Toyota Designs Fuel Efficient Cars, but can't design a floor mat- 3.8 Million Recalled

3.8 Million Toyota cars recalled for floor mats. They have balled up under brakes and caused accelerators to stick.

Washington -- Toyota Motor Corp. began mailing notices this week to 3.8 million vehicle owners, urging them to remove their floor mats while it seeks a remedy for reports of sudden, unintended acceleration.....More

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$5.6 billion in new capital in GMAC

The Treasury Department plans to inject up to $5.6 billion in new capital in GMAC -- the latest effort to help the auto finance giant, a government official confirmed late Tuesday....More

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2010 Dodge Ram truck intro to be well financed

Scott Burgess / The Detroit News
The 2010 Dodge Ram Heavy pickup will hit dealerships in a few weeks with a new look and the same powerful engines, but with a well-financed marketing campaign in tow, Chrysler LLC executives said Tuesday.

"There is pent-up demand in all of the markets, especially the truck market," said Mark Heber, director of Dodge Ram marketing. "All we need is a little bit of an uptick in the economy and things could take off."

Heber said the automaker, which emerged from bankruptcy in July, remains committed to the truck and will have a substantial marketing budget. He declined to give figures or say how soon the campaign will begin....More

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Chrysler's product plans to be shown in 'six-hour extravaganza'

WINDSOR, Ont. — Some industry analysts are calling it "a six-hour extravaganza." That's the length of time Chrysler Group LLC has allotted for the public unveiling of its long-awaited, five-year product and business plan.

Journalists and auto analysts will gather at the Technology Centre at the automaker's Auburn Hills, Mich., headquarters Nov. 4 to hear CEO Sergio Marchionne finally release details of how he intends to integrate Fiat and Chrysler in a way that ensures the No. 3 automaker's survival.

Although his revival efforts face an avalanche of skepticism, the Italian-Canadian CEO is being compared to industry icon Lee Iacocca. Following a speech recently to the Detroit Economic Club, U.S. Transportation SecretaryRay Lahood said Marchionne is "the next generation of Lee Iacocca....More

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Europe's politics hold up GM's Opel sale

The Germans aren't the only ones hoping to hurdle European Union objections to General Motors Co.'s plans to sell a majority stake in its Adam Opel GmbH unit.

GM is pushing to close "open issues" in a binding deal, perhaps as early as this week, that would convey 55 percent of GM's German automaker to Magna International Inc. of Canada and Sberbank, a Russian financial player with close ties to Vladimir Putin's Kremlin and the automaker GAZ.

GM's board, which vetted proposals for Opel at meetings in late August and September, is not expected to reconsider the transactions unless emerging EU questions force a reappraisal. GM management, I'm told, is using the holdup simultaneously to reassess the logic of its complex Opel deal and to press to get it done, politics or not....More

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GMAC: Most Chrysler dealers to qualify for new loans

GMAC Financial Services President Bill Muir said Sunday that the number of Chrysler dealers expected to close because they dont qualify for new loans through the lender is likely to be small----...More

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GM OKs Hummer deal

General Motors Co. has reached a sales agreement for its Hummer brand with a Chinese company that plans to keep the rugged auto company's headquarters in the Detroit area.--...More

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Chrysler Has Electric Vehicle As Part Of 5 Year Plan

VERRONE, Italy -- Auto makers Chrysler Group LLC and Fiat SpA are working together on developing an electric car, a Chrysler board member confirmed Thursday. Alfredo Altavilla said the development process is "going very well" with Chrysler contributing its electric propulsion technology to the alliance. Mr. Altavilla made the comments at the opening of a gearbox plant in Verrone. This is the first time a Chrysler or Fiat executive has publicly confirmed Chrysler's electrification plans since Fiat Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne took control of Chrysler's assets in June after the U.S.-based company filed for bankruptcy protection.....More

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Chrysler Top Seller In Mexico

Boosted by year-over-year sales increases of Dodge Journey, Dodge Ram, Jeep® Patriot and Chrysler Town & Country, Chrysler Mexico achieved an 11.8 percent market share in September—its best share performance in the past 18 months, beating Ford for the first time this year.

