Honda Insight first-ever hybrid to become Japan's #1 selling auto 6 months ago on Autoblog

- In a historic move that's sure to irk their archrivals in Toyota City, Honda's new Insight has become the first-ever hybrid vehicle to top the sales charts in Japan. By shifting some 10,481 units last month, the teardrop-shaped model became Nippon's best-selling car in April, a feat no ...

REPORT: Source Interlink, parent co. of Motor Trend, Automobile, Hot Rod, files for Chapter 11 7 months ago on Autoblog

Source Interlink, the mega-publishing firm that owns Automobile, Motor Trend, Hot Rod and dozens of other enthusiast print and web titles, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in a Wilmington, Delaware court yesterday. According to the filing, Source Interlink has a listed debt of $1.9 billion ...

Rendered Speculation: Bugatti Veyron gets the sedan treatment. Again. 7 months ago on Autoblog

Ever since the first Bugatti Veyron laid ply on public roads, the automotive industry's rumormill has periodically buzzed about a sedan stablemate for the plutocratic supercar. While a sedan variant makes a good deal of sense (especially as Bugatti parent Volkswagen is unlikely to realize a profit ...

GM future hinges on success of new debt-for-equity swap offers 7 months ago on Autoblog

In addition to announcing the shuttering of Pontiac, General Motors has put forth a new offer to its bondholders to exchange $27 billion in claims for equity in the struggling automaker. As part of the plan, GM is offering its bondholders a 10% equity stake in the company, but worryingly, if 90 ...

U.S. Cash-for-Clunkers deal reportedly nearing congressional compromise 7 months ago on Autoblog

It's looking increasingly likely that the United States will soon have its own Cash-for-Clunkers program. According to The Detroit News, two bills are currently competing for Congressional votes, and while they would both offer sizable rewards for turning in older vehicles, they vary in what new ...

REPORT: Wall Street rallies around better-than-expected Ford results 7 months ago on Autoblog

On the surface, at least, news that a company lost $1.4 billion wouldn't normally be greeted as good news by Wall Street. However, the Ford Motor company's just-published quarterly earning reports have done just that, with the stock trading 15% ahead of yesterday and the entire Dow Jones stock ...

REPORT: U.K. officially launches £2K scrappage scheme 7 months ago on Autoblog

As expected, U.K. Finance Minister Alistair Darling has officially announced a new vehicle scrappage program that will pay motorists £2,000 ($2,900 USD) for trading in a vehicle that's at least 10 years old for a new car. Half of the funds will be provided by the government, and the other ...

REPORT: GM to shed 1,600 white-collar jobs by May 1 7 months ago on Autoblog

According to General Motors spokesman Tom Wilkinson, the struggling automaker will shed 1,600 white-collar jobs by May 1 as part of its continuing restructuring efforts. The cuts, which are scheduled to begin this week, are part of a larger action to shed 3,400 white-collar jobs this year. Details ...

Ford initial quality beats Honda, ties Toyota... according to Ford 7 months ago on Autoblog

Most auto pundits will tell you that Ford has made great strides in quality over the last few years. Ford's own studies, performed for the automaker by third party RDA Group, show that the efforts continue to pay off, with Ford pulling even with Toyota in initial quality and breezing by Honda. It's ...

Henderson says GM bankruptcy decision still in doubt; Hummer decision expected before month's end 7 months ago on Autoblog

We were on General Motors CEO Fritz Henderson's teleconference with reporters this morning, and while the proceedings were light on revelatory news (okay, there really wasn't any), some important things were clarified: Namely, Henderson denied that the company has reached a decision on whether to ...

Toyota reportedly expects 40,000 pre-orders for new Prius 7 months ago on Autoblog

The well-publicized battle for hybrid sales supremacy between Honda and Toyota has taken yet another intriguing turn. According to Japan's Nikkei newspaper, Toyota is saying that it expects to take 40,000 preorders in Japan for its new 2010 Prius hybrid ahead of its official rollout in May. For ...

REPORT: Energy Department predicting summer gas price high of just $2.30/gallon [w/POLL] 7 months ago on Autoblog

We've heard it a million times: What's good for General Motors is good for America. Well, if low gas prices are good for America (and that is a debatable point), then Charles Wilson's saying does not work the other way around. According to USA Today, the U.S. Energy Information Administration ...

