Industry News

OOOPS....that would be the Oldsmobile Alero concept. Striking car the Model 3 is...reminds me a lot of that Alero concept. Good luck Tesla!

GM prepping Saab to stand alone It seems that GM's plan to rid itself of Saab is being put into motion. GM plans to grant Saab control over its finances and decisions. The idea is to make it looks more appealing to potential buyers, and more than just a bunch of Opels in Swedish attire. Follow the jump to learn more about this development. http://www.cheersandgears.com/index.php?sh...c=27803&hl=

The nearly $5 billion dollar NEVI program is to help states create a network of EV charging stations along the Interstate Highway System. The total amount available under Fiscal Year 2022 is $615 million and states must submit an EV Infrastructure Deployment Plan before access is given to the funds. A second, competitive grant program will be announced later this year with the details on how additional funding can be accessed with a focus on increasing EV charging access throughout the country that is focused on rural and underserved communities. This will help drive charging numbers across the country. Quote the press relea…

January 26th, 2022 Mercedes-Benz signed a partnership with ProLogium in developing next-generation batteries for electric vehicles. Mercedes has committed to a complete all electric auto portfolio starting in 2030. As such, having easily accessible supplies of battery packs would be needed on top of planning for next generation battery cells known at solid-state. Mercedes with a heavy financial commitment to R&D under ProLogium and a seat on ProLogium's board is looking for ways to increase energy density and reduce costs as they change into EVs globally with a 2030 commitment to no longer producing ICE auto's. Through the 2022 calendar year, ProLogium…

by Dr. Bud E. Bryan Road Kill is one man's musings about life, love and automobiles, not necessarily in that order. Dr. Bryan is a bit of a loose cannon (and that would be different than how?-ed.), so his stories will be sporadic, sometimes chaotic, but hopefully, always entertaining. He has racing experience, life experience and other experiences we don't really care to know about, actually. We don't know what he is a Dr. of exactly, either (he gets kind of "excitable" when pressed), so we don't go there. At any rate, here goes... The Car Thing. Austin, Texas. The last few years around this time, I've talked about our favorite cars…

With Ford changing over to the next-generation F-150, General Motors and Chrysler see a rare opportunity to grab a bigger slice of the truck marketplace. "Without question you'll see GM and Ram will continue to play the incentive game to continue to bite into Ford's share," said Bill Rinna, LMC Automotive senior manager of North American forecasts to The Detroit News. Ford has idled its Dearborn Truck plant for several weeks to to retool for the 2015 F-150, a new model that will utilize aluminum in its construction. That leaves the Kansas City plant to keep producing the current F-150, till it undergoes a retooling early next year. With Ford unable to produce as many F-…

Hmmmm. http://jalopnik.com/2017-fiat-124-spider-this-is-it-1733363750

Korea's Institute for Basic Science or IBS has announced that they believe quantum charging of EV batteries will cut home charging from 10 hours to 3 minutes and public fast charging from 30 minutes to 9 seconds. As society moves to renewable energy or green energy due to humanity outstripping the ability for finite nature fossil fuels to support, one must also consider on how that energy gets to the end user. R&D around the world into renewable sources has accompanied the gradual societal changes of the world adopting new products and devices running on new storage supported by the option to choose your power supply and in this case renewable or green energy…

AEHRA is an Italian EV startup that believes they can deliver a vision with a mission to the world. This company was assembled with an introduction of their leadership team in June 2022. AEHRA Vision Synthesize the elegance of Italian design global engineering, and American customer service with the future of EV monobodied manufacturing. AEHRA is intensely-focused on creating a driving experience that is always extraordinary. For business or pleasure, AEHRA is a valued necessity to everyday life that is as beautiful as it is functional. AEHRA Mission The mission of AEHRA is to provide customers with an unparalleled driving experience that is beautiful,…

Budget Rent-A-Car Tries Ad-Covered Rental Cars With Big Discounts William Maley - Editor/Reporter - CheersandGears.com August 3, 2011 A car rental place in Atlanta is asking the question; would you drive a rental car covered in ads to save some dough? Budget Rent A Car of Atlanta has teamed up with Wrap Media Group to wrap a group rental vehicles with big, bright advertising on the sides. Why? To provide another form of advertising for companies and give consumers a lower rate on a rental. So how low of a rate are we talking about? According to USA Today, one customer secured a weekly rental that regularly costs $400 for only $88. "Our mission is to alw…

