Industry News

FCA CEO Sergio Marchionne is known to speak his mind and tell it like it is. During the Automotive News World Congress, Marchionne questioned the U.S. Government's mandate of 54.5 MPG by 2025. "There is not a single carmaker that cannot make the 54 number. The question is, at what a price?" said Marchionne. A possible reason for the CEO of FCA to bring this up is gas prices around the nation are hovering around $2.00. Also, sales of hybrids and electric vehicles have been declining, partly due to gas prices. Now many executives say that low gas prices will pass and that they will continue in investing in newer technologies. Now Marchionne does agree automakers can mee…

There is a right way and a wrong way when it comes to testing autonomous vehicles on public roads. Uber has demonstrated the wrong way. Yesterday, the company launched eleven driverless Volvo XC90s in San Fransisco as part of a pilot program. But by late morning, two of the eleven vehicles were running amok. The San Fransisco Examiner got their hands on a dash cam video showing one of the XC90s running a red light at 10:37 A.M. Later that morning, a freelance producer and writer tweeted “Just passed a ‘self-driving’ Uber that lurched into the intersection on Van Ness [Avenue], on a red, nearly hitting my Lyft.” “It was close enough that both myself and the drive…

An American Tradition Continues: New Presidential Era Begins With a New Cadillac Presidential Limousine With President Elect Barack Obama's Inauguration less than a week away, Cadillac has finally released teh first official photos of the President's thoroughly reworked new ride. Sporting Cadillac's latest front and rear design cues, this heavy duty Cadillac will be equipped with everything the President needs to stay in touch, get around, and be safe. Follow the jump for more photos and official press release. http://www.cheersandgears.com/index.php?showtopic=27722

Majority of House supports bill to reverse dealer closings David Shepardson / Detroit News Washington Bureau Washington -- A majority of House members have signed onto a bill to reverse the closing of 789 Chrysler dealerships and block General Motors Corp. from closing more than 1,300, while the full House could vote on the bill as early as next week. The Automobile Dealer Economic Rights Restoration Act of 2009, sponsored by Rep. Daniel Maffei, D-N.Y., now has 221 cosponsors -- a majority of the 435-member House. GM's executives met with Maffei this week. On Wednesday, the bill had just 202 cosponsors. Late Tuesday, the House Appropriations Committee approved …

_ GM High Performance Division Put Back to Work Disbanded in February 2009, the team responsible for models like the Cobalt SS and HHR SS has once again been reborn, aiming to work their magic on GM's small cars! Hit the jump to read more. GMPD Put Back to Work

William Maley Editor/Reporter - CheersandGears.com February 16, 2012 President Obama has a goal of getting a million plug-in vehicles on U.S. roads by 2015. Last year during his State of the Union address, Obama talked about changing the current $7,500 tax credit into a point-of-purchase rebate. That hasn’t happen at the moment, but in the President's proposed budget that was released this week, Obama is trying another way to reach his goal; raising the tax credit to $10,000. To go along with this push, the budget calls for cutting more subsidies that Big Oil currently enjoys. Opponents of the President disagree with this move, calling it a "campaign document" that w…

There looks to be another automaker who wants to enter the North American market. Korean brand Ssangyong is planning a Wrangler-style high-design SUV sometime in the later half of this decade. The SUV would be based on the automaker's recently launched Tivoli crossover and have styling that is in line with the Korando, a model that started off as a licensed CJ-7 clone. Power will come from Tivoli as well, which includes 1.6L gas and diesel engines. So why try entering the North American market now? “The company has never cracked North America because it requires a huge investment and because the distributor model that we use in other territories wouldn’t reall…

Towards the end of Obama presidency, the administration unveiled guidelines for testing and deployment of self-driving cars in the US. But there is a new presidency in the White House and that means things will be changing - although details are scarce as to how. U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao said in Detroit yesterday the Department of Transportation would revisit and revise the guidelines put forth by the previous administration within the next few months. "The pressure is mounting for the federal government to do something" about autonomous vehicles, said Chao. "We don't want rules that impede future technological advances." Chao didn't g…

