Showing posts with label auto bailout. Show all posts
Showing posts with label auto bailout. Show all posts

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Keep This Automotive Podcast in Your Portfolio

While we're a few days late in talking about May car sales, we dig deeper into the best- and worst-selling models for last month. The top selling vehicle is always the Ford F-150, which is getting a refresh and going even further upmarket.


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GM was once a top-seller, but not know for quality. That is changing as they change the corporate culture  and bonus. They are also working to remove some of the pension obligations that have been weighing down their balance sheet.

Mitt Romney has taken some credit for the auto industry bailout. Now he wants to unload GM shares. It's always tough to get anything done in an election year, and getting a big money transportation bill made in to law in Washington is about as easy as finding a parking garage in Manhattan for your Rolls-Royce. But the publishers of Consumer Reports are working to rip the scales of action for motorists this year.

A blurry, but beautiful Ferrari FF parked on the street.
Companies may soon ban you from texting while driving, well as least when you are on the clock or driving their car.

While out on the town, David saw his first Ferrari FF on the street, and then the reviews hit. Will the same happen for the Telsa Model S, which appears to be arriving ahead of schedule to buyers.

Finally, haphazard road repairs are common in this time of tight government budgets. But IndyCar doesn't usually have that issue with it's tracks, except in Detroit.

Thursday, June 2, 2011

Which Is More Dangerous: Facebook in the Car or Podcasting While Annoyed

Auto sales took a dip in May, and while this wan't surprising, the continuing tumbles by Toyota and Lexus are eyebrow raising.

In general, car makers are in better shape, and the government is going to get back almost all of the billions invested to keep the industry afloat. Some of that is coming from Fiat, which is buying the rest of the U.S. Treasury's stake in Chrysler for about $500 million to increase its ownership to more than half of the once-bankrupt auto maker.

Gas prices are probably going to keep rising in the coming years, but Ford's Alan Mulally wants to at least keep the government regulations consistant across the U.S. California is considering its own fuel-economy standards and that has auto makers concerned.


Distracted and Angry

Gadgets and online services are becoming more a part of people's lives, but U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood is concerned about their presence in cars and trucks. He is continuing his efforts to link these new devices to distracted driving. Tell that the Ford, which is looking to extend Sync to offer health-monitoring services.

We have a feisty debate about distracted driving, which leads to a list of things that annoy us behind the wheel.

Finally, Obama's motorcade got stuck a few weeks back on a speed bump, but the Hot Wheels truck set a record distance with its jump this week.


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