Cargirl: Safety Systems Of the Future The nuns are still after me. by Kate McLeod | (2007-06-10) Link to Original Article @ TCC Active safety systems are kind of know-it-all passengers that carpool with you every time you turn the key . . . (Oops, I'm sorry I mean push the starter button. Keys are so 2005. Starter buttons--they're the new black. You put the key fob in the cupholder where you will forget it, leaving the car open with the keys in it.) A couple of weeks ago I drove an Infiniti M45, equipped with, among other active safety systems, a lane departure warning system, which uses a camera situated behind the rear view mirror to spy on you. These systems, now…

http://editorial.aut...icid=autos_2964 Very Cool Auto and worth watching. [media=] [/media]Enjoy the SuperBus

By William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com May 2, 2013 Coda Automotive is the latest casualty in the electric car industry. Yesterday, the company sent out a press release announcing they would be filling for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy in the District of Delaware. "After concluding a comprehensive review of our strategic options, the Board of Directors, management team and senior lending group have concluded that focusing on the Company’s energy storage business presents the best opportunity moving forward,” said Phil Murtaugh, CEO of CODA Holdings, Inc. “We believe the restructuring process that we have entered into today will enable the Company to complete a sal…

Car Sales Fall 4.3%; GM Alone Posts Rise By JOSÉE VALCOURT and MIKE SPECTOR February 2, 2008; Page A2 DETROIT -- U.S. auto sales fell 4.3% in January and slumped to their slowest level in years, adding to fears the economy is slipping into a recession. Two of the Big Three Detroit auto makers, Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC, saw declines, as did their Japanese competitors Toyota Motor Corp., Honda Motor Co., and Nissan Motor Co. General Motors Corp.'s sales were up 2.6% over a weak January a year earlier, but its figure was still poor by historical standards. CAR COMPARE • Powerful Hot Wheels: Corvette ZR1, and other new sporty cars unveiled at the Detro…

Forbes List of 15 Auto's to Avoid Forbes have published their 2017 auto list to avoid. This is based on their reviews of Consumer reports rating and JD Powers ranking. Interesting you can click the link above to read all the details of what they state for each auto but the list shakes down as follows: BMW 7 Series Cadillac XTS Dodge Journey Fiat 500L Jeep Compass Jeep Patriot Jeep Wrangler Lincoln MKS Lincoln MKT Mitsubishi iMiEV Mitsubishi Mirage Nissan Armada Nissan Titan Scian iQ Smart ForTwo

Factorial loves to quote Thomas Edison who in 1883 said the following: "The storage battery is, in my opinion, a catchpenny, a sensation, a mechanism for swindling the public by stock companies." Factorial states that this sentiment is true and has been held over the last 138 years till now. Investing in solid-state battery R&D over the last 6 years has allowed Factorial to create their proprietary FEST (Factorial Electrolyte System Technology). Factorial held their grand opening ceremony at their state-of-the-art solid-state battery production facility in Methuen, Mass. Siyu Huang, CEO of Factorial stated the following: “We are thr…

. GM Reports 151,427 Total Sales in November Retail Sales for Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet and GMC Up 10 Percent November Sales Figures General Motors Company - 151,427 Toyota Motor Sales - 133,700 Ford Motor Company - 118,536 American Honda - 74,003 Chrysler Group LLC - 63,560 Nissan North America - 56,288 Hyundai Motor America - 28,045 Kia Motors America - 17,955 Daimler AG - 17,446 Subaru of America - 16,988 Blue - Monthly year to year sales increase. Red - Monthly year to year sales decrease.

