Car Shrink
Q What’s the best interior fabric to avoid getting stuck to seats? Every girl knows how uncomfortable it is to drive in shorts or a short skirt and have to peel your legs off the seats at the end of a long journey. Candice Brown, Stony Stratford

Do American car buyers trust Fiat?

Do American car buyers trust Fiat?
When Fiat pulled out of the U.S. market 25 years ago, it left behind a reputation for selling cars that were temperamental and repair-prone.

Goodwood Breakfast Club gets underway with Mini mayhem

Consumer Reports releases top picks for 2009
Consumer Reports magazine released its top new- and used-vehicle picks for 2009.

Prius tops Consumer Reports best value list
The 2009 Toyota Prius Touring edition offers the best new car value, says Consumer Reports magazine.
Goodwood Breakfast Club gets underway with Mini mayhem
This Sunday the first Goodwood Breakfast Club of 2009 will be held at the Goodwood Motor Circuit in West Sussex. Attracting enthusiasts from across the country breakfast club meetings, which have been happening at Goodwood since 2006, provide car owners with the opportunity to display their own vehicle and admire one another’s cars.

UAW boss backs Ford contract concessions
UAW President Ron Gettelfinger is telling union members to vote for contract concessions to Ford, saying the automaker can’t survive in the long term without major restructuring.
Hind Motors to cut LCV price by Rs 7,000
Auto maker Hindustan Motors today announcedto cut the price of its light commercial vehicle 'Winger' by anaverage of about Rs 7,000 per unit, with immediate effect, in orderto pass on the benefit of the two per cent cut in excise duty by thegovernment.

Top two Ford execs to take 30 percent pay cuts

Honda's new hybrid is hot in Japan
Reuters reported today that Honda has received almost triple the number of orders it expected for the car after it went on sale in its homeland on Feb 6.

Top two Ford execs to take 30 percent pay cuts
Ford Motor Co.'s top two executives will take 30 percent pay cuts as the company tries to conserve cash and make it through the worst sales downturn in 26 years.

Land Rover Discovery TDV6

Honda replacing chief executive
Takanobu Ito will take over for Takeo Fukui amid a worldwide sales slowdown. Honda Motor Co. named Takanobu Ito, head of core automaking operations, as its new chief executive Monday in an effort to provide fresh leadership to battle a global crisis in the auto industry.

UAW, Ford reach a deal on health payments
The United Auto Workers and Ford Motor Co. said Monday they agreed to let the automaker change how it pays for a health care trust fund for retired workers.
Land Rover Discovery TDV6
The new Land Rover Discovery arrived at my house smelling of fresh leather and recently treated plasticsthe unmistakable (and all too soon lost) scent of new car, a compound aroma deemed so appealing in some quarters that many people would happily bottle it in liquid form and use it as room spray, or possibly even as an intimate little eau de cologne. (“Mmm, what's that you're wearing?” “It's Vauxhall Insignia.” “Delicious!”)

Ford Focus RS
Sometimes it’s good to annoy people. Today, as wealthy supercar drivers sit down to read about how I got on driving the new Ford Focus RS, they may be regretting investing six-figure sums in their fragile pieces of automotive one-upmanship. Because this 300bhp hyper-hatch will leave any supercar standing.

Administration: Auto restructuring needed

GM unit Saab files for protection from creditors
Parent company GM is trying to get the Swedish automaker in shape to be spun off or sold, but the ailing brand is still in danger of collapse. General Motors Corp.'s Swedish-based subsidiary Saab went into court protection from creditors Friday so the unit could be spun off or sold by its struggling U.S. parent, officials said.

Administration: Auto restructuring needed
The Obama administration says fundamental restructuring is needed to address the problems facing the auto industry.
SBI to be sole booking agent for Nano
Country's largest lender SBI today said it has been appointed as the sole booking agent for the world's least expensive car, Nano, from the stable of Tatas.

Buying a new family car? Here are some deals
The editors of Kelley Blue Book have identified what they consider the top five best deals of the week.

On-the-spot points for careless driving
Thousands more motorists will lose their licences under plans to give police the power to issue penalty points for careless driving without evidence being heard in court.