Taking a look at the mid year of 2018, here is the numbers and where they stand for recalls, usually this list is published by Alphabetical numbers, yet I choose to grab it and sort by lowest to highest which I think gives a much better view of who is improving in quality compared to last year. As we stand for this year, we have the bulk numbers as follows: Here are the recalls broken down by brand from lowest to highest. Manufacturer Number of Cars Recalled YTD Same Period Last Year Year over Year % Porsche Cars North America, Inc. 308 91,585 -100% …

https://www.yahoo.com/news/street-racing-across-us-soars-120033764.html

. Full Coverage: Toyota Recall Related Threads: Toyota claims to have a fix designed for recalled cars. Poll: Is this the tipping point for Toyta's reputation? Toyota to take pedal recall global General Motors offering incentives to Toyota customers Lawmaker concerned about Toyota Recall Toyota knew of sticky-throttle problem late last year Toyota's President Worried About Company Reputation on Quality U.S.: Toyota was legally required to stop selling models Toyota issues new voluntary recall for sticking accelerator pedals, 2.3 million vehicles affected Report: Toyota continuing to sell recalled vehicles without a fix Can Toyota avoid the Olds…

Delphi Dancing with the Prancing Horse GM's old pal Delphi is joining forces with Ferrari. The upcoming Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano will use the auto supplier's MagnaRide suspension. That is the same suspension used in various GM vehicles such as the Cadillac STS. Read "Ray of Light: Bankrupt Delphi Wins Contract to Supply Ferrari" @ Edmunds

Back in 2010, Renault-Nissan and Daimler announced a new partnership that would see the two share powertrains and work on various projects. Some of those have come to fruition such as the Infiniti QX30, which is a Mercedes-Benz GLA-Class in different clothing and the platform that underpins the Infiniti QX50. But other projects between the two have been halted. Late last week, the Nikkan Kogyo business daily reported that joint development of luxury compact car project has been suspended. The paper cites the change in consumer preference to crossovers and the uncertainties over tariffs. The second reason is important as the new compact sedan was expected to built at …

High court won't block Chrysler sale Court issues brief, unsigned opinion. Four of nine Justices did not think stay was necessary. Story Link

Chevrolet to feature production Cruze and Volt at LA Auto Show Chevrolet will also have the hot selling Camaro and Equinox in Los Angeles as well. Expect the Cruze and Volt to start hitting showrooms in 2010. Chevrolet to feature production Cruze and Volt at LA Auto Show

http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/arti...ct=newsletter07

You're a Volkswagen 2.0L TDI owner who decided to take the buy-back offer. You have a sizeable check in your pocket and decide to go looking for a new car. The folks at Hyundai and Volvo are hoping you buy one of their vehicles and are offering special deals to try and rope you in. CarsDirect has learned about the offers the two automakers are putting forward to former Volkswagen owners. Hyundai's offer is the Hyundai Circle V-Plan - think Ford's X plan pricing for friends and family. This plan takes 3 percent off the MSRP, plus $1,250 V-Plan cash and current incentives. You'll need to break out the calculator to figure how much you'll save, but it appears to be sign…

It is no secret that buyers are gobbling up SUVs and crossovers, nor is it that automakers are introducing new and redesigned models. Take a look at the New York Auto Show this week where a number a new models (Toyota RAV4 and Subaru Forester) and concepts (Lincoln Aviator) made their debut. According to automotive consultancy firm LMC Automotive, there are currently 63 mainstream crossover and SUV models, and 53 luxury models. By 2023, LMC is projecting 90 models for both mainstream and luxury. But this prompts a question - how much is too much? “I think everyone has read the same tea leaves - right now there seems to be insatiable demand,” said Cadillac presid…

GM Kills Zeta and future RWD plans, Camaro and G8 only Zetas to make it to US, Sigma to soldier on. Nothing like some bad news to be announced just when things are looking positive. On the heels of the Detroit Auto Show. GM has announced that Zeta is officially dead, and only the G8 and Camaro will see American shores. Bob Lutz stated that Sigma will have to solider on, blaming the cancellations and halted development on increasingly tough fuel economy standards. He even goes so far as to say traditional RWD companies may have to rethink which wheels power the car to meet fuel economy standards: “And I suspect the same thing is going to start to bite the tradition…

