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The global financial crisis is suffocating the Detroit automakers, but the problems at General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler have been festering for years—even when the mighty "Big Three" were earning billions. Aging factories, inflexible unions, arrogant executives and shoddy quality have all damaged Detroit. Now, with panicky consumers fleeing showrooms, catastrophe looms: There will be plenty of business-school case studies analyzing all the automakers' wrong turns. But, as they say in the industry, it all comes down to product. So here are 10 cars that help explain the demise of Detroit: GM and Chrysler need a multibillion-dollar government bailout to...

Ford Motor Co. is offering a new incentive plan, including 0% financing and a job-loss assurance program, to try to jump-start slumping vehicle sales and boost consumer confidence. The auto maker will offer 0% financing through its finance arm and will cover payments for up to 12 months on any new Ford, Lincoln or Mercury vehicle if customers lose their jobs. The offer will run through June 1. Rival Chrysler LLC began offering 0% financing, along with rebates, employee pricing and discounts up to $6,000 in January as it looked to clear out dealers' inventories and boost sales. So far,...

The Ford Motor Company said Wednesday that its new agreement with the United Automobile Workers union would save at least $500 million a year and, within several years, bring its labor costs in line with what foreign competitors pay their workers in the United States. Ford said the deal, which U.A.W. members ratified this week, immediately reduces its all-in hourly rate, including benefits, to $55. It said the figure would continue to shrink as more workers took buyouts and when the new-vehicle market recovered, allowing increased production. Currently, Ford’s labor costs amount to a little more than $60 an hour,...

DETROIT -- Unionized workers at Ford Motor Co. have approved contract changes that include freezing wages and cutting benefits in a move to aimed at helping the automaker remain competitive. The United Auto Workers said Monday a majority of hourly workers voted in favor of modifications to the 2007 contract with Ford, eliminating cost-of-living increases and cash bonuses. The UAW said 59 percent of production workers and 58 percent of skilled-trades workers voted for the concessions. "By working together with our UAW partners, we identified solutions that will help Ford reach competitive parity with foreign-owned auto manufacturers and that are...

GM's new restructuring plan seeks another $16.6 billion in government aid -- for now. Chrysler wants an additional $5 billion. The $30 billion that GM has either received or requested since December doesn't count the $8 billion it wants to develop fuel-efficient cars, and another $6 billion it's soliciting from foreign governments. For these taxpayer subsidies, the government could buy hundreds of thousands of GM cars a month and give them to deserving citizens. Make mine a Corvette, please. Before deciding what to do with Detroit's demands, uh, requests, government officials first need to confront a fundamental question: How could...

Background: Volvo Cars (owned by Ford Motor Company) claims their all new Volvo XC 60 to be the world's safest car. The consequence: The Toyota people have worked themselves into a rage and now take legal actions. (The following is a translation of a Swedish article. My English isn't perfect, but I hope what follows at least is comprehensible:) "Toyota disapproves of Volvo's claims of the new XC60 to be the world's safest car. Toyota now sues Volvo in the Swedish Market Court (Marknadsdomstolen). In their application to the court, Toyota argues that there indeed are cars around the Globe...

DEARBORN, Mich. — After the worst annual loss in its 105-year history, Ford Motor Co. still doesn't plan to seek government aid, but it's borrowing more money and hinting at further restructuring to brace for a tough 2009 and any surprises from the unpredictable economy. The second-largest U.S.-based automaker on Thursday reported a $14.6 billion net loss for 2008, beating its old record of $12.6 billion set two years earlier. Ford lost $5.9 billion in the fourth quarter, but more importantly it spent $5.5 billion more than it took in, dropping its cash reserves to $13.4 billion at year's end.

Navistar International Corp. said Tuesday morning it will close its Indianapolis engine plant and adjacent Indianapolis Casting Corp. foundry effective July 31. The closing was largely expected after Navistar agreed earlier this month to stop producing diesel engines for Ford Motor Co. Navistar's Brookville Road plant produces engines used in Ford's F-Series pickup. The two facilities employ a total of 700 workers, Navistar spokesman Roy Wiley said this morning. "This is a difficult decision because of the impact it has on our employees and the community where we live and work," Navistar Engine Group General Manager Eric Tech said in...

