The Truth About Cars

• Quote Of The Day: Rogue Or Rouge Edition

  Number of comments: 25
  “The Krom Rogue will look a little more masculine,” [Patrick Steiner, director of sales and marketing for Nissan North America's Specialty Vehicles and Accessories unit] said while standing alongside a prototype black Krom model at Nissan’s North American headquarters here. “We think it will attract a higher percentage of male [...]
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  Posted: November 30, 2009, 5:51pm EST
  by Edward Niedermeyer

• Curbside Classic Clue

  Number of comments: 11
  We tried an interior shot, but did that slow you guys down? Not. The ‘57 Beetle’s radio grille looked familiar to willbodine, on the second guess of the day. Let’s move back outside and see what you make of this. [...]
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  Posted: November 30, 2009, 5:27pm EST
  by Paul Niedermeyer

• Ask The Best And Brightest: What Are The Most Important Car-Related Political Issues?

  Number of comments: 25
  As I noted yesterday, the intersection of automobiles and politics is a difficult area of analysis. In the United States, where motorists don’t face the daily challenges they do in Russia, discussions of politics in an automotive forum too often gets overwhelmed by larger political battles. Before you know it, [...]
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  Posted: November 30, 2009, 5:07pm EST
  by Edward Niedermeyer

• E85 Boondoggle Of The Week: Blend Cap Decision Coming This Week

  Number of comments: 19
  The EPA is set to rule as soon as tomorrow on the so-called “blend cap,” which forbids the sale of gasoline with more than ten percent ethanol. The petition to raise the blend cap came from a relatively new pro-ethanol lobbying group, Growth Energy, which requested the cap be moved [...]
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  Posted: November 30, 2009, 4:30pm EST
  by Edward Niedermeyer

• The UK’s Answer To JDM Tuners Celebrate The Season

  Number of comments: 3
  Are you a lonely American, stuck in Merry Old England for the holidays and looking for a slice of Wal-Mart shopping lot nostalgia amid the plum pudding and “Fathers Christmas”? Look no further than the UK Cruisers’ Charity Christmas Party. Who knew there were enough “owners and admirers of PT [...]
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  Posted: November 30, 2009, 3:08pm EST
  by Edward Niedermeyer

• Zap Pulls The Plug On Xebra EV, But Not On Stock Shenanigans

  Number of comments: 8
  Did you think Zap would issue a press release announcing the death of the Xebra? Those are strictly reserved to keep their perpetual motion machine of stock hyping going. No worries; despite perpetual losses ($132 million to date), their executive self-enrichment machine continues. Sales in the dumps? Still no worry; [...]
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  Posted: November 30, 2009, 3:06pm EST
  by Paul Niedermeyer

• Bailout Watch 574: Legal Bills To Pile Up Through 2010

  Number of comments: 4
  Compared to the tens of billions of dollars in lost taxpayer investments in GM and Chrysler, the lawyer bills for the twin bankruptcies are relatively inexpensive. The Freep reports that legal and consulting fees have already exceeded $120m, with another $3m pending for September and October, and more to come. [...]
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  Posted: November 30, 2009, 2:54pm EST
  by Edward Niedermeyer

• Strong Yen Spells Big Trouble For Toyota

  Number of comments: 25
  Japans currency rose to a 14-year high against the dollar last week, prompting fears that the island nation’s exports could be dramatically affected. And no firm stands to lose as much Toyota, which had been operating under the highest assumed exchange rate of any of Japan’s auto exporters. Reuters reports [...]
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  Posted: November 30, 2009, 1:54pm EST
  by Edward Niedermeyer

• What’s Wrong With This Picture: Protect And Serve Edition

  Number of comments: 11
  The Bologna police department proves the age-old adage that the free cars crash twice as fast [The Guardian via Jalopnik]. [...]
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  Posted: November 30, 2009, 1:15pm EST
  by Edward Niedermeyer

• ACORN Behind Push For Speed Traps

  Number of comments: 25
  The left-wing activist group known as ACORN, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, is behind a nationwide effort to hinder motorists with speed bumps, speed traps and other forms of “traffic calming.” According to a strategy memo obtained by Andrew Breitbart’s BigGovernment.Com, the group took up smaller community [...]
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  Posted: November 30, 2009, 1:07pm EST
  by The Newspaper

• Honda On Direct Injection: Don’t Wait For It; We Have Other Priorities

  Number of comments: 25
  Last week, in our post on Hyundai’s new DI (Direct Injection) Theta II engine, we questioned Honda’s long-standing engine technology leadership. We also assumed (wrongly) that they would be joining the DI club shortly, given the advantages DI technology affords. Turns out we weren’t the only ones wondering, except that [...]
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  Posted: November 30, 2009, 12:48pm EST
  by Paul Niedermeyer

• Piston Slap: Karma, Idiot Lights and the 100k Warranty

  Number of comments: 25
  Anonymous writes: I have a 2008 Kia Sorento with the 3.3L, about 11k miles.  The other day, I took it to my local mechanic for an oil change. Drove it all over town during the course of the following couple days.  Then, last night, as I am about 3/4 mile from [...]
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  Posted: November 30, 2009, 12:36pm EST
  by Sajeev Mehta

