Automotive Industry
News covering the Automotive Industry at large.
503 articles in this category
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If there is anything the Volkswagen diesel emission scandal has shown us, it has shown the various regulations used around the world are tricky to enforce and that automakers will take advantage of loopholes. General Motors' powertrain chief wants to change that by unifying emission standards around the world. Dan Nicholson, GM's powertrain chief tells Automotive News that he plans to use his upcoming presidency of the International Federation of Automotive Engineering Societies (Fisita) to
GM's Powertrain Chief Wants To Have A Global Standard for Emissions
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As expected, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) have unveiled a proposal that will suspend increases in fuel economy put forth by the Obama administration, and take away California's ability regulate vehicle emissions. The new proposal is called the "Safer Affordable Fuel-Efficient (SAFE) Vehicles Rule." Under the new proposal, the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) would be capped at the 2020 level of 37 mpg through
Prepare yourselves, there are some mental gymnastics involved
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Fiat Chrysler Automobiles is none too pleased with the Indian automaker Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd as they're planning to sell an off-road vehicle that looks very much like the original Willys Jeep. Bloomberg obtained a complaint filed by FCA to the U.S. International Trade Commission on August 1st. The document claims that Mahindra's Roxor infringes key characteristics of Jeep's signature design - namely the “boxy body shape with flat-appearing vertical sides and rear body ending at about
A fair amount of their complaint deals with the design
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William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com October 21, 2013 It has been a few months since we had any update from VL Automotive, the group who showed off a Fisker Karma with 6.2L LS9 V8 from the Corvette ZR1 called the Destino. Back in May, Bob Lutz said plans for the Destino were safe, despite the problems Fisker Automotive were having at the time. This past week, Lutz gave an update on where VL Automotive stands. Lutz tells Automotive News that VL currently has 25 Karmas on hand and t
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Apple has formally shown its CarPlay integration system before the start the Geneva Motor Show today. The system, formally known as 'iOS in the Car' allows owners of a iPhone 5s, 5c, or 5 to control certain aspects of the phone through the car's infotainment system. According to Apple, owners will be able to plug in their iPhones to their vehicles via the USB port and control a number of functions such as making and answering phone calls, text messaging, navigation via Apple Maps, and playing m
Apple Joins in The Infotainment System Wars With CarPlay
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If there is one thing that we can pull from this latest round of contract negotiations between the Detroit three and the UAW is that amount of car production that will be heading to Mexico. According to a report from Automotive News, Ford and Fiat Chrysler Automobile will have moved production of most of their mass-market vehicles from the U.S. to Mexico. General Motors will be the only Detroit automaker who is keeping some sort of production of their compact and midsize cars. Why the sh
Why Your Next Car From the Detroit Three Will Be Built In Mexico.
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William Maley Editor/Reporter - CheersandGears.com April 12, 2012 The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has announced has announced plans to update the agency's current vehicle safety standards to include a mandatory brake-throttle override system. The system would ensure that the brake will overpower the gas pedal when the two are applied at the same time and bring the car to a stop. The hope is to curb the amount of unattended acceleration cases. The new standards will apply o
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William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com November 5, 2012 Tesla announced their third quarter results today and it was a mixed bag. The company announced a $110.8 million loss, a figure that's significantly higher than last year's $65.1 million loss. Tesla partly blames the loss on a slower-than-expected roll-out for the Model S, which went into production in July. Tesla says they have increased production of the Model S from 100 vehicles per week to 200. The company expects to be buil
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Under the current standards for vehicle emissions, automakers have a variety of ways to achieve compliance. These are known as "compliance flexibilities" which allows an automaker to sell electric vehicles to off-set gad-guzzlers like SUVs as an example. But the recent proposal by the Trump administration to ease emission standards, will remove these flexibilities. The proposal unveiled last week would freeze fuel-economy and emissions standards at their 2020 levels for several years beyond
And now for something completely contradictory
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William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com November 5, 2012 We knew the day was coming, just when was the question. Now, that day has arrived. Earlier tonight, American Suzuki Motor Corporation has announced they would be filling for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and close up their automotive division. "In evaluating its position in the highly regulated and competitive U.S. automotive industry, ASMC determined that its Automotive division was facing a number of serious challenges. These challen
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Sergio Marchionne isn't taking no for answer from General Motors over merging with FCA. Reuters reports the automakers have brought investment banks for help to deal with this mess. Sources say FCA has brought in UBS, while GM has brought in Goldman Sachs and possibly Morgan Stanley. In the case of GM, the company has signed a letter of engagement with Goldman Sachs on advice with dealing with FCA. "It would be inconceivable for General Motors not to be talking to any number of advisers abou
FCA and GM Bring In Investment Banks Over Merger Standoff
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By William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com February 14, 2013 After the whole Hyundai-Kia mileage fiasco, the EPA says it will be conducting more fuel economy audits. Jeff Alson, a senior EPA engineer said at a conference about the government’s 2025 fuel economy standard that the agency performs “routine audits” of manufacturer's mileage claims, but does admits more can be done. “We’ll probably do more of that in the future than we did in the past,” Alson said. Alson also told the c
