By Douglas A. McIntyre 
From 24/7 Wall St.

(October 2009) Rumors, credible rumors, are beginning to circulate in the car industry and the automotive press, that Chrysler may not make it another year primarily due to its falling sales and growing financial losses at partner Fiat. Chrysler sold a 62,197 cars in September down 42% from the same month last year. The figure was down from 93,222 in August when traffic to dealers was pushed up by the ”cash for clunkers” program. Chrysler’s problems may only be beginning and, if so, Fiat, the ”managing partner” among Chrysler’s owners may not be able to keep the American company intact.

(September 2009) The GM arrogance bug seems to be catching. The smirk behind the smile on GM Chairman Ed Whitacre in his debut as a Lee Iacocca clone just doesn’t work, at least for us. It seems he performs better in the boardroom where he has earned the reputation as a “bulldog.” And CMO Bob Lutz acts like he is as pure as the driven snow or at least as pure as Whitacre’s white hair, reflecting his know it all GM attitude.

(September 2009) TUSTIN, Calif. — A just released study on the future of small cars in the United States shows American consumers are increasingly interested in smaller cars, but with reservations about size and features. The study underscores the challenge automakers face in trying to meet government mandated improvements in fuel economy while still delivering what consumers want and will buy. Many carmakers have recently introduced new, smaller cars to the market and are launching more in the future.

(September 2009) ALEXANDRIA, Va.  (USNewswire) — General Motors' new 60-day money back guarantee campaign seems to offer something for everyone — except taxpayers, the 362,000-member National Taxpayers Union (NTU) pointed out today. NTU Vice President for Policy and Communications Pete Sepp offered the following statement about the program:

This Sunday, General Motors launched a new marketing campaign, "May the Best Car Win," and will offer car buyers a 60-day money-back guarantee. Perhaps a more fitting slogan is "Taxpayers, You Lose."

By Jim Meachen
MotorwayAmerica Editor

(September 2009) We are cheerleaders for Ford. And its impressive sales gains in August compared to July 2009 and August 2008 were cause for celebration. Perhaps more interesting is the incredible sales success of Subaru, just a blip on the screen compared to Ford.  But Subaru deserves close study. What has the Japanese automaker done right?

(August 2009) The Cash for Clunkers party is over, and now the auto industry is likely to experience a painful hangover. Edmunds.com anticipates a steep decline in sales in the coming weeks based upon a significant drop in "purchase intent" behavior of its Web site visitors.

"Current purchase intent is down 50 percent from the Cash for Clunkers peak, and down 11 percent from the June average," noted Edmunds.com Senior Analyst David Tompkins. "Day by day, intent is slipping: Sunday activity was down 21 percent from Saturday, then Tuesday activity was down 16 percent from Monday."

(August 2009) It's early yet. Ample time for explaining how the Chevrolet Volt, a sophisticated plug-in hybrid that will supposedly be able to travel 40 miles on its batteries alone before needing help from a gas engine — or some type of additional propulsion — will achieve 230 miles per gallon.

We don't understand how the 230 mpg has been derived. And so far no auto guru, writer or industry expert has offered any kind of explanation. Perhaps it will be some EPA hocus-pocus.

(August 2009) The success of the short-lived Cash for Clunkers program has created a new problem for Ford and Chrysler — a shortage of some vehicles.
Chrysler is particularly hard hit because of long factory shutdowns earlier this summer.

Vehicles that Chrysler had a hard time moving just two weeks ago are now hard to find. For instance there is only a seven-day supply of Jeep Patriots and a 15-day supply of the Jeep Compass. A 60-day supply is considered normal.

By Jim Meachen
MotorwayAmerica Editor

(August 2009) In our current state of automotive angst there's just no predicting what kind of automotive news you might wake up to on the tube, on the internet or in your morning paper — for those of you who still actually have to wash newsprint off your hands.

(August 2009)  Edmunds.com warns consumers that car prices are climbing as the "Cash for Clunkers" frenzy is influencing the marketplace.

"Since the program launched, we've seen that shoppers are getting less of a discount off sticker price for new cars," notes Senior Analyst Michelle Krebs in her report on Edmunds' AutoObserver.com. "In some cases, they are choosing less expensive trim levels and option packages than had been typical in recent months, but paying more for them."