Driven to Diesels Automakers scramble to offer diesels in light-duty trucks By RICHARD TRUETT | Link to Original Article @ AutoWeek | Updated: 07/02/07, 8:39 am et LIGHT-DUTY DIESELS IN THE PIPELINE Ford: 4.4-liter turbocharged V-8 for F-150 and possibly Expedition in 2009 Dodge: 4.2-liter turbocharged V-6 for Ram 1500 in 2010 GM: 4.5-liter turbocharged V-8 for Silverado/Sierra pickups and Hummer H2 in 2010 Nissan: Iffy. May use V-6 or V-8 diesel in Titan pickup from International Truck and Engine Corp. around 2010. Toyota: Iffy. Working with Isuzu to develop diesels. Diesel for Tundra might come from truck affiliate Hino in 2010, at the earliest. DETROIT -- The…

Last month, electric vehicle start-up Faraday Future halted construction on their $1 billion production facility in North Las Vegas. At the time, FF said they would be looking into purchasing or leasing a production facility in either California or Nevada to get production of the FF 91 up and running. Today, Faraday has announced they have leased a factory in Hanford, California - about 200 miles north of their headquarters in Los Angeles. The facility is million-square-feet and the company is planning on employing close 1,300 people once production is up and running. “Our new production facility is the latest demonstration of our commitment to getting FF 91 on th…

General Motors still on track for 2010 IPO The Treasury Department says that GM is on track for an Initial Public Offering in 2010, which means the government can start selling off its approximately 60% ownership in GM. Chrysler, on the other hand, is too far away from an IPO to even predict a date. General Motors still on track for 2010 IPO

. 2010 Dodge Ram Heavy Duty named Motor Trend Truck of the Year Other contenders were the Ford SVT Raptor, Ford Transit Connect and Toyota Work Truck. 2010 Dodge Ram Heavy Duty named Motor Trend Truck of the Year

. 2011 CTS-V Coupe Reveal! Full coverage and photos of CTS-V Coupe at NAIAS

. Oldsmoboi is guest co-host from Cheers and Gears on Autobird podcast AB Podcast #29: The Luxury-like Redux episode Discuss the podcast: Autobird Podcast #30 <div><object id="mp3playerlightsmallv3" classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" width="210" height="25" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0"><param name="align" value="middle" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="sameDomain" /><param name="quality" value="high" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#ffffff" /><param name="wmode" value="transparent" /><param name="src" value="http://…

What is the big problem with new cars? According to a new survey, it happens to be the infotainment systems. A study done by automotive consultants SBD and polling firm Nielsen asked some 14,000 owners about features in their cars and asked which ones were the best and the worst. The ten that scored the lowest in the survey were all related in some form to the infotainment system. These included smart phone integration, built-in apps, customizable instrument panels, and voice recognition. “It’s sort of an arms race -- who can have the most technology in the vehicle -- and consumers are confused,” said Nielsen Vice President Mike Chadsey at a connected-car symposiu…

It's ALL been tried before; I'm convinced there is no new automotive tech concept that hasn't either been tried or researched, not in the last 25 years. That said, I'm going to toss up a few other industry autonomous experiments up later today, as food for thought.

Saw this posted tonight, Marry Barra kills the Rumors, even if FCA comes back with a new offer, it is NOT in the GM shareholders best interest to merge with FCA! http://fortune.com/2015/09/14/mary-barra-fiat-merger/?xid=yahoo_fortune&ref=yfp Guess Sergio needs to go snort some more drugs to think up another hair brain idea on how to save his Mess up company!