. Saab board reportedly votes to liquidate company, but GM still weighing bids Moves by GM and SAAB board do not necessarily mean a sale is still not possible. Saab board reportedly votes to liquidate company, but GM still weighing bids

Editors' Most Wanted Vehicles for 2006 Most Significant Vehicle of the Year Most Significant Vehicle of the Year: Pontiac Solstice GTO. Firebird. Fiero. The history of Pontiac is peppered with nameplates that helped establish the brand as a legitimate performance division within GM. Whether they were ramming air, making a chicken scream, or putting the engine behind the driver, the folks at Pontiac always had something interesting to draw enthusiasts into the showroom. That all ended in 2002 when the Firebird flamed out. Not only was the division's pony car dead, but there wasn't a rear-wheel-drive model to be found in the entire lineup. So much for "build…

Bush orders cuts in oil use, greenhouse emissions! Harry Stoffer | Automotive News May 14, 2007 - 2:09 pm UPDATED: 5/14/07 4:27 P.M. WASHINGTON -- President Bush today issued an executive order for administration departments to prepare regulations by the end of 2008 that would cut petroleum use and greenhouse gas emissions. In an announcement from the White House Rose Garden, he alluded to the U.S. Supreme Court decision last month that said the EPA has authority under the Clean Air Act to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles. In a subsequent telephone conference with reporters, agency heads made clear the executive order is meant to be the administrat…

"Engineers at GM are on the verge of putting a couple parts for the Cadillac CT6 sedan into production that are notable because they require welding steel to aluminum. GM is only months away from assembling seat backs and hood reinforcements using spot welding to join the two metals. "It is potentially a game-changer for an industry seeking the fastest and cheapest way to make lighter, more fuel-efficient vehicles. Others have expressed interest in GM’s technology. Ford’s strategy, so far, is not being emulated by others." Read more on GM's future approach to car making at the link: http://www.motortrend.com/news/war-ideas-gms-mixed-material-strategy-vs-fords-bet-alumi…

Chinese automakers see the U.S. as a land opportunity and have been making promises to start selling vehicles in the near future. None so far have made it. Now one Chinese brand is reconsidering their plans. SAIC Motor Corp., China's largest automaker and partner with GM, has put their U.S. ambitions on hold. Michael Yang, executive director of SAIC Motor’s international department said at a briefing that they have uncertainties about the trade policy between China and the U.S. due to the election of Donald Trump. Yang went on to say that the company would implement their U.S. strategy once it has gotten clarity. For the time being, SAIC has moved up plans to start s…

http://usa.polk.com/News/LatestNews/2009_0...termination.htm

Highly charged motoring Electric cars, though a welcome development, are neither as useful nor as green as their proponents claim The Economist DESIGNED especially for city and suburban motoring, this handsome automobile is smooth, quiet and easy to drive, and being powered by electricity it can be charged up at home. Tempting? The sales pitch is not for one of the new electric cars from General Motors, Nissan or Renault, but for a 1905 Victoria Phaeton from Studebaker of South Bend, Indiana. Electric cars have come and gone over the years. Usually an oil crisis has given them a boost; this time it is a combination of oil prices, fears about energy security and clima…

There are more expenses to owning a new car aside from making a monthly payment. You have gas, maintenance, repairs, and depreciation to worry about. The total cost according to a new study from AAA will depend on the type of vehicle you're driving. AAA's Your Driving Costs study reports that average cost to own and operate a new vehicle in 2017 is $8,469 per year - $706 per month. The study looked at 45 new vehicles from the 2017 model year and evaluated the various costs such as gas and maintenance, but not insurance and monthly payment. When broken down into individual segments, small sedans are the cheapest ($6,354 annually) and trucks are the most expensive ($10,…

According to the latest poll from Yale University, George Mason University and Climate Nexus commissioned by the nonprofit Coltura, finds that 55% to 35% margin in requiring all new autos sold in their state to be electric starting in 2030. As per multiple scientific and university groups, carbon pollution biggest source is gasoline powered cars and world leaders coming off the heels of the COP26 climate gathering are trying to address this mounting climate crisis. Yes, not everyone will agree with these polls or the science behind climate change and as a multi-cultural society, we must work to at times agree to disagree and still find a way to move forward. Humanity…

