auto industry

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Nissan's New Safety System Uses Bee Logic

Lasers will mimic compound eyes to detect, avoid obstacles

(Newser) - Nissan is set to unveil new collision-avoidance technology modeled on the behavior of bees, PC World reports, with a small robot car to demonstrate the system in Japan next week. The automakers’ engineers have developed laser range-finders that mimic the insects’ ability to adjust their path and avoid collisions by...

House OKs $25B Detroit Rescue
 House OKs $25B Detroit Rescue 
Sep 25, 2008 3:29 AM CDT

House OKs $25B Detroit Rescue

Package of low-interest loans aims to prop up staggering auto industry

(Newser) - The House has approved a $25 billion lifeline to Detroit's battered auto industry, the Detroit Free Press reports. The package of low-interest loans to help automakers switch to manufacturing more fuel-efficient vehicles is expected to be approved by the Senate today and signed by the president soon after. Michigan lawmakers...

Chrysler Goes Electric
 Chrysler Goes Electric 
Sep 23, 2008 12:20 PM CDT

Chrysler Goes Electric

Firm to offer hybrid and pure-electric models in 2010

(Newser) - Chrysler is hopping on Detroit's belated eco-friendly bandwagon, a source tells the Wall Street Journal, with a full stable of electric cars and trucks that it plans to market starting in late 2010. While most of the planned models are hybrids, at least one will be a fully electric car...

Auto Giants Press Congress for $25B Loan

Credit pinch, oil prices could cost thousands of jobs, execs say

(Newser) - The CEOs of US auto giants seem to have convinced some in Congress they, too, need billions in federal loans, the Detroit Free Press reports, though it’s uncertain if they’ll get the $25 billion they’re asking for. High oil and commodity prices and tightened credit threaten jobs...

How Much More Will Taxpayers Have to Pony Up?
How Much More Will Taxpayers Have to Pony Up?
analysis
Sep 17, 2008 1:01 PM CDT

How Much More Will Taxpayers Have to Pony Up?

The US has pledged some $320 billion in bailouts for struggling enterprises

(Newser) - More than $320 billion in taxpayer funding has already been pledged to treat firms sickened by the subprime contagion—more than twice the $124 billion the government spent fixing the savings and loan crisis in the 1980s, reports the Los Angeles Times. The question, writes Michael Hiltzik, is how much...

Mercedes Revs Up Hybrid
 Mercedes Revs Up Hybrid 
Sep 12, 2008 10:24 AM CDT

Mercedes Revs Up Hybrid

'09 version of luxury automaker's S-Class will get about 30 mpg

(Newser) - Mercedes is adding a hybrid model to its line of S-Class luxury autos in June 2009, BusinessWeek reports, promising nearly 30 miles to the gallon and adding $14,000 to its $88,000 base sticker price. The model—which, unlike some other hybrids, can’t run exclusively on battery power—...

Dems Put Auto Aid in Fast Lane
 Dems Put Auto Aid in Fast Lane 
Sep 10, 2008 9:37 AM CDT

Dems Put Auto Aid in Fast Lane

It's about jobs, Pelosi says

(Newser) - House Democrats are considering a $25 billion rescue plan for the flagging US auto industry, the Los Angeles Times reports, hoping to speed the measure through Congress in a matter of weeks. “This is very, very important,” said Nancy Pelosi. “It's about jobs. Jobs, jobs, jobs, jobs....

Sales Skid Again for GM, Ford, Toyota

Detroit heavies off at least 20% each; Japanese giant down 9.4%

(Newser) - General Motors, Ford and Toyota reported dramatic declines in sales for August stemming from the weak US economy and record gas prices, Bloomberg reports. Ford's domestic sales plunged 27% and GM's 20%, and both automakers will cut second-half production by the tens of thousands. Toyota fared better, down just 9....

Protests Close Plant Making World's Cheapest Car

Company to move factory building 'People's Car,' billed as world's cheapest at $2,500

(Newser) - Tata Motors has halted work at the Indian factory where it was producing its Nano model, billed as the world’s cheapest car. A 2-year-long land dispute escalated when West Bengal farmers trapped workers inside, the AP reports, and the company instructed employees to stay home this week. "A...

GM Recalls 800K Over Electric Issues

Short circuit in wiper-fluid system may cause fires in popular SUVs, other models

(Newser) - An electrical glitch has General Motors recalling 857,735 vehicles today, Reuters reports. GM will recall all cars with a heated windshield wiper fluid system for faults that may lead the system to short circuit, increasing the likelihood of fire or other electrical malfunctions. See below for a full list...

