Industry News

Mostly braking, exhaust, and suspension stuff at this point. Still no word on a dealer-installed upgrade package for the 2.0 Turbo, but they used to offer them so there's still hope. Link here: http://m.motortrend.com/wot/gm_reveals_2016_chevrolet_camaro_performance_parts.html

"When we heard Cadillac Alpha-platform chief Tony Roma talking about some of his team moonlighting behind the wheels of their own race cars, we thought it might be fun to meet a few of them. Wary of the flack-favorite 'our-guys-are-car-guys-because-they-own-cars' stunt... we asked Cadillac if we might be able to set up a track day. When that Friday afternoon came, enough ­racers had RSVP’d that we could have filled a grid. "The 15 [that showed up]—more wanted to attend but were needed elsewhere—have all helped make the latest generation of the Cadillac CTS the best yet, the sports sedan that has finally put GM on par with its German rivals. Each of them races, and it’s t…

http://chemicallygreen.com/california-gas-usage/

What I've been saying here probably over a year's time now. The numbers aren't adding up. • https://finance.yahoo.com/news/automakers-may-completely-overestimated-many-211928833.html •

William Maley Editor/Reporter - CheersandGears.com May 17, 2012 Fisker has a lot of problems: money, delays, and an investigation into a Karma fire are just some of them. And it doesn't look like the problems are going to end soon. Inside EVs got their hands on some leaked documents that were dated "a few weeks ago" dealing with the new Atlantic sedan. First the bad news. Originally, Fisker said that production would begin in late 2012 before hitting the market in early 2013. The leaked document states “negotiations with the DoE have become more complicated and are expected to take longer than originally expected”, delaying the Atlantic’s 2013 launch by several months…

Changes with the J.D. Powers That Be J.D. Powers is changing the way they survey car quality. Their surveys will now go more in depth, asking consumer for specifics on defects in quality. A two category breakdown, defects & malfunctions and design problems, will seperate niggling design issues from more serious problems that effect automobile reliability. More at the link. Read "J.D. Power overhauls car quality survey" @ The Detroit News

"In the new, sixth-generation Camaro... a lot is happening down below, where the front struts and rear links keep the tires’ contact patches firmly and evenly glued to the pavement and the car pointed precisely where the driver intends. Some competitors seem tuned to beat up their occupants in a way that places a theatrical 'sportiness' above actually ­controlling wheel and body motions. The Camaro seems to be doing everything it can to prevent abusing the driver. "For the first time, the V-8 has a worthy understudy. General Motors, purveyor of so many lackluster six-cylinders in so many models for so many years, has never made such an outstanding V-6 as the 3.6-liter th…

DETROIT – Unionized workers at Ford Motor Co. have approved contract changes that include freezing wages and cutting benefits in a move aimed at helping the automaker remain competitive. The United Auto Workers said Monday a majority of hourly workers voted in favor of modifications to the 2007 contract with Ford, eliminating cost-of-living increases and cash bonuses. The agreement is expected to be a model for Chrysler LLC and General Motors Corp., which need to bring their labor costs in line with those of foreign auto companies' plants in the U.S. as a condition for the $17.4 billion they have received in federal loans so far. Under terms of their loan agreements, pr…

The Pandemic had at the start made investors fearful that companies would be hurt, and profits and stock payouts would fall if not be stopped right out as companies looked to find ways to save cash as people stayed home due to Covid-19. Yes, some companies did stop many things and some companies even closed due to the global pandemic, yet Auto companies found that having control of a tight inventory actually pushed up record profits and in this their workers have also prospered along with the executives. Here we are posting just how well the OEM auto companies have done for their workers. 44,000 UAW members, GM employees were eligible profit-sharing pay…

GM to cut 4,000 more white-collar jobs by year end This in addition to 2,000 white-collar jobs already cut. Story Link

