Barack Obama

  • 2011 Saab 9-5

    Despite Saab having several suitors interested in purchasing the brand, paying off its debts and restarting production, no deal could ever be finalized and the automaker finally declared bankruptcy last December. The reason no deal could be finalized was because of GM’s refusal to allow any sale due to fears that technology licenses it owns and are required for several Saab models including the 9-5 sedan and 9-4X crossover would get into the hands of its competitors. GM was the former parent of Saab and still has a number of preferential shares that allowed it to block the sale. Now...

  • 2005 Chrysler 300C once leased by Barack Obama
    Obama's Chrysler 300C Gets No Bids At $1 Million eBay Starting Price

    An eBay seller looking to capitalize on President Barack Obama's former ownership of a 2005 Chrysler 300C with a starting price on the car's auction of $1 million has ended up with nothing to show for it but a healthy spate of media coverage. The car's auction history shows no one bid on the car...

  • 2005 Chrysler 300C once leased by Barack Obama
    Ex-Obama Chrysler 300C Appears On eBay: Start Bid $1 Million

    It's not often you get to sit in the same seat once used by a United States President. Statistically, you're pretty unlikely to find yourself behind the desk in the oval office, but there are other ways of getting that presidential feeling. Like buying a car once leased by 44th U.S. President...

  • 54.5 MPG CAFE standard for 2025
    Official: Obama Announces 54.5 MPG Gas Mileage Standard For 2025

    While most automakers are happy with the new standards, some aren’t due to an exemption for full-size trucks and some SUV models.

  • President Barack Obama
    Automakers To Make 5% Annual Fuel Economy Gains Through 2016

    The levels for cars would rise from 33.6 to about 38.0 mpg from 2012 to 2016.

  • 2000 GMC Yukon
    Obama signs $2 billion emergency funding for 'Clunker' program

    That was quick. Just a month after President Obama signed in the $1 billion ‘cash for clunkers’ bill, and less than a week of it running, the program has already run out of money once and received approval from both the House and Senate for another $2 billion. With Obama's signature...

  • 2010 Ford Focus

    Ford may be the only American carmaker reporting a rise in sales for July, but Detroit's beleaguered trio didn't fare too badly - almost half of the fuel-efficient upgrades sold in the CARS 'cash for clunkers' bonanza were GM, Ford or Chrysler vehicles, according to the White House. Only little over 80,000 of the clunkers deals have been processed by the NHTSA so far, with the American carmakers claiming 47% of the take. It will take a while - possibly months - for the final tally to be released, but the early numbers could be a good sign for the Detroit 3. Another $2 billion in funding is...

  • 2010 Mercedes-Benz S-Class
    Foreign luxury carmakers could get loophole in upcoming fuel regulations

    In May the White House unveiled a new fuel efficiency policy calling for 35.5mpg fleet averages by 2016, and almost immediately the carmakers began talking about how much it would cost them. But now it looks like the luxury carmakers in the U.S. - primarily foreign marques - could catch a break...

  • Los Angeles Smog
    EPA gives California and 13 other states waiver to regulate greenhouse gas emissions

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency this week granted California a long-anticipated Clean Air Act Waiver. Under the plan, California - along with 13 other states - will enforce its own emissions standards until the 2012 model year, when the federal government will begin phasing in new national...

  • 2000 GMC Yukon
    President Obama signs in Cash-for-Guzzlers bill

    The Cash-for-Guzzlers bill is just one of the incentives the government is trying to implement to bring the U.S. auto industry back to its pre-recession levels. Recently, the Cash-for-Guzzlers scheme garnered approval of both House and Senate negotiation teams, and now it has passed into law with...

  • White House
    White House promises no more bailouts for Detroit 3

    With accusations and hyperbole that the U.S. government's bailout of the Detroit 3 is a clear step towards socialism, President Barack Obama's automotive task force that has been charged with overseeing the restructuring of GM and Chrysler has promised that the government will not be putting any...

  • GM dealership
    GM plans major changes for remaining dealerships

    General Motors already has plans to slash hundreds of its dealers late next year, but for the dealers who make it through the cuts it won't just be a case of 'business as usual'. Instead, the struggling automaker will be modifying its contracts with the remaining 4,100 or so dealers in its network...

