Archive for November, 2005

More Job Losses Ahead for Auto Giant Due to gas prices last quarter and poor performance from Volvo, Ford is cutting a little over 5% of Volvo’s workforce.  The job cuts fall mainly in Sweden, with a small portion from Belguim. The automaker will eliminate 1,470 positions, primarily in Sweden and Belgium, out of a […]

Should You Be Able To Avoid The Dealer When Repairing Your Car? Many owners choose to use their own mechanic, rather than the dealership, to maintain and repair their vehicles.  While dealerships maintain they should be notified, for statistical reporting’s sake, when certain repairs are made, the consumer is forced to spend the extra money […]

Take Precautions This Winter With the advent of all-season and advanced traction control tires, most consumers simply don’t change their tires seasonally anymore.  John McCormick of Autos Insider hopes this disturbing trend reverses. All season tires are, by their very nature, designed to be a compromise. They do reasonably well in the heat of summer […]

Toyotas May Soon Be Made in Indiana Indiana’s Subaru plant may soon produce Toyotas, including their hybrids.  Beginning as early as 2007, the Indiana plant may ramp up their production to more 50% their current output. Toyota purchased 8.7% of Subaru parent Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. from General Motors Corp. in October reportedly for $315 […]

They use voting sites to increase seatbelt use Volkswagen will kick off the voting for "Fasten Your Seat Belt … Go Far!," a nation-wide program that challenges teens to create TV ads that try to persuade their peers to buckle up.   Choosing from hundreds of student-submitted PSAs, the three selected finalists will see their commercials […]

2005-2006 Auto Sales Come With Several Key Bonuses Because new car sales are slumping, Chrysler is adding some hot add-ons to most new cars it sells.  Popular cars like the Dodge Charger are excluded. DaimlerChrysler’s Chrysler division on Thursday said it was raising its customer incentives and offering buyers more than $2,000 worth of free […]

Ailing Mitsubishi Loses Chrysler’s Millions In a surprising move, Monday saw a complete unloading of Chrysler’s Mitsubishi stake.  Despite a small climb in quarter 3, Mitsubishi remains 26% down for the year.  Both companies say their strategic partnerships will continue, but a high-level resignation from the Chrysler board by a Mitsubishi exec may not bode […]

Shopping around can lower the cost Everyone knows SUVs can be expensive.  Add to that the cost of gas lately, and driving an SUV can take a large chunk of your income.  Even repairs for SUVs can be astronomical. If you SUV needs repairs, be sure to read "Lowering 4-Wheel Drive/SUV Repair Costs" from About.com.  […]

Crossover market is attractive to Ford Ford looks to take advantage of skyrocketing gas prices by introducing several vehicles that target the SUV driver that doesn’t go off-road.  One of these, Ford’s Edge, is looking to attract the consumer that looks for style and affordability, rather than luxury with no eye to price.  The crossover […]

Use their list to buy your next car 37 vehicles made it into the Best Buy category in Consumer Digest’s comprehensive review of 268 cars.  Among the SUVs, sedans, minivans and trucks are vehicles ranging in size/price from the Honda Civic to the GMC Yukon.  The list was judged on value, or cost in relation […]