No one wants to touch it. Not Toyota, not NHTSA, not any politician. But the issue has to be raised. Driver error is most likely at the root of these sudden unintended acceleration incidents.
You've already seen the ABC News piece about a college professor rigging up a Toyota Avalon so he could induce a short circuit that would cause unintended acceleration. It's a frightening demonstration. And as detailed yesterday, it's also bad journalism.
With all the attention being lavished on electric cars, you'd think the salvation of the planet is nigh at hand. But don't be duped by all the EV hype. It's going to take decades before they catch on – if ever.
Even though General Motors surprised everyone when it announced it will repay its government loans by next June, a lot of people are still unhappy. What about the other $50 billion we poured into the company, they demand to know?
When oil prices shot over $100 a barrel a year ago, I was inundated with press releases from inventors claiming they had an engine that would solve the energy crisis. In most cases, I simply deleted each release and went on with my work. You see, I've seen this all before.
Raising taxes on gasoline is political suicide in the United States. Any politician foolish enough to propose raising the gas tax would be hounded out of office, or never elected in the first place. We, the American people, will see to that.
One of the more intriguing tidbits that dribbled out of Chrysler's grueling 8-hour press conference on Wednesday is that the company is considering getting back into the heavy truck business. They're not talking about heavy duty pick-ups, they're talking about 18-wheelers.
A few weeks ago Rio de Janeiro landed the 2016 Olympics largely thanks to the fact that Brazil is climbing up the rank of nations. It has grown to become the 10th largest economy in the world and a key reason has to do with the country's energy policy.
On this week's Autoline After Hours, John McElroy, Peter "Autoextremist" DeLorenzo and BusinessWeek's David Welch are joined by Erich Merkle, President of Autoconomy, to discuss the week that was in the world of automobiles. We suspect a large part of the discussion will center on the imminent demise of Saturn after Penske pulled out of its deal with General Motors to take over the ailing brand and its considerable dealer network. Damon Lavrinc
In the early 1980s General Motors launched a top-secret program to figure out how it could build a small car to successfully compete against the Japanese automakers. It was called the S-car program and the results of this study shocked top management at GM.
What's in a name? Does it really matter what you call a car, or will a car sell well as long as it's well designed?
In a shocking development Toyota faces a lawsuit filed with the U.S. International Trade Commission that seeks to ban the import of all hybrids to the American market. Toyota is being sued by Paice LLC for patent infringement on its hybrid system.
In this week's episode of Autoline After Hours, John McElroy, Peter "The Autoextremist" DeLorenzo, and David Welch of BusinessWeek are joined by the dean of automotive journalism, David E. Davis, Jr., for an unusually candid discussion about the issues and events affecting today's auto industry.
To hear the government tell it, foreign automakers and compact cars were the big winners in the Cash for Clunkers program. The Department of Transportation makes it look like consumers all wanted small fuel-efficient cars, particularly from the import brands.
Despite a lot of skepticism from industry analysts, the "Cash for Clunkers" program exceeded just about everyone's expectations. It brought in new customers, cleaned out a lot of old inventory, and started putting auto workers back to work.
If you've ever wondered why the American automakers have such a hard time competing in their home market, all you have to do is look at the latest move from the American government. It's going to exempt the worst gas-guzzling European luxury cars from having to meet U.S. CO2 standards. Companies like Mercedes, BMW, and Porsche can continue to sell cars that don't meet those standards, all with the gentle blessing of generous Uncle Sam.
The Ford Motor Company is not going to chase GM and do a plug-in series hybrid like the Volt. In fact, the Blue Oval thinks that approach is a mistake. Instead, Ford is taking a three-pronged attack to developing hybrid and electric vehicles, with one technology building upon the other.
If I have to read another article about how GM needs to change its culture, I think I'll puke. It seems that every analyst and pundit in the business feels the need to write an article about GM's need for culture change.
In this week's episode of Autoline After Hours, John McElroy, newly minted Christian publishing mogul Jason Vines and Peter "The Autoextremist" DeLorenzo gather for another unusually frank discussion about the motoring industry's ups and downs.