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William Maley Editor/Reporter - CheersandGears.com April 16, 2012 To say Suzuki is hurting would be a large understatement. The brand is showing many signs of trouble which include, Suzuki's first quarter sales totaled 6,561 vehicles, a drop of 2% over last year. Meanwhile, in the same quarter, the market rose 13%. Suzuki skipped the Los Angeles and Detroit Auto Show Suspended their social media activity (i.e. Facebook & Twitter) two months ago Steve Younan, the top U.S. produc
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William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com November 7, 2012 Hurricane Sandy was the largest storm in the Atlantic in US history, and the economic damage is beginning to come into view. Automotive News is reporting that around 15,000 new vehicles will be scrapped due to storm damage. About 40% of those are Nissan and Infiniti vehicles that were determined to be unfit for sale. Toyota is next with the possibility of having to scrap close to 4,000 vehicles. Other automakers that have annou
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William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com June 11, 2013 Pickup Trucks continue to be the lifeblood for the American automaker's financials. A very good thing since truck sales seems to be in very good health - in fact Automotive News says that truck sales are arguably healthier than they were pre-recession, despite the volume is still below pre-recession levels. How? The per-unit profit has increased massively, outpacing the industry average by more than double since 2005. Edmunds say
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With the rise of services of car and ride-sharing services such as Uber and Lyft, a number of people have said this would begin the downfall of buying and owning a new vehicle in the U.S. But a new study commissioned by Kelly Blue Book says that isn't happening for the majority of the country. The study revealed many Americans consider vehicle ownership to be more convenient, reliable, safer than car- and ride-sharing services. It also revealed that 76 percent of respondents that use these s
Car and Ride-Services Bringing the End of Car Ownership? Not so fast!
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In a not surprising move, President Donald Trump announced today that his administration will reopen a review into the 2025 fuel economy standards set by the EPA before the end of President Barack Obama's term. “We’re going to work on the CAFE standards so you can make cars in America again. There is no more beautiful sight than an American-made car,” said Trump at an event in the former Willow Run bomber factory in Ypsilanti, Michigan - soon to become a testing ground for autonomous vehic
Back to the review desk
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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 lu
But is there such a thing as too many?
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While the primary focus at PSA Group for the past few months has been purchase of Opel and Vauxhall from General Motors, there has been another project that has been going in the shadows, the return of the French automaker to the U.S. Speaking at the CAR Management Briefing Seminars this week in Traverse City, MI, the CEO of the recently established PSA North America Larry Dominique gave a status update. Back in April, PSA made their first foray into North America with the launch of ca
Progress is being made. Slowly.
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William Maley Editor/Reporter - CheersandGears.com February 6, 2012 Do you want a billion dollars? Well, all you need to do is build 60,000 cars that get 100 MPG and the U.S. government will send a check your way if a new bill is passed. Representative Dan Lungren ® of California's 3rd Congressional District has introduced a bill into Congress called the Excellence in Energy Efficiency Act of 2012. If the bill is passed, the legislation would have the Secretary of Energy "establish a program
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William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com October 28, 2013 California and seven other states have signed a new pact that hopes to increase the number of zero emission vehicles on their roads to 3.3 million by the year 2025. Joining California in this pact are Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, Rhode Island, Oregon, and Vermont. The seven states have already adopted a rule like California where by 2025, 15 percent of vehicles sold must produce zero emissions. To help get to
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Mazda and Toyota announced today a new alliance that will strengthen their current partnership and see the two collaborate on a number of projects. The big news is a new, $1.6 billion joint-venture assembly plant for the U.S. The location hasn't been revealed, but it will produce Corollas and Mazda crossovers. The plant is expected to open in 2021 and produce up to 300,000 vehicles per year. The other big news deals with the two forming a shared capital structure. Toyota will acquire 5.05 pe
Part of a new alliance between the two
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In a move that was expected to happen soon, the EPA announced that it plans to revise the fuel-efficiency regulations that were approved during the President Obama administration. “The Obama EPA’s determination was wrong. Obama’s EPA cut the midterm evaluation process short with politically charged expediency, made assumptions about the standards that didn’t comport with reality and set the standards too high,” said EPA chief Scott Pruitt in a statement today. The statement goes on t
You can guess who likes and despises this
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William Maley Editor/Reporter - CheersandGears.com April 18, 2012 Shelby has been synonymous with the Mustang since the late sixties with the GT350 and GT500. Since the two got back together in 2007 with GT500, Shelby has been reestablishing itself as the halo car producer for Ford. But Shelby is looking to expand. Autoblog talked with Shelby president John Luft about what the future holds for the company. Luft said the company is looking at whether to branch out to other vehicles in the For
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William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com October 28, 2013 Consumer Reports has released this year's Auto Reliability Rankings, and not surprisingly Japan is on top. The top three in the rankings are Lexus, Toyota, and Acura. Following them is Mazda in fifth, Infiniti in sixth, Honda in eighth, and Subaru in tenth. That doesn't mean there weren't any surprises. Audi jumped four places to forth, while Volvo climbed a massive thirteen spots to seventh place. GMC was the only American bra
