The Week: Most Recent auto-industry

Honda's Segway alternative... that you steer with your butt

The Week — Mon, 21 May 2012 07:31:00 -0500

The video: Fancy the mobility of a Segway but don't like standing? Honda's new project, the UNI-Cub, might be right up your alley. At first glance the "personal mobility device" looks like a motorized unicycle — and we've all seen how "easy" it is to ride a unicyle. But Honda says the UNI-Cub is quite nimble, allowing users to maneuver with a large front wheel to control horizontal and forward movement while a smaller rear wheel helps pivot through turns. (Smartphone controls are optional.) The device has a max speed of 3.7 miles per hour, and is designed for both indoor and outdoor...

Team Romney claims Mitt saved GM: 'The height of hypocrisy'?

The Week — Tue, 01 May 2012 12:20:00 -0500

Mitt Romney's campaign has news for you: It was Romney, not President Obama, who saved the U.S. auto industry. This week, Romney's campaign manager, Eric Fehrnstrom, said the reason General Motors and Chrysler survived the recession is because Obama followed Romney's prescription to put the automakers through a "managed bankruptcy process." That means "the only economic success that President Obama has had," Fehrnstrom said, "is because he followed Mitt Romney's advice." Fehrnstrom is referring to a New York Times editorial that Romney penned in 2008, in which he called for a "managed bankruptcy...

Dan Akerson's $7.7 million salary: Is the GM boss underpaid?

The Week — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 11:35:00 -0500

General Motors had a historically successful year in 2011, posting a record $7.6 billion profit. It's a robust turnaround for the once-enfeebled company, which needed a hefty cash injection from the government to avoid going under, and is still partly owned by Uncle Sam. But GM is less sanguine about a new government pay freeze on bailed-out companies, and in announcing its pay package for CEO Dan Akerson, who received a cool $7.7 million in compensation, GM complained that the restrictions "do not permit us to reward our senior executives in a manner reflecting the level of achievement of our...

The Ford Mustang's new European look: A big mistake?

The Week — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 12:50:00 -0500

Few things are more classically American than a Ford Mustang, the Pony car that spawned dozens of imitators after it was launched in 1964. And today's Mustang still bears strong resembles to the original, part of a years-long attempt by Ford to ride a retro trend that saw baby boomers buying Volkswagen Beetles and Chevrolet Camaros. But all that is about to change, says Mike Ramsey at The Wall Street Journal. Ford is planning a sleeker, "European" look for its new Mustang, in a bid to attract younger consumers who have less affection for muscle cars of yore. The new Mustang will reportedly launch...

Coming soon: Self-driving cars?

The Week — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 12:03:00 -0500

When will self-driving cars take to the road?
They're already out there. For the past two years, Google has been testing computer-controlled cars in California. Its self-driving Toyota Priuses have so far clocked more than 200,000 miles on busy highways, mountainous roads, and congested city streets with only occasional human intervention. (There are always two human drivers onboard, ready to take the wheel in case of a malfunction). "This car can do 75 mph," said Google engineer Chris Urmson. "It can track pedestrians and cyclists. It understands traffic lights. It can merge at highway speeds...

Petty controversy: Newt Gingrich vs. the Chevy Volt

The Week — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 11:47:00 -0600

The story: Newt Gingrich was all up in General Motors' grill this week. The Republican presidential candidate branded GM's hybrid Chevy Volt an "Obama car" because "you can't put a gun rack in a Volt." His remark, clearly intended to tap into the Right's aversion to subsidizing green technology, prompted GM spokesman Selim Bingo to shoot back that you can equip the Volt with a gun rack. "The real question is, 'Why would you?'" he asked. "Seriously, when is the last time you saw a gun rack in any sedan?" To prove GM's claims, one enthusiastic Volt fan even created a video demonstrating the...

G.M.'s record-smashing profits: 6 talking points

The Week — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 15:29:00 -0600

General Motors hauled in a record profit in 2011, and regained its status as the world's top seller of automobiles. It's an extraordinary comeback for a company that went through bankruptcy only two years ago, and needed a massive $50 billion government bailout to boot. "So why isn't everyone doing handsprings or uncorking champagne?" asks Michelle Krebs at Forbes. Here, six things you should know about G.M.'s record year and ongoing recovery:

1. G.M. racked up hugely impressive sales figures
The famed automaker made a $7.6 billion profit in 2011, surpassing its previous yearly record of $6.7 billion...

Should America ban cell phones for drivers?

The Week — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 14:17:00 -0600

Keep your eyes on the road and your phone in your pocket. That's the gist of the new guidelines proposed Tuesday by the federal National Transportation Safety Board. The NTSB wants states to ban drivers from any non-emergency use of cell phones and other electronic devices that aren't built into their automobile. "We're not here to win a popularity contest," said NTSB chairwoman Deborah Hersman. "No email, no text, no update, no call is worth a human life." Here's what you should know:

How dangerous is "distracted driving"?
Very. Commercial drivers are 163 times more...