Looks a fair bit like the Vision GT concept they showed recently. Anyhow, here's the link: http://www.roadandtrack.com/new-cars/future-cars/news/a27215/heres-your-first-unofficial-look-at-the-new-bugatti-chiron/

G. David Felt Staff Writer Alternative Energy - www.CheersandGears.com DeLorean Back in Production Starting 2016 Delorean Motor Company is starting up production of the original car selling for less than $100,000 at their new production site in Humble Texas according to the story and interview with CEO Stephen Wynne. Under a low production bill approved in DC, this company is now funded to start up production of the DeLorean with a variety of engines. Delorean Production Story DeLorean web site According to the story, refurbished DeLoreans sell for between $45,000 and $50,000, so a new one with a variety of Power Trains priced under $100,000 s…

Linkity Regulators Look to Raise Bar On Vehicles' Roof Strength March 3, 2008 EYES ON THE ROAD By JOSEPH B. WHITE If you dropped a 2006 Volkswagen Jetta on its roof, and then did the same thing to a big, tough Dodge Ram pickup truck, which one would likely suffer less damage and do a better job protecting the passengers? The answer, based on a federal test of roof strength, is the Jetta. If that doesn't make sense to you, take comfort in the fact that you aren't alone. Since the early 1990s, car makers have dramatically improved the crashworthiness of the fronts, sides and rears of their cars, responding to the demands of cons…

MUCH MORE HERE Igor

. GM Confirms they are going to build the fastest wagon ever! 2011 Cadillac CTSv Sport Wagon 2011 Cadillac CTSv Sport Wagon

A good read...it seems other automakers aren't willing to let Toyota rise to the top without a fight. http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/Colum...rticleId=109823

The redesigned NASCAR stock car is bigger, but is it better? http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/Featu...photopanel..1.* Old One New One -- Now, I'm not a fan of NASCAR at all, but I found it interesting how many people do not like the COT. I hope NASCAR pays the price for shoveling out this ugly thing and looses so many fans it's screwed.

Consumer reports has had individual reports in the past on various specific models of electric vehicles, but they now publish the following report on the current state of EVs and the reliability of what is out there. Consumer-Reports-Insights-for-More-Reliable-Electric-Vehicles-Jan-2022.pdf Per the attached report above, we start looking at the latest overview they have put together: Per an Executive Order from President Biden, by 2030, half of all new vehicles sold should be zero-emissions vehicles, including battery electric, plug-in hybrid electric, or fuel cell electric vehicles. While EV sales are trending up, they currently ma…

The Caprice is Back GM unveils 355 hp Chevy Caprice police car based on zeta. Chevrolet decides to bring the Caprice over from Australia specially outfitted for use by law enforcement. Discuss the new Chevrolet Caprice HERE More photos and video HERE History of Chevrolet police cars HERE

_ Out-of-Control Toyota Prius Stopped By California Patrol Car The driver of the runaway Toyota Prius, 61-year-old James Sikes called CHP while driving eastbound on Interstate 8 near San Diego around 1:30 PM PST, complaing about a stuck accelerator and being unable to shift the car into neutral. California Highway Patrol responded, putting a patrol car in front of the Prius, eventually stopping the car near La Posta Bridge. This high-profile incident comes on the same day Toyota made a similarly high-profile defense of its cars. Full story after the jump. Story courtesy of Jalopnik.

Silver Named Most Popular Car Color of 2005 by Christina Medina ForbesAutos.com To car buyers, all that glitters doesn’t have to be gold. Silver was named the top-rated vehicle color of choice six years in a row according to a report from DuPont Automotive, followed closely by white. Medium to dark gray infused with colors like green and blue has increased in popularity this year by 5 percent, while a more vibrant blue greatly appeals to younger auto consumers in 2005. The most popular color in the U.S. is featured on the fifth most popular vehicle, the 2006 Honda Accord. Dupont is the world’s leading supplier of automotive color coatings. In the U…

... just a FEW decades late. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/14/automobiles/collectibles/14IRAN.html

Who uses top tier gas ( toptiergas.com ) GM, Toyota and BMW among other created a standard for fuel to clean the engine. I use it and can tell a difference it has to meet the criteria on all Octane levels. Top tier gas gives me better acceleration and a smoother running engine also slightly better MPG. thoughts on this regards stillen

