-metal hydride batteries currently used in hybrid and electric cars, it said. Nissan aims to start selling an electric car in the United States and Japan in...

Nissan accelerator pedal pushes back to save fuel For drivers who like to step on the gas but don't want a higher fuel bill, Nissan Motor on Monday unveiled an accelerator pedal that pushes back to help motorists get more mileage. Nissan's "Eco Pedal" system is the latest salvo in the fight between automakers to woo customers with technology that reduces fuel consumption. The pedal automatically pushes back on the foot when the system detects too much pressure on the accelerator, informing the driver that he or she is using more fuel than required, Nissan said. An eco-driving indicator fitted...

Detroit's money troubles are starting to put a key part of the American dream -- a pricey new car -- out of reach for some people. Squeezed by falling used-vehicle prices, as well as continued tumult in the credit markets on Wall Street, Ford and General Motors are significantly scaling back their auto-leasing business. Ford this week began telling dealers that it is essentially ending leasing deals on most trucks and sport-utility vehicles. GMAC, GM's financing arm, is also expected to soon rein in leasing offers in the United States. On July 29, it said it will no longer offer...

Toyota has developed a motorized stand-up-and-ride Segway lookalike designed to help people scoot around at malls and airports. But the "Winglet," shown Friday in Tokyo, takes some getting used to. A demonstrator was visibly worried about its safety while accompanying a reporter who cautiously tried it on a short course in a Toyota showroom.

So it appears GM may be going under. They lost 15.5 billion dollars in the second quarter. So the question is: WHO'S READY FOR ANOTHER BAILOUT!?!

DETROIT (Reuters) - Chrysler is in talks to lease U.S. production capacity and share retail distribution with Fiat SpA (FIA.MI), allowing the Italian automaker to return the U.S. market for the first time in 25 years, people briefed on the talks said on Wednesday. Chrysler, the No. 3 U.S. automaker, has also been in discussions with India's Tata Motors Ltd (TAMO.BO) about selling its Jeep Wrangler SUV in India and possibly other Asian markets, said the sources, who were not authorized to discuss the negotiations.

Wyoming, MICHIGAN – When you subsidize something, you get more of it. Especially when you subsidize economic insanity. Since Michigan is dependent upon economic insanity like a crack addict needs his next fix – and looks every bit as much the worse for wear – it is sadly no surprise that the state’s entire 17-member congressional delegation, Republicans and Democrats alike, are developing a plan to secure $27 billion in federal aid for the Big Three domestic automakers. General Motors, Ford and Chrysler are teetering on the brink of extinction. Michigan, which bet it all on these three companies long...

Chrysler is getting out of the auto leasing business. The company, now privately held, told its dealers on Friday that its financing arm, Chrysler Financial, would stop offering leases as of Aug. 1, a move that comes as plummeting resale values of gas-thirsty trucks and sport utility vehicles turn lease deals on those vehicles into big money losers for the Detroit automakers. On Thursday, the Ford Motor Company took a $2.1 billion write-down in the second quarter, part of an $8.7 billion loss for Ford over all, related to unprofitable leases held by its finance arm, the Ford Motor Credit...

DETROIT, Michigan (AFP) - General Motors will begin building Saab vehicles in the United States rather than put its Swedish subsidiary up for sale, GM chairman and chief executive Rick Wagoner said Friday. < > "The issue at Saab is trying to sell too many Saabs in the US as the Swedish (kroner) has strengthened against the dollar. We can't push volume in the US. We have to let it settle out and reflect the currency. "But we've got a number of new (Saab) products coming up beginning in the third quarter next year and it will have a new...

TALLAHASSEE (Bay News 9) -- Desperate for votes and armed with new technologies, political parties are changing the way they find their voters. They're tracking everything from the food people eat to the car they drive. The sophisticated strategy is called microtargeting. Republicans pioneered microtargeting four years ago. They say it contributed to George W. Bush being re-elected. Katie Gordon with the state GOP says people who own guns are their top microtargets. "What we do is contact people and ask them, and maybe people who have not supported a Republican in the past or who have not indicated that...