Nissan electrifies crowd in Tennessee with battery talk, no pie-eating

Nissan electrifies crowd in Tennessee with battery talk, no pie-eating
On Monday, Nissan announced that plans to bring a dedicated BEV to the U.S in late 2010 remain on track, despite the ongoing autopocalypse.

Bankruptcy won’t solve automakers’ woes
With U.S. automakers asking for billions more dollars in aid from the U.S. government, it’s worth asking: Shouldn’t General Motors and Chrysler just file for bankruptcy?
Toyota to cut jobs and freeze pay in Britain
Toyota is to cut jobs and look at reducing both pay and the working week in Britain after talks with unions, the company announced today.

GM, Chrysler file plans, ask for more money

GM, Chrysler seek billions more in federal loans
General Motors asks for $9.1 billion to $16.6 billion and says it might need more in coming years. Chrysler asks for $5 billion. In return, both automakers say, they'll slash jobs and vehicle lines. In a startling statement on the economic ruin they face, General Motors Corp. and Chrysler asked the government for billions of dollars more in federal loans, and GM said it could continue to need billions more for up to five more years.

GM, Chrysler file plans, ask for more money

Chrysler and General Motors on Tuesday told the U.S. government they need even more taxpayer money to survive.

Hyundai likely to meet Q1 export targets
Leading car exporter Hyundai Motor India Ltd today said it will be more or less able to meet its export targets for the first quarter of the calendar year against an earlier estimation of missing the aim by 25 per cent due to the global slowdown.

BMW Concept 5 Series Gran Turismo bumps you up to first class

BMW Concept 5 Series Gran Turismo bumps you up to first class
To the alphabet soup of SUVs, SAVs, CUVs etc., BMW is adding PAS.That stands for progressive activity sedan and describes the new niche being carved out by its new Concept 5 Series Gran Turismo, which debuts next month at the Geneva Auto Show.

Delphi cutting 775 jobs in steering division
Nearly 800 jobs are being eliminated at the steering division of Delphi Corp. near Saginaw, Mich.
Thousands of drivers with photo licence face fines of up to £1,000
More than 40,000 drivers risk fines of up to £1,000 because they have failed to renew their photocard driving licences.
M promoters pledge 8.09% stake
Leading utility vehicle manufacturer Mahindra & Mahindra today said its promoters have pledged 8.09 per cent stake of the company for an undisclosed amount.

Chicago Auto Show: Fewer debuts, and shrinking

Chicago Auto Show: Fewer debuts, and shrinking
In higher-volume years, Chicago's historic show was known for hosting world and national debuts of "heartland" vehicles -- trucks, SUVs and crossovers, but there were markedly fewer debuts of trucks and SUVs.

Obama creating auto industry panel

The Obama administration is establishing a panel, led by Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Lawrence Summers, the director of the National Economic Council, to direct the restructuring of General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC.

Renault to miss 2010 deadline of launching cars in India
French auto major Renault has temporarilyput on hold its plans to launch cars in India by 2010 in the wake ofthe global slowdown as the company has decided to hold back oninvestments on assembly line at its Chennai plant.

Car Clinic
Q Last September I bought an ex-demonstration Kia Cee’d 1.6 CRDi LS from a Kia dealer with most of its seven-year warranty intact. The problem is that the ride feels far too hard. A Kia technician initially agreed the ride was “firm”, but after more tests the dealer insisted it was “acceptable”. How should I proceed? â€" DW from Norwich

Honda FCX Clarity: Beauty for beauty's sake
Honda's striking, amazing hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle may be the most expensive, advanced and impractical car ever built. I've driven lots of cars. I've wallowed like a Russian oligarch pig in the gorgeous mud of a $1.6-million Bugatti Veyron. I've spit tailpipe fire across the midnight Mojave at the wheel of a Lamborghini. I've brushed gape-mouthed peasants aside with the chrome cowcatcher grille of a Rolls Royce Phantom.

‘Viability’ date looms without car czar

With less than a week to go before General Motors and Chrysler are due to submit viability plans to Congress, a power vacuum in Washington is raising questions about the next steps.

Ford committed to expansion plans in India
US carmaker Ford said the turmoil in the American auto market will not impact its expansion plans in India and it remains committed to the Indian market.

Chrysler prepares for future with, without Fiat

Dan Neil reflects: Bob Lutz and me
This is the car industry's version of the Great Man syndrome, whereby political reporters become enchanted with powerful politicians and go soft.