Found two different news stories with the same plot... where's my money? the first is from south dakota: During the month long program, Billion Automotive sold close to a thousand vehicles but has only been reimbursed for 272 of them. Vern Eide sold over 200 cars and has only been paid for 27 of them, and that's fueling lots of concerns in the auto industry. Billion Automotive cashed in during Cash for Clunkers, but owner Dave Billion is still waiting for the rest of his money from the government run program, $3.2 million. "I wonder how long they'd wait if I owed them $3.2 million. I think they'd be at my door or at least my banker's door," Billion said. Wh…

"I'm already convinced Chevy has pulled ahead [of the Mustang]. True, the 2016 Mustang GT350R just won our Road & Track Performance Car of the Year testing, so we'll have to wait and see how the Z28 stands up when it arrives. But in terms of the overall package, there's more to consider than just performance." "Not too long ago, I had a new Mustang for another lengthy road trip. At one point, outside of Pittsburgh, a last-gen Camaro SS pulled up next to me and the driver revved his engine. I looked over and just smiled. I didn't take the bait... but as he sped off, I took solace in the fact that I was in the better overall car. Not anymore." Read more at the link…

Not really sure which section this should be in so posting here. Mod's please move if there's a more appropriate section. A great gesture from a bona fide car guy. http://www.cnbc.com/id/29616467/site/14081545%3F

. GM Announces New Program to Design and Manufacture Electric Motors GM becomes first major U.S. automaker to manufacture electric motors GM starts program to design and manufacture electric motors

_ End of the Road for Mercury After fevered speculation, Ford has confirmed that it will shutter the Mercury brand this year. Ford now joins its Big 3 rivals in shedding a brand in the past 10 years. Hit the jump for details. Ford press release confirms Mercury's demise

Developing autonomous vehicles in sunny, dry locales like Phoenix, Arizona has proven to be difficult due to numerous variables such as traffic and human behavior. But an upcoming study from Michigan State University reveals that autonomous technologies still have a number of hurdles as testing begins in areas with changing conditions. Automotive News had the chance to speak with Hayder Radha, an MSU professor of electrical and computer engineering who oversaw the upcoming study. The findings reveal that the algorithms that are used to distill the various bits of information coming from the cameras and radar/lidar sensors have issues when it lightly rains. "When…

Los Angeles Times article Best new cars for the potentially unemployed By Joni Gray, Times Staff Writer If you're going through tough times but still need to buy a new car, there are programs on the market from three automakers that could help mitigate the risk of such a purchase. Whether you choose the Hyundai Assurance Plus, Ford Advantage Plan or GM Total Confidence, these programs were created to stimulate the economy and the bottom line for the manufacturers. With the help of Consumer Reports, we took a look at some of the top-rated cars that would best take advantage of these three programs. Do your own careful research before you buy, but this list should g…

BREAKING: Swedish TV reports Koenigsegg buying Saab Makers of ultra high-performance exotic supercars and a group of Norwegian investors have signed a letter of intent with Saab to take over the brand from General Motors Story Link

New GM Launches Today Company Emerges from Bankruptcy Full Coverage in our Forums

_ GM to announce Chevy Volt pricing/ordering on Tuesday After three long years, GM will finally announce the pricing for the Chevrolet Volt tomorrow. There will also be a live online webchat with Volt Marketing Director Tony DiSalle following the announcement. Follow the jump for a brief press release and discussion.

William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com December 3, 2012 Fisker would like to forget 2012 if possible. The year hasn't been good to the company with recalls, production delays, fires, delays on the new Atlantic, U.S. Department of Energy freezing a loan, and their sole supplier of batteries filling for bankruptcy. In a interview with TheDetroitBureau.com, founder and Chairman Henrik Fisker said that his company is "actively engaged in conversations with potential strategic partners." Fisker went onto to say, "“We’d like to see if we can get something done next year.” Fisker said the company is looking for "a close partnership where we could develop new platfo…

