Another auto maker that took Department of Energy money has gone bust. Vehicle Production Group, a producer of special vans designed to meet the needs of the disabled, has suspended operations and is due to be sold, according to Automotive News.
TTAC’s forays into areas like law, politics and economics are not everyone’s cup of tea, but they do matter. The dry, dense topics like regulation and financial topics have real implications for car enthusiasts, not to mention society as a whole. One subset of that is urban planning, a discipline which can have an enormous impact on our favorite hobby.
The days of Government Motors are slowly coming to an end. “The U.S. Treasury will begin another round of sales for General Motor stock acquired during the government’s bailout of the auto sector,” the Treasury told Reuters. Read More >
President Obama announced the nomination of Anthony Foxx, the current mayor of Charlotte, North Carolina, as his choice to succeed Ray LaHood as the next head of the Department of Transportation.
The Feds will get an additional 10,000 hybrids over the 10,672 they already have, lifting the federal hybrid market share from 5.3 percent to over 10 percent, the Detroit News says. Read More >
Congressional Republicans blasted current and former Fisker executives, as well as an official from the Department of Energy over missed milestones for their Department of Energy loans, which saw the company repeatedly fail to meet obligations while continuing to receive taxpayer money.
As part of their campaign against “distracted driving”, NHTSA has released new voluntary guidelines governing the use of in-car infotainment systems.
PrivCo, a private corporate intelligence firm, has published a 20+ page dossier on Fisker’s seemingly strong ability to fundraise for itself, while failing to do a good job of actually creating cars. With Fisker teetering on the verge of bankruptcy, the results are staggering; with just under 2000 units sold, Fisker burned through an estimated $1.3 billion in venture capital, taxpayer-funded loans and private investor funds.
A U.S. House of Represenatives subcommittee meeting became a forum for Ford to advocate on behalf of harmonized vehicle standards, as the US and EU continue to discuss a possible free trade deal.
California Congressman Darrell Issa wants to investigate the Department of Energy’s loans to nearly-bankrupt Fisker after the company laid off most of its employees and retained bankruptcy lawyers last week.
Juan Barnett, aka DCAutoGeek, put together this infographic on “distracted driving” using NHTSA’s own data from their latest study. I’ll let you be the judge on the matter, but the numbers are straight from NHTSA itself.
The California state DMV is offering motorists the chance to step back in time and order new license plates in historic color combinations.
“The only way to break this cycle of spiking gas prices — the only way to break that cycle for good — is to shift our cars entirely, our cars and trucks, off oil,”
So said President Obama during a speech in Illinois, where he outlined a plan to provide $200 million a year for 10 years to a fund that would promote the development of alternative fuel vehicles. The funds would be provided by royalties from oil drilling on the Out Continental Shelf.
“Elmwood Place is engaged in nothing more than a high-tech game of 3-Card Monty, (sic)” Ruehlman wrote, referring to a card game used by con artists.
And with that phrase, Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Robert Ruehlman stopped a six-thousand-ticket-per-month operation.
With a US-EU free trade agreement looming on the horizon, Ford is calling for a harmonization between the US and EU vehicle standards, as well as a removal of tariffs on vehicles between the two entities.
Recent Comments
bigtruckseriesreview @ Youtube - If only the stock TAURUS SHO had another 150 HP. Then, perhaps I’d be driving one instead of an SRT8.
big al - “It’s the last of the v-8 Intercepters…..” Sorry couldn’t help meself:)
bigtruckseriesreview @ Youtube - DOn’T WORRY. STREET RACING TECHNOLOGY will pick up where you left off (failed). MOPAR or NO CAR.
Crabspirits - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C ool_as_ice
KixStart - Debt is leverage.
RobertRyan - Yes remember the “Foulcan” rather well, later Australian Fords were vastly better. They kept on...
RobertRyan - That and “the amazing Tauras’ as one lunatic fan boy called it. We had the original “catfish” Tauras, that was...
thornmark - You might remember that the original 1960 Falcon was imported to Australia – it was a big seller but a poor fit...
jimmyy - Perhaps the people of Australia will be the fortunate consumers of union built Fusion … provided to you by Ford who scored a near...
RobertRyan - Asians are making inroads in the US and Australia.