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Ford trucks on a sales lot. (AP)
| Associated Press | Toyota’s pain is its rivals’ gain.
The auto industry reported higher U.S. sales in February and scooped up Toyota Motor Corp. said its U.S. sales fell 9 percent last month, |
See also • GM recalling 1.3M Colbalts for steering |
Associated Press | Ford Motor Co. says its U.S. sales jumped 43 percent in February thanks to strong demand for its cars.
Ford says it grabbed some sales from Toyota, which is struggling with a massive safety recall.
Ford says it saw renewed demand from rental-car companies and other
corporate fleets, which are buying again after weak sales in 2009.
Ford’s fleet sales surged 74 percent over February of last year.
A 2009 Chevrolet Cobalt SS Coupe.
Dow Jones Newswires | General Motors Co. said it is voluntarily
recalling 1.3 million compact cars, including the company’s popular
Chevrolet Cobalt model, because the cars’ power steering could fail.
The recall affects the 2005-2010 Chevrolet Cobalts, 2007-2010 Pontiac
G5s, 2005-2006 Pontiac Pursuits sold in Canada and the 2005-2006
Pontiac G4 sold in Mexico. The auto maker told the National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration about the recall Monday after finishing
an investigation that began last year.
Associated Press | Toyota is repairing more than 1.6 million
vehicles around the world, including the U.S. and Japan, for
potentially leaky oil hoses — the latest in a spate of quality
problems battering the world’s biggest automaker.
The fix affects 1.3 million vehicles in North America, including
repairs that have yet to be officially announced on 100,000 Highlander
crossovers and 215,000 Sienna minivans, Toyota Motor Corp. spokeswoman
Ririko Takeuchi said Tuesday.
Associated Press | Toyota officially said it will extend nationwide some recall-related services that it was offering to customers only in the state of New York.
The added services will be tailored to a customer’s needs and can include quick scheduling of repairs, pick up and return of their vehicle by the dealer, driving a customer to work, or providing alternate transportation such as a loaner or rental car.
Associated Press | GM has announced that Hummer will not be acquired by Chinese buyer Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machines Co. “We are disappointed that the deal with Tengzhong could not be completed,” said John Smith, GM’s vice president of corporate planning and alliances. “GM will now work closely with Hummer employees, dealers and suppliers to wind down the business in an orderly and responsible manner.”
Toyota President and CEO Akio Toyoda arrives on Capitol Hill. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
| Associated Press | Toyota chief executive Akio Toyoda raised his hand and took an oath to tell the truth, then speaking in English apologized to Congress–and millions of American Toyota owners–for safety lapses that led to deaths and widespread recalls for accelerator and braking failures. “I’m deeply sorry for any accident that Toyota drivers have |
See also • Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda’s speech to a House committee |
| Associated Press | Toyota’s top U.S. official says the company’s massive recalls may “not totally” solve the company’s problems with unintended acceleration of some of its most popular cars and trucks.
Testifying before a House committee, Jim Lentz says the company is still investigating the issue, including whether electronics of the gas pedal system may be at fault. Toyota has not found any evidence of that yet, he says. |
See also • Testimony from Toyota USA President Jim Lentz |
By Becky Yerak | Northbrook-based Allstate Corp. is pulling its account from Insurance Auto Auctions Inc.of Westchester.
Last week, rival Copart Inc., a publicly traded online vehicle auction
business based in Fairfield, Calif., announced that it has been named
Allstate’s exclusive national provider of vehicle sales and auction
services.
Associated Press | Dutch company Spyker Cars NV said Tuesday
that it has completed its $74 million purchase of loss-making Swedish
carmaker Saab Automobile AB from General Motors Inc.
Spyker company says the deal announced last month is final and ownership of Saab has been transferred.
Toyota President Akio Toyoda during a press conference in Tokyo on Feb. 17, 2010 (Junko Kimura/Getty Images)
Associated Press | Facing tough questions in Congress, Toyota Motor Corp. said Monday that federal prosecutors have launched a criminal investigation into the company’s safety problems and the Securities and Exchange Commission was probing what the automaker told investors.
Lawmakers pledged to ask executives about internal documents showing that Toyota visited with regulators who “laughed and rolled their eyes in disbelief” over safety claims.
The 2010 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 Coupe at the 2009 Chicago auto show. (Michael Tercha/Chicago Tribune)
Tribune staff report | Consumer voters proclaimed their favorites in five categories in the Chicago Auto Show’s fifth annual “Best of Show” balloting.
In voting conducted over the 10-day public run of the nation’s biggest auto show, winners in the contest’s five categories were:
Tribune staff report | The average price of regular gasoline in the United States is down 3.29 cents over a two-week period to $2.63, according to the national Lundberg Survey of fuel prices released Sunday.
In the metro Chicago area, gas prices rose 3.9 percent in the last week to an average of $2.822 a gallon, according to the AAA Chicago Fuel Gauge. The AAA report said gas prices in the Chicago area have dropped 1.9 percent from the $2.722 a month ago.
Toyota President Akio Toyoda answers questions to reporters at the company’s Nagoya, Japan office. (JiJi Press/Getty)
| Associated Press | Toyota President Akio Toyoda said Thursday he will testify at a U.S. congressional hearing next week about the automaker’s massive recalls in the United States.
He will be meeting face-to-face with U.S. lawmakers after enduring criticism that he had responded too slowly to the company’s safety crisis. |
See also • Greg Burns: Toyota TV commercial to talk about lessons learned |
Tribune staff report | Sears Holdings Corp.announced it will franchise its Sears Auto Centers to automobile dealers.
The new Sears Auto Center franchise locations will provide the same
products and services for automobiles, light trucks and motorcycles
that are currently available at the nearly 850 company-owned Sears Auto
Centers.
