auto industry

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Hybrid Trucks Get Stuck in Neutral
Hybrid Trucks Get Stuck
in Neutral
Nov 12, 2007 4:50 PM CST

Hybrid Trucks Get Stuck in Neutral

Technology remains too expensive, leading to low demand, higher prices

(Newser) - Hybrid truck sales are sputtering because the technology is too expensive, and companies ordering vehicle fleets won’t pay extra for environmental benefits alone. But without bulk orders, economies of scale aren’t kicking in. One truck company president says government tax breaks or subsidies are needed to boost hybrid...

Big Industries Joust Over Energy Prices

Companies strive to suit their own ends in tug-of-war over green policies

(Newser) - US industries are at each other’s throats over energy policy as each sector tries to protect its own interests. A prime example came last year, when Dow Chemical's push for tougher automobile fuel-economy standards—which would help keep a lid on Dow's oil expenditures—ran afoul of automakers, who...

GM’s Wagoner Weathering the Storm

Despite $39B loss, he's earned respect, making progress

(Newser) - CEO heads are rolling on Wall Street as third quarter red ink stains their reps and boards act to soothe shareholder worries with new management, cost cutting, and reorganization. But it's business as usual in Detroit, where GM CEO Rick Wagoner just announced a staggering $39 billion loss, reports Business ...

$39B Charge Puts Brakes on GM's Earnings

Automaker could post biggest loss ever, nearly $70 per share

(Newser) - In what’s likely to be the largest net loss in its history, GM today will announce earnings that include a $39 billion tax charge costing it nearly $70 per share. The charge rear-ends the automaker after a quarter that saw strong US sales and a positive labor pact with...

More UAW Locals Nix Chrysler Deal
More UAW Locals Nix Chrysler Deal
Oct 24, 2007 8:10 AM CDT

More UAW Locals Nix Chrysler Deal

Four Indiana plants join six others in voting down proposed contract

(Newser) - UAW workers at four Chrysler plants in Indiana last night rejected the embattled contract negotiated by their leaders with the automaker, adding to the six defeats by rank-and-file voters over the weekend. Some smaller locals have approved the contract, says anti-contract organizer Bill Parker, but the larger ones are rejecting...

Court Overturns Volkswagen Law, Takeover Likely

Porsche to exercise control in VW

(Newser) - The EU’s highest court today overturned a 47-year-old German law that protected Volkswagen AG from takeover, opening the door for a long-rumored Porsche coup. Porsche already owns 31% of VW, but the law capped their voting rights at 20%. With that impediment gone, “I see Porsche flexing its...

Chrysler Deal Faces More Rejections
Chrysler Deal Faces More Rejections
Oct 21, 2007 11:02 PM CDT

Chrysler Deal Faces More Rejections

After 6 locals vote down proposed contract, UAW steps up lobbying

(Newser) - UAW members at three auto plants rejected the proposed pact between Chrysler and their union this weekend, bringing to six the number of locals who have voted down the deal, the Wall Street Journal reports.  In a last-ditch effort to salvage the agreement, union leaders are focusing lobbying efforts...

In Europe, Cars Go the Way of Cigarettes

Auto advertising to carry warning labels about emissions

(Newser) - Carbon health warnings for cars are coming to Europe. Under a European Parliament plan expected to be approved this week, 20% of the space in print car advertising will have to be devoted to cigarette-style warnings about vehicles' carbon emissions and fuel efficiency. The most polluting vehicles will also face...

It's a Plane! It's a Car! It's ...
It's a Plane! It's a Car! It's ...
Oct 11, 2007 6:33 AM CDT

It's a Plane! It's a Car! It's ...

A Massachusetts company's breakthrough makes aero-auto hybrids a closer reality

(Newser) - A new vehicle suitable for both air and road travel could be available within two years, reports MIT's Technology Review. By recently producing the world's first automated folding wing, Massachusetts company Terrafugia, Inc. came a step closer to creating the Transition, a "light sport aircraft" that works on the...

Strike Over After Chrysler, UAW Reach Deal

Tentative contract, said to follow model set by GM pact, brings peace

(Newser) - Chrysler and the United Auto Workers reached a tentative agreement on a new four-year contract this afternoon, the Wall Street Journal reports, just hours after UAW members walked off the job at Chrysler plants. The agreement is said to follow the pattern set by last month's General Motors pact, which...