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has sent a cease-and-desist letter to Dolder, Falco and Reese Partners LLC, the company behind an aftermarket device called the Autopilot Buddy. Autopilot Buddy is a small, weighted device that clips onto either side of the wheel to place minor amounts of torque. This fools the Autopilot system into thinking that a driver has their hands on the wheel. The company markets the device as "nag reduction device", reducing the amount of warnings to tell driver to keep their hands on the wheel. The company has a disclaimer on Autopilot Buddy that states, This would be ok if a video demonstrating the product did…

The US government is pulling back on some of their financial support for electric vehicles. Coming this Saturday, a tax credit which allows taxpayers to deduct 30% of the cost an electric vehicle charger (good for up to $30,000 in commercial cases) will be discontinued. If you're thinking the 30% deduction is a bit high, last year the deduction was set at 50%. "The timing of this couldn't be more unfortunate," coming just as more electric cars are on the way." said Genevieve Cullen, vice president of the Electric Drive Transportation Association, a trade group for the electric-vehicle industry. Cullen and other proponents have been begging congress to extend the tax d…

Much has been written about the current Mustang (not least by Ford itself) concerning its conception as a "global car." In particular, much emphasis has been placed on the S550's ability to be sold in RHD markets. However, there has been a bit of ambiguity about the car's power output, particularly in V8 form. Top Gear's review of the 5.0 placed output at 412hp, without explanation. Now, we know why. R&T is reporting that some folks have discovered the exhaust on RHD cars is severely compromised in order to clear the RHD steering hardware: "Our friends in England and other right-hand drive nations make a very particular sacrifice: thanks to different steering p…

The Geneva Motor Show saw Mercedes introduce their new AMG GT 4-Door and BMW revealing their M8 Gran Coupe concept. We still find ourselves scratching our heads as to why these vehicles exist in the first place, but a new Bloomberg report explains an interesting reason as to why automakers are building them. These high-performance models with high price-tags will help generate the cash needed to develop electric vehicles. BMW for example is in the midst of its largest rollout of new models and variants. Most of them will be higher-margin to help get more cash into their coffers. "The market for high-end, high-performance four-door coupes will get significantly m…

RE direct sales being in violation of vehicle sales laws. >>"A lawsuit has been filed against electric vehicle startups Rivian Automotive and Lucid Motors in Illinois for selling vehicles directly to consumers in the state. What Happened: The lawsuit was filed by the Illinois Automobile Dealers Association, the Chicago Automobile Trade Association, and other plaintiffs including individual franchised auto dealers in the state. The plaintiffs allege that Amazon.com-backed electric truck startup Rivian, California-based EV startup Lucid Motors and the state of Illinois are violating state laws that require new vehicles to be sold through franchised dealers. …

http://www.thecarconnection.com/Auto_News/...175.A10334.html So, we can blame the damn Chinese for helping to jack up prices. On top of that our useless goverment isn't doinga thing to keep the prices in check, and Bush is just making excuses that what he is doing is better than what needs to be done. If nothing else, I'm glad I own a fuel efficient Shadow

G. David Felt Staff Writer Alternative Energy - www.CheersandGears.com Apple Car Boom or Bust? So the question has to be asked of forum members, is this iCar a boom or bust for Apple and is this what the millennial crowd wants? Being that Apples biggest market is the millennial crowd I am wondering if this brick of a self driving electric auto is what they really want. Steve Jobs originally stated that Apple would work on an iCar and we ended up with this released drawing: Motor Trend had an exclusive first look at the iCar and this is what they ended up building: MT 13 Cool Features Story MT Industry Insiders Opine on Apple Car MT App…

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/tesla-can-move-forward-with-trade-secret-suit-against-rivian-1.1583942

Chrysler Posts First Profit After Bankruptcy Chrysler announces their first quarter results and it's good news. Chrysler Posts First Profit After Bankruptcy

So in cruising the alternative world I found on the Green Car reports two stories about Ford having an 11 speed transmission which they have filed a patent for; http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1097339_ford-patent-for-11-speed-automatic-transmission-wars-escalate Fiat having a 40 mpg 500 with 11 speed transmission; http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1097766_electric-car-battery-costs-40-mpg-surprise-11-speed-automatic-todays-car-news So with battery cost falling and the transmission war kicking in. I wonder how high we will see these transmissions go?