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William Maley Editor/Reporter - CheersandGears.com April 18, 2012 New analysis from TrueCar, an online research firm, shows the average transaction price of new cars are on the rise. TrueCar looked at sales data from last month and found that the average price was 30,748, a rise 6.9% over the previous year. So why the increase in average price? The answer lies in the options list. Consumers are ticking more boxes on the list like never before, with the average new car being very close to “f
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William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com November 13, 2012 The news of Suzuki automobiles leaving the U.S. has left their dealers with a choice, either take a cash settlement or take Suzuki to court. Last week, American Suzuki Motor Corporation was authorized by a U.S. Bankruptcy Court to borrow $45 million dollars as part of a settlement with dealers. The settlement would give dealers a cash settlement, and a new contract giving the dealers the rights to operate as parts and service
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A record number of consumers are finding themselves 'underwater' when it comes time to trade-in their vehicle - the vehicle is worth less than what they owe on their loan. The Detroit Free Press cites a study done by Edmunds revealing that in the second quarter of this year, 32 percent or nearly one-third of vehicles being traded in fall into the 'underwater' category. This isn't good news for consumers since the difference is tacked on to the new vehicle they had their eye on. To put
A number of factors play into this
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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
Some actual good news for Faraday Future
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When the EPA and NHTSA unveiled the proposal for revised fuel economy standards, there was a key part that brought up a lot of debate: The claim that the new regulations would reduce the number of fatalities and crashes. As we pointed out in our story, there were a number of holes in that argument. It seems we were not the only ones questioning this. Yesterday, the review of the proposal done by the White House's Information and Regulatory Affairs was made public. In it are hundred of pages
Ah, interagency fighting.
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For the past few years, luxury automakers have been trying to fill every single niche they could think of. It's why we have such models as the BMW 5-Series GT and Mercedes-Benz GLC-Coupe for example. But now, BMW and Mercedes-Benz admit they have too many models and are planning to cut some. “The checkerboard of body styles and segments is rather full, although there are still a few to be finished. We’ve got an X2 and an X7 coming, and there are a few others, but I also know—because we’ve t
Bad News, coupes and convertibles are on the chopping block
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William Maley Editor/Reporter - CheersandGears.com April 19, 2012 The diesel car, once considered the dirtiest and worst powertrain in America, is making a large comeback. According to statistics gathered by the Diesel Technology Forum, diesel vehicles sales are up 35% in the first quarter of 2012. A trend since diesel sales were up 27% the year before. By comparison, the overall U.S. auto market is up 13.% in the same time, and hybrid sales increased 37.2%. In the big picture, diesels capt
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William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com October 30, 2013 The U.S. Treasury's sell off of General Motors stock isn't faring so well. According to a new report from The Detroit News, the U.S. Treasury has reported a $9.7 billion loss on the $49.5 billion bailout of GM back in 2009. This figure comes from the quarterly report from the Special Inspector General of the Troubled Asset Relief Program to Congress. The U.S. Treasury original stake in GM back in 2009 was around 60.8 percent. S
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The EPA, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and California Air Resources Board have released their draft Technical Assessment Report on the 'Midterm Evaluation of Light-duty Vehicle GHG Emissions Standards for Model Years 2022-2025'. Despite the long name, this report is important as the results will help determine if the 54.5 mpg corporate average fuel economy target for 2025 needs to be adjusted or not. Let's begin with the good news. The report says the industry is “ado
That 54.5 mpg fleetwide goal? Yeah, about that...
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William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com November 15, 2012 The National Transportation Safety Board announced their 2013 Most Wanted safety list which is used to "increase awareness of, and support for, the most critical changes needed to reduce transportation accidents and save lives." On this year's list, the NTSB put "Collision-Avoidance" technologies to be standard on all new vehicles. What the NTSB means by "Collision-Avoidance" technologies are features like rear-end collision w
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William Maley Editor/Reporter - CheersandGears.com April 20, 2012 The bad news is solidering on at Fisker Automotive. A few weeks after showing the new Atlantic concept, the company let go twelve people at their Delaware plant. This is second time this year that Fisker has laid off people at the plant. Back in February, Fisker laid off twenty-six employees due to the company not meeting the Department of Energy’s contractual milestones for their loans. Today, Fisker employs only a small main
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It's that time of year when Consumer Reports announces the results of their brand report cards and for the most part, the results aren't surprising. The top ten were mostly dominated by Japanese automakers with Lexus being on top, followed by Mazda and Toyota. But if you look a little further down the list, you'll find a domestic automaker making the ten. Buick took the number seven spot on their annual reliability survey with the publication giving it an overall score of 69 and recommending 83
A Domestic Automaker Cracks the Top Ten
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Most people aren't so keen on letting an autonomous system take control of their vehicle according to a new survey done by Cox Automotive. Nearly 85 percent of the 1,250 people surveyed said they should have the option to drive themselves even in a self-driving vehicle. Only 16 percent said they would feel comfortable allowing a autonomous driving system take over. When asked if they would be a fully-autonomous vehicle (Level 5 under SAE's vehicle autonomy guidelines), almost half said no.