• Chrysler To Stay Truck-Heavy In Weak Personal-Use Market

  Number of comments: 9
  We noted earlier that Chrysler’s turnaround is dependent on Ram and other truck-based models to maintain the steady profit increases projected in its five-year plans. CEO Sergio Marchionne confirmed the importance of body-on-frame vehicles to Chrysler’s US lineup in a recent interview with Automotive News [sub]. “I think it will [...]
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  Posted: November 30, 2009, 12:00pm EST
  by Edward Niedermeyer

• Review: Cadillac CTS Sportwagon AWD

  Number of comments: 25
  There was, back in the 70s, a Saturday morning cartoon in which the heroes could push a button on the dashboard of their van and turn it into a fire truck, dune buggy or stretch limo – whatever they needed. They don’t really make this vehicle. I know because I’ve [...]
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  Posted: November 30, 2009, 10:58am EST
  by Michael Martineck

• Canadian GM Dealers Sue GM

  Number of comments: 3
  North of your border (not mine), GM dealers are slightly annoyed. In fact, they’re fuming. Topnews.us reports that Bob Slessor, owner of a dealership for GM has sued the firm after he was informed that his dealership would be closed before the end of 2009. And don’t think he’s the [...]
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  Posted: November 30, 2009, 10:45am EST
  by Cammy Corrigan

• What’s Wrong With This Picture: Not Too Late For A Name Change Edition

  Number of comments: 25
  Just because GM has released photos of the US-spec Cruze ahead of its LA Auto Show debut, doesn’t mean they couldn’t pull an Alfa and change that ridiculous name. After all, Cruze will mark the eightieth name used by GM on a mid-sized or smaller car since 1968, according to [...]
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  Posted: November 30, 2009, 10:25am EST
  by Edward Niedermeyer

• Don’t Call Me Milano

  Number of comments: 6
  Alfa Romeo was founded in Milan some 99 years ago, but as a division of Fiat, it’s pulling up its roots to relocate its remaining 232 Milan-based employees (out of 20,000 employed there twenty years ago) to the mothership’s hometown of Turin. CEO Sergio Marchionne explained that the move is [...]
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  Posted: November 30, 2009, 10:08am EST
  by Edward Niedermeyer

• Warren Buffett: All Cars Will Be Electric. In 20 Years

  Number of comments: 25
  Hidden deep down in a story written by the Houston Chronicle about Rice Business School students visiting Warren Buffett, there is a startling prediction by the Oracle of Omaha. Jan Goetgeluk, president of the business school’s Finance Club, asked what Buffett thought of the peak oil theory. Reports the Houston Chronicle, to [...]
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  Posted: November 30, 2009, 5:26am EST
  by Bertel Schmitt

• BAIC To Saab: Tune In, Or Drop Out?

  Number of comments: 7
  Pundits keep repeating that the biggest obstacle to Chinese companies buying Western brands is the culture gap. Adept at building monstrous bridges, the Chinese are tackling the culture thing. They even switched from Chinglish to Americanisms. Asked by reporters whether BAIC would consider approaching Saab alone, BAIC CEO Wang Dazong [...]
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  Posted: November 30, 2009, 1:43am EST
  by Bertel Schmitt

• Russia And The Politics Of Car

  Number of comments: 12
  When cars and politics collide, the results are rarely pretty. No wonder the political discussions here at TTAC so often rate amongst our most heated and community standards-challenging. Modern cars are machines of great power, facilitating a great deal of freedom but also carrying undeniable consequences, and their position in [...]
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  Posted: November 29, 2009, 7:32pm EST
  by Edward Niedermeyer

• Chrysler Zombie Watch 9: Brand-Aid

  Number of comments: 25
  TTAC did not file a full Chrysler Zombie Watch from the launch of Chrysler’s five year business and product plan, but two major points dominated our coverage. The first was this graph that shows 2009 as a trough year for Chrysler sales, with 2010 heralding a major and sustained turnaround [...]
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  Posted: November 29, 2009, 4:33pm EST
  by Edward Niedermeyer

• Chinese Bears on the Loose in Europe

  Number of comments: 25
  China’s Greatwall is apparently hell-bent on selling their Coolbear MPV in Europe next year. China Car Times reports that Greatwall has received the ECE Whole Vehicle Type Approval (WVTA,) awarded by the UK Vehicle Certification Agency (VCA.) The WVTA testing covers 48 different tests; 13 on active safety, 13 on passive [...]
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  Posted: November 29, 2009, 5:26am EST
  by Bertel Schmitt

• New Nissan Battery Keeps Going, and Going, and Going

  Number of comments: 21
  Lithium is known as a reliable treatment of depression. A double dose of lithium with a touch of cobalt is now prescribed by Nissan to cure range anxiety and other assorted phobias afflicting owners of plugins. The Nikkei [sub] writes that Nissan “has nearly completed development of a lithium ion [...]
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  Posted: November 29, 2009, 4:13am EST
  by Bertel Schmitt

• What’s Wrong With This Picture: Dream Analysis Edition

  Number of comments: 15
  I know Ed isn’t a big fan of goofy pictures like this, but he’s up on Mt. Hood skiing in fresh powder and I’m here feeding the hungry monster. This photo just speaks to me very deeply; directly to my subconscious, actually. So I’ll try to do it justice with [...]
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  Posted: November 28, 2009, 4:30pm EST
  by Paul Niedermeyer

• Curbside Classic Capsule: 1988 Pontiac Safari

  Number of comments: 25
  Curbside Classic keeps generating spin-offs. The Outtakes were intended to be for the cars that didn’t make the cut for a full-on CC. But I (rightly) got grilled when I put the mile stone 1978 Mercury Marquis Brougham (the last of the Ford-Mercury land barges) into a CC Outtake. But [...]
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  Posted: November 28, 2009, 3:27pm EST
  by Paul Niedermeyer

• Porsche Panamera Design Inspiration Discovered

  Number of comments: 25
  Ever since the first Panamera spy shots appeared, I had this nagging feeling that I’d seen this car before. Repeated memory bank searches came up empty, but I knew it was out there somewhere. Last night we went to see the very excellent film “An Education”, and there it was, [...]
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  Posted: November 28, 2009, 1:13pm EST
  by Paul Niedermeyer

• What Car Is Your Wife/GF/BF/SO or EX?

