Mercedes pleases diesel lovers | detnews.com | The Detroit News
The argument for more diesels coming to America continues to fall on deaf ears. People have told me: They don't like the fuel's smell. They worry about breathing particulates. Diesel costs more than gasoline sometimes. There are a host of other excuses why America shouldn't have diesel cars and trucks. There are some diesel trucks available. American auto executives will offer another set of excuses, such as exhaust treatment kits, diesel powertrain markups and lack of consumer interest. I'm a consumer...

Closing auto dealerships leave void | detnews.com | The Detroit News
In recent years, Plymouth Road in Livonia had become something of an automotive hub in the city: new car lots line the busy thoroughfare, along with mechanic shops, an engine plant and fueling stations. It could soon be hit with a "quadruple threat," Mayor Jack Kirksey said. That is, the closure of the Livonia Chrysler-Jeep this summer. Follow that next year with the possible closure of two more dealerships -- Tennyson Chevrolet and John Rogin Buick -- and then the planned shutdown of GM's powertrain...

Goodyear, Steelworkers reach deal on contract | detnews.com | The Detroit News
CLEVELAND -- Thousands of workers at Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. plants in seven states will vote in the coming days on a tentative national contract agreement. The United Steelworkers of America and the company reached the deal Saturday night about three hours before a midnight deadline for the expiration of the old three-year contract, which had been extended twice. The union said rank-and-file members will be briefed on the new contract and ratification votes will be scheduled at all plants. Wayne...

Mercedes pleases diesel lovers | detnews.com | The Detroit News
The argument for more diesels coming to America continues to fall on deaf ears. People have told me: They don't like the fuel's smell. They worry about breathing particulates. Diesel costs more than gasoline sometimes. There are a host of other excuses why America shouldn't have diesel cars and trucks. There are some diesel trucks available. American auto executives will offer another set of excuses, such as exhaust treatment kits, diesel powertrain markups and lack of consumer interest. I'm a consumer...

Cash for Clunkers Is Almost Over
Today is the last day for the government program Cash for Clunkers. Although they expected it to last till November, it took only one month to use $3 billion in funding. The U.S. Department of Transportation is going to end the program at 7 p.m. Central time today, August 24. The experts projected about a quarter of a million car trades in the CARS program, but in fact the dealerships across the country have sold almost five hundred thousand cars. Many people considered $3,500-$4,500 rebates as a great...

Calif. car auction nets $14M from collectors | detnews.com | The Detroit News
More than 800 car collectors spent $14 million at an auction in California, snapping up Duesenberg and Mercedes-Benz models and passing on a 1939 Auto Union racer that was estimated to fetch as much as $10 million. Jay Leno, the comedian and talk-show host, was among the selective crowd at the Bonhams & Butterfields sale in Carmel that had been forecast by the organizers to make as much as $35 million. Last year's event totaled $21 million. The Auto Union racing car had been expected to make the most...

Inventive engineer sees light in LED wrenches | detnews.com | The Detroit News
"I don't how many times my dad asked my mom to hold a flashlight for him when he was working on a car." That's from Clifford Wright, whose father, Rollo "Buddy" Wright, restored vintage automobiles: Cords and Duesenbergs and such. "One day, as a kid, I remember him telling me, 'If you can't find or buy a tool, you just have to make it yourself,'" Clifford recalled, adding that his father often had to create his own unique tools to complete a restoration project. And, as they say, like father, like son...

Germany invests millions in race for battery-powered car | detnews.com | The Detroit News
-- Forget that they're cramped, have a limited driving range and outstrip the average consumer's pocketbook. The race is on to create a viable electric car. Germany -- home to brands including Volkswagen, Porsche and BMW -- became the latest country to fast track development of electric cars, the government approving a plan Wednesday that aims to put 1 million of them on the road by 2020. The goal is ambitious. Of the 41 million cars in the country, only 1,452 are electric, and Germany is entering an...

Companies eye Wixom plant for energy park | detnews.com | The Detroit News
Plans by two out-of-state companies to redevelop Ford Motor Co.'s abandoned Wixom plant into an energy park could help further solidify Michigan's effort to become an alternative energy hub, some industry observers say. But the $725 million project hinges on Xtreme Power of Austin, Texas, and Clairvoyant Energy of Santa Barbara, Calif., winning federal loans and state tax breaks to refurbish the 318-acre property. The project could create about 4,300 jobs. It also could establish a North American...

Marchionne makes himself at home with new condo | detnews.com | The Detroit News
Sergio Marchionne is a man with two jobs and now two homes on two continents. The chief executive officer of Chrysler Group LLC in Auburn Hills and Fiat SpA in Turin, Italy, has purchased a condo in Metro Detroit, where he is spending a lot of time restructuring the ailing U.S. automaker. Purchasing a place to call home in Birmingham can be seen as a commitment to the area as well as to the automaker, which was not the case with the last man whose job it was to turn Chrysler around. Marchionne "needs to...