Chevy Volts' potentially flammable batteries: Are the cars still safe?

The Week — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 15:59:00 -0600

General Motors' new electric car, the Chevy Volt, has won top customer satisfaction ratings, but it's getting plenty of demerits from the federal government. Days or weeks after the government conducted side-impact tests on Volts, the cars' lithium-ion batteries caught fire, and the government is investigating why. (The same type of battery has been blamed in the past for flaming, over-heated laptops.) Anxious to defend the car's reputation, GM is saying the cause of the fires is still unknown. Still, the automaker is taking the unprecedented step of offering to buy back the vehicles from any owners...

The auto industry's 'surprisingly' good September: 6 theories

The Week — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 16:19:00 -0500

Despite fears of a double-dip recession and sputtering consumer confidence, U.S. car and truck sales were actually up in September, "surprising the auto industry and raising hopes that a bumpy year will end on a high note." General Motors reported a 20 percent sales jump from September 2010 to September 2011, while Chrysler's sales were up a whopping 27 percent — the company's best September since 2007. Ford also saw a 9 percent uptick, and U.S. vehicle sales were up 10 percent overall from last September. To what do we owe this rare bit of economic good news? Here, six theories:

1. Americans...

Time for Amish buggy driving tests?

The Week — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 06:30:00 -0500

Two Amish children were killed and three others injured in a Labor Day accident in Indiana, after the 10-year-old at the reins of a pony cart pulled out of a driveway and into the path of an SUV. The tragedy has ignited a debate over whether it should be legal for young children to drive horse-drawn buggies on open roads. Here, a brief guide:

How old must a kid be to drive a carriage?
The Indiana Driver's Manual says people in horse-drawn vehicles have the same rights and responsibilities as all other drivers — but the law sets no minimum age for buggy drivers. In Amish communities, it's apparently...

'Drivemocion': Emoticons for your car

The Week — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 13:05:00 -0500

The image: Emoticons, those cute, if not always endearing, little faces that people use to enrich their emails and text messages, are hitting the road with a new device called the "Drivemocion." An LED circuit board that attaches via suction cup to a car's back window and is operated by remote control, the Drivemocion comes programmed with 16 messages to express a wide range of driver emotions, including remorse (SORRY, when cutting off another driver), lust (a smiley face with hearts for eyes), worry (SLOW DOWN), and, of course, anger (BACK OFF, or a peeved frowning face). There's even a message...

Ford's 'sexy' Evos: Can this car run your social life?

The Week — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 18:01:00 -0500

The video: This week, Ford released images of its "sexy" new concept car, the Evos. Set to debut later this month at the Frankfurt Motor Show, the Evos is no mere hybrid, but a sleek vision of how a cloud-connected car could integrate itself into seemingly every facet of your daily life. (Watch a video about the Evos below.) The car would communicate wirelessly with gadgets in your home or office to play the same music as you come and go, turn off the lights in your house as you hit the road, and be constantly aware of your schedule. Evos even boasts a heart rate monitor — not to mention...

Will SUVs finally become fuel-efficient?

The Week — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 18:18:00 -0500

The competition to develop vehicles with greater fuel efficiency has heated up in the face of ever-more-stringent government standards. But new government rules are also creating unexpected alliances. In a first for the auto industry, U.S. automaker Ford and Japanese behemoth Toyota have announced a partnership to create new gas-electric hybrid engines unlike anything available now. Here, a guide to this development:

What are Ford and Toyota working on?
Trucks and SUVs, primarily. New rules from the Obama administration require automakers to develop a fleet of vehicles averaging 54.5 miles per gallon...

Could the big, 'bold' Ciel make Cadillac great again?

The Week — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 11:48:00 -0500

The video: In recent years, Cadillac has struggled to compete with European behemoths Mercedes and BMW. But last Thursday, General Motors' luxury brand introduced a new concept car that could change that. (View video below.) In Palm Beach, Calif., a few days ahead of the Concours d'Elegance car show, the automaker unveiled the Ciel convertible, a larger, "bold" car that is both an homage to giant Caddies of decades past (the Ciel is as long as Mercedes' S Class), and, with a V-6 engine paired with a hybrid system, a nod to the future. While the convertible is still just in the concept phase...

GM's new self-driving pod car

The Week — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 14:43:00 -0500

The image: General Motors reportedly plans to start selling a two-seat, self-steering electric "pod" car around 2020. GM developed the design of the futuristic "Electric Network Vehicle" (EN-V) with the help of Segway, and the car balances itself using the same gyroscopic technology that keeps the two-wheeled Segway scooter from tipping over. (See an image of the pod car below.) The EN-V will be able to operate autonomously, going where its passengers tell it, and using GPS signals to find its path. It's programmed to avoid collisions with cars and other obstacles. The prototype is touring car...