  Number of comments: 25
  Last weekend we got to know what car you are. Not surprisingly, we have quite a range of personalities in the TTAC parking lot: everything from a MB (Grosser) 600 to a Toyota Echo 2 door. Now we get to know about the big love (or ex) in your life. [...]
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  Posted: November 28, 2009, 11:41am EST
  by Paul Niedermeyer

• Beijing Drowns In Cars

  Number of comments: 16
  Before this year ends, Beijing will have 4 million cars on the roads. Not to worry, says a city official, there is room for more. Beijing’s car population reached 3.96 million last week, writes the state news agency Xinhua. The city adds 2100 new cars per day. At that rate, the [...]
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  Posted: November 28, 2009, 7:57am EST
  by Bertel Schmitt

• Hyundai Expands In China, Exits Japan

  Number of comments: 20
  South Korea’s Hyundai will spend some $800m to build a third Chinese plant, says the Nikkei [sub]. The plant will be located in Beijing along with its two existing facilities. It is targeted to come on-stream at the end of 2011, with an annual capacity of 300,000 units. According to the [...]
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  Posted: November 28, 2009, 6:59am EST
  by Bertel Schmitt

• The Best of TTAC: The Phantoms Of Flansberg Road

  Number of comments: 9
  The archives of TTAC contain some real gems. Since probably quite a few of you weren’t here three years ago or more, we’re going to mine them occasionally for our weekend reading pleasure. This piece originally ran on November 19, 2006. Please note that the author is actually Steve Smohlenkamp. [...]
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  Posted: November 28, 2009, 1:34am EST
  by admin

• Curbside Classic Outtake: Calling Sajeev Mehta Edition – Lincoln Mark VIII

  Number of comments: 25
  In my CC hunts, I come across quite a few Lincolns with air suspension issues. Usually, they’re just hunched down on the suspension stops in a Citroen DS or lowrider imitation. But this one has been catching my eye for quite some time, because it gets driven like this. I [...]
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  Posted: November 27, 2009, 2:21pm EST
  by Paul Niedermeyer

• Saab Employees: Save Our Company!

  Number of comments: 25
  Courtesy of saabsunited.com comes this letter from Saab’s Swedish employees to General Motors. [the following section was originally written in English] To our owners, General Motors We at Saab have lived with our brand and our cars for more than 60 years. It is a brand that accommodates great passion. Ever since the [...]
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  Posted: November 27, 2009, 11:37am EST
  by Edward Niedermeyer

• Product Review: Monroe Shock Absorbers (Sensa-Trac and Max-Air)

  Number of comments: 21
  In times like these, folks keep their cars longer (just ask Comrade Fidel’s oppressed masses of loyal subjects). Unfortunately, faster-spinning odometers have the nasty side effect of more quickly chewing up your car’s normal wear items. Some of these components (like brakes) can get downright demanding as they die. Others, [...]
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  Posted: November 27, 2009, 11:31am EST
  by Don Gammill Jr.

• Piston Slap: Paint Your Wagon, Or In Ford We Rust?

  Number of comments: 25
  Ben writes: Hello Sajeev, my father owns a 2005 Ford Focus wagon. The car has 100,000 km’s on it (Canadian) and it has been well maintained. The car has never given him any issues and runs very well but the paint is in horrible condition. He purchased the vehicle after the [...]
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  Posted: November 27, 2009, 10:41am EST
  by Sajeev Mehta

• Strategic Vision’s “Total Value” Turkey List

  Number of comments: 18
  What do you say about a purported “Total Value Index” that includes such notable turkeys as Honda’s Insight, Mercedes’ R-Class, and Chrysler Aspen? No seriously, what do you say? Did nobody at Strategic Vision notice that the Aspen has been discontinued or that the Insight is actually less compelling than [...]
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  Posted: November 27, 2009, 10:35am EST
  by Edward Niedermeyer

• Hammer Time: Bye-Bye Miss Minivan Pie

  Number of comments: 25
  It’s heartbreaking. To see a major company that literally carried a healthy portion of America’s heartland go up in Euro-flames. I remember the beauty of it. The 1990’s minivans that completely obliterated their competition. LH sedans that were state of the art for their time. Cloud cars that had more [...]
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  Posted: November 27, 2009, 9:51am EST
  by Steven Lang

• Geely Steps Up Volvo Talks With Ford

  Number of comments: 2
  After we reported yesterday that the talks between Geely and Ford about Volvo are intensifying, China’s Xinhua news agency runs a terse one-liner today: “China’s Geely Holding Group said Friday it was having a detailed and in-depth discussion with Ford over relevant terms and contracts about acquiring Volvo.” That’s it. [...]
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  Posted: November 27, 2009, 4:35am EST
  by Bertel Schmitt

