White House, Edmunds in war of words over 'clunkers' | detnews.com | The Detroit News
-- The White House said the influential automotive news Web site Edmunds.com's harsh analysis of the impact of "cash for clunkers" was "faulty" and "implausible." Edmunds CEO Jeremy Anwyl shot back that the White House was "shooting the messenger." Edmunds said cash for clunkers cost taxpayers $24,000 per vehicle sold. Nearly 690,000 vehicles were sold during the $3 billion cash for clunkers program that offered up to $4,500 rebates, officially known as the Car Allowance Rebate System, but Edmunds.com...

Senate panel seeks Delphi answers | detnews.com | The Detroit News
-- A Senate committee, distressed by the different treatment of Delphi Automotive LLP's salaried and hourly retirees, wants to know how the decisions were made by the Obama administration. In July, Delphi saddled the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. with responsibility for the pension plans of 70,000 Delphi workers and retirees. That move was estimated to cost the PBGC, the government's pension insurer, about $6.25 billion. Recent estimates put it as high as $6.7 billion. Under agreements with Delphi's...

Reilly's world is growing larger | detnews.com | The Detroit News
Nick Reilly, executive vice president of General Motors Co., works out of a skyscraper in Shanghai, a Chinese port city halfway across the globe from the company's Detroit headquarters. Most of his senior-level GM colleagues are asleep when he's working, and they arrive at their offices as he's preparing to go home. Even though Reilly is far away, he is emerging as GM's second most important executive after CEO Fritz Henderson. As the new head of GM's international operations, the British executive runs...

Fesler-Moss revives vintage Camaro package | detnews.com | The Detroit News
Sometimes you have to turn back the clock to go fast forward. First, we turn back four decades, to the birth of the Chevrolet Camaro and that very special souped-up version known as the COPO, that string of letters representing the abbreviation for how to work the order form to get what amounted to a factory-built hot rod. Next, we turn back just a few years, to when automotive engineer Jon Moss was head of what amounted to General Motors' toy shop, the specialty vehicles group that did things such as...

Backlog of clunkers still await recycling | detnews.com | The Detroit News
-- Cash for Clunkers may be history for car shoppers, but the program's largesse lives on in recycling yards around the country. A torrent of traded-in clunkers have arrived at auto recyclers in the past two months and are still waiting to be drained of fluids, stripped of valuable parts and eventually flattened for scrap. At some disposal facilities, Ford Explorers, Chevy Blazers, Chrysler Town & Country minivans and other popular clunkers are parked bumper to bumper on several acres, many marked "C4C"...

Recovery will stem from fresh designs | detnews.com | The Detroit News
Some of the auto industry's biggest hits have roots in a company's darkest days, demographic shifts or a defining moment in history. The strongest and most creative regroups -- even going as far as betting the ranch -- have delivered a triple or a home run in the form of the bubbly Taurus or the minivan. It's unclear when and how bright the light at the end of the current dark tunnel will shine, but the seeds of a sustained recovery will have their roots in the styling studio. Development begins...

Recyclers want more time to dispose of clunkers | detnews.com | The Detroit News
-- Trade-ins from the Cash for Clunkers program are piling up and auto recyclers are seeking more time to meet the deadline for disposing of all those vehicles. At some places, Ford Explorers, Chevy Blazers, Chrysler Town & Country minivans and other popular clunkers are parked bumper to bumper on several acres, many marked "C4C" on their windows, waiting to be drained of fluids, stripped of valuable parts and eventually flattened for scrap. "I've got a parking lot of almost 4,000 vehicles right now,"...

'No strike' language riles UAW | detnews.com | The Detroit News
A misunderstanding over "no-strike" language in a proposed amendment to the United Auto Workers' contract with Ford Motor Co. has sparked a backlash from some workers who accuse union leaders of giving up their most potent negotiating tool. The Detroit News has learned that the language, which was included in recent contract changes the UAW negotiated with General Motors Co. and Chrysler Group LLC, was mandated by the Obama administration as a condition of its bailout of the two companies. It was...

Grill sizzles with hot rod power | detnews.com | The Detroit News
The Hot Rod Grill looks like a 350-cubic-inch "small block" Chevrolet V-8 on an engine stand, but instead of valves and pistons on the inside, the manifold pivots open to reveal a two-burner, 30,000-BTU propane-fueled barbecue grill. The Hot Rod Grill is the creation of Ryan Bluestone of Lake Havasu City, Ariz., where his family also produces Insta-clean automotive and industrial parts cleaning equipment. Bluestone, 29, admits his inspiration for the Hot Rod Grill was probably "too many beers." In fact...

Noise issue creeps up on electric cars | detnews.com | The Detroit News
If you have driven a pure electric or hybrid car you will know the problem. You can be ready to move off from a parked position and people standing around the vehicle do not get out of the way. And it's simply because the traditional cue, engine noise, is absent. Now, as a growing band of advanced plug-in hybrid and battery-powered models -- cars that use their batteries most, if not all the time -- nears production, the problem is gaining more attention. Custom sounds possibleAuto industry safety...