Delphi Automotive is undertaking an ambitious cross-country road trip. The supplier announced that it will be taking an Audi SQ5 fitted with the latest self-driving tech on a trip from San Francisco to New York City. The trip will begin on March 22nd and end during the first week of the New York Auto Show. Delphi is planning to run the vehicle for 6 to 8 hours per day with two engineers in the vehicle to make sure all of the tech is working properly. "Delphi had great success testing its car in California and on the streets of Las Vegas. Now it’s time to put our vehicle to the ultimate test by broadening the range of driving conditions. This drive will help us collect i…

Here's the link: http://www.roadandtrack.com/car-shows/frankfurt-auto-show/news/a26699/the-510-hp-alfa-romeo-giulia-qv-is/ Well. For better or worse, life in Sergio's World is rarely boring. Nener mind that Alfa just pounded the snot out of the M4. It also pipped a Lamborghini!

Linkity Americans Start to Curb Their Thirst for Gasoline By ANA CAMPOY March 3, 2008; Page A1 As crude-oil prices climb to historic highs, steep gasoline prices and the weak economy are beginning to curb Americans' gas-guzzling ways. In the past six weeks, the nation's gasoline consumption has fallen by an average 1.1% from year-earlier levels, according to weekly government data. That's the most sustained drop in demand in at least 16 years, except for the declines that followed Hurricane Katrina in 2005, which temporarily knocked out a big chunk of the U.S. gasoline supply system. This time, however, there is evidence that Americans are…

UPDATE: Cash for Clunkers ends Monday One month and 500k sales later, program dries up If you're planning on cashing in on your clunker, you'd better get to a dealer soon. Exactly one month after it began, the government's CARS program will end Monday at 8 PM. U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood blames conservative sales estimates for the pushed-up deadline, which was initially to come on Labor Day. Since July 24th, close to a half million sales worth billions in rebates have been recorded. Funding issues, dealers angry over rebate checks and controversy over the trashing of old "clunkers" have regularly made headlines since Cash for Clunkers began. N…

"It's expected that the ZL1 will ditch the current supercharged 6.2-liter LSA V-8 in favor of the new supercharged 6.2-liter LT4 V-8 engine used in the [CTS-V and Z06]. We don't know what the power output will be, but we expect it to surpass the current model's 580 hp... the 2017 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 will make its debut next year, likely at the 2016 Detroit auto show. Production should begin later that year." Here's the link: http://m.motortrend.com/wot/spied_2017_chevrolet_camaro_zl1_muscles_its_way_around_the_ring.html

Toyota Motor Corporation has joined the IONNA network to support their EV auto's is the first part of what has happened with IONNA, but the next is that IONNA broke ground on building their first 10 Covered Stall Fast Charging station that will offer both CCS and NACS along with a place to relax and refuel the body. The 10 stalls will offer charging at up to 400kWs and 800+volt charging service. The location of this first station is APEX North Carolina. Ionna has also finally appointed a CTO for the company, this person is Jackie Slope as CTO of the new venture.   View full article

http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?A.../701190403/1148 Magazine retracts results because some test crashes were conducted at speeds higher than it reported. David Shepardson / Detroit News Washington Bureau Advertisement Get free headlines by e-mail NEW! Get text alerts on your cell phone About the problem What happened Consumer Reports retracted its recent report on how infant car seats perform in side-impact collision tests. Why it happened The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration contacted Consumer Reports and raised questions about the simulated vehicle speed used in the tests, which was reported to be 38 mph, the same speed the governm…

GM Yields Sales Crown to FORD, or Did They? Motley Fool Report Interesting read, Ford won the month of May due to dumping a ton of auto's on the rental fleet market. GM had higher ATP than Ford, taking out rental sales, GM was the leader in North America. Some interesting takes on inventory on hand and how each company is dealing with the slow down. Read and sound off

2011 Chevrolet Silverado 3500 Spied A refreshed Silverado HD has been spotted. Follow the jump to read the full article. http://www.cheersandgears.com/index.php?showtopic=28756

