AutoMakers

Published: 01/24/11

Opinion: Building Electric Cars Isn't Enough

By not in system - AOL News

The introduction of the Nissan Leaf -- the first all-electric car from a major automaker -- is a big, tangible sign that electric vehicles are no longer just the stuff of environmentalist dreams or science fiction. Electric vehicles are here to stay, and during the next few years most major automakers will roll out an array of new electric-powered cars, and even trucks. But if EVs are to be successful, the auto industry is going to have to do more than just build the cars -- they'll need to find innovative ways to make recharging them easy and convenient. Nissan The Nissan Leaf ...

Published: 06/8/10

GM Recalls 1.5M Vehicles Due to Flammable Wiper Fluid System

By Carl Franzen - Politics Daily

A day after Chrysler announced a far-reaching recall of some 600,000 vehicles due to potentially hazardous mechanical defects -- including fire-prone sliding doors -- another American automaker is recalling a staggering 1.5 million vehicles worldwide. And this recall, too, is due to a part you would not think at risk of spontaneous combustion: in its case, a flammable windshield wiper system. General Motors (GM) today issued a press release informing owners of some 18 different vehicle models from the years 2006-2009 that their "cars, trucks and crossovers" are being recalled "to disable a ...

Published: 04/19/10

Toyota Expected to Pay $16.4 Million Fine

By David Sessions - Politics Daily

Toyota is expected to tell the government Monday it will pay a $16.4 million fine, the most ever by an automaker, for concealing information about a pedal defect in many of its models, The New York Times reports. A senior Transportation Department official said the legal documents were still being drafted over the weekend, but that the department expects Toyota executives to sign them at the start of business Monday. Toyota will not admit any wrongdoing, and payment of the fine does not release the company from pending civil and criminal lawsuits. The $16.4 million fine is the maximum penalty ...

Published: 04/12/10

Toyota Delayed U.S. Recall, Documents Show

By David Sessions - Politics Daily

Toyota deliberately withheld information from the government about potential mechanical defects in its automobiles, according to new documents released last week, the New York Times reports. The documents show that Toyota wrangled with government regulators over how to address the problem of accelerator pedals sticking in floor mats, and ultimately issued a safety warning in the United States instead of a recall. The same day the U.S. warning went out, Toyota told dealers in Europe that it would be changing the way it made cars sold there and outlined ways to repair the defective pedals. From ...

Published: 11/2/09

Ford Reports Unexpected $997 Million Profit in Third Quarter

By David Sessions - Politics Daily

Ford Motor Co. on Monday announced its first profit in North America since 2005, posting a third-quarter net income of nearly $1 billion, the Los Angeles Times reports. The only major U.S. automobile manufacturer that did not file for bankruptcy this year, Ford made a pre-tax profit in North America of $357 million in the period from July to September, a dramatic rebound from its $2.6 billion loss in the same quarter last year. The company attributed its success to $1 billion in cost reductions at its manufacturing operations, as well as a boost from the government's "cash for clunkers" ...

Published: 09/3/09

Chaos Theory - Obama, Where's Our Bailout?

By Robert and Donna Trussell - Politics Daily

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Published: 05/5/09

More Chrysler Investors Describe Obama Hardball Tactics

By Mark Impomeni - Politics Daily

The White House is denying allegations made by Thomas Luria, an attorney who formerly represented Chrysler investors in negotiations with the company and the Obama Administration on the recently announced restructuring of the nation's third largest automaker. Luria said that the Administration threatened to use the White House press corps to ruin his client's reputation publicly if the group did not agree to go along with the Administration's proposed deal.Now, more Chrysler creditors are stepping forward to corroborate Luria's version of events, according to a Business Insider report. ...

Published: 01/26/09

Obama Clears the Way for State Regulation of Car Emissions

By Mark Impomeni - Politics Daily

President Barack Obama announced today that his Administration would reconsider a Bush Administration policy which refused to grant California and several other states the authority to regulate emissions from automobiles and light trucks at standards tougher than those set by the federal Environmental Protection Agency. The decision could potentially mean that the already struggling U.S. auto industry will have to retool factories and revamp their fleets in order to meet a raft of new regulations in different regions of the country.Speaking from the East Room in the White House, President ...

Published: 12/5/08

Barack Obama Fiddling While Detroit Burns

By Mark Impomeni - Politics Daily

As negotiations in Congress over a prospective auto industry bailout drag on, one leading Democrat is criticizing President-elect Barack Obama for being essentially absent from the discussion. Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA), Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, said that Obama has to engage on the issue if there is to be any hope of getting a deal done."[Obama is] going to have to be more assertive than he's been."Frank's comments come as lawmakers and the Bush Administration wrangle over how, and whether, to prop up the struggling auto makers. The White House wants to let the ...