“We are thrilled by our market share achievement in September and outstanding sales growth for the past three months as this reinforces the continued confidence the Mexican consumer has in our company, our products, and our outstanding dealer body,” said Joe ChamaSrour, President—Chrysler de Mexico.

The Dodge Journey continued as the No. 1-selling crossover-utility vehicle in the market with a sales increase of 33 percent compared with September 2008, selling more than double its nearest competitor. The Dodge Ram also reported year-over-year sales increases with the Laramie Crew Cab continuing as the best-selling luxury pickup truck in the market. The Jeep Patriot had its best sales performance of the year, and the Chrysler Town & Country 25th Anniversary Edition helped boost minivan sales to levels exceeding September 2008.

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Chrysler to outline 5-year business plan

Chrysler Group LLC will unveil its five-year business and product plan Nov. 4, the company said today.

The briefing by CEO Sergio Marchionne for media and analysts will be held at the Auburn Hills headquarters.

Chrysler and Fiat SpA formed a new company June 10 and Marchionne has been working with his management team on a strategy to better differentiate the brands in a business structure where each is responsible for its own profits and losses.----
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Feds probe Toyota Tundras

2000-01 models face inquiry into corrosion, brake, spare tire issues
Washington -- The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on Tuesday opened a preliminary investigation into corrosion on 218,000 Toyota Tundra pickups -- the latest safety issue to dog the Japanese automaker.

In a notice on its Web site, NHTSA said its Office of Defects Investigation had opened a preliminary probe into corrosion linked to spare tires and brake lines on 2000 and 2001 model year Tundras.

The government said it has "received 20 reports on the subject vehicles that relate to spare tire separation and brake system failures as a result of severe frame corrosion."----...More

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Chrysler seeks luxury market, but analysts see tough sell

Chrysler Group LLC wants to push its namesake Chrysler brand upscale

The automaker is eyeing a position "a notch above Lincoln, a notch above Cadillac," Chrysler brand chief Peter Fong told reporters at the Frankfurt Motor Show last month.

The Auburn Hills automaker declined to comment further as it prepares an overall business and product plan expected to be made public in November---...More

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Chrysler vehicle launches at risk in feud with Daimler AG

The launch of key Chrysler Group LLC vehicles next year is being threatened once again by a new parts dispute between the automaker and former owner Daimler AG.

At risk are the next-generation Jeep Grand Cherokee and Dodge Durango sport utility vehicles and the Chrysler 300 and Dodge Charger full-size sedans. The products are Chrysler's most important launches in 2010 and the only completely redone passenger vehicles the Auburn Hills-based automaker is introducing in two model years.

To safeguard these crucial launches, Chrysler on Thursday amended a lawsuit filed in August asking a U.S. bankruptcy court to settle any lingering and future parts disputes between the companies once and for all....More

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GM, dealers begin the end to Saturn

A day after a Saturn deal with Roger Penske fell through, General Motors Co. proceeded with plans to shutter 350 dealerships and there was little indication a deal could be salvaged or another suitor found.--...More

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Sergio speaks: Chrysler's future will be better

New Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne hasn’t been talking much since the company emerged from bankruptcy on June 2. While rival General Motors has come out with an aggressive advertising campaign that attempts to get skeptics to look at its new cars, Chrysler has stayed under wraps. But Marchionne did take the microphone after sales came out on Oct. 1 and showed that he has a realistic view of Chrysler’s place in the world.

Chyrsler 200c

The question is, what will built that future? The company has only the Jeep Grand Cherokee and Chrysler 300 sedan coming in the near future. Both look good but neither of them are game changers. In 18 months or so, Fiat will have some of its cars coming. We’ll see how those cars do. Americans know little about Fiat cars and too few consumers shop Chrysler and Dodge dealerships for compact cars and family sedans. To show a better tomorrow, Marchionne will have to reveal some real surprises with his November plan.....More

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GM to close Saturn after Penske pulls out of deal

The last-minute collapse of a deal for the Saturn brand between General Motors Co. and Roger Penske dooms about 350 dealers, 13,000 employees and a brand created as a counterpunch to Japanese compact carmakers.---...More

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