BorgWarner Slashing North American Jobs U.S. automakers' production cuts are rippling through the supplier industry, with BorgWarner Inc. saying Friday that it is eliminating 13 percent of its North American work force and Lear Corp. earlier this week cutting its sales forecast by $300 million. The U.S. Big Three are losing market share to Asian automakers at the same time that the U.S. economy is softening and domestic car sales are slowing. Suppliers that do a heavy business with General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and DaimlerChrysler AG's U.S.-based Chrysler Group are sharing their customers' pain, an analyst says. Read "Auto supplier BorgWarner to cut jobs" @ …

William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com October 20, 2012 (Author’s note: This is a new thing I’m trying out with the news coverage. Let me know what you think about this. -WM) Everyday, I go through a number of stories that I will post on Cheers & Gears. However, a good number of stories that I have picked out don’t make it onto the page during the week and either get posted next week or never. That’s about change with the arrival of the Cheers & Gears’ Weekend Edtion. Its where the stories that gotten forgotten about during the week get their due. In this first edition, we’ll be covering, Change of Guard at Volvo A Smaller Mazda California’s Be…

For 2016, the Chevy SS and Holden Commodore get a last hurrah before ending production after the 2017 MY. The refresh includes a revised front clip, allegedly functional hood vents, a retuned LS3 with tweaked power figures, the quad-tipped dual mode exhaust that was so popular on the Camaro, new wheels, and a new color you can see above. IMO, the tweaks are welcome. The new bumper integrates the lower grille design much better and the new wheels are leaps and bounds more attractive than the out-of-place chromes that sold with the car thus far. It makes the car look about 5 years newer to my eyes. http://gmauthority.com/blog/2015/09/2016-chevrolet-ss-revealed-with-…

The video at the bottom of this story about the Honda Jet to go into productions in 2016 is a rough assessment about Honda and their product lines. Honda only earned 2.6% profit last year on their product lines especially their autos. It is worth watching as he really rips Honda. http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/faa-approval-near-hondas-business-jet-is-about-to-hit-the-market/ar-AAgaIFl

wow what an interesting list of best and worsts, especially the "worsts" list. I do find it funny that the 07 v8 4x4 tundra was exceptionally called out on the best list. full article at MSN Autos: http://editorial.autos.msn.com/article.asp...cumentid=435706 What says ye?

http://www.thestar.com/Business/article/303051

GM confirms 2010 Buick LaCrosse will be available with 2.4-liter Ecotech I4 With six-speed transmission, estimates of 20 city/ 30 highway for the 182 horsepower engine. Story Link

PSA Group's decade-long plan of possibly returning to the U.S. continues forward and they are facing their next roadblock, setting up a dealer network. Trying to convince dealers to sell brands that haven't been sold since the early nineties. But the French automaker believes they have a solution, using a tech-centric approach that will be affordable. "We see the high cost of doing this business; we see the challenges that exist in profitability for dealers and OEMs. We believe with the new tools, the new technology, the new customer expectations, there are leaner, more agile ways to do this," said PSA North America chief Larry Dominique to Automotive News. "We …

http://www.minyanville.com/articles/tm-CAR...1828/from/yahoo

Volkswagen Suzuki Partnership Making Little Progress William Maley - Editor/Reporter - CheersandGears.com March 16, 2011 The Volkswagen Suzuki partnership hasn't gotten off to the best of starts. Formed back in 2009, the partnership between the two has barely made any movement. The two companies had ambitious plans for the partnership; Volkswagen wanted access to Suzuki's Indian subsidiary, Maruti Suzuki which holds about half of the Indian auto market. Suzuki wanted Volkswagen's help on diesel, hybrid, and electric car technology. What is holding up the partnership? “We are still in a period where we have to establish trust. We here in the western worl…

A historic commitment was announced today by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, and twenty automakers to make automatic emergency braking (AEB) standard by 2022. “It’s an exciting time for vehicle safety. By proactively making emergency braking systems standard equipment on their vehicles, these 20 automakers will help prevent thousands of crashes and save lives. It’s a win for safety and a win for consumers," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. This agreement comes as a result of mounting evidence that AEB systems can cut rear-end crashes by as much as 40 percent. Back in September, NHTSA a…