Blame the number of recent crashes involving self-driving cars
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In light of GM's massive 1.6 million vehicle recall and Toyota's massive $1.2 billion settlement over the unattended acceleration problem, two U.S. Senators introduced legislation to require automakers to provide more information concerning incidents that involve the loss of human life. Senators Ed Markey, D-Massachusetts., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Connecticut introduced the Early Warning Reporting System Improvement Act yesterday. The bill would require automobile and equipment manufacturers
A New Bill Is Requiring Automakers To Automatically Send Information About Safety Defects
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Consider this: Citroen pulled out of the U.S. in the eighties, while Peugeot would leave in 1991. But according to Automotive News, PSA/Peugeot-Citroen could be making a return with their DS brand. “We want to make DS a global premium brand, and you cannot be global without the U.S.,” said DS CEO Yves Bonnefont. The DS lineup was previously a division of the Citroen brand, providing premium models to compete with likes of MINI Cooper and Audi A3. However, PSA made the decision to make DS a sta
PSA Could Be Making A Return To The U.S.
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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
A Historic Safety Commitment Was Announced Today
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Earlier this week, the Environmental Protection Agency announced that it would be rolling back the fuel-efficiency regulations that were approved during the Obama administration. The agency also announced possibly revoking California's waiver that allows it to set tougher standards on vehicle emissions. The state vowed to fight this. But a new report from the New York Times says California and officials from the Trump administration are in talks about possibly reaching a deal to avoid a legal fi
Trying to avoid legal trouble
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Last week, Tesla CEO Elon Musk revealed that Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) could help provide the necessary funding to make the company private. But a new report hints that the PIF could invest its money into a different electric automaker. Reuters has learned from sources that the PIF is in talks with Lucid Motors about a potential investment. The two have drawn up a term sheet where the PIF could invest more than $1 billion into Lucid Motors and become the majority stakehold
Another automaker may be in the sights of Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund
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William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com June 19, 2013 Another automaker bites the dust. Carbon Motors, the company behind the futuristic E7 police vehicle has filled for chapter seven bankruptcy (i.e. liquidation) last Friday. The Indianapolis Business Journal says the company's bankruptcy paperworks lists liabilities of $21.7 million and assets of just $18,976. Those assets include one E7 prototype, some furniture, books, and intellectual property. Carbon Motor's business plan hi
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William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com August 2, 2012 According to research firm Baum and Associates, American buyers are taking a liking to diesel vehicles. Through June of this year, 61,214 diesel-powered vehicles have been sold in the U.S., an increase of 27.5%. That number might not sound like a lot, but sales of diesel vehicles are steadily climbing. From April to June, Diesel vehicles saw increases in sales ranging from 14.4% to 28.2%. This news comes in the face of the high
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The Environmental Protection Agency has today proposed to keep its vehicle emission targets through 2025, shocking a lot of people and possibly setting up a major fight between regulators and the automotive industry. According to Automotive News, the proposal will now enter a 30-day comment period. After this period, the EPA administrator could finalize this proposal and begin enforcing these standards a bit quicker. By 2025, automakers will need to increase their to 54.5 miles per gallon
The EPA is moving forward with the upcoming 2025 Emission Regulations
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Since the recession has ended, the average price of a used car was soared due limited supply. But The Detroit News says with more vehicles coming in due to leases coming to an end, prices are beginning to fall. According to CNW Research, the average transaction price of a used car in September was $10,963. Compared to the same time last year, the average has dropped 2.1 percent. "During the recession, it almost cost as much to get a used car as it did to get a new car, but now the market is go
Used Car Prices Are Beginning To Drop
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William Maley Editor/Reporter - CheersandGears.com April 22, 2012 Ex-Saab CEO Victor Muller on-again, off-again affair with the sports car company he started, Spyker appears to be back on. During Muller’s tenure at Saab, Spyker was put up for sale to the highest bidder. A few companies were interested, but none bit, which has become a blessing in a disguise. Since Saab has bid adieu, Swedish Automotive has changed its name to back to Spyker. Now, Muller has some big plans in store. De Tel
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It was only a few years ago that French automaker PSA Peugeot Citroën was on life support due to massive losses and poor sales. But thanks to an infusion of cash from Chinese automaker Dongfeng and the French government, the company was able to right the ship. The past couple of years has seen PSA Peugeot Citroën emerge as a healthy and profitable automaker. Now the company is looking at expanding into new markets, including the U.S. According to Automobilwoche, officials at PSA say the U.S.