Tuesday, September 26, 2006 World War II created health insurance perk Ron French / The Detroit News The fact that GM pays anything for health care is an accident of history. By the 1940s, health care costs in most industrialized nations were paid by the government. That might have happened in the United States, too, if not for World War II. To halt inflation during the war, the government put a cap on wage raises. To compensate workers, companies began offering health insurance. By the time the cap on raises was lifted, health insurance had become a common perk to attract and retain workers. In 1950, GM President Charles Wilson offered to pay 50 percent o…

Flat Tire: Goodyear Workers Go on Strike Some 15,000 members of the United Steelworkers went on strike at 16 Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. plants in the United States and Canada Thursday after the union rejected the company's latest contract proposal. The union terminated its contract at 1 p.m. ET Thursday, saying that it could not allow additional plant closures after it helped keep the company afloat through cost-saving measures three years ago. "The company left us with no option," Steelworkers union executive vice president Ron Hoover said in a prepared statement. "We cannot allow additional plant closures after the sacrifices we made three years ago to help th…

Do Five-Star Ratings Really Mean a Safer Ride? Part of shopping for a car is, or should be, checking out the crash-test scores for the vehicle you have in mind. But do those government "star" ratings or the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's "poor" to "good" rankings indicate anything meaningful about how you'll fare in a real-world collision? A new study suggests the answer is yes, but only for cars, not sport-utility vehicles and pickup trucks. David Harless and George Hoffer, economics professors at the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Business, took a look at the relationship between the crash-test scores of various vehicles going back more than 20 y…

Toyota surpassed GM in sales, but what if? Edward Lapham | Automotive News / May 1, 2007 - 11:51 am / It's been a week since we learned that Toyota nudged past General Motors to become the world's No. 1 automaker in the first quarter. Since then, not much has changed. The sun still rises in the east and sets in the west. I know, I've checked. In autodom, factories are still building cars and trucks, and dealers are still selling them, although not as many as they might like. I know, I've checked. The price of gasoline has continued to climb and is now more than $3 a gallon in most U.S. markets. I know, I've paid it. There has been the predictable patter in…

We Have Z28! GM confirms the Chevrolet Camaro Z28 for 2011 Thanks to PCS for the update on this great looking car! Check out all the details here

_ Ford Unveils 2011 Explorer After months of teasing Ford has finally pulled the wraps off the striking new Explorer. It features a sleek, yet bold new body and a vastly improved high tech interior. Hit the jump for more details and photos.

<snip!> Read more Here

William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com September 3, 2013 In not surprising news, California is the place where most electric vehicles are being sold. New data from Polk says that more than more than 35 percent of electric vehicles registrations come from two California cities: San Francisco and Los Angeles. The California New Car Dealers Association says in the first half of this year, 9,700 electric vehicles were registered and represented 1.1 percent of the state’s auto sales. “A lot of the manufacturers have targeted California for the launch of their electric vehicle product. Our consumers are cutting-edge and early adopters in this area,” said Brian Maa…

Article CEO of strikebound car hauler: Company to close Friday June 13, 10:30 pm ET CEO of strikebound car hauler says company will close; union leaders had 'different agenda' DETROIT (AP) -- Performance Transportation Services Inc.'s president said Friday that the car hauler and its related companies were ceasing operations, five days after 1,250 Teamster-member employees went on strike. Allen Park-based PTS is North America's second-largest hauler of new vehicles and was operating under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. In a letter to PTS employees, company president and CEO Jeff Cornish said the bankruptcy court on June 4 authorized a 15 percent wage cut fo…

Founder, Chairman and CEO of NIO, William Li announced with Executive VP István Kapitány of Shell Mobility have signed a strategic cooperation agreement to collaborate on electric vehicle charging and battery swapping across China and all of Europe. Nio and Shell will jointly construct and operate the battery charging and swapping facilities. Initial phase 1 will be to have 100 battery stations up and running in China by 2025 and to jointly build and operate an undisclosed number of stations across Europe by 2022 that will be available to NIO customers. NIO started auto deliveries to Norway this fall of 2021 marking its first step outside China in openi…

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061017/ap_on_bi_ge/fuel_economy "Next year's list will likely show a decline in gas-mileage numbers. The EPA is revising the way it estimates how far a vehicle will travel on a gallon of gas to take into account high-speed driving, use of air conditioning and rapid acceleration. Under the proposed testing changes, fuel economy stickers would show most 2008 models getting 10 percent to 20 percent less gas mileage in city driving and 5 percent to 15 percent less in highway use. Hybrid buyers will find a greater sticker shock. Hybrid ratings for city driving are expected to drop an average of 20 percent to 30 percent."