Viper Might Be Luxury Chrysler Can Do Without
Viper Might Be Luxury Chrysler Can Do Without
ANALYSIS
Aug 28, 2008 3:15 PM CDT

Viper Might Be Luxury Chrysler Can Do Without

Automaker needs to raise $1B, and hot rod looks odd model out

(Newser) - Despite a $1.1 billion operating profit in the first half of the year, Chrysler is hemorrhaging money. In a bid to raise another billion, the company is looking to sell off its iconic Dodge Viper line, BusinessWeek reports. The Viper has sold a mere 594 cars since January, and...

Protests Threaten World's Cheapest Car

Tata, having promised Oct. launch for $2,500 Nano, considers costly factory move

(Newser) - The promised October launch of a $2,500 car by India’s Tata Motors is in jeopardy after massive protests at its West Bengal factory, Der Spiegel reports. Led by the state's opposition leader, 30,000 demonstrators promised a "fight to the finish" for land they say the government...

Arab Investors Interested in GM's Hummer Brand

As US sales slide, GM looks overseas to unload gas-guzzler unit

(Newser) - There may soon be more Hummers heading to the Persian Gulf, this time as two Gulf Arab investors signal interest in buying GM's troubled brand of SUV—modeled on the military vehicle. Analysts have expected the gas-guzzler to be tough to unload, but low fuel prices, economic prosperity, and Hummer’...

Cross-Country Hydro-Car Tour Wraps Up In LA

31-city, nine-automaker tour aims to promote nascent technology

(Newser) - A fleet of hydrogen-powered cars wrapped up a 31-city cross-country US tour in Los Angeles this weekend, Reuters reports. The first such trip by zero-emission vehicles aimed to promote the cars, supplied by nine automakers, and the need for more accessible zero-emission fuel. The US has 60 hydrogen stations so...

GM Plans New Chevy Compact
 GM Plans New Chevy Compact 
Aug 21, 2008 4:55 PM CDT

GM Plans New Chevy Compact

(Newser) - General Motors will invest $500 million to build its new compact car in the US, the Detroit News reports. The Chevrolet Cruze, expected to get about 45mpg, will go into production in 2010 in Lordstown, Ohio. The ailing automaker, once heavily reliant on SUVs, continues to alter its production line...

Chrysler Looks to Team With Nissan on Midsized Cars

US automaker plans to expand outsourcing deals as it searches for profitable course

(Newser) - Chrysler is in talks to team up with Nissan to produce midsized cars, the Wall Street Journal reports, following an earlier deal to jointly produce pickup trucks and subcompact cars. The move could represent what the Journal calls a "radical new business model," in which Chrysler becomes a...

Car Sharing Rides $4 Gas to Increased Popularity

Zipcar catches on nationwide

(Newser) - With gas prices hovering around $4 a gallon, car sharing as an alternative to car ownership is finally gaining traction, reports Newsweek. Started 8 years ago, the best-known car-sharing company, Zipcar, rents communal vehicles by the hour or day. Both cost-efficient and eco-friendly, the company charges members about $10 an...

GM Loses $15.5B, Stuns Street
 GM Loses $15.5B, Stuns Street 
Earnings
Aug 1, 2008 8:20 AM CDT

GM Loses $15.5B, Stuns Street

$27.33 per-share loss much worse than analysts predicted

(Newser) - General Motors stunned Wall Street today, reporting a $15.5-billion second-quarter loss—a figure far worse than anything analysts had predicted—as sales collapsed on the company's most profitable products, trucks and SUVs. Prognosticators had estimated the automaker would lose $2.62 per share, excluding items; instead the loss came...

GM, Ford Join Chrysler in Retreat From Leasing

As resale values plummet and credit tightens, automakers leave market

(Newser) - Ford and GM are joining Chrysler in moving away from auto leasing, the Wall Street Journal reports, signalling the end of an era in which leases allowed many Americans to drive more expensive cars than they could afford to buy. The move is prompted by falling prices for used SUVs...

Honda Profits Jump 8% on Fuel-Efficient Lineup
Honda Profits Jump 8%
on Fuel-Efficient Lineup
earnings
Jul 25, 2008 7:33 AM CDT

Honda Profits Jump 8% on Fuel-Efficient Lineup

The gas tank is half empty, as the company cuts global outlook

(Newser) - Honda announced an 8.1% gain in net profit yesterday for the quarter ending June 30, riding demand for its fuel-efficient models and beating analysts’ estimates, the Wall Street Journal reports. Honda has been hurt less by falling demand than rivals Toyota and Nissan because it's the least invested in...

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