• Saab Not (Quite) Dead Yet

  Number of comments: 6
  There still is faint interest in Saab after Koenigsegg had pulled out. China’s BAIC, Merbanco Inc. and Renco Group Inc. have made advances to GM about Saab, says Bloomberg, quoting the usual “two people familiar with the situation.” According to the report, no written proposals have been submitted and any new [...]
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  Posted: November 27, 2009, 3:24am EST
  by Bertel Schmitt

• GM’s Axe Antagonizes Germany

  Number of comments: 7
  Roland Koch, the premier of Opel’s home state Hesse is pissed. GM’s plans to cut 2,500 jobs there are “completely unacceptable.” Koch said that Nick Reilly had told him just 24 hours earlier that GM’s restructuring plan would “in principle” orient itself on job cuts agreed with Canada’s Magna. We know [...]
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  Posted: November 27, 2009, 2:42am EST
  by Bertel Schmitt

• Curbside Classic: Five Revolutionary Cars – No. 2 – 1957 Volkswagen 1200

  Number of comments: 25
  Invasive species can impart devastating effects when the indigenous species haven’t evolved the proper defenses. Two Beetles stowed away on a ship bound for the US in 1949. There wasn’t anything remarkable about them that would suggest their future impact on revolutionizing the largest automobile market in the world. But [...]
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  Posted: November 26, 2009, 12:33pm EST
  by Paul Niedermeyer

• Happy Thanksgiving From TTAC

  Number of comments: 8
  Well, it’s that time of year when we call a quick time-out here at TTAC and retreat to our families to celebrate Thanksgiving. Having already celebrated their Thanksgiving, our crack Canadian tech team will be taking advantage of our holiday lull to perform some maintenance behind the scenes. TTAC will [...]
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  Posted: November 26, 2009, 10:31am EST
  by Edward Niedermeyer

• Saab, Unsaved

  Number of comments: 21
  It’s the day after the Saab-bomb exploded in Sweden, and the media are pouring all over it. Of course, all kinds of “car experts” and “auto analysts” are having their say. Saab workers are expectedly sad and disappointed. And everybody’s blaming everybody and anybody. The unions blame the government, the [...]
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  Posted: November 26, 2009, 9:48am EST
  by Thor Johnsen

• Magna Stiffed By VW, Wants Moolah

  Number of comments: 9
  Last year, Porsche gave Magna an eight-year contract to build the Cayman and Boxster models from 2012 on. Magna engineers immediately went to work and toiled with tricky tasks, such as the stiffening of the Boxter’s body. Which they say wasn’t, well, stiff enough. Then Porsche went to Volkswagen. Then [...]
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  Posted: November 26, 2009, 8:10am EST
  by Bertel Schmitt

• So What About Geely And Volvo?

  Number of comments: 5
  While bumbling GM so far hasn’t closed any of their cast-off brands deals, Ford’s  Volvo sale to Geely appears to progress quietly, but steadily. The usually well informed and reliable  China Car Times says that Geely is “feeling secure about the Volvo purchase.” Ford has enlisted JP Morgan and Citigroup to [...]
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  Posted: November 26, 2009, 6:13am EST
  by Bertel Schmitt

• Pontiac Is Still Dead

  Number of comments: 25
  Pontiac was declared “officially almost all the way dead” at about 12:45 p.m. today, when a white, G6 sedan rolled off the assembly line in Orion Township. The Detroit News reports a distinct lack of “cake or commemorative banner or senior GM official on hand.” Media was not invited. The [...]
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  Posted: November 25, 2009, 8:11pm EST
  by Edward Niedermeyer

• Sorry Viper Fans, No Ferrari-Crossbreeding For Thanksgiving

  Number of comments: 14
  [video courtesy: Motor Trend] Thank goodness for Autoweek. Someone has to ask the goofy questions that turn internet forums into raging wildfires of obtuse wishful thinking, and A-Dub is there to lay it all on the line. The latest episode centers around a line from Ralph Gilles’ press release on the [...]
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  Posted: November 25, 2009, 6:56pm EST
  by Edward Niedermeyer

• Curbside Classic Clue

  Number of comments: 15
  The Civic’s messy engine compartment was quite a challenge. But blkstss stepped up and called it out pronto. He must have spent some time staring into that abyss of vacuum hoses before. Somebody in the comments asked for an interior shot, and here it is, along with my best wishes [...]
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  Posted: November 25, 2009, 6:55pm EST
  by Paul Niedermeyer

• Ford Pushes Back $7.2b Of Logo-Backed Debt

  Number of comments: 10
  Managing debt is a most American exercise, and after finishing the third quarter of this year owing $26.9b in debt, Ford is in management mode. According to Reuters, Ford will repay $1.9b of its $10.7b “mother of all subprime mortgages” revolving credit line, part of $23.5b in loans Ford backed [...]
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  Posted: November 25, 2009, 5:30pm EST
  by Edward Niedermeyer

• What’s Wrong With This Picture: Baby Buick Apes Astra Edition

  Number of comments: 25
  No wonder GM decided it couldn’t give up Opel… it would have lost Buick as well! Expect this Buick Excelle (a rebadged Opel Astra in the style of the new Regal) to arrive in the US under a different name (and probably in sedan form only) around the 2012 model [...]
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  Posted: November 25, 2009, 2:44pm EST
  by Edward Niedermeyer

• Quote Of The Day: Never Mess With A French Name Edition

  Number of comments: 22
  Our daughters have a beautiful first name that must not be associated with a car, so let us unite to bring pressure on a multinational which is going to destroy this pretty name for our children. It is a scandal that they are able to use common first names for [...]
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  Posted: November 25, 2009, 2:27pm EST
  by Edward Niedermeyer

• Wunderbar! Porsche Loses Money!