William Maley Editor/Reporter - CheersandGears.com May 8, 2012 Almost a year after the state of Nevada approved legislation to allow tests of self-driving vehicles on public roads, the state has issued its first license for a self-driving vehicle. The vehicle in question is Google's autonomous Toyota Prius, which has currently logged 140,000 miles and one accident. The accident was caused when a car driven by a person bumped into the back of Google's autonomous car. Google hopes with these tests to dramatically reduce or eliminate these types of incidents. The Prius will wear a red license plate, with an infinity sign on it next to the number 001. Source: BBC V…

William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com January 4, 2013 The Massachusetts State Automobile Dealers Association lost again in court this week against Tesla. On Monday, Norfolk County Superior Court Judge Kenneth Fishman dismissed the dealers association's case on the grounds of lacking a standing to bring a case forth. This is the latest blow to the Massachusetts State Automobile Dealers Association efforts to stop Tesla from running a store in Boston. Back in November, the Massachusetts Superior Court denied an injunction filed by the association to stop Tesla from operating their store. "We disagree with his decision. If you read the statute, it's pretty c…

"Ford Motor Co (F.N) reported weaker-than-expected profit in the second quarter, and said its full-year earnings forecast was at risk with U.S. auto sales expected to fall in the second half, sending shares tumbling in premarket trading. "Auto sales in the United States and China were lower than anticipated in the quarter, and Ford reported its first quarterly loss in the Asia Pacific in three years. "Ford shares shed 7 percent to $12.87 in premarket trading." More at the link: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/ford-motor-profit-falls-u-111836898.html

G. David Felt - Staff Writer Alternative Energy - www.cheersandgears.com 2017 J.D. Powers IQS Study Out - Top Brand 2nd Year in a Row - KIA! Amazing but Kia is the top brand for the 2nd year in a row and while they talk about some of the history of when these reports started, one of the more interesting foot notes is that American brands have surpassed Asian and German brands in 3 of the last 5 years. On top of this is the interesting not about how Mercedes Benz was one of the best auto assembly lines and quality products way back when and now can only tie with Chrysler Corp for middle of the pack quality with 102 defects per 100 auto's built. So every aut…

https://www.barrons.com/articles/gm-posco-ev-battery-supply-partnership-51638381203?siteid=yhoof2

GM Increases Production Of The Volt GM has announced the Volt will being seeing an increase in production for the 2012 model year. GM Increases Production Of The Volt

Canoo is an EV startup that in 2019 showed to the world a subscription service auto called the Life Style Vehicle. This EV had a center based driving position and to some reminded people of the VW Microbus. Fast forward a few years and Canoo is now a publicly traded company that has considerable patents on EV powertrain and other components and under a new CEO had up to today two products planned that the public knew about. The Canoo LifeStyle auto pictured above and their MPDV or Multi-Purpose Delivery Vehicle pictured below. An unknown source leaked on Reddit that Canoo was planning to enter the lucrative and highly competitive North American truck…

In the summer of 2019 the British Columbia province of Canada shocked the rest of Canada and many countries by stating that all new car and light truck ICE auto sales would be banned beginning January 1st 2040. They then stated that 10% of all new auto sales had to be electric by 2025 and had at the time a $57 million Canadian incentive program to encourage people to buy BEVs. The Canadian province of Quebec then in November 2020 joined the British Columbia province in banning all new ICE car and light truck sales starting January 1st 2035. Premier Francois Legault told reporters this was necessary to ensure they hit their target of a 37.5% reduction in greenho…

