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Hyundai Motor Co. says 82 workers at its largest auto assembly plant were injured in a Saturday clash with labor activists, Bloomberg reports. The three-hour dispute in Ulsan, South Korea, was between Hyundai security guards and managers and activists from an umbrella group of labor unions that were demanding better conditions for temporary workers. The company estimated $2 million in damages. Some members of the group tried to use force to enter the plant, throwing bamboo sticks and stones at Hyundai security personnel, who in turn used fire hoses to keep them at bay, Bloomberg said.

Biggest Bankruptcy in US history. Excerpt:Reason Foundation senior analyst Shikha Dalmia says even bankruptcy can’t save Motown.Detroit had been living on borrowed time and borrowed money for about two decades now with accumulated debt of about 18 times its annual budget, so something had to give so the issue only was detroit needed to restructure through bnkruptcy or an emergency manager.

Fiat has a new ad out (ignore the advertising crap at the end, I couldn't find a clean version). Actually, I found two versions of the same ad. In the version I saw on TV, it ends with a girl saying "This is going to be so much better than the Tea Party".When I went looking for it, I found a different version that ends with the girl saying "This is going to start a revolution".

Can Tesla Motors really make it in the automotive mass market? It's the question that haunts (or that should be haunting) current and potential Tesla investors. Tesla has already achieved big things, designing and building a great electric luxury sedan in the Model S, pictured above. It has also proven that it can sell enough of them to turn a profit. It's true that so far the profit has been tiny, and the economic conditions in the U.S. quite favorable, but still: That's an enormous achievement. But it's another big leap from there to becoming a mass-market carmaker - but...

Fisker Automotive hasn't built a car in nearly a year. It fired most of its workforce, hired bankruptcy advisers and is seeking a buyer. Co-founder Henrik Fisker resigned in mid-March in a dispute with some of the directors. And despite raising $1.4 billion in private and public funds since its founding in 2007, the company is out of cash. For months, key investors have been footing the car maker's day-to-day expenses to keep it alive in diminished form. The Energy Department has repeatedly defended its handling of the Fisker loan. Nicholas Whitcombe, who previously led the DOE loan program, told...

The idea of a flying car has fascinated dreamers and aviation geeks alike since humans first got off the ground with powered flight. The concept has obvious advantages: the "go anywhere, anytime" freedom of an automobile without any of the traffic congestion that terrestrial drivers face on a daily basis. Featured in movies like Back to the Future and Blade Runner, this mode of transportation has been restricted to the realm of science-fiction due to the complexity of the drivetrain required and the training that would be needed to operate such a vehicle. Now, a company called Terrafugia has put...

Electric car sales hummed along in May amid a solid month for the auto industry. But the surprise story this year was May's strong full-size pickup truck sales – not exactly a sign an endorsement of efficiency and alternative fuels. Nissan sold 2,138 Leafs in May, up 319 percent over last year. In March, the company sold a record 2,236 units of its all-electric vehicle. General Motors sold 1,607 Volts in May, down 4.3 percent from a year ago. In the first five months of 2013, the company sold only 100 more Volts than during the same period last year.

Is Motor City getting its mojo back? After years of losing loyal customers frustrated by quality and reliability problems, domestic automakers are showing a new-found focus on customer service that is winning back skeptics – boosting sales, market share and profits.

As a general rule, corporations should be able to build plants where they want, whether it’s in America or elsewhere. Moreover, if they choose to go overseas, we should be asking, “Why is that?” Are our corporate taxes too high? Do we have too many regulations? Is there something else that we can do as a nation to be more business-friendly, to keep building plants here in America, so that we can employ more people and rake in more taxes? However, it’s a little different with a company like General Motors. Taxpayers lost more than 10 billion bailing out GM...

Let's talk cars. Which cars you drive, etc.

As the Department of Energy seized the last of Fisker Automotive’s reserves in lieu of an unknown amount that it was due to repay this week, what’s left of the lame electric automaker clings to the slim hope it can survive. While CEO Tony Posawatz and his team may need an intervention, a hearing before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee yesterday revealed that DOE and committee Democrats (as well as those in the Obama administration) are hopelessly stuck in an alternate universe, where losing millions of taxpayer dollars is considered a good record. Republicans had called officials from...

