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RESULTS		Results 1 – 25 of 73
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Headline	Author	Published	Section
McCar McCain talks up plans for the auto industry in Michigan	Kate Sheppard	18 Jul 2008	Gristmill
Today, GOP presidential contender John McCain visited the General Motors Technical Center in Warren, Mich., where GM is developing the Chevy Volt, and used the visit to talk up his plan for the automotive sector. In the same speech, he argued that states should be able to determine their own fuel efficiency standards. California and 16 other states have been pushing for a waiver to allow them to establish their own, tougher standards for cars and trucks, which t ...
Topics: cars, Big Auto, presidential race 08, John McCain, politics, news, Muckraker (all these topics)

Annals of meaningless statistics Mattel worth more than GM on strong outlook for Matchbox, Hot Wheels cars	Adam Stein	07 Jul 2008	Gristmill
At the present moment Mattel, the maker of Hot Wheels and Matchbox toy cars, is worth $6.2 billion, putting it at a premium to GM, worth a mere $5.7 billion.Created in 1952, Matchbox cars were instantly popular because they were hard for children to swallow and required no batteries.With the price of a fill-up now topping $100, drivers are likewise finding GM's line up of trucks and SUVs very hard to swallow.
Topics: Big Auto, business, cars, consumerism, economy (all these topics)

Do plug-ins dream of electric horses? VW to join Toyota, GM with 2010 plug-in hybrid	Joseph Romm	30 Jun 2008	Gristmill
The following post is by Earl Killian, guest blogger at Climate Progress. -----The German government announced it will be helping to fund VW's plug-in hybrid development program with 15 million euros. VM aims for a 2010 vehicle with 31 miles of all-electric range. VW head Martin Winterkorn said that while petrol or diesel powered cars would be around for some time to come, 'the future belongs to all-electric cars.' According to autoblog, the Twin Drive uses a 82-hp ...
Topics: electric vehicles, hybrids, cars, economy, Big Auto, business (all these topics)

The Suits Are Picking on the Bill Auto industry loses suit to sink California vehicle emissions standards		26 Jun 2008	News
Posted at 9:53 AM on 26 Jun 2008 A federal judge has struck down the auto industry's attempt to gut California's greenhouse-gas emissions standards for vehicles. California's law, which would cut vehicle emissions by some 30 percent by 2016, has been stalled due to the U.S. EPA's denial of a waiver the state needs to implement it. However, the industry lawsuit sought to stop the emissions-r ...
Topics: Big Auto, business, California, litigation, news (all these topics)

Big Three on credit watch S&P cites automakers' cashflow concerns	Michael Moynihan	23 Jun 2008	Gristmill
Originally posted at the NDN Blog. While news about high fuel prices this past week centered on disingenuous calls by President Bush and others to drill our way out of the crisis, perhaps the most significant -- and ominous event -- was the barely publicized action by S&P Friday to place the Big Three U.S. automakers on a credit watch. In taking the action, S&P cited 'renewed concerns about the three car makers' future cash flows.' Given Ford's ...
Topics: Big Auto, business, cars, economy, electric vehicles, fuel efficiency (all these topics)

Carmaker knows most efficient freight system: trains	JMG	20 Jun 2008	Gristmill
Interesting presser from Honda this week: HONDA LAUNCHES AUTO-MAX RAILCAR FLEET: MORE ENVIRONMENTALLY - RESPONSIBLE PRODUCT DISTRIBUTION WITH INDUSTRY-FIRST FLEET TORRANCE, CA, June 19, 2008 -- Honda has fully deployed its fleet of Auto-Max� railcars, achieving a significant reduction in the fuel consumption and CO2 emissions associated with its automobile distribution activities in the United States. The 400-car fleet of more space-efficient Auto-Max; railcars is t ...
Topics: Big Auto, business, cars, public transportation (all these topics)

Some clarity on the Clarity Honda fuel-cell vehicle: Not marketable, practical, or environmental	Joseph Romm	20 Jun 2008	Gristmill
Technology Review asked me to comment about the hype over the new Honda fuel-cell car, which the company optimistically calls 'the world's first hydrogen-powered fuel-cell vehicle intended for mass production.' The key word here is 'intended.' Here it is: ----- Would you buy a car that costs 10 times as much as a hybrid gasoline-electric, like the Prius? What if I told you it had half the range of the hybrid? What if I told you most cities didn't have a single ...
Topics: Big Auto, cars, energy, green living, placemaking (all these topics)

Pause for effect Iconic Ford SUV plant to be idled for summer	Sara Barz	19 Jun 2008	Gristmill
Photo: Dean Souglass Ford will close its Michigan Truck Plant in Wayne for nine weeks -- four weeks longer than previously announced -- starting on June 23. Birthplace to Lincoln Navigators and Ford Expeditions, the MTP has come in for hard times due to the plummeting market for SUVs. Since January, Expedition sales are down 31 percent; Navigators, 22 percent. Once bread and butter for American automakers, SUVs have fallen victim to $4-a-gallon gasoline. To ...
Topics: Big Auto, business, cars, fuel efficiency, gas prices (all these topics)

