Industry

As Ford’s market share in the U.S. continues to dwindle – dropping to a new low of 13% this month – its CEO Alan Mulally is looking at further ways to cut costs and right now it appears nothing is sacred. Some of the measures Ford has already confirmed will take place as part of...

With the release today of GM’s first quarter sales results, it's evident American carmakers are doing much worse on their home turf than most would assume. GM’s sales worldwide dipped 0.6% over the quarter, but this was largely because most of the gains made in new markets were offset...

BMW and its subsidiaries have had a bit of a management reshuffle with the biggest change being the appointment of the carmaker’s U.S. chief, Tom Purves, as the new CEO of Rolls-Royce. Purves, 59, will start his new role on the first of July, succeeding Ian Robertson, 49, who is replacing the...

Update: The choice of Earth Day for the announcement of new CAFE standards is no coincidence. Leapfrogging the timeline established by the original law, the the Department of Transportion's proposal calls for a jump in fuel efficiency for all passenger vehicles to an average of 31.6mpg by 2015...

Arch-rivals BMW and Daimler are still locked in talks with latest discussions surrounding topics on component sharing and joint-research of new powertrain technologies. Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche has confirmed the two carmakers are in fact discussing the potential for component sharing, alluding to...

Just last week details of Nissan's deal with Chrysler were announced, each producing a vehicle for the other to help fill out both companies' product lines. Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn says more deals like it are in the works, with many different makers, though details on the coming model-swaps are...

Are more consumers basing their car buying decisions on their environmental awareness? Or are they merely seeking to save their pocketbooks from the rapidly rising price of fuel? Whatever the cause, more and more motorists are opting for hybrid drivetrains in their new vehicles, with sales of the...

As carmakers around the world look for alternatives to burning fossil fuels to power their future cars one proposition that’s quickly gaining traction is the roll-out of cars that run on biofuels sourced from crops. One of the most vocal carmakers backing the mass production of biofuel is GM...

With Tata setting the benchmark for low cost vehicle development with the unveiling of its $2,500 Nano minicar back in January, major carmakers the world over are now playing catch up and furiously developing their own rival models to take advantage of the burgeoning low-cost vehicle market...

The deal between the troubled American maker Chrysler and China's Chery has been a blustery, on-again, off-again affair, but the latest word has it still on track, despite some delays. Chinese-built Chrysler-branded Chery minicars will not be hitting U.S. roads in the very near future, but the deal...

Carmakers and consumers alike are faced with several different options for alternative fuel motoring with petrol, diesel and now biodiesel, compressed natural gas and ethanol increasing in popularity, but at this stage it’s still anyone’s guess as to what will be the dominant fuel...

You know the economy is experiencing hard times when even industry leader Toyota announces a major profit warning. Toyota is expected to suffer its first drop in operating profit in more than nine years, due mostly to falling U.S. sales and a stronger yen, and most analysts are predicting profits...

President George W. Bush has announced a goal of stopping the growth of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S.by 2025 but made no mention of any specifics on reaching that promise. Stating the U.S. was in fact serious about environmental awareness, Bush was quick to reiterate that any new legislation...

The imminent arrival of South Korean president Lee Myung-Bak at Camp David may finally raise an issue that has been overlooked in recent times - a free trade deal between South Korea and the U.S. Myung-Bak's two-day visit to meet with George Bush has economists speculating a free trade agreement...

Carmakers are faced with a number of options for alternative fuel motoring but at this stage it’s still anyone’s guess as to what will be the dominant fuel source of the future. That’s why most of them are hedging their bets, developing a number of different technologies in the...

New laws that came into effect in the UK this week mandating all fuels for cars and trucks must have some biofuel content has been found to do more harm to the environment than good. A number of charities including Oxfam and Greenpeace as well as science groups claim the production of biofuel will...

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has revealed she would back a government-bailout to protect the Detroit 3 automakers from going bankrupt if the need arose. Her words mirror similar comments from Democrat rival Barack Obama, who in February said he would also help the auto industry...

Both Tesla and Fisker plan to sell a new generation of electric vehicles - Tesla with its recently launched all-electric Roadster and Fisker with its future Karma plug-in hybrid luxury saloon. The two carmakers are now tied up in a lawsuit with Tesla claiming design and trade secrets for a future...

Carmakers already concerned about tough new 35mpg fuel economy standards set to roll in by 2020 now have something else to worry about with the announcement today by an EPA official that passenger cars and light trucks may have to average 75mpg by 2030. The latest statement follows a previous...

Over the last few decades the American auto industry - including Cadillac - has seen brand image slide steadily lower, both at home and abroad, while rivals in Germany and Japan have been becoming progressively stronger. It looks like we may already be seeing the pendulum swing back toward...