  Number of comments: 6
  When Wendelin Wiedeking fought the battle against Porsche being taken over by Volkswagen and himself sent to Siberia, his last bullet was a threat that the takeover by Volkswagen could cost €3b in additional taxes. BS, we said, “there are ways to circumvent this nasty detail.” The best way to avoid [...]
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  Posted: November 25, 2009, 1:59pm EST
  by Bertel Schmitt

• The Volt’s Blind Taste Test

  Number of comments: 18
  [...]
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  Posted: November 25, 2009, 1:57pm EST
  by Edward Niedermeyer

• Daimler And Renault Get Smart

  Number of comments: 7
  Autocar reports that the next-generation of Smart city car is being co-developed by Daimler and Renault. The rear-engined platform is being described as “modular,” with variable wheelbase and track, and will underpin the next Smart ForTwo and ForFour as well as several Renaults. Initially Mercedes will provide three-pot engines with [...]
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  Posted: November 25, 2009, 1:50pm EST
  by Edward Niedermeyer

• Tiburon, California Is Watching You!

  Number of comments: 16
  There are only two roads going in and out of Tiburon, California, a feature the Tiburon city council wants to exploit to give citizens a sense of total security. Accordingly, they have spent $200,000 on six cameras which will record the license plate numbers of every car driving in and [...]
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  Posted: November 25, 2009, 1:12pm EST
  by Edward Niedermeyer

• What’s Wrong With This Picture: Cold Comfort Comparison Edition

  Number of comments: 17
  GM Canada offers the least sufficient alternative possible for the defunct Pontiac G8 [via Derek Kreindler/CarChat]. Sound familiar? [...]
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  Posted: November 25, 2009, 11:44am EST
  by Edward Niedermeyer

• Review: Lincoln MKT Take Two

  Number of comments: 25
  The Lincoln MKT is a Looney Tunes cartoon: based on previously made creations, packaged into something unique. While the animated series started from the Warner Brother’s impressive music library, the MKT comes from an old Volvo S80 platform, sharing a motor with the Mazda6. So both creations are downright looney. [...]
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  Posted: November 25, 2009, 11:30am EST
  by Sajeev Mehta

• The Truth About Why Chrysler Destroyed The Turbine Cars

  Number of comments: 25
  The video showing the destruction of 46 of the 55 Chrysler Turbine Cars we posted recently generated lots of heated discussion. The key issue is, and has been for years, whether import tariffs played a material role in Chrysler’s decision. There is a wealth of sites and reprinted vintage articles [...]
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  Posted: November 25, 2009, 11:17am EST
  by Paul Niedermeyer

• Piston Slap: Do The Dew?

  Number of comments: 22
  TTAC Commentator Riz writes: I’ve just got my first “commuter” car – 2009 Civic DX-G and I’ve been surprised at the amount of dew on all the windows most mornings and how much ‘crud’ dries on after rain. Compared to any of the cars/minivans we’ve owned or our current family driver [...]
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  Posted: November 25, 2009, 11:10am EST
  by Sajeev Mehta

• Toyota Floormatgate: Autobox Burnouts Banned?

  Number of comments: 25
  Automotive News [sub] is reporting that Toyota will replace or reshape some 3.8m accelerator pedals to reduce the risk of them becoming lodged against floormats. Toyota will also be replacing some floormats as it battles a recent unintended acceleration scare. But far more interesting than the prosaic alterations to pedals [...]
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  Posted: November 25, 2009, 10:44am EST
  by Edward Niedermeyer

• Saab To Die Another Day

  Number of comments: 23
  Of course, that day could come as soon as next week, when GM’s board holds its monthly meeting. And unless a serious bid shows up post-haste, Saab will most likely be euthanized at that point.  In the meantime, GM’s management is happy to keep the Swedish government hanging on. “I [...]
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  Posted: November 25, 2009, 10:25am EST
  by Edward Niedermeyer

• Texas: Accidents Increase at Controversial Red Light Camera Intersection

  Number of comments: 7
  Accidents rose after the installation of a red light camera at one major intersection in Baytown, Texas. The private company American Traffic Solutions began issuing automated tickets at the intersection of Garth and Baker Roads on March 21, 2008. Since then, safety has not improved at the controversial camera location. According [...]
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  Posted: November 25, 2009, 9:44am EST
  by The Newspaper

• BAIC „Cautious“ About Saab

  Number of comments: 2
  China’s BAIC said ”it will cautiously evaluate the situation regarding the sale of General Motors Co.’s Saab Automobile unit after Swedish sportscar maker Koenigsegg Group AB backed out of a deal to buy Saab,” the Wall Street Journal reports. BAIC wanted to take a minority stake in Koenigsegg, to help the [...]
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  Posted: November 25, 2009, 6:48am EST
  by Bertel Schmitt

