The Rumors about Ram Separation Are True
It has been announced before that Ram would separate from Dodge and function as an individual brand which makes commercial vehicles. Fiat is already planning and expansion of the Ram vehicles for 2012. This spring Italian automaker has purchased Chrysler which owns several brands including Dodge. A lot of changes in the American company have been made since then; one of them is that Fiat thinks Ram is so popular that it should become a separate brand which specializes on commercial autos such as pickup...

Fresh approach excites UAW; dealers cautious | detnews.com | The Detroit News
Throughout Metro Detroit and across the nation, workers, politicians and dealers waited and watched Wednesday as Chrysler made its pitch to turn the company around with new products and a fresh approach to manufacturing and marketing. Union leaders representing Chrysler workers in the United States and Canada hailed the promise of overhauling plant operations. The "world class manufacturing" concept is intended to eliminate waste, increase safety and encourage teamwork. It also eliminates a layer of...

Aftermarket auto ware there for the long haul | detnews.com | The Detroit News
Next week, Las Vegas turns into aftermarket heaven. Roll out the rally cars, billion-horsepower engines and every conceivable electronic device -- and some you couldn't imagine -- replica rattlesnake seat covers, bamboo floor mats and more rims than a junkyard and you'll begin to picture SEMA, the Specialty Equipment Market Association trade show. Anything and everything that can be affixed, attached, screwed on or bolted down to a car or truck is on display at the private show, which begins Tuesday and...

Best be prepared for rough weather | detnews.com | The Detroit News
These simple tips from the National Safety Council can help drive down the risk of accident, even in bad weather: • Floor mats. Something as simple as floor mats can have a major impact on driving safety. But the days of one-size-fits-all floor mats are gone. Most mats, even aftermarket mats, are now designed for specific vehicles, and drivers should be sure to use only a mat designed for their vehicle. Many vehicles these days also have anchors or clips to secure mats. You should always check to...

Michelin cables aim for safer jump-starts | detnews.com | The Detroit News
Winter's coming. That means stocking up on de-icer fluid for the windshield washer reservoir and digging out the old snow scraper and jumper cables. Or you might want to buy a new set of jumper cables because the technology has just taken a big leap forward. It used to be you had to be very careful to connect the positive and negative terminals of your vehicle's battery to those of the car that you're jumping or that was jumping you. But with Michelin's new Smart Jumper Cables, there's no such...

Ariz. shop revives vintage cars | detnews.com | The Detroit News
-- Tucson's classic cars are the keys to success for the Saguaro Automotive Group. The business is geared toward breathing new life into vintage automobiles through repair and restoration. Its 6,000-square-foot facility buzzed with activity on a recent weekday afternoon. A 1966 Corvette in the showroom awaited minor upgrades to raise its technical inspection score with the National Corvette Restorers Society. Another Corvette, a 1979 model, sat parked at a work station for a custom paint job and full...

Detroit area car shops ramp it up at SEMA | detnews.com | The Detroit News
By now, most Detroiters are getting their hot rods, exotics, and muscle cars bundled up for a long winter's nap. But in Las Vegas, this week's SEMA convention is supercharging enthusiasts from across the globe. This industry-only trade show lays out an unrivaled smorgasbord of custom vehicles and hardware. Organized by the Specialty Equipment Market Association, the event features about 2,000 booths -- in 2 million square feet of the Las Vegas Convention Center -- hawking everything from complete cars...

Federal auto czar in Detroit today to discuss stimulus grant | detnews.com | The Detroit News
-- The White House auto recovery czar will meet in Detroit with energy workers and political leaders to discuss a local $83 million federal stimulus grant that's part of a $3.4 billion effort to modernize the U.S. power grid. Ed Montgomery, head of the White House Council on Auto Communities and Workers, is scheduled to visit DTE Energy Co.'s headquarters Thursday. He and others will outline the grant to DTE Energy, which the utility is matching so it can install a network of 660,000 advanced electric...

Reliability pays off in long run | detnews.com | The Detroit News
Without Uncle Sam's largesse, you're not likely to get a decent price on a trade-in today. That car that grandma only drove to church on Sunday with low miles and all the extras that you got and now want to use to get something a bit more hip? Chances are you'll be offered far below the book value from a dealer. Sell it on your own instead. Especially if you've got a Toyota, Honda or Ford, the top brands for reliability, according to the 2009 Annual Car Reliability Survey from Consumer Reports magazine...

Senate committee calls Delphi's salaried pensions 'devastating' | detnews.com | The Detroit News
-- A Senate committee criticized the disparate treatment of the pensions of Delphi Automotive LLP's hourly and salaried retirees and demanded more information on how the decisions were made by the Obama administration. Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, noted at a hearing Thursday that the Troy-based auto supplier had terminated its pension plans covering 70,000 workers -- the fourth-largest ever takeover in terms of people covered. In July...