William Maley Editor/Reporter - CheersandGears.com February 1, 2012 2011 was a good year for the domestics. Chrysler, Ford, and General Motors saw their market share grow. But, a new report from Bloomberg says the Big Three could see a drop in 2012. Sales for 2012 are expected to grow from 12.8 million vehicles last year to 13.6 million, but competition from the Koreans and a recovery of the Japanese automakers mean those sales sales aren't likely headed to the Big Three. Bloomberg asked five analysts to predict market share for automakers in 2012 and their predictions put the U.S automakers losing 1.3% for 2012. Analysts see GM dropping 0.6%, Ford dropping 0.5%, and…

http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews...20080718?rpc=44 *continued here

According to Rueters that GM today in China anounced a dedicated 10 models for China market added to the 10 they are already working on bringing to 20 models of EV auto's they are working on. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-autoshow-detroit-gm-china/big-portion-of-future-gm-electric-vehicles-for-china-market-executive-idUSKBN1F702M GM has stated that the plan is 1 million EV auto's a year by 2026. China is the heart of GMs EV spearheaded efforts. In China, GM sold 4 million auto's in China or 40% of GM's global tally. 11,000 of them in China were pure EV. GM expects that Plug-in Hybrids and EVs will make up 20% of the Industry projected 35 million annua…

This semi-regular column is written (in his own blood) by an automotive sage and noted malcontent, known as The Mechanic. Mercilessly beaten as a child with rolled-up back issues of old car magazines, our free-spoken hero developed a unique "for your own good" take on cars and the auto industry, along with an unfortunate habit of setting himself ablaze. Later, after a distinguished career as an automotive journalist and magazine editor, he cast off the reins of his musty oppressors, carved out his superego with a plastic spork and became The Mechanic. It happened twice this week. Somebody poked a head into my cubicle and said, "Hey, The Mechanic, have you heard? Kids do…

Short and sweet, what is not to love about the Superbowl ads. Tell us what you like, as more are released, hopefully we get them all posted here. Seems there is a whole series of Dr. EV-il commercials at the GM Youtube channel. General Motors - YouTube GMC has released a whole series of Declassified videos on new technology. GMC - YouTube While not all auto ads, if you're looking for Superbowl ads, click here: superbowl ads for 2022 - YouTube View full article

This is the sort of thing that puts a large quantity of people off from an issue- stating huge aggregate 'savings' numbers using wildly tangential elements. - - - - - - - - - - It sure would be interesting to see how the ALA quantified / vetted 'lost workdays' as a component of "public health costs" since 1. there are a myriad of reasons behind 'lost workdays' and 2. the vast vast majority of those events are paid for by employers, not public health funds. Because it smells like 'number pumping' from here. Just be straightforward and honest. [article : https://www.yahoo.com/news/switch-electric-vehicles-virginia-dramatically-123114251.…

2006 J.D. Power Initial Quality Study Not too long ago, J.D. Power announced that they would be overhauling the way they evaluate car quality. The results of the revamped study are now in and can be seen above and at the following link. Read "Redesigned Initial Quality Study..." @ J.D. Power and Associates

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-germany-electromobility-jobs/switch-to-electric-cars-threatens-75000-german-auto-industry-jobs-idUSKCN1J115L According to Reuters news, EV auto's are more reliable, require less powertrain parts, require less maintenance and depending on how you look at it cleaner for the planet especially when using green sources of power. The auto industry in Germany accounts for 840,000 jobs of which 210,000 are tied to powertrain production. Electric auto's by germany's own reconning will cost 75,000 jobs by 2030 based on the assumption that 25 percent of auto's will be electric, 15 percent hybrids leaving only 60 percent as petrol / diesel…

Factorial Energy has had a major 4th quarter as they secured Agreements with Stellantis, Daimler, Hyundai and Kia to use their 40Ah battery packs in their electric vehicles. The company backed by major investors such as Former President and CEO of Ford Motor Company, Mark Fields; former senior advisor to the Obama Administration's presidential task force on the Auto Industry, Harry Wilson and investment firms Gatemore Capital Management and Wave Equity Partners have enabled Factorial to jump from a tech startup doing research to a commercial production company. Factorial Energy has stated that for EVs to go from a global 4% capture of the global car sales …

