Ralph Hanson, Author

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Articles

  • You might disagree with his methods, but you can't deny President Obama's determination to improve the U.S. car industry's situation and to remedy the nation's current energy policy. Part of both...
  • Daimler bringing car2go vehicle sharing program to Texas

    Daimler commenced trials of a new mobility concept called the ‘car2go project’ in Ulm, Germany, in October last year in an attempt to provide a solution for increasing traffic volume in urban areas. The company is now expanding the program to the U.S., and plans to start the latest...

  • Obama, task force want to offer more help to U.S. industry

    No one really knows what to make of the auto market right now, least of all the industry itself. Fiat is forecasting blue skies, GM is on the brink of failing to meet a restructuring deadline, and Ford is still chartering private jets - but President Obama and the task force on the industry are...

  • New Details On SAIC's Upcoming MG Models

    The long-awaited resurrection of MG in the UK finally got underway late last year with the construction of MG TF roadsers at the Longbridge, UK plant. Last September SAIC announced it would be expanding the MG lineup with three new cars, and now the company has revealed the first will be coming by...

  • BMW Z2 Roadster To Highlight New Project i Family

    In March of 2008 BMW first announced plans to establish a new research division called ‘Project i,’ whose task would be to develop a number of solutions for a vehicle designed for congested city motoring. The goal of Project i was never to exclusively develop one type of vehicle or...

  • Google puts Laguna Seca on Street View for American Le Mans

    Google's Street View camera system is famous, even infamous, for the interesting and sometimes wacky things it catches as it tours the country, taking roadside footage. But soon the view will include the on-track perspective of Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca as the American Le Mans Series racers...

  • Seventeen people have been arrested in five cities in the United States and Mexico today as part of the FBI's 'Operation Dual Identity', a campaign to shut down one of North America's biggest car...
  • Toyota planning inexpensive Yaris-based hybrid

    Ford has its new Fusion, Honda has the Insight, and Toyota's new Prius is about to hit the streets. But already the next generation of the hybrid wars is drawing up its battle lines, and this time it's smaller. Toytoa is planing a Yaris-based hybrid to take on Honda's Fit hybrid, due around...

  • Ford cuts Mulally's pay package 37%, but still using private jets

    There's been a lot of public and media outcry over the big salaries and swank travel and accommodations of Ford's top men, especially with the ready contrast of General Motors' Rick Wagoner and Chrysler's Bob Nardelli, both taking commercial flights and $1 salaries. But there's a side to the story...

  • Aluminum use in cars hits all-time high

    Carmakers and legislators have been duking it out for decades. As one side fights to find new ways to lighten cars up, improve handling and efficiency, the other heaps on more and more safety regulations and mandatory equipment until things eventually cancel out. But an undercurrent to the...

  • Video: see the construction and delivery of the first 2010 Camaro

    Generally positive reviews are already filtering in from the various outlets and the waiting list of buyers is already 14,000 long - both indicators that the 2010 Chevrolet Camaro is staged for success. Since even those on the pre-order list will be waiting up to three months to see their beloved...

  • Will It Bend? IIHS Reveals First Round Of Tests Under New Roof Rating System

    Crash testing brand-new vehicles may rub the Puritan ethic the wrong way, but it's the only sure way to find out just what a car is capable of in terms of protecting its occupants. Today a new round of testing by the IIHS reveals how the first batch of small SUVs holds up under new roof-strength...

  • It's not often that major automakers push production dates ahead in time rather than back, especially with the current economic conditions, but Nissan might be doing just that with its electric...
  • Luxury condo builder gives away free Lamborghini with each purchase

    Miami is home to its fair share of automotive exotica that often seems to litter the streets, but even then you wouldn't expect all the occupants of a 28-unit condo to be driving a Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder would you? Well you would now, considering that a Miami-based luxury condo builder is...

  • Pontiac G8 sees record sales amid harrowed industry

    Incentives, incentives, incentives. That's the name of the game at all of the major carmakers these days, and in many cases, it's paying off. Take the Pontiac G8 for example: despite a market that's off over 40%, the G8 sedan saw its best sales ever last month - over double the number sold in...

  • Nissan to show off new-generation zero-emissions vehicle in San Diego

    As the traditional car industry struggles against a lack of consumer credit, economic instability and its own growing pains, several of the major players are forging ahead with next-generation vehicle programs, including all-electric zero emissions vehicles (ZEVs). Nissan has been at the forefront...

  • U.S. production of Orlando MPV on hold says union official

    While the likes of Audi and Daimler are surging forward with their product development, cash-strapped companies such as General Motors are having to abandon certain market segments and cut back on new model launches just to stay in business. The latest product cuts reportedly taking place at GM...

  • Jeep’s future will likely include compact Fiat Panda Cross

    Following the announcement of the proposed alliance between Fiat and Chrysler in January, the question on everybody’s lips was which European top-sellers were finally going to come to North America. Stylish compact cars like the Fiat 500 and Bravo were suddenly a very real possibility for...

  • American carmakers aren’t the only ones in need of serious cash. Daimler AG was also in need of a quick injection of funds, but unlike its American counterparts the German auto giant has a...
  • Chrysler: We’re a safer bet than GM

    If asked whether General Motors or Chrysler were in a better financial position, many of us would conclude that GM looks better. However, Chrysler's chief financial officer Ron Kolka has come out boasting that Chrysler, "on a pure-business basis," is more viable. The reasoning behind the claims is...

  • Obama approves $2.4 billion in electric vehicle funding

    Calling the U.S. federal government's expenditures under the end of President Bush's tenure and the beginning of President Obama's a 'spending spree' is to beggar the term understatement. But in many instances, there hasn't been a valid alternative aside from letting parts of the economy wither and...

  • UAW president Ron Gettelfinger retiring in 2010

    The United Auto Workers (UAW) is one of America's most important unions, and the results of its dissatisfaction have been felt as recently as last year when a strike at American Axle left GM customers without cars for months in certain cases. Now, the UAW's ringleader, Ron Gettelfinger, has...

  • Tesla reveals pricing for Model S, announces sale of 250th Roadster

    Tesla's first all-original car, the upcoming Model S plug-in hybrid sedan, is due to be unveiled to the public in just a week’s time but the company has already released a couple of teaser shots - one showing the undercarriage and another showing the new glasshouse. In the lead up to the...

  • Cadillac Wi-Fi brings the Internet to your car

    Cadillac will join Chrysler and BMW as one of the few carmakers to offer in-car Internet access when it rolls out its service from April. The system is designed and built by a company called Autonet Mobile, and will deliver access speeds of up to 800Kbps with the lowest service plan available from...

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