DETROIT, United States (AFP) - General Motors on Wednesday posted a five percent drop in global sales in the second quarter as a sharp drop in its home market offset strong gains overseas. GM's sales slipped to 2.29 million vehicles in the April through June period after North American sales fell 20 percent to 963,929, while sales outside the region grew by 10 percent to 1,322,765. < > Sales in the Asia-Pacific region grew 15 percent to 386,980 vehicles, GM said. Sales in Latin America, Africa and the Middle East rose 18 percent to 346,085 vehicles, powered by Chevrolet, which...

NASHVILLE, Tennessee (AFP) - The global auto industry is heading down an unsustainable path and needs new technology to cope with record fuel costs, Nissan-Renault chairman Carlos Ghosn said Tuesday. "The doubling of oil prices to 130 to 140 dollars per barrel means that one billion dollars is being transferred every day to the oil producing countries," Ghosn told reporters as he dedicated Nissan America's new headquarters. < > There is a large, untapped market for electric vehicles, Ghosn said, noting that a recent study from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology predicted that there would be 10 million electric vehicles...

<p>One of the Big Ideas that's gotten a boost from the recent oil price shock is the notion that the energy for transportation should come from the electric grid, not an oil well in the Middle East.</p> <p>A number of big, established car makers have announced plans to produce cars that will pull from the electric grid all or part of the energy needed to make them go. They join a flock of upstart companies, such as Tesla Motors, trying to prosper by defining a new generation of mobility technology starting with a blank sheet of paper - or rather a blank video display screen.</p>

GM showed a photo of the Cruze to employees during a TV presentation. Workers caught a brief glimpse of the car coming to the Lordstown plant, but General Motors still is keeping the Chevrolet Cruze under wraps. < > He noted that the Cruze promises success because GM is powering the car with a new 1.4-liter, turbocharged engine that is to have fuel efficiency of 45 mpg. < >

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Car maker Ford Motor Co (F.N) is drawing up plans to retool American plants to make small, fuel-efficient passenger cars that it mainly makes and sells in Europe, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday.

"The eyes of the world are now on the Volt," McCain said at a meeting... McCain: Electric car 'vital' to oil independence (AP) At GM plant, McCain calls for an electric vehicle tax credit Los Angeles Times, CA - 4 hours ago Trying to inject hope into a struggling auto industry, he says a $5000 credit should be given to consumers who buy cars like the Chevy Volt, now a prototype ... McCain Talks with GM workers Washington Post, United States - 2 hours ago By Juliet Eilperin WARREN, Mich.--Speaking to a group of General Motors Corp. employees, Sen. John...

WARREN, Mich.--Speaking to a group of General Motors Corp. employees, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) promised to provide a $5,000 tax credit for Americans who buy electric-powered cars such as the future Chevy Volt and "other automobiles that put us on the path to energy independence," even as he suggested he might alter his climate plan to aid the auto industry.

WARREN, Mich., July 18 (Reuters) - Republican White House hopeful John McCain told embattled GM employees on Friday he backs their development of an electric car and said Americans should be able to receive $5,000 tax credits to buy them. Battered by a deepening slump in sales and concerns about whether it can ride out an economic downturn, General Motors Corp. (GM.N: Quote, Profile, Research) is counting on the Volt to break its reliance on gas-guzzling vehicles at a time when truck sales are tumbling and fuel prices are near record levels. McCain celebrated the electric plug-in Volt during a...

Competitiveness: As a venerable U.S. automaker cuts production by 150,000 trucks, a European producer is making plans to open a factory that will build 150,000 units a year. Guess which one is unionized.Not only will General Motors reduce truck production, it will shed jobs, cut executive salaries, freeze base salaries, eliminate health care benefits for retirees over 65 and sell assets. The short-term intent of GM's plan is to raise cash and to reassure a Wall Street that is afraid the company that has lost more than $50 billion in the past three years will file for bankruptcy. The long-term...

German carmaker Volkswagen (VW) has chosen to locate its new US car plant in Tennessee, a move that could pump $1bn (£498m) into the local economy. VW opted for a site in the city of Chattanooga in preference to possible locations in Alabama and Michigan. The euro's rise against the dollar has made it costly to make cars in Europe and export them to the US, leading VW to explore manufacturing again there. The move is good news for a US car industry shedding thousands of jobs. New car Earlier on Tuesday, GM said it planned to make further cutbacks...

