Israel declares war on gas-guzzling carsIsrael has declared a “green tax revolution”, proposing a new customs levy on large vehicles and a rebate for ditching older gas-guzzling models.
Auto industry
What the auto industry can learn from the Apple Store
Here’s a novel idea: get rid of car yards, and only manufacture cars on demand. So crazy it just might work?
China buys Hummer
It’s the big GM garage sale, and a Chinese company has snapped up perhaps one od the greatest symbols of excessive western capitalism — Hummer.
I was Romania’s car czar: lessons in nationalising your auto industry
Ion Mihai Pacepa ran Romania’s car industry under the Soviet Union. With the US Government set to take over General Motors, he offers Congress some advice.
Guy Rundle: RIP Detroit, as the US goes socialist
Detroit is the first modern urban ruin, the largest city that has simply been allowed to die, writes Guy Rundle.
GM on the brink of bankruptcy
Bankruptcy looks all but certain for General Motors after bondholders rejected their offer to exchange $27 billion in debt for equity.
Does improving fuel efficiency encourage people to drive more?
When you reduce the need for a fuel, you also reduce its cost, thereby increasing demand. So mandating cars that use less petrol will make driving cheaper, encouraging people to drive more, right?
Obama ushers in new era of fuel efficiency
President Obama announces tough new nationwide rules for automobile emissions and mileage standards, embracing standards that California has sought to enact for years over the objections of the auto industry and the Bush administration.
Obama’s auto bailout: spin, lies and layoffs
An auto industry “bailout” that shutters productive factories and dealerships, and lays off tens of thousands of workers, is not change that we can believe in, says John Nichols.
Fiat-Chrysler outsources the boss
The real lesson from the Fiat-Chrysler deal is what companies can gain from sourcing top management abroad.
BNW? Rolls Joyce? China’s knock-off cars
You’ve enjoyed their knock-off clothes and electronics for years, now China is manufacturing cars that look almost exactly the same as popular Western models.
GM closes brands, cuts 20% of marketing staff
Marketing at General Motors is starting to resemble stuffing towels into the bow of the Titanic, as they cut staff and prepare to shut the Pontiac and Saturn brands.
Throw Obama’s cash for cars plan on the scrap heap?
Obama’s plan to offer cash towards a new car if people promise to send their old one to become scrap metal is pitched as a win for the economy and the environment. But is it wrong on both counts?
China: the new Detroit
China is now the world’s largest market for cars. If Beijing gets its way, the future of the auto industry will be small, green and — of course — made in China
Dyer’s Real Economy wrap: Grim news for German growth, Cruise industry sinking
What’s the German word for spin? … German growth looking grim … More deals for air travellers? … Cruise lines are sinking … Read the fine print on housing news … How do you solve a problem like Japan? … Chock biscuits sales fall, Big pizzas up … Oroton shows them how it’s done … CK suffers.
Rundle: The rust economy shifts from shrug to fear
With simultaneously two presidents and no president, the country seems stuck in those few moments before a car smash when it’s all started happening and there’s nothing you can do. Will the airbag save us? Not likely – he’s moving to Dallas with Laura, writes Guy Rundle.
Hard to beat automakers for greed and incompetence
Just when you thought that the automakers deserved one last chance — what do the CEOs do? They fly down from Detroit to Washington in private jets, writes Adam Schwab.
GM suffers biggest slump since WW2
General Motors has just endured its worst month for sales since the end of the Second World War, writes Glenn Dyer.