GM, Union Tangle Over Health Care, Labor Costs

Strike highlights rift; negotiations resume

(Newser) - At the root of the UAW's strike against GM's US factories is a fundamental conflict between management's need to cut costs and the union's resistance to offering more givebacks, Bloomberg reports. Negotiations resumed this afternoon between GM, which lost $12.4 billion last year, and the UAW, which represents 73,...

GM and UAW Hit Impasse on Health Care

Talks stalled on funding of union-run trust for medical costs

(Newser) - General Motors has reached an impasse with the UAW on the transfer of health care liabilities to a union-run trust, a serious blow to the company's plans for rejuvenation. Five days into contract talks, negotiators could not agree on the amount GM would pay into the fund, reports Bloomberg, and...

Tiny Smart Cars Zip Toward US
Tiny Smart Cars Zip Toward US
Sep 19, 2007 2:53 PM CDT

Tiny Smart Cars Zip Toward US

Newsweek interviews president of Smart USA

(Newser) - With the first Smart Car set to hit the US in January, Newsweek questions the company president on the intelligence of trying to sell a 1,750-pound vehicle in the land of bigger-is-better. Despite bad safety ratings from Consumer Reports and entrenched SUV love in the American psyche, he seems...

Americans Hot for Hybrids
Americans Hot for Hybrids
Sep 17, 2007 5:42 PM CDT

Americans Hot for Hybrids

Sales up 49% thanks to surge in Mid-West sales

(Newser) - Hybrid sales skyrocketed 49% in the first half of 2007, thanks to boom in the Midwest. Oklahoma’s 143% increase was the most of any state, but every state except Hawaii saw growth, the AP reports, with 215,997 vehicles registered this year, compared to 144,721 over the same...

GM Talks Resume With Optimism
GM Talks Resume With Optimism
Sep 17, 2007 12:42 PM CDT

GM Talks Resume With Optimism

Marathon yesterday yielded progress on financing for health-care trust

(Newser) - Talks between GM and UAW reps resumed late this morning after a 16-hour session that ran to 3am and came close to an agreement on the key issue of shifting heath-care costs to a union-run trust.  Both sides confirmed good progress, and employees are on the job today, despite...

Still No Agreement in GM-UAW Talks
Still No Agreement in GM-UAW Talks
Sep 16, 2007 5:07 PM CDT

Still No Agreement in GM-UAW Talks

Strike appears remote as GM employees ready for work tomorrow

(Newser) - Tense talks continued between GM and workers today as outside parties were greeted with unusual silence, the Wall Street Journal reports. "I haven't heard much of anything and that's completely different" than before, says a union rep. Still at issue is a health care fund for retirees and how...

GM, UAW Talk Past Deadline
GM, UAW Talk Past Deadline
Sep 15, 2007 6:05 AM CDT

GM, UAW Talk Past Deadline

Contracts renewed on hourly basis

(Newser) - The United Auto Workers and General Motors talked four hours past their midnight deadline for contract negotiations before agreeing to resume bargaining later today. They extended talks on an "hour-to-hour" basis on a deal that would include a union-controlled trust to assume GM's $50-billion liability for retiree health care....

Little Shop of Hybrids: Green Mechanic Opens

San Francisco garage first devoted to hybrids-only service

(Newser) - While auto mechanics nationwide now service hybrid vehicles, San Francisco's Luscious Garage is the country's first shop to work exclusively on environment-friendly cars. "There's a critical mass of hybrids in the Bay Area," owner Carolyn Coquilette told Wired, which reports that nearly 10% of new hybrids registered in...

Auto-Emission Ruling Boosts States' Rights

Federal judge rules against carmakers on standards for greenhouse gases

(Newser) - Vermont can set its own greenhouse emissions standards to curb gases that contribute to global warming, a federal judge ruled yesterday in a decision that boosts states’ rights. Automakers sued the state after it adopted standards originally made law in California, saying the regulations were impractical and would upend the...

10 Cheapest Rides to Own
10 Cheapest Rides to Own
Sep 11, 2007 10:15 AM CDT

10 Cheapest Rides to Own

Don't sacrifice your bank account to the wheel with gas and insurance costs

(Newser) - Affordable cars start at the sticker price—the lower the better. But over time, insurance payments and gas costs add up. Forbes searches out the 10 vehicles that will leave the smallest footprint on your wallet.
  1. Toyota Yaris
  2. Honda Fit
  3. Toyota Corolla

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