PSA Peugeot Citroën Considers Return to U.S.
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Aptera Motors, the company behind the odd looking, three wheel electric vehicle called the 2e has announced today they're closing up shop. In a letter written by Aptera Motors President and CEO, Paul Wilbur, Aptera was unable to raise enough money from investors to keep it going until it received a $150 million loan from the Department of Energy's Advance Technology Vehicle Manufacturing program. "This is a difficult time for everyone connected with our company because we have never been clo
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The past ten years has seen a number of automakers either being folded up or taken into other automakers. But an analyst believes there is more consolidation for the automotive marketplace. Morgan Stanley auto analyst Adam Jonas said in a research note earlier this month says in the future there will only be five to six automakers in the world. This comes down to such factors as economics and technologies. “We believe the radically changing landscape of autos requires a commensurate change of
And there were only six automakers?
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By William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com February 24, 2013 Four months after Hurricane Sandy blasted the East Coast, the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) announced its revised estimates for the number of vehicles damaged in the storm's wake. The new total of vehicles damaged in Hurricane Sandy stands at 250,500 vehicles. This number is well above the estimate put out by National Automobile Dealers Association which say that 200,000 vehicles could be damaged. The majority of
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William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com June 24, 2013 The federal mandate for new vehicles to come equipped with backup cameras has been delayed, once again. According to Automotive News, the mandate has been pushed back to 2015 due to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration examining the cost of implementing this mandate. U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, said in a letter to Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., that more analysis on how mu
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William Maley Editor/Reporter - CheersandGears.com August 6, 2012 If you're one of those people who wanted a H1, or the actual wartime vehicle that inspired it, have we got some news for you. After a twelve year break from the civilian market, AM General is reportedly set to offer a kit-car of the C-Series HMMWV, or Humvee. The kit will meet U.S. government regulations and has been made possible by a deal with GM. The kit will include a body with 2,800 installed rivets, chassis with springs
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The Environmental Protection Agency released their annual report on industrywide fuel economy this week and says that 2013 model year vehicles achieved an average of 24.1 miles per gallon — up 0.5 mpg from the previous year and almost 5 mpg since 2004. "We are thrilled to see that manufacturers continue to innovate and are bringing technologies to improve fuel economy online even faster than anticipated," said EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy. Mazda was the top automaker in the report with a fl
The U.S. Fleet Average Fuel Economy Is Up
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While much of the focus of the investigations into Volkswagen diesel emission scandal has been focused on the German automaker, attention is now turning to one of their key suppliers. Reuters has learned from sources that the U.S. Department of Justice has opened an investigation into what involvement did German auto supplier Bosch GmbH have in the scandal. Bosch built a number of key components that Volkswagen and its subsidiary brands would use on diesel engines. Now the sources are quick
The Department of Justice begins investigating Bosch into their possible involvement in VW's diesel mess
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Saab seems to be the cat of the automotive industry with the number of lives it has. Last we heard from the Swedish company, the company was waiting on approval on a deal with Pang Da and Youngman. However, General Motors was concerned with the deal due to technologies used in Saab vehicles ending up in competitor hands. Now, a new deal to save Saab is in the works. Saab's parent company, Swedish Automotive is in talks with Youngman and a bank in China (possibly Bank of China). The plan accor
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William Maley Editor/Reporter - CheersandGears.com February 10, 2012 The House Science Committee approved a bill on Tuesday that bars the EPA from going forward with E15 till further studies are done. The bill sponsored by Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-WI), was passed by a 19-7 vote as members voted along party lines. Automakers and and corn growers have clashed over E15, which is made from 15 percent corn-based ethanol biofuel since 2010. The EPA has allowed E15 use in 2001 and newer vehicle
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William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com August 7, 2012 New legislation introduced into the House and Senate this week aims to end rental car companies renting or selling vehicles that are under recall. The legislation, co-sponsored by U.S. Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) want to prohibit the rental of vehicles under a safety recall. The bill was introduced after two people were killed in 2004 when their unrepaired recalled Chrysler PT Cruiser,rented fro
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William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com November 21, 2012 Last week, the Massachusetts Superior Court denied a request from the Massachusetts State Automobile Dealers Association for an injunction against Tesla to stop them from running a store in Boston. The lawsuit filled on October 16th argued that Tesla violates Massachusetts' licensing, consumer protection and franchise laws since the company runs their own stores. If granted the injunction, Tesla could only use their storefront
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William Maley Editor/Reporter - CheersandGears.com February 10, 2012 Last night, Tesla introduced their next vehicle, the Model X. Based on on an extended platform of the 5+2 passenger sedan, the Model S, the Model X is a seven passenger crossover EV. Design of the Model X takes a Model S, enlarges it, and adds the back end of the BMW X6. The signature design feature of the Model X is what Tesla is calling falcon-wing doors, a two-piece articulated gullwing door. The trick with the falcon-wi