• U.S. Taxpayer Repays Part of GM’s German Loan

  Number of comments: 5
  As part of its eleventh-hour decision to hold onto its Opel subsidiary, GM has made a 200m euro ($300 million) payment on its German “bridge loan.” GM Europe Chief Financial Officer Enrico Digirolamo announced that the nationalized automaker will repay the remaining 400m euros ($600 million) by the end of [...]
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  Posted: November 13, 2009, 7:10pm EST
  by Robert Farago

• What’s Wrong With This Picture: Onstar Puts Us At Ease Edition

  Number of comments: 1
  OnStar’s Privacy & Compliance Officer Jane Speelman has an “I can’t let you do that Dave” moment in a Fastlane webchat titled “Onstar Debunks Privacy Misconceptions.” Yikes! [...]
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  Posted: November 13, 2009, 5:36pm EST
  by Edward Niedermeyer

• Quote Of The Day: Rattner’s Regret Edition

  Number of comments: 3
  We liked Fritz. We felt that Fritz had more energy and more drive and got the message that things had to change and was being groomed to be CEO and deserved a chance… He’s shown that he can manage. Whether he can fundamentally change the culture of the company is [...]
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  Posted: November 13, 2009, 5:16pm EST
  by Edward Niedermeyer

• Toyota: We’re Actually Number One (Not That We Care)

  Number of comments: 5
  We weren’t the only outlet to note Volkswagen’s apparent 2010 production volume win over Toyota a few days ago. Not so fast, Toyota tells Automotive News [sub]. Volkswagen’s total included production by joint ventures in which it does not hold a majority stake, Toyota’s didn’t. On an apples-to-apples basis (with [...]
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  Posted: November 13, 2009, 4:49pm EST
  by Edward Niedermeyer

• Nissan Brings Leaf EV Production To Tennessee

  Number of comments: 10
  Senator Corker, rest easy: the imports have your back. Tennessee-based Saturn may be shutting down, but Nissan is bringing the manufacture of their electric car, the Leaf, to Smyrna, Tennessee. Nissan made the announcement today as Rutherford County commission member voted to approve the funds required for the project. Under [...]
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  Posted: November 13, 2009, 4:06pm EST
  by Cammy Corrigan

• Ford Announces “All New” Police Interceptor

  Number of comments: 27
  GM surprised more than a few observers when it announced it would build a police-only Caprice model, based on the global RWD Chevy Lumina/ Holden Statesman. “Why build a fleet-only model and miss out on some private volume?” we asked at the time. Well, it looks like Ford’s about to [...]
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  Posted: November 13, 2009, 3:34pm EST
  by Edward Niedermeyer

• Buick Regal To Get Doubly Hybridized

  Crank up production of the big green Hybrid stickers, ’cause the Regal is going to sport some serious hybrid regalia. No less then two of GM’s raft of hybrid systems may find their way into the Opel/Buick. gm-volt.com cites a report in Ward’s Auto [subscription] that GM will start production [...]
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  Posted: November 13, 2009, 2:41pm EST
  by Paul Niedermeyer

• Editorial: Sergio Marchionne: Savior or False Prophet?

  Number of comments: 21
  Not long after Fortune’s long time auto writer Alex Taylor III finished his apology to Ford he went on to write a love letter to Sergio Marchionne. Taylor starts with parallels to Ghosn’s myth making success at Nissan, then ups the ante: “The other day in Auburn Hills, Mich., Fiat [...]
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  Posted: November 13, 2009, 1:27pm EST
  by John Horner

• Is South Korea The New Japan?

  Number of comments: 19
  Reuters reports that Japanese manufacturers are running scared from Hyundai-Kia. A combination of a rising Yen and South Korea sealing more and more free trade agreements with other countries has helped Hyundai-Kia immensely. Of course, copying Toyota’s business model of building reliable cars at affordable prices has helped greatly, too. [...]
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  Posted: November 13, 2009, 1:10pm EST
  by Cammy Corrigan

• Visteon: The Supplier Skeleton In Ford’s Closet

  Number of comments: 4
  There’s no shortage of analysis hailing Ford’s last-man-standing status, but there’s plenty of buried truth that’s not being brought to light. For example, Ford’s version of Delphi, bankrupt spun-off supplier Visteon. The firm’s non-European and Asian operations have been in Chapter 11 bankruptcy since May, and according to Automotive News [...]
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  Posted: November 13, 2009, 12:28pm EST
  by Edward Niedermeyer

• NYT: GM Tries Harder

  Number of comments: 4
  You know how terrorism experts talk about increased “internet chatter” as foretelling some kind of attack? On Monday, GM will release its post-C11 financial results which, thanks to dubious accounting, could very well mean nothing. Even so, I’m getting the feeling that there’s some bad news a brewin’, ’cause the [...]
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  Posted: November 13, 2009, 11:47am EST
  by Robert Farago

• Review: Audi TT-S

  Number of comments: 18
  It is said of Frank Lloyd Wright that he was an unbelievably annoying and offensive man; worse than that, every home he ever built ended up with a leaky roof. More than eight years ago, the first major gathering of North American TT owners took place, not at a racetrack [...]
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  Posted: November 13, 2009, 11:24am EST
  by Jack Baruth

