March 30, 2010 at 1:20 p.m.
Filed under:
Autos,
Green
Nissan Motor Co. Chief Operating Officer Toshiyuki Shiga poses for photographers with the automaker’s “Leaf” zero-emission electric vehicle and its recharging cable in Yokohama, Japan. (AP Photo/Shizuo Kambayashi)
Associated Press | Nissan Motor Co. said Tuesday its new electric car will cost just over
$25,000 in the U.S., a move that could force rivals to lower prices on
similar vehicles.
The Leaf, a four-door hatchback due in showrooms late this year, will
have a base price of $32,780, but buyers can get a $7,500 electric
vehicle tax credit, Nissan said.
The price tag puts the Leaf, which can go up to 100 miles (160
kilometers) on a single charge from a home outlet, within reach of
mainstream car buyers, and it also will force competitors to respond
when they introduce their cars.
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March 29, 2010 at 10:44 a.m.
Filed under:
Autos,
Health care,
Retirement,
Unions
Associated Press | The United Auto Workers union is hoping to raise at least $1.3 billion for its retiree health care trust fund by selling all of its 362 million warrants for Ford Motor Co. stock.
The trust will auction the warrants, which were issued in December 2009 as part of contract talks with the union, starting at 8 a.m. Tuesday, Ford said Monday in a statement. The automaker and union agreed to set up the trust to help Ford remove retiree health care costs from its books while it was in financial trouble in 2007.
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March 29, 2010 at 10:06 a.m.
Filed under:
Autos,
Energy,
Green,
Technology,
Transportation
Tribune staff report | FedEx unveiled the first all-electric, full-size delivery vehicle in the U.S. Monday. The delivery truck was rolled out this morning at Soldier Field, before beginning a two-week road trip on Route 66. The zero-emission truck, built by Navistar, is designed to offer a full eight-hour shift of power before needing a recharge.
March 28, 2010 at 6:56 p.m.
Filed under:
Autos,
International,
M&A
Associated Press | Zhejiang Geely Holding Group has signed a
binding deal to buy Ford Motor Co.’s Volvo Cars unit for $1.8 billion,
representing a coup for the independent Chinese automaker which is
aiming to expand in Europe.
The purchase gives Geely a European luxury car brand with a reputation
for safety and quality at a time when China, which last year surpassed
the U.S. as the world’s largest car market, is eager to improve its
competitiveness by acquiring foreign automotive brands that might help
it improve its technology and expand into overseas markets.
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March 25, 2010 at 2:45 p.m.
Filed under:
Autos,
Franchises,
Retail
McClatchy/Tribune News | Chrysler is offering to reinstate some
of its 789 terminated dealers, reversing its hard-line policy in the
face of a slow and costly arbitration process that could distracted the
company from its turnaround plan.
One source familiar with the lobbying efforts of the rejected dealers
said he had heard that 86 to 96 could be reinstated.
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March 25, 2010 at 10:06 a.m.
Filed under:
Autos,
Consumer news
The 2010 Accord Crosstour, its newer Accord wagon. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio, file)
Associated Press | Honda is enticing customers with some of its
most aggressive leases ever after rival Toyota launched its own big
leasing program. Honda spokesman Chris Naughton says the automaker is offering leases
with no down payment, no payments for the first month and no security
deposit for almost its entire lineup through May 3.
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March 23, 2010 at 1:41 p.m.
Filed under:
Autos,
Government,
Recalls
Associated Press | Toyota has told dealers it will provide
replacement accelerator pedals to owners unsatisfied with their repairs
under the massive recall following dozens of complaints about the fix.
The Japanese automaker said in a memo obtained Tuesday by The Associated
Press that if a customer is unhappy with the feel of the accelerator
after the car is repaired, dealers can provide a replacement pedal free.
Dealers have been inserting a piece of metal into the gas pedal
mechanism to eliminate friction that was causing the pedal problem on
more than 4 million vehicles involved in a January recall.
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March 22, 2010 at 12:16 p.m.
Filed under:
Autos,
Green,
Transportation
Chrysler will be selling an electric Fiat 500, its first electric, in two years (AP)
Associated Press | Chrysler’s Italian management is
revising the company’s electric vehicle strategy, announcing Monday that
it will build a fully electric Fiat 500 minicar to sell in the U.S. in
2012.
But they’ll be a minimum of two years behind other major automakers
including Nissan Motor Co., General Motors Co. and Ford Motor Co., all
of which plan to have rechargeable electric vehicles on sale this year.
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March 22, 2010 at 6:09 a.m.
Filed under:
Autos,
Jobs/employment
From the Louisville Courier-Journal | More the 150 furloughed workers from Ford’s Louisville plant are expected to come to Chicago as the South Side plant adds a second shift to produce the Ford Taurus and Lincoln MKS. It may add a third when it begins producing the redesigned Ford Explorer at the end of 2010. The Louisville Assembly Plant is expected to close for nearly a year for a renovation.
Get the full story: courier-journal.com
March 18, 2010 at 7:38 a.m.
Filed under:
Autos
Medallians waiting to be affixed to cars at a Porsche factory. (AP, File)
Associated Press | Porsche shot to the top of a closely watched
study of long-term vehicle dependability, overtaking U.S. and Japanese
rivals, J.D. Power and Associates said Thursday.
The German sports car brand took the No. 1 spot in the annual study,
which gave it ninth place last year. Lincoln came in second, while
Buick and Lexus tied for third. Mercury and Toyota rounded out the top
five.
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March 17, 2010 at 1:26 p.m.
Filed under:
Autos,
Stock activity
Dow Jones Newswire | Fitch Ratings lifted its outlook on Navistar
International Corp. and its financing arm to positive from negative. Shares were recently up 2.1 percent to $41.52.
Fitch cited in its outlook change a partnership with the financing unit
of General Electric Co., which is expected to improve the truck maker’s
ability to provide large loans for its customers’ purchases.
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March 17, 2010 at 12:22 p.m.
Filed under:
Autos
From Motor Trend | Executives confirmed that BMW — a brand that has clung exclusively to rear-wheel drive — is working on a a small front-wheel-drive BMW built upon the
next-gen Mini platform.
March 17, 2010 at 6:13 a.m.
Filed under:
Autos
Tribune staff report | Underwriters Laboratories Inc. said it will partner
with Taiwan’s Industrial Technology Research Institute to develop safety testing methodologies and requirements for power systems in
electric vehicles.
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March 16, 2010 at 7:18 p.m.
Filed under:
Autos,
Recalls
Associated Press | Honda Motor Co. will recall more than 410,000
Odyssey minivans and Element small trucks because of braking system
problems that could make it tougher to stop the vehicle if not repaired.
The recall includes 344,000 Odysseys and 68,000 Elements from the 2007
and 2008 model years.
Honda said in a statement that over time, brake pedals can feel “soft”
and must be pressed closer to the floor to stop the vehicles. Left
unrepaired, the problem could cause loss of braking power and possibly a
crash, Honda spokesman Chris Martin said.
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March 16, 2010 at 4:05 p.m.
Filed under:
Autos,
Manufacturing
(Greg Wood/AFP/Getty Images)
By Ameet Sachdev |
Harley-Davidson Inc.’s stock rose nearly 7 percent Tuesday amid
speculation that the company could be the target of a leveraged buyout.
Harley closed at $28.35 on the New York Stock Exchange, up $1.85. More
than 18 million shares changed hands, more than six times normal. But
with a $6.6 billion market capitalization and coming off its first
quarterly loss in 16 years, Harley seems an unlikely takeover mark,
observers say.
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