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William Maley Editor/Reporter - CheersandGears.com February 10, 2012 Earlier this week, Fisker announced they had temporarily halted work on Nina family sedan at the Fisker Automotive plant in Wilmington, Del. The temporary halt is due to Fisker and the federal government hashing out new terms of the company’s $529 million Department of Energy loan. The halt has caused Fisker to layoff 26 people at its Delaware plant and a number of contract engineers at Fisker's Anaheim, Calif., headquarters
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William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com November 24, 2012 (Note: The weekend edition is back from its long vacation, mostly due to me being busy with other things. Sorry about that. Anyways, enjoy. -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 where the the Cheers & Gears’ Weekend Edition c
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William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com June 28, 2013 Here's a story that we're filling under the 'wait and see' file. Reuters is reporting that the Peugeot family, which currently owns a 25.4-percent stake in PSA Peugeot-Citroën automaker and 38.1 percent of voting rights is willing to give up its stake and try to revive a tie-up with General Motors. "GM faces the same overcapacity situation with Opel, and that's why PSA is trying to convince them to merge the two. The Peugeot famil
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Last Thursday, Beijing Automotive (BAIC) made an interesting announcement. Reuters reports the company is looking into buying a "mid to high-end brand" in Europe or the United States. If you're wondering, they have a number of companies in mind, but don't give out any names. President Dong Haiyang told reporters at a briefing in Beijing that this would allow them to break into the global marketplace much quicker. The company already some ties in the automotive world mostly in Europe. First, th
BAIC Begins The Search For A Mid to High-Level Automaker To Buy
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Kalashnikov, the Russian company best known for making the AK-47 assault rifle is planning to enter the growing electric-vehicle market. Last week at the Army 2018 International Military Technical Forum in Kubinka, Russia, Kalashnikov unveiled the CV-1 concept. The design is inspired by the Soviet Izh-Kombi hatchback built between 1973 and 1997. There are some modern touches such as LED headlights and a set of lightweight wheels. Technical details are scarce, with Kalashnikov saying the mod
Yes, the maker of the AK-47 built an EV concept
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G. Noble Editor/Reporter CheersandGears.com Friday, 10th February, 2012 If you're waiting for the sting of high gas prices to go away soon, you may be in for one hell of a long wait. Gas prices are back at a national average of $3.48 a gallon -- a whole 36 cents more than the average during February of last year -- and are set to climb an entire 60 cents or more by May. Tom Kloza of the Oil Price Information service expects prices to top out at $4.05 a gallon, although some markets could se
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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 alumin
While Ford Idles F-150, GM and Chrysler Take Advantage of It
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William Maley Editor/Reporter - CheersandGears.com December 6, 2011 Earlier today, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee it plans to hold a hearing in late January on the Volt battery issue. "It gives us great concern that recent reports indicate important safety information may have been omitted in testimony before our committee just a few weeks ago. This is a serious situation that our committee will look further into," said Jeff Solsby, a spokesman for the committee. The he
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William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com July 1, 2013 If you been looking at used midsize trucks and wondering why the prices are somewhat high, a new study has an answer to that. According to Black Book, the deprecation rate is much lower on midsize trucks than the whole used car market. In June, used cars as a whole saw a deprecation hit of 1.3 percent. In that same time, midsize trucks saw a 0.7 deprecation hit. Look over the past year and the margin grows wider. Used cars deprecat
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The U.S. Congress is voting on a new highway bill that if passed, would bring some much needed money and changes for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Automotive News reports the new bill, called Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act would be the first long-term highway plan in a decade. If passed, the bill would provide roughly $300 billion for roads, bridges, and mass-transit projects. The bill would also increase NHTSA's budget for defect investigati
Larger Budget on defect investigations and a increased maximum fine are some of the changes in store.
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William Maley Editor/Reporter - CheersandGears.com February 11, 2012 Former President George W. Bush spoke this week to a gathering of auto dealers. During his speech, Bush defended his decision on bailing out Chrysler and General Motors. "I'd do it again. I didn't want there to be 21 percent unemployment," Bush told dealers. Bush told dealers he believed in the free market and in normal conditions, automakers and other businesses should have been allowed to fail. "If you make a bad decisi
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The Frankfurt Motor Show is only just a month away, where will see a new selection of production and concept vehicles. But there will be some no-shows. Automotive News Europe has learned of nine automakers that will be skipping the show. They include, Alfa Romeo DS Fiat Infiniti Jeep Mitsubishi Nissan Peugeot Volvo The nine automakers combined make up 20 percent of all automotive sales in Europe. So why are they skipp
More automakers are deciding to skip Frankfurt
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As lawmakers continue to work on comprehensive tax reform, one item related to the automotive industry on the table was the tax credit for electric vehicles. The credit, which can be up to $7,500, was dropped in the House version of the bill but kept in the Senate version. The credit was started in 2009 as part of the economic stimulus package as a way to encourage investment by auto manufacturers in the development of electric powered or assisted vehicles. The the current version of the bil
The credit of up to $7,500 remains untouched.