William Maley Editor/Reporter - CheersandGears.com May 8, 2012 More bad news for the Fisker Karma. A fire which engulfed a Fisker Karma and caused damage to house in Sugar Land, Texas is now be pointed at as the cause. Chief fire investigator for Fort Bend County, Texas, Robert Baker told Autoweek that he belives the Fisker Karma started the fire. “Yes, the Karma was the origin of the fire, but what exactly caused that we don't know at this time,” Barker said. Barker says the owner pulled into the garage with the Fisker and walked away. Three minutes later, the vehicle was engulfed in flames. The vehicle reportedly wasn't plugged in at the time and the battery was i…

Technology is moving at a rapid rate and it seems every aspect of our lives are affected by it. Take for example cars, many believe in the future that cars will be fully self-driving and be powered by some sort of alternative powertrain. One person believes that kids born now will not even need a driver's license because of this technology. Henrik Christensen, head of UC San Diego’s Contextual Robotics Institute said in an interview with The San Diego Union-Tribune said in about 10 to 15 years, autonomous vehicles will be a regular part of our lives. “My own prediction is that kids born today will never get to drive a car. Autonomous, driverless cars are 10, 15…

Fisker Automotive plans to build a plug-in hybrid car at the empty Boxwood Road plant near Newport, a decision that will give Delaware a prominent role in a government-backed reshaping of the American auto industry. A formal announcement from Fisker could come as soon as Tuesday, according to sources with knowledge of the company's plans. Fisker, a startup automaker based in Irvine, Calif., confirmed earlier this week that company representatives have met with Delaware officials and toured the Boxwood Road plant, idle since July when General Motors ended production there. The company is planning to renovate the abandoned domestic factory with proceeds from a $359 mi…

http://www.forbes.com/2005/12/14/cx_dl_121...lide_print.html

UAW Seeking A Record $8,000 To $10,000 Signing Bonus William Maley - Editor/Reporter - CheersandGears.com September 10, 2011 Previous UAW contract negotiations with the big three would center around increased hourly wages and top benefits. But during this round of contract negotiations, the UAW could give up the increases and go for the lump sum. In a report done by Bloomberg, the UAW could ask Chrysler, Ford, and General Motors for a signing bonus of of $8,000 to $10,000 per member. The amount is three times the current $3,000 signing bonus the big three agreed to in 2007. “A signing bonus in this range would get some attention and is meant to serve as …

2014 will likely go down as the year of the recall in the automotive industry. General Motors is the champion with the most recalls so far with 70 recalls as of today, but other OEMs have been making their mark with their own recalls. CNNMoney crunched the numbers on the recalls so far in 2014 and figured out that there has been a total of 544 recalls, about two a day. Those 544 recalls have affected 52 million vehicles in the U.S., or about 1 in 5 vehicles. While that figure is disturbing to say in the least, it's made worse as that number has eclipsed the previous record of 30.8 million vehicles back in 2004. With only a couple months left in the year, there's a good c…

A consortium of German automakers which include Audi, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz have agreed to buy Nokia's HERE mapping business for around $3.1 billion dollars. The deal is currently pending approval of antitrust authorities. If the deal is given the go-ahead, the three automakers will own a stake by early 2016. HERE is one of the most advanced and largest digital mapping and location systems. It was originally started back in 1986 with Navteq before being acquired by Nokia in 2007. The service maintains digital maps for nearly 200 countries, and updates continuously by gathering data from users. Now why are three automakers interested in a mapping service? The end …

I have said this before, but the new Camaro just continues to impress me. This pretty much said it all for me. "After two days driving over the relief left behind by the Great Buzzard, there's no doubt the Camaro, with its Cadillac platform and Corvette engine, is the thoroughbred of its class. We can't believe it. The Camaro is almost too composed. The balance is sublime. It's refined and exciting. Has this once fat lout of a car become a bona fide sports car. Did that just happen? It happened." http://www.roadandtrack.com/new-cars/reviews/a27655/2016-chevrolet-camaro-ss-vs-2016-ford-mustang-gt/

