Top Tips to Save Gas

1. Go easy on the accelerator and brakes. Driving like there is an egg between your foot and the gas pedal is the best way to improve your fuel economy.
2. Do not accelerate much at high speeds. The engine has to work much harder when you are going more than 55 mph.
3. Use the correct motor oil. Consult the owner’s manual for the proper viscosity for your car.
4. Clean out your trunk and back seat. Any extra weight will hurt your gas mileage.
5. Buy a Scan Gauge. It displays your fuel usage and other information from your car’s computer.
6. Improve your car’s aerodynamics. Removing your roof rack could increase your mileage 2% to 3%.
7. Check your engine air filter. If it is dirty, your engine will work harder and use more fuel.
8. Get your wheels aligned. Your car will roll easier.
9. Keep your tires properly inflated. Under inflated tires can drastically reduce your fuel economy.
10. Keep your engine maintained. A regular tune up will ensure your engine is running efficiently.

Source Forbes

2009 New York International Auto Show

Photos from the New York Auto Show

Toyota to Post First Loss

Highlighting the credit crunch and economic down turn that is affecting all auto makers, Toyota is expected to report its first loss ever. Speculation is Toyota will have a loss of $1.7 billion for the year ending March 31. Toyota has idled factories and delayed opening a new plant in Mississippi. Honda had similar news last week. So the woes of the Detroit 3 are not caused by stupid business decisions, but the collapse of the auto market which is hurting every auto manufacturer.

Source AutoWeek

GOP Blocks Auto Loan Bill in Senate

Republican Senators prevented a vote on the $14 billion in loans for the Detroit Automakers. These Conservative Southern Republicans all with foreign auto plants in their states are looking to weaken the UAW. They greatly fear the UAW trying to unionize the auto plants in the south. Honda, Toyota, Nissan, BMW, Mercedes Benz, and Hyundai all have non-union plants in the south. It is now up to the White House to find the loan money to allow General Motors and Chrysler to continue into 2009.

Source CNN Money

Chevy Volt Development $750 Million

General Motors is spending over $750 Million developing the Chevy Volt. The electric range extended car will reach production by 2010. The fact that GM has not delayed Volt development shows they are still planning for the future despite the current economic troubles. Much of the development costs are going to battery research. The Volt will sell for a loss for six or more years but will make GM one of the world’s greenest automakers. Many of the technologies developed for the Volt will trickle down to more mainstream products.

Source CNN Money

UAW Will Alter Contract to Help Big 3

The United Auto Workers will modify the 2007 contracts to help General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler. They will suspend the Jobs Bank program and delay the automakers payments to the retiree health care trust. The Jobs Bank program allows laid-off factory workers to receive 95 percent of their pay. In 2007, the automakers transferred retiree health care responsibilities to a union run fund. Over the next few years, the automakers will fund that fund.

Source AutoWeek

Big 3 Give Business Plans to Congress

General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler gave their future plans to Congress to justify the bailout loans.

GM:
GM will focus on only four brands (Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, and Cadillac). Saab will be sold off and Saturn will be sold or closed. Pontiac will become a niche brand. Hummer is already up for sale. Dealers will be cut from 6,450 to 4,700. One third of the nameplates will be cut form the model lineup. CEO Rick Wagoner will work for $1 next year.

Ford:
Ford will focus on bring small cars from Europe to be built and sold here. Development will be focused on hybrids, plug in hybrids, and electric vehicles. They will have a full electric van for fleet sales in 2010 and an electric sedan in 2011.

Chrysler:
Chrysler’s plan was lighter on details. They focus on electric vehicles and plan to have one on sale in 2010 and others by 2013. In the next four years, they will launch 24 major new products. Chrysler will also continue to seek alliances.

Source AutoWeek

GM Dismisses Tiger Woods

Things are so bad at General Motors that they are ending Tiger Woods spokesperson contract a year early. GM says there budget issues that brought about this change and Tiger stated he would like to spend more time with his family. Months earlier, GM pulled out of being a major sponsor of the 2009 Academy Awards and also backed out of advertising during the Emmy Awards.

Source AutoWeek

Big Three Squander Congressional Hearing

Instead of the Detroit Three pleading their case that they are vital to the economy they spent all their time in Congress explaining why they each of the CEOs took separate private jets. They are looking for $25 billion in loans but they had the audacity to fly on private jets to ask for it. This made the bailout vote politically unviable. The Big Three where told to return with business plans after Thanksgiving to explain what they will do with the loans.

Source MSNBC

Chrysler Executives Receive Millions While Asking for Bailout

Chrysler is paying out $30 million in retention bonuses to top executives while cutting thousands of jobs. It is also currently seeking a bailout to the tune of billions of dollars from the government. The bonus plan was setup by DaimlerChrysler to retain executives while Chrysler was being sold off. Fifty executives are in the bonus plan and six will receive over $1 million this year. The CEOs of Chrysler, GM, and Ford will testify before a House committee on the proposed $25 billion bailout loans. Executive pay and bonuses are expected to be limited as part of a bailout deal.

Source Detroit Free Press