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PSA Group is slowing making end roads into U.S. as part of their 10-year plan. We have already reported on their carsharing service, TravelCar that will be launching in select markets this month. Now, the French automaker has taken the next step by announcing former Nissan and TrueCar executive Larry Dominique as a Senior Vice President of PSA North America. Automotive News reports Dominique's role will first deal with the car-sharing aspects before starting to make progress on one or all o
Meet PSA Group's new VP of North America
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Earlier this month, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles filed a complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission over the Mahindra Roxor - a side-by-side off-road utility. FCA alleges that the certain design elements of the Roxor infringe on the " intellectual property rights of FCA's Jeep design," and is wanting to stop the sale of the model in the U.S. Mahindra is fighting back. Reuters reports that the company has filed a public interest statement with the U.S. ITC and started proceedings in
Deals with the Roxor Utility
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William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com August 9, 2012 Chrysler, Ford, and General Motors have been making great strides in quality. J.D. Power and Associates' recent Vehicle Dependability Study saw Buick, Ford, and Lincoln above the industry average. Also, Cadillac, GMC, Chevrolet, and Ram trucks all ranked above average in J.D. Power's Initial Quality Study. However, there is still many people who view these three as inferior vehicles. A new poll from Harris Interactive says that o
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In the Math solving all of our problems file; the LA Times is reporting that MIT has developed an an algorithm that can determine whether a driver will run a red light within milliseconds.Their research is being published in the journal IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Transportation Systems. The group did tests at an intersection in Christianburg, VA with 15,000 vehicles passing through. Their results with the algorithm was correct 85% of the time, which is reportedly the most accurate that ha
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William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com August 10, 2012 Suzuki's presence in the U.S. is, um lackluster. However in other parts of the world, Suzuki is a major player. So whenever the company shows off a new vehicle or concept, that means its not for the U.S. However, a vehicle that will make its premiere at the Paris Motor Show could be arriving to the U.S. Suzuki has released two teaser images of the S-Cross concept, a small crossover. Suzuki says that the S-Cross has a "Emotion x
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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 s
Or about 52 Million Vehicles In Total
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Only a few weeks ago, Toyota and Mazda surprised everyone by announcing a new alliance. The two would collaborate on a number of projects including a $1.6 billion assembly plant, possibly bringing 4,000 new jobs. At the time, the two automakers haven't decided where the plant would go, which sent various states in a frenzy. A report from the Detroit Free Press has learned that the two have sent out a blind request for proposals from states in Midwest, mid-Atlantic and South. Sources tell th
Over a dozen states are involved
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William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com July 3, 2013 Hydrogen, the fuel that automakers say will be available within ten years and doesn't, got some big press yesterday. General Motors and Honda announced a new partnership that will see the co-development of a next-generation fuel cell system and hydrogen storage technologies by 2020. The partnership will also look at reducing the cost of shared components that come from this and contribute to building an infrastructure for Hydrogen.
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Michigan Governor Rick Snyder signed into law today a full suite regulations regarding the testing, use and eventual sale of autonomous vehicles in the state. “By establishing guidelines and standards for self-driving vehicles, we’re continuing that tradition of excellence in a way that protects the public’s safety while at the same time allows the mobility industry to grow without overly burdensome regulations,” said Synder in a statement. The new law will allow vehicles without stee
Michigan becomes more friendly with autonomous vehicles
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William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com November 27, 2012 After a controversial exit from General Motors that has left a lot of questions, former CMO Joel Ewanick has found a new temporary home at Fisker. Automotive News reports that Fisker has hired Ewanick as its interim chief commercial officer while they search for a replacement. Ewanick takes the place of former CCO, Richard Beattie who retired on Monday. "We would like to thank Richard for his valuable contribution in helping
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The UAW has dropped their plans to organize a foreign automaker plant. Previously, the UAW vowed to organize one foreign auto manufacturer on U.S. soil by year’s end. "We're shifting our strategy a little bit. We are not going to announce a target at all. We are not going to create a fight," said UAW President Bob King. King's announcement comes a few days after UAW spokeswoman Michele Martin said the union wouldn't meet it's goal to unionize a foreign plant by year’s end. Organizing one fore
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William Maley Editor/Reporter - CheersandGears.com April 29, 2012 This past week at the SAE World Congress in Detroit, Google says that self-driving cars can be on U.S. roads within the next few years. We don't know what it's going to take to show its safer than a driver. It's much sooner than the next decade," said Google project manager Anthony Levandowski. Levandowski revealed that Google is in talks with auto makers and suppliers about working with them on the technology. "All options