Sales of new cars in the U.S. have been dropping in the past three months and analysts believe April's sales results will be much the same. But why are sales falling? It comes down to prices of new cars going up and up. According to data from ALG True Car, the average new-car price rose two percent when compared to last year. Kelly Blue Book reports that the average transaction price in March increased 1.7 percent to $34,342 when compared to the same time last year. There are a number of factors as to why consumers are balking at larger prices; credit not being as easy to attain, younger buyers being saddled with debt, and inflation. “It’s not just the price of …

About a year ago, European antitrust regulators became very suspicious that BMW, Daimler, and Volkswagen were involved in a longstanding automotive cartel that colluded on restricting certain emissions control devices for the market. Raids were carried out at various facilities, but nothing came out. That changed yesterday as the European Commission has opened a formal investigation. "The Commission is investigating whether BMW, Daimler and VW agreed not to compete against each other on the development and roll-out of important systems to reduce harmful emissions from petrol and diesel passenger cars," said Commissioner Margrethe Vestager, head of competition policy f…

Magna's eBeam technology announcement today aims to reduce the cost of building a new EV or electrical vehicles platform. The costs associated with a new platform to move to electrification from a traditional ICE is slowing down the ability to get product to market. Magna's eBeam technology is focusing on allowing to keep the existing pickup trucks capabilities while transitioning to electrification. This is the first significant solid beam rear axle change in more than 100 years according to Magna. Magna's eBeam technology is scalable giving auto makers the ability to electrify their trucks without sacrificing utility and functionality. eBeam techno…

Whoops! I apologize for the downtime this evening. It definitely was not planned. I had meant to devote some time tonight to test out the new IPB3 software on a development copy of the site. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your viewpoint) I crossed a wire somewhere and I ended up upgrading the live site. After some bouts with Murphy's Law, I can say that at least we're up and running. So take a tour of Cheers and Gears' new duds. There's lots of new features to play with. When I'm done putting everything back the way it should be, hopefully I'll get to play with them too.

_ Ford Fusion Wins Motor Trend's 2010 Car of the Year Motor Trend has just announced its 2010 Car of the Year, and this year its the impressive Ford Fusion. We tip our hats to Ford. Discussion - Ford Fusion wins 2010 Car of the Year

Understanding the 2012 Buick LaCrosse with eAssist System With the 2012 Buick LaCrosse General Motors (GM) introduced the second generation Belt Alternator Starter (BAS) system, officially known as the eAssist, at the 2010 Los Angeles Auto Show. GM claims that eAssist, which means "light electrification" helps the near 2 ton car achieve a 25 percent increase in the fuel economy compared to the fuel economy of the 2.4L, 4 cylinder/6-speed LaCrosse. GM expects the eAssist LaCrosse to deliver a class leading fuel economy of 25 mpg city and 37 mpg highway. The system will be standard on all 4-cylinder equipped 2012 LaCrosses. The eAssist system will…

William Maley Editor/Reporter - CheersandGears.com December 19, 2011 A new study from the University of Michigan says the proposed CAFE standards could actually make new cars larger, not smaller. The study used simulations of 473 different vehicles to figure how automakers could modify vehicle dimensions, implement fuel-saving technology features and trade off performance and fuel economy. Pricing was also taken into account. Their results showed that automakers would increase the size of vehicles to meet CAFE standards instead of adding technologies. “For just about all the scenarios, the car got bigger. What you can model in a computer is different from reality, bu…

Al Oppenheiser finally states what many of us have suspected: a Camaro SS variant will suffice to take down a Shelby Mustang. "During our time to chat with Al Oppenheiser, chief Camaro engineer, we got right down to business and asked what everyone wants to know: will the 2017 Camaro SS 1LE outperform the Shelby GT350? "'That’s obviously our intent. I have the answer, but I’ll let the rest of you decide how we did. Our goal is to up the game with our competitor, just like they upped the game with the GT350. Everyone had to expect we would punch back. I will tell you this car is three seconds faster than the previous 1LE. Your readers can go out and make their own conc…

Take a Look at Me Now Buick Launches new advertising campaign. Buick is launching a new advertising campaign to help promote itself, especially the new LaCrosse. Check it out after the Jump. Link to story

http://today.reuters.com/investing/finance...ABOR-URGENT.XML Turn out the lights The Party's over It seems that all Good things must end