STUDY: Diesel sales still limited in U.S. by buyer perceptions [w/POLL] 7 months ago on Autoblog

Just the other day, Volkswagen revealed that it is having little trouble selling diesel versions of the Jetta here in the United States. Fellow German automakers like BMW and Mercedes-Benz, however, apparently aren't finding the oil-burning road quite so easy to traverse. A new study by PACE ...

Bertone family back in court over management issues 7 months ago on Autoblog

The Bertone girls can't seem to keep their disputes out of local courts, as the widow of the late Nuccio Bertone and their daughters are at each others' throats once again. Previous legal disputes centered around matriarch Lilli Bertone's attempt to sell the company to Domenico Reviglio, to say ...

GM chairman looking to turn over half of board of trustees by June? 7 months ago on Autoblog

According to the Detroit Free Press, General Motors interim chairman, Kent Kresa, has been asked by president Obama's administration to replenish the automaker's board with fresh blood. Kresa said that while the board did achieve "historic things" recently, like renegotiating the UAW pay scale, he ...

NADA picks America's top five cleanest conventional gas autos 8 months ago on Autoblog

With Earth Day coming up on April 22nd, it's inevitable that automotive conversations will take on a green tinge. While hybrids are an obvious hot topic, it's not the only way to tread lightly on Mother Nature. NADAGuides.com have named what they think are the top five cleanest conventional ...

Japan reportedly pondering $3,000 green car stimulus program for consumers 8 months ago on Autoblog

The U.S. automotive market is in a rut the size of the Grand Canyon, but it's not alone. Most nations are experiencing lackluster sales, and the Japanese car market is experiencing its own free fall. As a direct result, Reuters is reporting that government authorities are looking at steps to ...

P1 reportedly following other British supercar clubs into bankruptcy 8 months ago on Autoblog

While the idea of the supercar club has yet to take hold here in The Colonies, across the Atlantic in jolly old England, the notion developed into a popular alternative to the costly prospect of owning and maintaining high-priced exotica. The idea, in a nutshell, was to provide customers with the ...

Honda says it isn't pulling out of more auto shows 8 months ago on Autoblog

On Monday, we reported that Honda Europe had decided to cancel its participation in this fall's Frankfurt Motor Show. In that report, we speculated that it wouldn't be a surprise to see Honda follow Nissan's path of only participating in one major auto show per continent. It turns out that at this ...

BMW names Marc Girard head of interior design 8 months ago on Autoblog

The field of car design has been about as stable as an active volcano lately, with several major automakers replacing their design chiefs in quick succession. Over the past couple of weeks, Volvo's styling guru Steve Mattin quit, and he was replaced by Ford designer Peter Horbury, whose post in turn ...

Hamilton, McLaren retroactively disqualified from Australian GP? 8 months ago on Autoblog

The more things change, the more they stay the same. Last weekend's Australian Grand Prix, the season opener to the 2009 Formula One season, may have ushered in a new era in on-track competition, but the off-track politics are already back up to full swing. Following the race, officials from the ...

Chevrolet's Captiva gets the Swarovski treatment. For some reason. 8 months ago on Autoblog

Attacking a car with Swarovski crystals is starting to push the needle into the red on the Gauche-O-Meter during these days of bleak economic forecasts. Not only that, it comes off looking like someone's got a serious addiction to the Bedazzler – cheap and tacky – regardless of how ...

Putin Power: Even Russian automakers to get a bailout? 8 months ago on Autoblog

According to The Detroit News, Avtovaz, Russia's largest car maker and the home of Lada, is in line for government help. The Russian car industry is faring even more poorly than its counterpart in the U.S., with a 60% drop in sales being predicted. To assist Avtovaz with payments to creditors, ...

Ford Advantage Plan guarantees job loss protection for new vehicle loans 8 months ago on Autoblog

It isn't even noon yet here in Detroit, but already it's been a busy day thick with bailout fallout and new consumer loan guarantee programs introduced by General Motors and the Ford Motor Company. The Blue Oval has just unveiled its new Ford Advantage Plan, which can be thought of as a riff on ...

