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General Motors Co. plans to file its registration for an initial public offering during the week of Aug. 16, just after the expected date for its second quarter results, according to two people with direct knowledge of the preparations.
A GM filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission would be the first step toward an IPO to reduce the U.S. government’s ownership in the automaker after a $50 billion bailout in 2009. Get the full story »
General Motors is paying $3.5 billion in cash to buy subprime auto lender AmeriCredit, a move that will once again give the automaker its own finance arm. General Motors will pay $24.50 a share for AmeriCredit, which represents a 24 percent premium over Wednesday’s closing price. Get the full story »
General Motors will distribute OnStar smartphone applications later this year that will allow Chevrolet, GMC, Buick and Cadillac owners to do things like lock their car doors or start the engine from miles away. Get the full story »
On Aug. 4, car shoppers will be able to get a new car paid, financed and insured using only an iPhone. Already, members of USAA — the insurance company for military servicepeople, veterans or their family — can research new cars and get price quotes from up to three area car dealers, using either the website or iPhone application. Now, just about everything but driving the car off the lot can be taken care of without ever walking into the dealership. Get the full story »
Toyota Motor Corp. has been subpoenaed by a U.S. federal grand jury for documents related to steering problems in its vehicles, the automaker said Tuesday. Toyota and its subsidiaries plan to cooperate with the investigation and are preparing a response, company spokesman Etienne Plas said Tuesday in an e-mailed statement. Get the full story »
Honda Motor Co plans to launch a plug-in hybrid and battery electric model in 2012 as part of its strategy to push to the front of a race by global automakers to develop more fuel-efficient cars. Japan’s No.2 automaker was one of the world’s only car makers to offer gasoline-electric cars during the past decade but has begun looking like a laggard without a “strong” hybrid or concrete plans to mass-produce pure electric cars. Get the full story »
Tesla Motors Inc. and Toyota Motor Corp. plan to develop an electric version of the RAV4 SUV that would go on sale in the U.S. two years from now.
The venture is the first project announced by the companies since Toyota purchased about 3% of Tesla for $50 million earlier this year.
From Bloomberg News | Toyota has come up with the repair for some 600,000 Sienna minivans recalled three months ago because the spare tire cable could corrode.
Models from 1998-2010 are included.
Domestic auto brands followed their coup in reliability rankings by topping imports in basic looks and appeal, according to the latest J.D. Power and Associates study.
The government said Wednesday it had not reached any conclusions about whether Toyota drivers may be to blame for their vehicles suddenly accelerating, a problem that has led to millions of recalled cars and trucks since last year.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said in a statement that its engineers were continuing to investigate the possible causes of sudden acceleration in Toyotas along with scientists and researchers with the National Academy of Scientists and NASA. Get the full story »
The 2011 Ford Edge shown at the Chicago Auto Show. (Tribune)
Ford Motor Co. said Wednesday that the 2011 Ford Edge Sport — the high-performance version of the Edge, which is one of the country’s top-selling mid-size crossovers — will have the same engine as the Mustang sports car — a 305-horsepower V-6.
Ford stressed that the 2011 Edge Sport will have the same fuel economy as the current version, which gets 20 miles per gallon on the front-wheel-drive version. That’s because the engine is more efficient and Ford has made other fuel-saving changes, including improving the vehicle’s aerodynamics and lowering the idle speed.
The Department of Transportation has analyzed dozens of black boxes in Toyota vehicles involved in accidents blamed on unintended acceleration, finding the throttles were open and the brakes were not engaged, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.
That suggests that drivers of the speeding cars were stepping on the accelerator rather than the brakes. The vehicles investigated came from a sample in which the drivers said they were braking but failed to stop the car before crashing, the newspaper said, citing unnamed sources familiar with the findings. Get the full story »
From Automotive News | Damage from Hurricane Alex is delaying delivery of the much-anticipated Ford Fiesta to U.S. dealerships by up to two weeks. Ford doesn’t expect much fallout, however, because of heavy orders for the subcompact.
Nissan Motor Co. said Tuesday that a delay in the supply of electronic control units from Hitachi Ltd. that is disrupting production in Japan could also affect its U.S. and Mexico factories.
Japan’s No.3 automaker said Monday it would halt part of its domestic production for three days starting Wednesday after Hitachi said delivery of engine control units was running behind schedule. Production would return to normal next week, it said. Get the full story »
Corvette owners could soon be revving up an engine they built with their own hands.
General Motors Co. said Monday that buyers who order a 2011 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 or ZR1 can help assemble their cars’ high-performance LS7 and LS9 engines. The automaker believes the program is the first of its kind in the industry. Get the full story »