Lord, Hear Our PR Oil industry turns to PR offensive to diffuse anger over record prices		17 Jun 2008	News
Posted at 7:35 AM on 17 Jun 2008 Faced with angry consumers incensed at high oil and gasoline prices, oil companies in the U.S. and Europe have turned to well-funded PR campaigns in an attempt to shift their image from profit-hungry oil-mongers to responsible innovators fulfilling their duty as energy providers. ExxonMobil has led the most recent effort to sway the public; on June 1, Exxon released a barrag ...
Topics: Big Auto, Big Oil, business, energy, gas prices, news (all these topics)

Clarity Begins at Home Honda produces new fuel-cell car		16 Jun 2008	News
Posted at 10:47 AM on 16 Jun 2008 Honda Motor Co.'s hydrogen-powered FCX Clarity rolled off the line Monday and will be leased to high rollers in California. The Clarity -- an update of Honda's original FCX, a handful of which were leased in 2005 -- runs on hydrogen and electricity, emits only water, and is twice as fuel-efficient as a gas-electric hybrid. Actresses Laura Harris and Jamie Lee Curtis, filmmaker Christopher Guest, and Little ...
Topics: Big Auto, California, cars, celebrity, green living, hydrogen, news, placemaking (all these topics)

Group Plug Big Three automakers get plug-in funding from feds		13 Jun 2008	News
Posted at 1:37 PM on 13 Jun 2008 The U.S. Big Three automakers will get $30 million over three years for plug-in hybrid R&D, the Department of Energy announced Thursday. While less than automakers wanted -- last year they pushed for $500 million -- each welcomed some funding for various aspects of plug-in research. Chrysler plans to build a test fleet of 80 plug-ins, including 10 adapted Dodge Durangos and Chrysler Aspens; Genera ...
Topics: Big Auto, business, cars, Department of Energy, electric vehicles, news (all these topics)

Demand outstripping supply again Buying a high-mileage car easier said than done	biodiversivist	07 Jun 2008	Gristmill
My brother-in-law recently sent me a spreadsheet he'd built that compares a Prius and two similar-sized cars. He just wanted to know if 'doing the right thing was going to cost me.' The numbers said to buy a Prius. Ideally, going green should always be a win-win situation. Then, however, he found that the waiting list is 'baaaack!' So he'll have to put down a deposit just to get in line. He was quite disappointed and may now buy a different car. My car is also on t ...
Topics: Big Auto, cars, fuel efficiency, green living, Prius, shopping (all these topics)

Notable quotable GM acknowledges that it lost the bet on big vehicles	David Roberts	04 Jun 2008	Gristmill
'At this point, we are considering all options for the Hummer brand. Everything from a complete revamp of the product lineup to partial or complete sale of the brand.' -- General Motors CEO Rick Wagoner, responding to the dismal numbers released by GM yesterday
Topics: Big Auto, business, cars, quotables (all these topics)

Opening another door? As GM announces plant closings, Obama touts green jobs	Kate Sheppard	03 Jun 2008	Gristmill
General Motors Corp. announced this morning that it is closing its Janesville, Wis., assembly plant, which produces SUVs and pickup trucks, along with three other North American plants that churn out gas-guzzlers. CEO Rick Wagoner says it's because the company is moving toward more fuel-efficient vehicles, as fewer Americans are buying big automobiles these days. The Janesville plant will be ending production of medium-duty trucks by the end of 2009, and bigger truc ...
Topics: Big Auto, cars, Muckraker, news, Barack Obama, politics, business (all these topics)

Heave Ho, Hummer GM considers selling Hummer brand		03 Jun 2008	News
Posted at 11:04 AM on 03 Jun 2008 General Motors is "undertaking a strategic review" of its iconic Hummer brand, CEO Rick Wagoner said Tuesday, and is "considering all options ... from a complete revamp of the product lineup to partial or complete sale of the brand." As tempting as the sale of a widely vilified symbol of gas-guzzling excess sounds, analysts are skeptical of whether buyers will want to Hummer along. But GM's c ...
Topics: Big Auto, business, cars, greening biz operations, news, progress (all these topics)

Passing Lane Consumers shunning hefty hybrids		21 May 2008	News
Posted at 12:21 PM on 21 May 2008 Automakers may have assumed that hybrid SUVs would be a hit with the eco-minded-soccer-mom market, but drivers aren't buying it -- literally. Analysts are seeing a tepid reaction to SUVs like the Chevy Tahoe Hybrid and hybrid GMC Yukon, both launched in fall 2007. Concern about climate change and fuel prices has attached a stigma to large cars that isn't much lessened by the word "hybrid" plastered all over ...
Topics: Big Auto, business, cars, hybrids, news (all these topics)