• Mercedes Benz: Smaller, Cheaper, Greener

  Number of comments: 11
  Ever get the feeling that the car game is dealing with some malaise? Dieter Zetsche sure seems to. “The definition of luxury will be somewhat different,” Doctor Z tells the Wall Street Journal. “It will be fewer CO2 emissions and more modesty in appearance.” And this from the company that [...]
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  Posted: November 13, 2009, 10:55am EST
  by Edward Niedermeyer

• Between The Lines: Freep’s Whitacre Whitewash

  Number of comments: 32
  In four day’s time, my byline will appear on this website for the last time. During the previous nine-and-a-half years, I’ve watched the mainstream automotive press slowly evolve from paid cheerleader to . . . nope that’s it. No progress there. Despite having written literally thousands of diatribes against the [...]
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  Posted: November 13, 2009, 10:16am EST
  by Robert Farago

• McLaren MP4-12C Puts Mercedes SLS to Shame

  Number of comments: 5
  [...]
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  Posted: November 13, 2009, 10:08am EST
  by Robert Farago

• 81 Saab Dealers Slashed

  Number of comments: 13
  Automotive News [sub] has more bad news for Saab dealers and customers. Saab’s prospective new owners have put the hit out on 81 of Saab’s current 218 US dealerships. If all goes according to plan, a measly 137 US Saab dealers will remain. Saab’s thin and uneven sales and service network has been an [...]
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  Posted: November 13, 2009, 9:24am EST
  by John Horner

• Pay Czar Removes Salary Cap for GM’s New Hires; Who Is GM’s $500k Man?

  Number of comments: 8
  Automotive News [sub] reports that President Obama’s Pay Czar has done an about face. Kenneth Feinberg pledged to remove the $500,000 salary cap for NEW executives hired for TARP-recipients—if he’s convinced that a rule-busting pay boost would help the bailout queens return U.S. taxpayer’s money. Feinberg’s climb-down comes just two [...]
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  Posted: November 13, 2009, 9:19am EST
  by Robert Farago

• VeeDub Going Retail

  Number of comments: 23
  While other brands are busy closing down dealers, Volkswagen is buying them. They buy the big ones, to be exact. The smaller ones have been eliminated ever since yours truly has been working for VW. In the USA, Volkswagen Group of America signed an agreement to buy the not so swank [...]
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  Posted: November 13, 2009, 6:59am EST
  by Bertel Schmitt

• GM/Opel: German Government Money? Us? What For? On Second Thought …

  Number of comments: 9
  The Opel/GM saga has more twists than New York’s Peppermint Lounge. Yesterday, we reported that GM’s Smith & Reilly went to Berlin to beg money from German Economy Minister Rainer Bruederle. They received the cold shoulder. Like good salesmen, they didn’t take no for an answer. Yesterday, a spokesperson of GM said [...]
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  Posted: November 13, 2009, 4:06am EST
  by Bertel Schmitt

• Korea Accuses China Of Spying, Arrests Koreans

  Number of comments: 2
  A very strange spy scandal is brewing between (South) Korea and China. Acting on a tip of the (South) Korean National Intelligence Service (the Korean equivalent of  the CIA and FBI rolled into one,)  Korean state prosecutors accused China’s SAIC of stealing sensitive state secrets from Korea. Then, they indicted seven [...]
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  Posted: November 13, 2009, 2:56am EST
  by Bertel Schmitt

• Smart Cars Play The Incentive Game

  Number of comments: 24
  US sales of the not very Smart car have fallen off a cliff. The Financial Times reports that “Smart sold only 661 of its fortwo model in the US last month, more than two-thirds below October 2008 and the lowest for any month since the car made its debut in [...]
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  Posted: November 12, 2009, 9:46pm EST
  by John Horner

• Distracted Drivers: Veyron Edition

  Number of comments: 25
  “Just because you have money doesn’t mean you’re smart” has a new poster boy. According to The AP : A man blamed a low-flying pelican and a dropped cell phone for his veering his million-dollar sports car off a road and into a salt marsh near Galveston. The accident happened about [...]
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  Posted: November 12, 2009, 8:19pm EST
  by John Horner

• Wild Ass Rumor Of The Day: Meet the 1 Series-based Roadster

  Number of comments: 16
  Think the new Z4 is a bloated boulevard cruiser unworthy of the roadster-implying Z badge? We’d tend to agree. Which is why we were chuffed to see renderings of a possible BMW 1 Series-based Z2 roadster in the most recent Auto Motor und Sport (print edition). Several Einser engines will [...]
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  Posted: November 12, 2009, 6:20pm EST
  by Edward Niedermeyer

• How To Talk About A Rebadge

  Number of comments: 24
  [...]
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  Posted: November 12, 2009, 5:45pm EST
  by Edward Niedermeyer

• GM’s Monday Earnings Report: Mind The GAAP

  Number of comments: 7
  Were you looking forward to GM’s first post-bankruptcy financial report, set to be released on Monday? We sure were. Right up until we read that the earning statement won’t be compliant with a little something called Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. Automotive News [sub] reports that GM will use so-called “managerial [...]
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  Posted: November 12, 2009, 5:18pm EST
  by Edward Niedermeyer

• Quote Of The Day: California Dreamin’ Edition

  Number of comments: 33
  You need to go to your toughest market. The state of California is the biggest nut to crack for Buick. Californians love their Toyotas, they love their luxury cars, their BMWs and their Priuses, Buick is not even on their radar screen. These people don’t know this Regal. Picking the [...]
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  Posted: November 12, 2009, 3:14pm EST
  by Edward Niedermeyer

