auto industry

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GM’s Barra: I Don't Know Why It Took Us So Long

But new CEO promises company will find out why recall was delayed

(Newser) - GM's new CEO went to Capitol Hill today to explain why it took her company a decade to respond to a deadly ignition switch problem , but Mary Barra didn't have much light to shed. “I cannot tell you why it took years for a safety defect to...

1M Nissans Recalled Over Airbag Issue

Software problem may prevent inflation

(Newser) - Nissan is calling back about a million of its 2013 and 2014 vehicles: Thanks to a software issue, the passenger airbag may not expand during an accident. The problem is related to the car not recognizing that there is a passenger in the seat, the Los Angeles Times explains. Affected...

GM Knew of Safety Flaw, Released Cobalt Anyway

Exec acknowledges 'business decision'

(Newser) - The 2005 Cobalt's ignition-switch issues—which, according to one watchdog , contributed to hundreds of deaths—apparently came as no surprise to General Motors. The company released the cars despite its awareness of the problem, the Wall Street Journal reports, with engineers rationalizing that even if the car stalled, drivers...

Sources: Toyota to Pay $1.2B to End Criminal Probe
 Toyota Pays $1.2B 
 to End Criminal Probe 
UPDATED
Mar 19, 2014 9:15 AM CDT

Toyota Pays $1.2B to End Criminal Probe

It's an unusually large settlement for an automaker

(Newser) - Toyota will write a hefty $1.2 billion check to end a four-year Justice Department investigation into its unintended acceleration scandal , Attorney General Eric Holder announced today. It's the largest criminal penalty against a car company in US history, according to USA Today . "Today we can say for...

303 Deaths Linked to GM Air Bag Failure
 303 Deaths Linked 
 to Delayed GM Recall 
says watchdog
Mar 14, 2014 3:17 AM CDT

303 Deaths Linked to Delayed GM Recall

Watchdog's number far greater than the 13 deaths earlier reported

(Newser) - General Motors' slow response to an ignition switch problem in two now-recalled models may be linked to hundreds more deaths than earlier believed, according to the Center for Auto Safety watchdog group. The group says 303 people died in the Chevrolet Cobalts and Saturn Ions between 2003 and 2012 when...

EPA's New Rule Will Make Gas Pricier, Earth-Healthier

Oil refiners will need to cut gasoline's sulfur content some 60%

(Newser) - The Environmental Protection Agency is today putting in place a new rule to drastically cut sulfur from gasoline, a measure it says will ultimately save lives, the New York Times reports. Sulfur in gasoline renders vehicle pollution control systems less effective, boosting smog-causing emissions associated with heart and lung disease,...

Ford Reveals Radical Change to F-150

Its famous steel body will now be 97% aluminum

(Newser) - For 66 years, Ford pickups have been, well "built Ford tough." Their 5,000 pounds have cleared tornado debris, pulled Rose Bowl floats, and plowed snow. And they've shouldered those loads with parts forged from steel. Until now. Ford today unveiled a new F-150 (the 2015 model...

CES' Hot New Gadget Is Your Car

New vehicles sprout 4G; Google announces Open Automotive Alliance

(Newser) - The big news from the Consumer Electronics Show—where the expected theme is "the connected car"—is a plan to make your new vehicle a little more like your smartphone. General Motors and Audi tell the Wall Street Journal they have plans to give their vehicles built-in 4G...

Fiat Nabs Rest of Chrysler— at a Pretty Good Price

Deal will make Fiat world's 7th-largest auto group

(Newser) - America's No. 3 automaker has gone Italian. Fiat yesterday announced it has struck a $4.35 billion deal with the United Automobile Workers retiree health care fund that will see it buy the 41.5% of Chrysler it doesn't own, the New York Times reports. Per the deal,...

GM's First Female CEO 'Has Gasoline in Her Veins'

Mary Barra is ultimate auto industry insider, with blue-collar roots

(Newser) - Mary Barra's appointment as the first woman at the top of a major auto firm is a sign of changing corporate culture, but the new GM chief is a longtime insider with, as they say in Detroit, "gasoline running through her veins," the New York Times finds....