We'll excuse you if you forgot that Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and PSA Group have been working towards finalizing their merger considering the state of the world at the moment. But the two are making serious headway as they have announced the new name of the multi-national corporation that will form once the two merge. Meet Stellantis. Don't worry, you're not the only who is thinking "What" or thinking of some clever joke to make fun of this name. We'll let the two explain what this name means? Yeah, if this doesn't like something from a branding agency, we don't what does. We should note here that Stellantis will only be used at a corporate level, not as a i…

Today's electric vehicles (EV) all have battery management systems, these systems are either the old 400V system such as Mercedes-Benz uses or new 800V systems that General Motor and Hyundai / Kia uses. Depending on the size of the EV such as a subcompact where you have 66lbs of wiring from the battery pack to the controllers or a full-size EV where you can have 198lbs of wiring or more, wiring is an area that contributes mass to the overall weight of the EV. LG Innoteck has announced their latest management system, a wireless battery management system (BMS). Why is this such a big deal some would ask. LG Innotek BMS Advantages Industry First …

. Three Tesla Executives Die in Small Plane Crash in Palo Alto California Three Tesla Executives Die in Small Plane Crash

. 2010 Camaro SS Full Review <img src="http://www.cheersandgears.com/uploads/1265847896/gallery_253_27_345025.jpg" WIDTH="640" HEIGHT="480" HSPACE="15" vspace="15"> By Justin Loyear Cheers and Gears Biggest Fan - Head turning looks in a comfortable package. Oh, and 426 horsepower! Toughest Critic - Premium stereo needs improvement for when you don't want to listen to the engine. Full story: 2010 Camaro SS Review

2006 J.D.Power Customer Service Rankings: Lexus 912 Buick 911 Cadillac 909 Jaguar 908 Lincoln 906 Mercury 905 Saturn 904 Pontiac 903 Audi 890 MINI 890 Volvo 890 Acura 889 Chevrolet 887 Infiniti 887 Porsche 887 BMW 884 Honda 883 HUMMER 882 Saab 880 GMC 879 Industry Average 873 Mercedes-Benz 872 Hyundai 869 Chrysler 867 Ford 866 Dodge 862 Toyota 861 Subaru 858 Jeep 851 Nissan 849 Mitsubishi 848 Kia 843 Mazda 843 Land Rover 840 Suzuki 823 Volkswagen 810 Isuzu 781

The days of parking the ol’ Family Truckster at a Safeway lot with a Day-Glo orange “For Sale” sign in the window may be numbered. Increasingly, consumers are taking advantage of a growing online market to sell their cars themselves rather than accepting a lowball trade-in offer from a dealer. The trend gained momentum last year as consumers found car dealers especially stingy with their trade-in offers because they were struggling to resell the fuel-thirsty SUVs, pickups and large sedans that consumers were dumping as gas prices soared. By the end of the year private-party sales represented 34 percent of the used-car market, up from 18 percent a year earlier, according…

Started in 2013 at the University of Maryland Chemistry lab, ceramic solid-state batteries we the brainchild of Dr. Greg Hitz and Dr. Eric Wachsman. The focus was to increase energy density while making it safer and this gained attention when Samsung Note Phones, especially the Note 7 started to catch fire in 2016. As per the Wall Street story, the United States is far behind the global rivals in the race for energy supremacy in the Green New World. With this, the idea is to catch up and surpass the competition by having a safer energy dense battery. What was a small investment at the beginning by the department of energy has now grown with $8 mil…