• New NY License Plates: Empire Gold For The Empire State

  Number of comments: 13
  Though New York’s new “Empire Gold” license plates aren’t opening the same constitutional can of worms as South Carolina’s recently-rejected “I Believe” plates, they’re still generating some feisty political opposition. By next April, every licensed vehicle in the state will have to switch to the new plates, at $25 a [...]
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  Posted: November 12, 2009, 2:47pm EST
  by Edward Niedermeyer

• BMW Four Cylinder Diesels Coming

  Number of comments: 24
  “You’re going to see it of course in the 3 Series,” BMW’s Tom Baloga tells Inside Line, “and the 5 Series is a good possibility. If the performance [of such an engine] is sufficient in the X3, U.S. customers would likely accept it in the X5 as well.” The “it” [...]
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  Posted: November 12, 2009, 2:08pm EST
  by Edward Niedermeyer

• More Sexist Car-Related Claptrap. Have They No Shame?

  Number of comments: 10
  Sexy+Training-+Auto+Supermarket+Hot+Parts+Video+(E Sex sells. Or does it? I’ve long argued that sex actually gets in the way of selling cars. Who can think about cars when they’re thinking about sex? Sure, the blog posts on The Babes of SEMEN—I mean SEMA get eight billion hits. But so what? Does a pretty face [...]
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  Posted: November 12, 2009, 1:45pm EST
  by Robert Farago

• Ask the Best and Brightest: Are You Having Trouble Getting Warranty Work?

  Number of comments: 25
  Times are tough. Margins are tight. Carmakers are looking for savings anywhere they can. As mechanical work performed by a dealer under a manufacturer’s warranty comes straight off the automaker’s bottom line, it’s not all that surprisingly that we’re getting reports that certain manufacturers (cough Chrysler cough) are dragging their [...]
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  Posted: November 12, 2009, 1:12pm EST
  by Robert Farago

• Curbside Classic: 1989 Nissan Pao

  Number of comments: 27
  Oregonians have long treasured the random little collectable objects that Japan’s artisans inadvertently send our way. Usually that takes the form of beautiful hand-blown glass fishing floats that spend years or decades bobbing in the Pacific before a storm washes them on our shores. But occasionally another form of distinctly [...]
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  Posted: November 12, 2009, 12:31pm EST
  by Paul Niedermeyer

• Forbes Lists “America’s Dirtiest Cars”

  Number of comments: 33
  There’s all kinds of controversy over what makes a car “green” and what doesn’t. Some point to size and efficiency, crucifying Hummers and full-size trucks as criminals against the planet. Others point to lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions, battery-component mining pollution and other less-obvious measures to excoriate hybrids. In any case, [...]
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  Posted: November 12, 2009, 12:25pm EST
  by Cammy Corrigan

• Positive Post Of The Day: Mazda To Add Lightness

  Number of comments: 29
  Brace yourself ladies and gentlemen, because an automaker is taking on one of the American market’s greatest bugbears: size and weight bloat. Mazda’s vehicles have gained 80 pounds on average with each recent redesign, according to Robert Davis, senior vice president of product development and quality for Mazda North American [...]
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  Posted: November 12, 2009, 12:05pm EST
  by Edward Niedermeyer

• India’s Nano Wars

  Number of comments: 4
  With Tata unable to produce enough Nanos to keep up with demand, more automakers are gunning for its entry-level segment. Renault-Nissan is teaming up with its Indian-market partner Bajaj to produce a car that’s even cheaper to produce than the Nano. “I can tell you the cost of this car [...]
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  Posted: November 12, 2009, 11:33am EST
  by Edward Niedermeyer

• What’s Wrong With This Picture: The Standard of the World Edition

  Number of comments: 13
  Celebritycarsblog.com commentator sunbeam shows that the first cut isn’t always the deepest: “Cadillacs are for old people, or in the this case, maybe just people that are old news.” Ouch. [...]
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  Posted: November 12, 2009, 11:03am EST
  by Robert Farago

• Chrysler Dealers Appeal to Marchionne in GMAC Dispute

  Number of comments: 8
  “I don’t see anyone bleeding to death,” Sergio Marchionne told reporters and analysts a week ago, when asked what he thought of Chrysler’s current dealer body. He might be about to change his tune. The US Treasury will stop guaranteeing GMAC’s floorplan loans to Chrysler Group dealers on the 21st [...]
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  Posted: November 12, 2009, 10:22am EST
  by Edward Niedermeyer

• Regal: More Than Just Bred On the Autobahn

  Number of comments: 34
  The single trim level is what tipped us off, and if we’d looked closer at its spec sheet, we’d have seen that its manufacturing location is listed as “Rüsselsheim, Germany.” Automotive News [sub] reports that Regal will be built in Germany for 15 months before production shifts to Oshawa. Which [...]
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  Posted: November 12, 2009, 9:51am EST
  by Edward Niedermeyer

• Chevrolet Cruze’s “Flawless Launch” Delayed by Transmission Problems

  Number of comments: 34
  When GM CEO Fritz Henderson promised Congress he would run the nationalized automaker with complete transparency, we knew he was full of shit. How could anyone expect New GM to do anything but lie, misdirect, prevaricate and obfuscate when the same Bozos that ran it into the ground were still [...]
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  Posted: November 12, 2009, 9:17am EST
  by Robert Farago