In an attempt to take decisive action on energy and environmental concerns in the first days of his administration, President Obama has given businesses a dose of what they fear most: uncertainty. Monday, Obama directed the Environmental Protection Agency to "immediately review" a request by California to set higher standards for vehicle tailpipe emissions than U.S. law requires. At the same time, the president ordered the Department of Transportation to put in place new regulations for vehicle fuel economy standards. Obama's move provides a sense--not unexpected--of where his administration is headed on energy and the environment. In many ways, it's...

Ford Motor Co has enough liquidity to fund its restructuring plan and despite the deep downturn in auto sales still sees no need to ask for government loans, Chief Executive Alan Mulally said on Saturday. "We don't want to borrow any more money. We have sufficient liquidity to fund our transformation plan, which means our business is in a relatively good shape," Mulally told reporters on the sidelines of the National Automobile Dealers Association convention.

Ford Motor Co.'s (F) lending arm has been in talks with the U.S. Treasury Department about its financing needs, a government official said Friday. The talks began shortly after Congress failed late last year to pass an auto- aid package that would have provided a line of credit to Ford. The official declined to say whether Ford's lending arm, Ford Motor Credit, is seeking aid. "We have been in discussions," the official said. "I don't want to characterize the state of play. You'd have to reach out to them to get that characterization." The official made the disclosure as the...

Navistar International Corp., which has been locked in a bitter legal feud with Ford Motor Co. over a longstanding diesel-engine supply contract, said late Tuesday that the two companies have agreed to end their legal dispute – and to terminate Navistar's supply contract three years early. The two companies "benefited from a successful partnership that provided value to both companies for nearly three decades," said Chairman and Chief Executive Dan Ustian. "However, it's in our best interests to resolve our conflict and continue our relationship with each other in other areas." Navistar's contract to supply diesel engines for Ford's heavy-duty...

DETROIT -- The Detroit Three auto industry received a much-needed shot in the arm Sunday when the 2009 Ford F-150 pickup was named truck of the year at the North American International Auto Show. (please see url for full article)

DETROIT (AP) -- Ford Motor Co.'s U.S. sales plummeted 32 percent in December and Toyota Motor Corp.'s fell 37 percent as car and truck buyers continued to steer clear of showrooms due to the dismal economy. Unsold 2009 Focus sedans sit at a Ford dealership in Denver on Sunday, Jan. 4, 2009. Ford Motor Company said Monday, that sales dropped 32 percent in December. Ford's sales for 2008 fell 21 percent from a year earlier, keeping the Dearborn automaker in third place in the U.S. auto sales race, falling behind Japan's Toyota for the second straight year. Toyota's 2008 sales...

When the Bush Treasury decided to bail out Detroit, GM and Chrysler quickly said yes to the taxpayer cash, but Ford Motor Co. said it didn't need the money and declined. Ford's reward for this show of self-reliance? Treasury is now helping GM again by giving it a credit pricing advantage against Ford in the marketplace. That's one little-noted result of Treasury's action earlier this week to rescue GMAC, the GM credit arm that, as it happens, is 51% owned by the Cerberus private-equity shop that also owns Chrysler. With $5 billion in taxpayer cash in its pocket, GMAC quickly...

I always like the transition from one month to another as that is the time all the magazines I subscribe to make their appearances. This month is no exception with the February 2009 issue of Car & Driver hitting the mailbox last night with a cover story titled, "FUEL-SIPPIN' SHOWDOWN! Can Detroit Build A Better Hybrid?"

NEW YORK (AP) — Sit back, relax and let your car parallel park itself — without a single scratch or ding to your bumper. That's what Ford Motor Co. said Tuesday about its new self-parking technology, which it announced will debut as an option on the 2010 Lincoln MKS sedan and the new seven-passenger Lincoln MKT luxury crossover vehicle.

Video here: http://www.clickondetroit.com/video/15908257/index.html

When a manufacturer expressly tells you that using certain types of fuel in a vehicle will cause damage and using said fuel will void the warranty, it's probably a good idea not to use the fuel in question. The city of Portland, Oregon certainly deserves credit for its aggressive use of biodiesel in its municipal truck fleet. However, if Portland or any other city is going to pursue such a program, they really should make sure the diesel engines in its vehicles are compatible with the fuel. Six of the 50 2008 Ford Super-Duty trucks purchased by Portland have suffered...

Ford said that while it is working to aggressively reduce costs it will continue to invest heavily in product development, including approximately 14 billion dollars over the next seven years to improve the fuel economy of its vehicles.