  • 2000 GMC Yukon

    Earlier this year the original ‘Cash for Clunkers’ bill was rejected by the Senate because of research that showed the program wouldn't have made much impact on auto sales or emissions. A revised version of that bill has since been presented to Congress and was approved by the House in a round of voting earlier today. Under the House bill, car owners could get a voucher worth $3,500 if they traded in a vehicle getting 18mpg or less for one getting at least 22mpg. The value of the voucher would grow to $4,500 if the mileage of the new car is 10mpg higher than the old vehicle...

  • U.S. Capitol Hill
    Republicans and Democrats blame each other for GM collapse

    The collapse of General Motors has seen some of the most divergent views on both politics and the automotive industry appear in recent times, and even though the collapse of GM had been predicted for months, if not years, there is still arguing over who was responsible and what American consumers...

  • GM Cadillac dealer
    GM planning to cut hundreds of metro Cadillac dealers

    General Motors has already announced plans to slash hundreds of dealerships across its brand portfolio, and now it appears even high-end Cadillac dealers won’t be spared from the latest cull. Most of the cuts are expected to occur in metro areas and affected dealers will be informed by...

  • Rick Wagoner Alan Mulally George Bush
    Dick Cheney: Bush didn’t want to be the one to ”pull the plug” on GM

    Earlier this week General Motors formerly announced that it had filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy but the truth of the matter is that the struggling automaker’s downfall was predicted years ago and it has only managed to survive up until now on the back of government handouts. According to...

  • GM Cadillac dealer
    Another round of dealer cuts imminent at GM

    Just a couple of weeks ago General Motors revealed that it would be cutting ties with over 1,100 dealerships, and the bad news keeps coming for dealers as the struggling automaker is expected to cut a further 450 dealerships in the coming months. Many dealerships are under franchise agreements with...

  • GM American flag
    GM receives additional $4 billion in Treasury loans

    General Motors received an additional $4 billion in loans from the U.S. Treasury late on Friday, while also reaching a cost-cutting agreement with the Canadian Auto Workers union ahead of a rumored Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing expected next week. This is in addition to the $19.4 billion already...

  • Los Angeles

    President Barack Obama may have just taken the wraps off his new national fuel policy, but according to the state of California it’s not too soon to already begin work on the next stage of clean car regulations. The infamous California Air Resources Board (CARB) is known for being passionate about the environment, and this aspect of its character shone through when its chairman stated that despite Obama's California-inspired federal regulations the board "will be immediately getting to work on what the standards should be for beyond 2016". Despite big strides from the federal...

  • President Barack Obama
    Obama unveils new national fuel efficiency policy, 35.5mpg by 2016

    Carmakers are already fretting at the thought of achieving the new 35mpg CAFE standards imposed by the U.S. government by the current 2020 deadline, but an announcement by President Barack Obama today revealed the plan to get the standard up to 35.5mpg by 2016. The plan requires a gain of over 5%...

  • GM dealership
    GM reveals more details on 1,124 dealer cutback

    Cutting back production and right-sizing brands and lineups is just one aspect of the restructuring underway at the hands of the U.S. federal government. Earlier this week hard cuts in both labor and dealership numbers were discussed, foreshadowing the next steps to come, and just yesterday a...

  • 2009 Honda FCX Clarity fuel-cell vehicle
    Obama kills the hydrogen car by slashing research funding

    There may be debate over who killed the electric car, but we can now say with some certainty that the culprit behind killing the hydrogen car is none other than President Barack Obama. In his new budget, the President has eliminated funding to develop hydrogen fuel-cell cars, scrapping a $1.2...

  • E85 fueling station
    Obama administration moves to boost biofuels with $787 million package

    As the U.S. struggles to bootstrap itself out of one of the worst economies in decades, the federal government continues its spending spree, earmarking $787 million to biofuels. The goal is ostensibly to meet a target set by former President George Bush of 36 billion gallons of biofuel in the...

  • 2010 Toyota Prius
    Foreign car dealer's association angry with Obama's 'buy American' message

    Toyota, Nissan and Honda all build cars in the U.S. General Motors, Chrysler and Ford all build cars in Mexico and Canada in addition to within the U.S. It's hard to know which car is built where as a consumer, and the American International Automobile Dealer's Association (AIADA) is upset over...

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