_ BREAKING: SAAB-ED By The Bell - GM Agrees to Sell the Swedish Brand to Spyker Cars NV It's been a long road for SAAB, and even though we don't know what the future has in store for the quirky brand, for the time being, the Swedish automaker has been saved as General Motors and Spyker Cars NV today confirmed that they have reached a binding agreement on the sale.Follow the jump for details. GM Agrees to Sell the Swedish Brand to Spyker Cars NV

New York Daily News Published UPDATED list of Takata Airbag Recall Auto's Pretty cool that here is the updated list of all affected auto's talk about a crazy long list. Interesting that the Toyota HighLander is not on the list. http://www.nydailynews.com/autos/news/takata-airbag-recall-list-cars-article-1.2602999 Seems GM products are limited to the full size trucks and SUVs only unlike Dodge and MB have everything listed.

I think we are seeing the following in their last gasp for air and on their way out: Chrysler Dodge Hummer Mercury Saturn Only Jeep, I think will survive, will GM buy it, once Hummer is discontinued?

GM Increases Stake of GM Daewoo GM has raised its stake from 50.9% to 70.1%. Follow the jump for details. Discussion: GM increases stake in Daewoo

William Maley Editor/Reporter - CheersandGears.com April 10, 2012 The self-driving car; a dream that has talked about and tested for many years. But the dream could be a reality by 2020 according to a former GM R&D Chief. Larry Burns, former head of GM’s r&d division spoke yesterday at University of Michigan Robotics Day said predicted that self driving vehicles will be on U.S. roads by the year 2020. Burns goes even farther, saying the tech needed for self-driving will be available in 2015. “By 2015 we’re going to have auto companies selling features that are akin to cruise control on steroids. We’re in this five- to 10-year window when it’s going to be rea…

Unless you have been living underneath a rock, then you know that the popularity of crossovers and SUVs have been booming. A new analysis reveals this popularity will not be going away anytime soon. IHS Markit looked at consumer loyalty rates for various body styles from 2012 to April 2017 and found that 66.2 percent owners of SUV and crossover models returned to buy another - the highest IHS has ever recorded. To give some perspective, pickups come second at 50.9 percent. "We collect this data and provide it to our clients once a month, but we felt that the results were so extraordinary in terms of consumer loyalty numbers for SUVs and CUVs that we wanted to pu…

GM North American design chief Bryan Nesbitt to run Cadillac, report to Lutz Cadillac's interim general managers, Steve Hill and Steve Shannon, will be reassigned to as-yet-unannounced roles within General Motors. Story Link

- 2011 Cadillac CTS Coupe GM has unveiled all the details we have been waiting for on the CTS Coupe. Click on the link below to read all about it and tell us what you think! 2011 Cadillac CTS Coupe

Look at all the machinery! - I think often we assume 'way back' it was mostly done by hand. Almost like a ballet... http://www.dump.com/2011/07/15/fascinating-1936-footage-of-car-assembly-line-video/

Morgan has barely brought back the Plus 8, and they have already swapped the V8 out of one of the cars to make an electric vehicle. It actually sounds kinda nice to have an electric car that looks that cool, but it loses 273 hp in the transformation. Of course that doesn't matter too much because all traditional Morgans are beautiful: http://www.autominde...ectric-roadster

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=206...&refer=home

http://www.worldcarfans.com/9080829.003/vo...rgest-automaker Volkswagen Overtakes Ford as World's Third Largest Automaker Next up: GM August 29, 2008 2:00 PM by Clinton Deacon Filed Under: Corporate/Financial Ford Volkswagen Volkswagen has a long term plan to become the world's largest automaker and it appears stage one has been completed after the German company overtook Ford to take third place in global vehicle sales rankings. The VW Group announced that they had sold 3.31 million vehicles in the first six months of 2008 representing an increase of 7.2 percent, it puts them healthily ahead of the their American counterparts who sold 3.22 million vehicles d…

GM to name Dewar as Chevrolet chief in brand shake-up This is part of a leadership shake-up at two of the four surviving U.S. brands. Story Link

This, almost exactly a year after announcing its stillborn pickup would be killed off. Workhorse Group has stated their corporate revamp will include 2 new electric commercial vehicle platforms, but aren't expected until Q3 2023. In the meantime, they are outsourcing an electric platform from its competition; Canada's GreenPower Motor. The company expects to deliver just 250 vehicles in 2022, according to CNBC. Stock closed yesterday at $3.74/share.

