GM's top electric car exec quits

Bob Kruse, who recently led a critical Chevrolet Volt team and devised the automaker's long-term electric vehicle strategy, has resigned months before the vehicle's debut, The Detroit News has learned.---...More

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Toyota to Issue Largest-Ever Recall - Killer floor mats

USA - Toyota says it will recall 3.8 million vehicles in the United States to address problems with a removable floor mat that could interfere with the vehicle?s accelerator and cause a crash. The company says it will be the largest recall in its history. Owners could learn about the safety campaign as early as next week. Toyota and the government warned owners of Toyota and Lexus vehicles about safety problems tied to the removable floor mats. They say the mats could interfere with the vehicle?s accelerator and cause a crash.---...More

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GM's return policy may not be worth the hassle

You fell in love with that $22,000 Chevy Malibu because of its color, style and price. After driving it home, you realize it's not what you wanted. Maybe it's the way it handles on the highway, the location of the cup holders or the shape of the seats.--...More

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Chrysler to ship 400 Ohio jobs to Michigan

Workers headed to metro Detroit plants
Chrysler Group LLC plans to offer about 400 jobs in metro Detroit to workers from its Twinsburg, Ohio, stamping plant, while the automaker prepares to freshen its slow-selling midsize sedans -- a move that could temporarily extend jobs of about 1,300 workers at the Sterling Heights assembly plant.
Twinsburg, one of eight U.S. factories not included in the government-backed sale to the new Fiat-controlled Chrysler, makes doors, roofs and hoods for the Chrysler Town & Country and Dodge Caravan minivans. It is to close by the end of this year, but most of the plant's hourly employees will be able to transfer to the metro Detroit plants, where the work is to be consolidated.---...More

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Chrysler group mulls how to make most of Fiat's technology

Chrysler group mulls how to make most of Fiat's technology

Alisa Priddle / The Detroit News

The Chrysler Group LLC board met in Auburn Hills on Friday to figure out how best to use Fiat engineering and technology to make future products such as midsize sedans -- and where.

The nine-member board is to provide a report to the U.S. auto task force next week.

A person familiar with the board's agenda said it included addressing the struggling sales of Chrysler's midsize sedans -- a key segment because of its volume -- and the development of replacement vehicles that will be built from Fiat engineering and components. The midsize Chrysler Sebring and Dodge Avenger, combined, have been outsold by almost 200,000 Toyota Camrys so far this year.--More

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Chrysler refines product, business plan

Alisa Priddle / The Detroit News

The board of Chrysler Group LLC will meet in Auburn Hills today to go over details of the five-year product and business plan that will be presented to the U.S. government next week and made public in mid-November.

It is a plan that has had Chrysler employees at all levels working long days and weekends to refine since the new Chrysler Group was formed June 10 in partnership with Fiat SpA. The automaker has kept most of the strategy secret as the new management team under Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne has worked to identify areas where Chrysler and Fiat engineering and technologies can be shared. Chrysler is counting on its minivans, Dodge Ram pickups, Jeep lineup and the Dodge Journey cross utility vehicle as the foundation of sales in North America while increasing sales internationally with Fiat's help.

New vehicles include the small Fiat 500 for North America at the end of next year and new versions of the Jeep Grand Cherokee and Chrysler 300.....More

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Chrysler prepares to rehire some employees

After 35,000 job cuts in the past two years and a bankruptcy that shifted control to Italy's Fiat SpA, Chrysler Group is preparing to rehire an unspecified number of salaried workers and ask current workers to put in overtime to get new models to market by mid-2011, according to people familiar with the company's plans.
Chrysler and Fiat Chief Executive Officer Sergio Marchionne is to present a five-year plan to the company's board of directors Friday. If the board approves, he will submit the plan to President Barack Obama's auto task force next week, said company insiders....More

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GM rehiring 2,400 workers as production ramps up

General Motors Co. is rehiring 2,400 workers at three plants that are boosting production and absorbing work lost in an unprecedented round of closings announced before the automaker's bankruptcy filing....More

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Chrysler exec Jim Press owes IRS, credit union more than $1.4M

Deputy Chief Executive Jim Press owns more than $18 million worth of real estate in some of the country's priciest ZIP codes, but he has financial problems more commonly found on the factory floor, not the boardroom.---More

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GM dealers clamor for more vehicles

In an internal report, obtained by The Detroit News, General Motors Co. officials were surprised to find dealers wanted far greater numbers than the company had projected.---...More

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American Axle deal reached

Detroit-based American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc. has avoided bankruptcy with a new agreement with its lenders and a cash infusion from its largest customer, General Motors Co.---...More

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Dealers indicate Penske close to buying Saturn

Saturn dealers nationwide have received new sales and service agreements from Roger Penske, a sign the auto icon is close to finalizing a deal for the castoff General Motors Co. brand.--...More

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