Free Republic

Electoral trends show America's large cities growing more and more liberal, meaning urban conservatives are becoming more and more isolated. However, there are a handful of cities out there that buck the trend and still provide friendly habitat for city-dwelling conservatives. We scoured the country for large cities with populations over 200,000 that offer a combination of conservative values, a high quality of life, and plenty of big city activities to enjoy. We looked into recent voting trends, tax rates, business-friendly grades, locals who identify as "highly religious," gun-friendly laws, conservative local politicians, and more. Then we combined them with quality...

Note: The following text is a quote: THE BRIEFING ROOM THE WHITE HOUSE Office of the Press Secretary ____________________________________________________________ For Immediate Release June 23, 2009 EXECUTIVE ORDER - - - - - - - ESTABLISHING A WHITE HOUSE COUNCIL ON AUTOMOTIVE COMMUNITIES AND WORKERS By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered as follows: Section 1. Policy. Over the last decade, the United States has experienced a decline in employment in the auto industry and among part suppliers. This decline has accelerated dramatically over...

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...

Toyota Motor Corp., the world’s largest automaker, posted its third straight quarterly drop in sales after demand plunged in the U.S., Europe and Japan. Sales fell 27 percent to 1.77 million vehicles in the three months ended March 31, from 2.41 million a year ago, Yuta Kaga, a Toyota spokesman said in Tokyo today. The figures include Toyota’s Daihatsu Motor Co. and Hino Motors Ltd. subsidiaries. Toyota has forecast its first annual loss in 59 years, as rising unemployment and tighter credit sapped car demand in the U.S., its traditionally most-profitable market. The global recession has forced Toyota and other...

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- U.S. auto sales tumbled in May as buyers fled from pickups and sport utility vehicles in the face of average gas prices that are now just shy of $4 a gallon. The trouble hit not only U.S. automakers General Motors (GM, Fortune 500), Ford Motor and Chrysler LLC -- which have long depended on sales of pickups and SUVs -- but also trimmed the sales of their top Japanese rival Toyota Motor (TM). But other Asian automakers held up reasonably well. Nissan (NSANY) reported a narrow sales gain while Honda Motor (HMC) and Kia rode American...

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Ford Motor Co. posted a 9% drop in U.S. sales of cars and light trucks for December, closing out a weak year for the company and the auto industry. The auto maker said so-called fleet sales fell 1%, while retail sales fell 13%. Improving retail sales is central to Ford's restructuring plan as the company cuts sales to rental car companies and other mass buyers to focus on higher-margin sales to dealerships. Ford, which has slipped to the No. 3 U.S. auto maker by sales, behind Japan's Toyota Motor Corp., said it sold 210,855 light vehicles in December, compared with...

Losing the small-car market to foreign manufacturers was easy. In the past half-century, Detroit never built great small cars or great 4-cylinder motors, never thought of little cars as a profit center and just did not like them. It is understandable how the Europeans first, then the Japanese and now the Koreans grabbed this business. What is more puzzling is how those foreigners took the top and the middle of the American car market. I am talking about near luxury, the luxury and the ultra-luxury segments--the cars with the big profits. Ever since the demise of marques like Cord and...

PRAGUE, June 12, 2006 (RFE/RL) -- When it was formed in 2001, the General Motors-AvtoVAZ joint venture was considered a major step toward economic revival in postcommunist Russia. The marriage of the American and Russian automotive giants has for the most part been successful. But cracks in the relationship emerged after AvtoVAZ was taken over by the Russian state last year. Now, with General Motors expected to announce on June 13 the construction of its own independent assembly plant, some are wondering if the partnership is meant to last.

Did anyone hear Bob Brinker yesterday? I heard snippets, but was unable to hear the whole program. I am curious as to what his take on the current General Motors situation is. I wonder at some point will the situation foster his "model" to change his sentiment as to the direction of the market.