GM Names First Female CEO
 GM Names First Female CEO 
Dec 10, 2013 8:49 AM CST

GM Names First Female CEO

Mary Barra has been at company since she was a co-op student in 1980

(Newser) - In something of a surprise move, General Motors CEO Dan Akerson will announce his resignation today, and name Mary Barra as his successor, making her the first woman to pilot the auto giant, according to multiple reports. Barra started at GM as an engineering co-op student way back in 1980,...

Consumer Reports Yanks Approval From 3 Toyotas

Meanwhile, Toyota reports winning sales figures

(Newser) - It was a good news/bad news kind of day for Toyota. The good news? The Japanese automaker beat GM in sales for the second straight quarter, moving 2.5 million vehicles between July and September, it announced today, according to Bloomberg . The bad news? Consumer Reports yanked its recommendation of...

Silver Out as World's Top Car Color

'Futuristic' white tops the charts

(Newser) - Are people going out and buying cars that match their Apple gadgets? That's one explanation the world's leading supplier of automotive paints offers for white becoming the world's top "color" for cars after silver reigned for more than a decade, the AP finds. Around a quarter...

Toyota Not to Blame in Calif. Crash Death: Court

Fellow driver owes $10M in damages

(Newser) - A key case in Toyota's sudden-acceleration saga has been found in the car maker's favor. A jury found that Toyota wasn't to blame in the death of Noriko Uno, 66, who lost control of her 2006 Camry in a 2009 incident, Bloomberg reports. Toyota opponents held that...

Chrysler Files for IPO
 Chrysler Files for IPO 
Sep 23, 2013 5:24 PM CDT

Chrysler Files for IPO

Valued at up to $100M

(Newser) - The Chrysler Group has filed paperwork for an initial public offering for some of its shares—the first time the company's shares will be publicly traded since 1998, the AP reports. The move comes at the behest of a United Auto Workers retirement trust, which owns 41.5% of...

Detroit: What Went Wrong, What's Next

A look at what led to the city's landmark bankruptcy filing

(Newser) - Detroit's bankruptcy may not have surprised many people—"this has been coming for ages," one pained city worker tells the New York Times —but it does have everyone talking. What went wrong? What happens next? We're glad you asked. What happened:
  • Much of the
...

Tesla Pays Off US Loan 9 Years Early

CEO to taxpayers: 'I hope we did you proud'

(Newser) - Tesla has come a long way since Mitt Romney labeled it a "loser" in the presidential debates. The company has paid off its $465 million 2010 loan from the Department of Energy—plus interest—nine years before it was due, Businessweek reports. With yesterday's payment for $451.8...

Ford to End an Operation Running Since 1925

High costs prompt it to leave Australia

(Newser) - Starting in October 2016, Ford will no longer produce vehicles in Australia, the company says. "Our costs are double that of Europe and nearly four times Ford in Asia," says Ford Australia CEO Bob Graziano. Facing struggling sales and citing high wages, the firm will close its two...

Consumer Reports Gives Tesla Model S Highest Score Ever

Pricey plug-in vehicle gets 99 out of 100

(Newser) - The hype around Tesla's Model S got a big shot in the arm today courtesy of Consumer Reports , which is giving the car a whopping 99 out of 100, tied for the highest score the famously demanding magazine has ever given. In fact, CR director Jake Fisher tells Jalopnik...

Toyota, Honda Recall 3.4M Vehicles in Airbag Failure

Nissan, Mazda are also involved

(Newser) - An airbag issue is prompting Toyota, Honda, Nissan, and Mazda to recall some 3.4 million vehicles. Passenger-side airbag inflators are at risk of exploding and blasting out plastic pieces, the AP reports, while a rep for Japanese airbag maker Takata warns Reuters that driver-side airbags may fail to inflate....

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