Voting for Chopping Competition January 2010 Cadillac XTS Voters, please nominate two (2) entries in this format: 1st place 2nd place Each first place vote earns 5 points, each second place vote 3 points. Voting begins now and will end Tuesday, February 23, 2010 @ 11:59PM. Only those votes cast during that time will be counted. 1st place winner will receive a special Cadillac-related prize from Cheers and Gears! Jump to the Voting Thread Here.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/economic_forecast The report, conducted by UCLA, predicts 300,000 jobs to be lost in the financial sector, and 800,000 jobs lost total. This could directly affect GMAC, and could possibly adversely affect the entire economy

If you happen to plan on seeing Transformers 4 at the theater, you should pay close attention to the scenes in China as some of those vehicles could be making their way to the U.S. Guangzhou Automobile Group Co Ltd. (GAC) which has some of their Trumpchi vehicles in the film is planning on sending them to the U.S. as early as next year. "Our sponsorship of Transformers 4 will help more overseas dealers and consumers know about our cars and over the long run it will greatly contribute to our branding. We want to start exporting to the U.S. as quickly as possible and I am confident that they will find our Trumpchi cars competitive," said Wu Song, chief of the Trumpchi bra…

Members of Germany's government have passed a resolution that could mean the end of gas and diesel vehicles. German newspaper Der Spiegel reports that the Germany's legislative body, the Bundesrat (represents all sixteen states in the country) passed a resolution to ban the sale of gas and diesel engines in 2030. After that, only zero-emission vehicles will be allowed to be built. The resolution also calls on the European Union to follow in their footsteps. But the Bundesrat doesn't have any direct authority over the EU. However, Forbes points out that Germany has the largest government and most powerful economy in the EU. This means any legislation that goes throug…

Lutz: Oops, G8 Not Actually Becoming Caprice Bob Lutz says on GM's Fastlane blog that he has come to realize that there is no business case for continuing to import the G8 as a Chevy. Story Link

Guiltless Gas Sippers: 10 Cars That Deliver the Most Fun Per Gallon Related ArticlesHybrids? Diesels? Our Pick of the Unlikely Sleepers First Drive: 2006 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 First Drive: 2006 Honda Civic Si More InfoMore Features More General Features ToolsE-mail This Page To a Friend By: Greg N. Brown Date Posted 09-15-2005 Even with gas north of three bucks a gallon, you don't have to give up driving fun for the sake of miles per gallon (mpg). There are cars out there that offer both driving pleasure and guilt-defying fuel economy from every gallon. These 10 are our favorite fun-to-drive gas sippers, the cars that offer the enthusiast driver rewards far b…

Linkity Workers Get Incentives to Live Greener Perks Help Spread A Firm's Mission And Foster Goodwill By KELLY K. SPORS It irked Greg James to see some of his employees roll up to work in hulking, gas-guzzling sport-utility vehicles -- often driving more than 40 miles a day round trip. So in 2005 he finally did something about it. The chief executive and founder of Topics Entertainment Inc., a Renton, Wash., DVD and software publisher, Mr. James established an incentive program that offers its 55 employees $1,000 to trade in their automobiles for one with fewer cylinders in the engine. Buying a hybrid or biodiesel vehicle earns t…

Carmaker Think plans to manufacture its highway-capable electric car in Indiana and and make it available in the U.S. next year, the company said on Tuesday. The Norway-based company is scheduled to hold a press conference in Elkhart, Indiana, where it intends to make the small car. CEO Richard Canny and Indiana governor Mitch Daniels will attend. ... Click here Cnet news