Where Many Have Gone Before Prius sales top 1 million		15 May 2008	News
Posted at 3:17 PM on 15 May 2008 Worldwide sales of Toyota's Prius hybrid have passed the 1 million mark, the auto company announced Thursday. The world's first mass-produced hybrid was introduced in Japan in 1997 and in other markets in 2000. While it was at the time a risky business venture, it didn't take long for the word Prius -- Latin for "to go before" -- to become synonymous with popular hybrid technology (and yuppie enviro ...
Topics: Big Auto, cars, green living, hybrids, news, placemaking, Prius (all these topics)

Show Them That You Car Obama talks up green while courting manufacturers		14 May 2008	News
Posted at 4:52 PM on 14 May 2008 Barack Obama courted manufacturers in Michigan Wednesday, touting proposals to boost both green energy and the auto industry. He talked up a plan to auction carbon credits and use the funds to boost clean technology (and, in turn, green jobs), and said he would help the U.S. auto industry get back on its feet while encouraging investment in hybrids, electric vehicles, and other fuel-efficie ...
Topics: Barack Obama, Big Auto, business, green jobs, news, politics, presidential race 08 (all these topics)

Push the Plug Nissan wants to offer you an electric car by 2010		13 May 2008	News
Posted at 2:21 PM on 13 May 2008 Nissan wants to bring electric cars to the U.S. and Japan by 2010 and to the world by 2012, the automaker announced Tuesday. Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn in 2005 called gas-electric hybrids "niche products," but he's changed his tune, declaring that his company is determined to demonstrate "zero-emission-vehicle leadership." While General Motors and Toyota also have plans to bring ele ...
Topics: Big Auto, business, cars, electric vehicles, news (all these topics)

I smell a hedging strategy How much would you pay for cheap gas?	Sean Casten	07 May 2008	Gristmill
Suppose you're a commodity trader. Someone offers you a future contract to buy gasoline at $2.99/gallon for the next three years. If you think that you can sell that gasoline for more than that, you might think this is a license to print money, and would therefore pay for that privilege. Which raises the following questions: How much would you pay for that future 'strip'? Is the answer to Question 1 more or less than a Chrysler?
Topics: Big Auto, business, cars, oil (all these topics)

Driven to change March small car sales up; SUV, truck sales down	Joseph Romm	26 Apr 2008	Gristmill
Is $3.25 to $3.50 a gallon the long-awaited for inflexion point for driving a shift in U.S. car-buying habits? Obviously we can't know for sure, but the Detroit News reported that 'cars outsold light trucks' in March. (One auto industry insider told me yesterday that this was only the second time that has ever happened in some two decades.) Yes, the recession no doubt had an impact on the sales of big, expensive vehicles. But since gasoline prices are going to mo ...
Topics: Big Auto, business, cars, fuel efficiency, green living (all these topics)

Herald Ford Ford lays out how it will reduce fleet emissions		09 Apr 2008	News
Posted at 10:11 AM on 09 Apr 2008 Ford Motor Co. has laid out specific plans for reducing the greenhouse-gas emissions of its vehicle fleet at least 30 percent by 2020. The announcement comes in response to shareholder resolutions filed by members of the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (representing about 300 religious investors) and the Investor Network on Climate Risk, organized by green-minded investment group Ceres. S ...
Topics: Big Auto, business, cars, climate, greenhouse-gas emissions, news, religion and spirituality (all these topics)

Get Off My Porsche! Porsche launches legal challenge to London's congestion fee increase		03 Apr 2008	News
Posted at 9:38 AM on 03 Apr 2008 German automaker Porsche has launched a formal legal challenge to London Mayor Ken Livingstone's scheduled tripling of the city's congestion fee for the most-polluting vehicles. The increase, slated to take effect in October, would raise the fee for the most-polluting vehicles entering the city center to about $50 a day from $16 now. Livingstone and the city's transportation ...
Topics: Big Auto, climate, London, news, politics (all these topics)

Don't Make Me Turn This Car Around! U.S. auto sales take a nosedive		02 Apr 2008	News
Posted at 12:48 PM on 02 Apr 2008 Chrysler and General Motors sold 19 percent less automobiles in the U.S. this March than they did last March, according to new sales figures. Ford reported a sales drop of 14 percent in March 2008 compared to March 2007, and even Toyota, which has reported steady sales through other hard times, reported that sales dropped 10 percent. As has been the case for a while, sales of big ol' gas guzzler ...
Topics: Big Auto, business, cars, economy, news (all these topics)

Peak Oil? Bring it on! Solving the climate problem will solve the peak oil problem, too	Joseph Romm	30 Mar 2008	Gristmill
I have a new article in Salon on perhaps the most misunderstood subject in energy: peak oil. Here is the short version: We are at or near the peak of cheap conventional oil production. There is no realistic prospect that the conventional oil supply can keep up with current projected demand for much longer, if the industrialized countries don't take strong action to sharply reduce consumption, and if China and India don't take strong action to sharply reduce cons ...
Topics: Big Auto, business, energy, fuel efficiency, hybrids, oil, placemaking, politics (all these topics)

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