Chattanooga Chosen For $1 Billion Volkswagen Plant Plant At Enterprise South To Have 2,000 Jobs posted July 15, 2008 Volkswagen AG has chosen Chattanooga for its new $1 billion U.S. plant, the European carmaker announced today.

G.M. Suspends Dividend and Plans More Layoffs DETROIT — General Motors said Tuesday that it would reduce labor costs for salaried workers by 20 percent, eliminate its quarterly dividend and further reduce truck production to ensure that it has enough cash to finance its turnaround for at least two more years. The moves, which include selling at least $2 billion in assets and borrowing as much as $3 billion,... would stop providing health care coverage to salaried retirees at age 65...reduce its salaried work force and freeze base pay for salaried employees through 2009... executives will no longer receive discretionary...

Volkswagen announced this morning that it would build a manufacturing plant in Chattanooga, Tenn. where it will build a vehicle specifically for the North American market. The plant will employ 2,000 workers from the tri-state area and is expected to invest $1 billion in the local economy. The plant is an integral part of Volkswagen's plan for expansion in the N.A. market, with sales expected to crest 800,000 units by 2018. The 1,350-acre site will produce 150,000 vehicles annually – specifically a midsize sedan – in 2011.

Rick Wagoner just finished briefing the employees, here are a few highlights... Cut truck production by 300,000 units Next gen truck development suspended Retirees will lose health care at age 65, but pensions will get a bump to fund private health care, plus medicade/medicare kick in then All salaried employee merit increase and bonuses eliminated (inc. execs) through the end of 2009 Engineering levels to be at 2006-2007 levels, no new hiring + head count reductions No mention of salary decreases Buyouts, MSP (mutual separation packages) and "other separation strategies" will be rolled out. Investment in small engine development and...

Southfield (WWJ) -- General Motors is preparing to announce a major downsizing and restructuring moves Tuesday in response to falling U.S. sales. A statement from the company says Chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner will discuss the changes at a news conference at 9 a.m. Tuesday. Before the news conference, Wagoner will address employees. The company released no further details.

General Motors Corp (GM.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) Chief Executive Rick Wagoner is set to announce further steps on Tuesday morning to cut costs in the face of slumping sales. GM executives, including Wagoner, scheduled a series of briefings for employees, analysts and reporters on Tuesday, starting at 8:30 a.m. EDT (1230 GMT), the company said in a statement. The company said the briefings would detail what GM is doing to "align" its operations to current market conditions. The No. 1 U.S. automaker has been under intensifying pressure to cut costs because of a rapid shift away from trucks...

Rising fuel prices, both in the U.S. and abroad, means that automakers can now offer similar engines in vehicles sold throughout the world. According to Automotive News, General Motors' next small car, the Chevrolet Cruze, will be offered with a new 1.4-liter force-fed four-banger, putting out between 120 and 140 horsepower and returning fuel mileage in the 40 mpg range.

Michigan should be a layup for Barack Obama. The state's economy is in the doldrums, blue-collar auto workers are losing jobs and the state hasn't voted for a Republican in a presidential election since 1988. But recent polls show the race is closer than many expected... Among the factors that could help Sen. McCain are Sen. Obama's decision not to contest Michigan's mid-January primary...and critical comments he made last year about Detroit's auto makers. But perhaps the biggest boon to his efforts: the unpopularity of the state's Democratic governor, Jennifer Granholm. Gov. Granholm has an approval rating of 30%... Voters...

When Chevrolet officially announced the new Corvette ZR1 just before the Detroit Auto Show this year, it hadn't yet finished the certification of its new power-plant, the supercharged LS9. At that time, all the engineers would tell us was that the supercharged 6.2L V8 would produce a minimum of 100hp/L or 620 hp. Three months have passed since we got our first official look at the LS9 and the numbers are now in. According to GM, the LS9 has now been SAE Certified at 638 hp and 604 lb-ft of twist. The official EPA fuel economy testing hasn't been finished...