While hindsight may always be 20/20, foresight should be pretty clear in many instances as well. The Fisker failure was one of these times. Many saw the folly in spending hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars to support the green debacle. In fact, the Associated Press has reported that even the Obama Administration had warning of the Fisker loan risks back in April of 2010 when the Energy Department began emailing their concerns. Congress will be holding hearings starting today to address the scandalous waste of taxpayer money on Fisker. Reuters states one of the goals of the hearing, "'The...

Many Apple fans have dreamed of one day getting the chance to drive a car crafted by people behind the iPhone and the iPad. In fact, according to the New York Times, just before he died, Steve Jobs said he wanted to build an Apple car. Now Volkswagen hasteamed upwith the computermakerto deliver the next best thing until Apple decides to actually make its own. The vehicle is called the iBeetle, and while it doesn't look like a sleek iPhone-on-wheels, it does include a decidedly Apple-centric dashboard. Unveiled at this month's Shanghai Auto Show, the iBeetle features an embedded iPhone...

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - - In order to compete in the fast-growing SUV market in China, Jeep wants to produce a vehicle in the No. 1 global auto market by the end of 2014, Jeep's top executive said on Saturday at the Shanghai auto show. The "obvious choice" for a Jeep product to be made in China is the Cherokee, which was recently introduced in Jeep's primary U.S. market and will be on sale in the fourth quarter in China, said Mike Manley, CEO of the Jeep brand of the Chrysler Group. Manley said the Cherokee is the best choice to...

April 3, 2013 Feds look closer at cash source in McAuliffe car scam By Kenric Ward | Watchdog.org GONE AND DOWNSIZED: Though it’s still listed as their corporate address, GreenTech Automotive and Gulf Coast Funds Management moved out of their spacious headquarters office next to the Ritz Carlton in McLean. (Photo: Pamela Mullin) MCLEAN, Va. — A federal program that awards U.S. citizenship to foreigners in exchange for business investments is under increasing scrutiny as the assets of a Chicago company were frozen by the Securities and Exchange Commission.A Watchdog investigation found that Virginia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe and...

The Chevy Volt has inarguably been the poster child for President Obama's push to electrify America's auto fleet. Billions of taxpayer dollars have been spent to produce and subsidize the plug-in electric car. For years we have heard about the supposedly amazing technology for the Volt which would lead America to energy independence, be a "game-changer" for General Motors and provide a multitude of new green jobs. Proclamations were made that supply for the wonder-car could not keep up with the demand. Well, March's sales figures are in and give further confirmation that the lofty claims were all lies. March's...

Steady Voltage Chevy Volt sales have been consistent lately, with no wild ups and downs as experienced by the Nissan LEAF during the production changeover. Sales of the Volt had hit a 12-month low of 1,140 units in January 2013, but rebounded to 1,620 units in February. For March 2013, Volt sales check in at 1,478 units.

...that gets decent gas milage and is reliable. Any Suggestions?

"PALO ALTO, California, April 1, 2013 — A formal announcement will be made April 7 at the NASCAR STP Gas Booster 500 at Martinsville Speedway, but Edmunds has learned exclusively that Tesla, the electric car manufacturer, will enter the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series ......Industry sources suggest that the reveal was supposed to take place one week later, at the NASCAR race at Texas Motor Speedway, but with the announcement that the National Rifle Association would be the title sponsor of that race, the federal government decided to move the announcement to Martinsville. "We aren't sure how many fans would be...

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — The Mississippi House on Saturday passed a bill to help finance buildings for suppliers that might locate at Nissan Motor Co.'s plant near Canton. The bill was blocked from going to Gov. Phil Bryant immediately because some House members are seeking a second round of debate. Senate Bill 2920 would allow the Madison County Economic Development Authority to issue industrial development bonds, which would be repaid by Nissan. The local authority would own buildings that would be home to suppliers that are brought in to support an expansion of Nissan's assembly plant on Interstate 55.