GM and Chrysler have made it clear that they need $21.6 billion in federal loans to stay afloat, in addition to the bailout money they have already received. They have also released detailed plans in which they cut 50,000 jobs, close several plants, and drop some of their weaker brands. Experts say this request for more money is no surprise. continue reading...
Rinspeed will be debuting the company’s all-electric car - the iChange - at the Geneva Auto Show next month. Rinspeed, while known for designing extravagant concept cars, says the iChange is not another of these, but shows the dramatic shift in the auto industry. Read more… continue reading...
Since ‘Back to the Future’ predicted we’d be driving flying cars by 2015, that has been an unofficial goal of the auto-industry. And it looks like that timeframe was not far off. As of late next year, a fully available flying car will be produced, for roughly $260,000. It has fold-out wings, runs on regular gas, and can drive on the highway. Doc Brown would be proud. Read more… continue reading...
GM plans to reduce production by 250,000 vehicles in January by temporarily closing some of its factories. Twenty-one factories across North America will be affected. This comes after US talks of an industry bailout collapsed. Read more… continue reading...
Ford CEO Alan Mulally defends the Big Three in a CNN interview, saying they’re essential to the US economy and that they deserve a bailout:
MARYSVILLE, Ohio, Nov. 1 /PRNewswire/ — The first Japanese auto plant to build a car in America(1) turns 25 today, marking a milestone that brought innovation to the U.S. auto industry and vaulted Honda (www.honda.com) to a leadership position. The 5,300 associates at Honda’s Marysville Auto Plant will not miss a beat as they spend the day building more than 1,800 cars and light trucks. Later this month, they will hit another milestone — production of the plant’s nine-millionth vehicle.
Associates recently launched the eighth-generation Honda Accord at the plant. The Accord was the plant’s first vehicle and it remains the plant’s core product. The U.S. is the most important market for the Accord by far, with sales of more than 300,000 units through September, mostly built in the Marysville Auto Plant. Nearly 80 percent of all Honda and Acura vehicles sold in America are built at one of Honda’s six auto plants in North America. continue reading...
IRVINE, Calif., Sept. 27 /PRNewswire/ — It’s the ultimate assignment: tell Mazda what you think the 2018 MAZDA3 should look like. And better, if your design is chosen, you’ll have the chance to put your talent where your mouth is at the Greater Los Angeles Auto Show, where you’ll work with Mazda designers to bring your creation to life in front of more than a million anxious show-goers.
The “Mazda Design Challenge,” launched today on Facebook.com (http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=7602701619), will enlist help from Facebook members across the United States to compete to design a future MAZDA3, Mazda’s best-selling car globally. For the first time ever in the auto industry, the victor will work with Franz von Holzhausen, director of Mazda Design in North America, and his team, to bring the concept to life, live on stage at the 2007 Los Angeles International Auto Show. continue reading...