REPORT: CAFE fuel economy standards to rise 8% by 2011 8 months ago on Autoblog

The nation's Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards will swell to 27.3 miles-per-gallon by 2011. That's the word coming out of Washington, where the U.S. Department of Transportation is expected to bump the fleet fuel economy standards for the first time in more than a quarter-century. The 27.3 ...

Even NASCAR drivers apparently don't like new F1 scoring system 8 months ago on Autoblog

The winner-take-all points system hastily introduced and then hastily rescinded for this year's Formula 1 season truly has no friends outside of Bernie Ecclestone. NASCAR drivers commenting to Fox Sports on the proposed system have trashed it: Carl Edwards, playing the role of NASCAR's Felipe ...

Top Gear to lose exotics in favor of practical iron? 8 months ago on Autoblog

The Top Gear we know and love includes hordes of outlandishly expensive exotic and luxury cars that we could never afford. Lamborghini and Ferrari will still be represented for Series 13, but if rumors are true, the BBC boys are going to dedicate more air time to the everyday cars that the rest of ...

REPORT: Toyoda family stock shares take $449M hit 8 months ago on Autoblog

The Toyoda family has felt the pinch of the global automotive crash in the worst possible place: their wallets. Toyota share prices have plummeted by a very substantial 46% in the past nine months, costing the Toyoda family hundreds of millions of dollars. Soon-to-be company president Akio Toyoda's ...

This year's Tokyo Motor Show? JAMA Be There (but most of the world's automakers won't) 8 months ago on Autoblog

What if one of the world's preeminent auto nations threw a party and nobody came? That's the question on everyone's minds today as the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association (JAMA) has announced that most of the world's major automakers have decided to sit out this fall's show. We already knew ...

Next Mazda Miata to be lighter; get smaller engines and electric power steering? 8 months ago on Autoblog

Low weight and greater efficiency might not be the sexiest of selling points for a sports car unless you're a devotee of Lotus founder Colin Chapman's "add lightness" philosophy. Thankfully for those less-is-more enthusiasts, however, Mazda has steadily adhered to that formula with its MX-5 ...

Surprise! Credit agency says Michiganders have lowest average auto loan balances of any state 8 months ago on Autoblog

With today's dire economic climate, it should come at no surprise that delinquencies on automotive loans climbed last year. But what's perhaps counter-intuitive is, despite a particularly acute financial crunch, Michigan's residents owe less on their car and truck loans than their counterparts in ...

REPORT: German automakers could join others in skipping Tokyo Motor Show 8 months ago on Autoblog

Although Volvo has already said that it would not participate in this October's Tokyo Motor Show, the Swedish automaker's German contemporaries are reportedly dragging their feet on similar public announcements in an effort to not be the first from their country to do so. According to a brief ...

REPORT: BMW warns employees of looming pay cuts 8 months ago on Autoblog

With 58,000 fewer new vehicles sold in 2008 and a net profit nearly 90 percent lower than it was in 2007, The Independent is reporting that BMW is cutting its board member bonuses by 40 percent. In addition, the balance of its 100,000 employees are facing pay cuts. The sales slowdown will also take ...

U.S. diesel fortunes dim as word comes that Nissan may scrap Maxima oil burner 8 months ago on Autoblog

If you were to query Autoblog staffers and many savvy enthusiasts for what they wanted in a car, you'd swear that perhaps 70% of America's auto market would shortly be composed of rear-drive turbodiesel station wagons and hatchbacks. Sadly, the theoretical popularity of such vehicles rarely ...

Don't Believe the Hype, America: Dealers urge GM to launch upbeat national ad campaign 8 months ago on Autoblog

With a daily torrent of difficult and unflattering news about the domestic auto industry flowing out of media outlets everywhere (Autoblog included), many General Motors dealers are crying out for a national advertising campaign to stem the tide of negativity. Critical dealers suggest that the ...

REPORT: Car loan delinquincies jump almost 9 percent 8 months ago on Autoblog

Delinquent auto loans, those more than 60 days past due, are on the rise. According to credit reporting agency TransUnion, they ballooned 8.9 percent in the fourth quarter of 2008 when compared with the same period a year earlier. While glancing at the Detroit News headline would lead most to think ...

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Autoblog Podcast #155: 'Twas the night before LA...

Chris, Dan, and Editor Paukert go over some LA Preview action and quietly whoop it up on the podcast.

 
 

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