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William Maley Editor/Reporter - CheersandGears.com February 14, 2012 Tesla’s first car, the Roadster had to bow out last year due to Lotus choosing to end production of its own Elise and Exige sports cars, which the Roadster was based on. Since then, Tesla has promised a sequel to the Roadster, but it might be a long wait. Inside Line spoke with Tesla Chairman and CEO Elon Musk about the next Roadster. Musk said he's decided to hold up on a replacement roadster for now. The reason isn’t tech
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The past few years have been tiring if you happen to be a millennial. There has been countless articles talking about how this group are not buying houses or vehicles. Of course, the reason is that millennials don't have the money (saddled with more debt, having entry-level salaries, etc). But that is changing. According to a report from Bloomberg, millennials are beginning to head out to the suburbs, and purchasing houses and cars. The reason? They're having their baby boom. According to d
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February 14th, 2012 - Drew Dowdell - CheersandGears.com Michiganers will soon be able to get around a little faster without risking a speeding ticket. The US Department of Transportation has approved Amtrak to run 80 miles of the 97 mile section between Kalamazoo, MI and Porter, IN at 110mph, the first such service outside of Amtrak's North East Corridor. This move comes after the successful implementation of Incremental Train Control System (ITCS) along this section of the route. The two route
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William Maley Editor/Reporter - CheersandGears.com May 1, 2012 From the Twilight Zone file: USA Today reports that 6.5% of new vehicles sold in the first quarter were equipped with a manual transmission, which is more than double of vehicles sold with them in 2007. It's also the highest amount since 2006 when 7.2% vehicles were sold with manual transmission. The take rate is more impressive when you take into account that 19% of the 2,360 different models on sale offer a manual. The increas
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William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com July 10, 2013 Convertibles have a small slice of the new car market. That slice seems to shinking even further. According to data from R.L. Polk, sales of convertibles last year barely reached one percent. That's a major drop when compared to convertible sales of 1.6 percent in 2009 and 2 percent in 2006. In all, 151,636 convertibles were registered last year. While that is an increase in number of registations over the past few years, it still
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William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com August 14, 2012 A new study conducted by Maritz Research finds that 11.4% of new car buyers are skipping the test drive. The implication for skipping the test drive are due to more consumers doing their research on the internet (8 out of 10 consumers the study found) and the universal dislike of the car sales practice. "I just find it quite fascinating and a little baffling. As cliché as perhaps it sounds, there's that new-car smell that needs
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The past few years have seen a number of start-ups tackling an issue that has been a thorn in the side of consumers, buying a used car. Companies such as Beepi, Carvana, Shift, and Vroom have their own take on selling used vehicles, but the goal is the same - make it less of a hassle to buy a car by selling directly to a consumer through the internet at a lower price. But one of these companies has folded most of their operations. Beepi, one of the first companies to launch back in 2014 fol
A start-up trying to make it easier to buy used cars has folded up
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By 2050, eight states in the U.S. and five countries will ban the sale gas powered vehicles and only allow zero-emission vehicles (ZEV) to be sold. Car and Driver reports that eight states (California, Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Vermont) and five countries (Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Quebec, the United Kingdom) will only allow automakers to sell ZEVs by 2050. The announcement was made against the backdrop of the United Nations Conference
2050 Will See No More Gas Cars In Certain Countries and States
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William Maley Editor/Reporter - CheersandGears.com December 9, 2011 The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration proposed today a new rule that would make all keyless ignition systems operate in the same manner. The proposed rule would require the system be able to turn off the engine regardless of the position the gear selector is in. The rule would also reduce the number of seconds someone has to hold the button to turn the engine and have an audible warning if the driver tries to sh
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William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com August 14, 2012 Almost two months ago, the vehicle line director for the Chevy Volt, Tony Posawatz announced his retirement. Posawatz worked at GM for more than 30 years at GM. Posawatz was one of the key people overseeing the Volt. Few people at the time expected him to jump back into the industry. Fast forward to today and Tony Posawatz is now the new CEO of Fisker Automotive. He takes over from current CEO, Tom Lasorda who only became Fisker
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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 wit
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Only a couple of months after electric vehicle start-up Lucid Motors came out of the dark and unveiled an unnamed prototype vehicle, they have unveiled their first model named the Air. The model is taking direct aim at Tesla and their Model S sedan. The Air is powered by two electric motors - one on each axle - and can be paired with either a 100 kWh or 130 kWh battery pack. Total output stands at 1,000 horsepower. In terms of range, the 100 kWh battery pack is estimated to provide over 300
Another electric car start-up throws its hat into the ring.
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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 “Ju
Uber finds itself in hot water over their autonomous driving program in San Fransisco
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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 t