Chrysler prepares for future with, without Fiat
Chrysler LLC's product development chief said Wednesday that the automaker is preparing two plans to show the U.S. government how it will become viable.

A million dollars in the barn

A million dollars in the barn
Witness the $4.4-million sale last weekend of a 1937 Bugatti Type 57S Atalante in Paris by Bonhams, the London auction house.

General Motors cutting 10,000 salaried jobs

General Motors Corp. said Tuesday it will cut 10,000 salaried jobs, citing the need to restructure itself with a government deadline looming.

Nissan to slash 20,000 jobs, sees annual loss

Maximum Bob: Over and out
Let's not bury the lead: Robert "Maximum Bob" Lutz, the legendary product man, is departing General Motors.

Nissan to slash 20,000 jobs, sees annual loss

Nissan sank into a loss for the fiscal third quarter and forecast its first full-year loss in nearly a decade, forcing Japan's third-biggest automaker to slash  8.5 percent of its work force.

Nissan posts 83.2bn yen Q3 loss; to cut 20,000 jobs
Hit by declining sales and the surging yen, Japanese auto-maker Nissan reported a net loss of 83.2 billion yen (USD 0.81 billion) for the third quarter ended December 31, 2008, compelling the firm to slash 20,000 jobs or about 8.5 per cent of its workforce.

Toyota braces for first annual loss since 1950

Toyota braces for first annual loss since 1950
The Japanese car giant, after overtaking GM as the worldwide sales leader, says it will finish the fiscal year $3.9 billion in the red. Add Toyota Motor Corp. to the pile of money-losing car companies.

Toyota heads for worst loss since '50

Tesla Roadster packs power in a flash of electricity
The motor's 276 pound-feet of torque is converted to dumbfounding acceleration. Total number of moving parts: one. I'm bombing around Hollywood on a Saturday night in an all-electric Tesla Roadster, a sick-with-torque, carbon-fiber mosquito with a half-ton of glorified camera batteries behind the seats. It's a perfect night for cruising, cool and moonlit. The city lights drizzle over the silver car like Campari and creme de menthe.
Toyota heads for worst loss since '50

Toyota forecast its first annual net loss since 1950 on Friday as plunging demand for cars, especially in the U.S., and the strong yen pummeled earnings at the world’s top automaker.

Report: Car suppliers want $20.5 billion

World going to hell; some people want to drive Vipers there
Yeah, verily, in the car business in January, the sun turned as black as sackcloth and the moon became as blood. But over at Chrysler s Connor Avenue plant in Detroit, where they build the Viper, it was a party!
Report: Car suppliers want $20.5 billion

U.S. auto parts suppliers are asking for up to $20.5 billion in federal aid to survive the worst industry downturn in decades, the Automotive News reported Wednesday.

Buy a car, get a (tax) break

Buy a car, get a (tax) break
The proposed tax break would be available to individuals making up to $125,000 a year and to couples making up to $250,000.
China poised to be world’s largest auto market

Two years ago, China zoomed past Japan to become the world's No. 2 vehicle market.

Automakers see big sales declines in January

BMW's Bangle bids adieu: A design retrospective
Bangle -- who set the design language of BMW since 1992 -- joins a growing list of celebrity car designers who quit their global sinecures at the peak of their powers.
Automakers see big sales declines in January

General Motors’ U.S. vehicle sales plunged 49 percent in January while Ford’s sales dropped 40 percent, starting 2009 at an abysmal pace for the auto whole industry.

GM, Chrysler offer retirement, buyout deals

DS encore: Help Design the next Citroen legend
As part of a move to the upper-premium market, Citroen will resurrect the storied DS name, which was the company s flagship model from the 1950s to the 1970s.
GM, Chrysler offer retirement, buyout deals
GM and Chrysler are offering blue-collar employees another round of buyout and early retirement offers as the automakers try to cut their work forces and reduce expenses.
Honda two-wheeler Jan sales up 22%
Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (HMSI) today reported 22 per cent increase in two-wheeler sales during January this year at 94,982 units against 77,755 units in the same month previous year.

Folding dealers shock car buyers with liens

The national wave of auto dealership closures has come crashing down on thousands of people who are on the hook for used-car loans that dealers were supposed to absolve.