http://www.thecarconnection.com/tips Fri, 27 Nov 2009 16:34:34 -0500 Tips and Advice -- find out how to maintain, service, insure, wash and wax, and change the oil in your car with tips from TheCarConnection.com. Lifestyle/Fashion http://static.thecarconnection.com/website/tcc-feed.jpg http://www.thecarconnection.com/tips http://blogs.thecarconnection.com/marty-blog/1037821_raising-the-gas-tax-auto-execs-push-an-unpopular-solution http://blogs.thecarconnection.com/marty-blog/1037821_raising-the-gas-tax-auto-execs-push-an-unpopular-solution Wed, 04 Nov 2009 20:41:00 -0500 We've been here before. The government mandates more fuel-efficient vehicles across the board, yet the American public continues to gravitate toward what's big and powerful. Barring this era of greater responsibility and restraint, which might pass like a fleeting fancy with the recession, why not pick the bigger or more powerful car, we ..]]> http://blogs.thecarconnection.com/marty-blog/1037614_north-america-to-become-new-export-base-for-ford http://blogs.thecarconnection.com/marty-blog/1037614_north-america-to-become-new-export-base-for-ford Mon, 02 Nov 2009 06:16:00 -0500 Ford's new Fiesta sub-compact is about to go on sale across the country and just around the corner is a new global Focus. Both of these European designed cars will be manufactured in North America for the first time and there is much more to come, including exporting these locally built models back to Europe and other global markets. The ..]]> http://blogs.thecarconnection.com/marty-blog/1037219_preview-2012-chrysler-lineup-will-be-joined-by-fiat-and-alfa-romeo http://blogs.thecarconnection.com/marty-blog/1037219_preview-2012-chrysler-lineup-will-be-joined-by-fiat-and-alfa-romeo Tue, 27 Oct 2009 08:12:00 -0400 • Chrysler: New mid-sized sedan, 300 sedan, • Jeep: New compact car, Grand Cherokee, • Fiat: 500 Minicar • Alfa Romeo: Mito, Milano, Giulia Chrysler's newly formed ties with Fiat will soon see a raft of new models introduced into the U.S., and we'll be able to get our first glimpse of what the two automakers have ..]]> http://blogs.thecarconnection.com/marty-blog/1037190_2010-north-american-car-of-the-year-your-ballots-please http://blogs.thecarconnection.com/marty-blog/1037190_2010-north-american-car-of-the-year-your-ballots-please Mon, 26 Oct 2009 15:22:00 -0400 It's almost that time--if it were the Academy Awards, the accounting team from PriceWaterhouseCoopers would be sidling up to the podium with an envelope for Whoopi or Billy or Steve or, God forbid, Dave, to open. It's just a few weeks before the 50 jurors on the committee cast their ballots for the North American Car and Truck of the Year. And ..]]> http://blogs.thecarconnection.com/marty-blog/1036810_honda-considering-faster-model-updates-to-beat-competition http://blogs.thecarconnection.com/marty-blog/1036810_honda-considering-faster-model-updates-to-beat-competition Mon, 19 Oct 2009 10:00:00 -0400 The new car market is starting to get just a little overcrowded with quality vehicles, and in a time where customers all around the world are cutting back on their spending, things like performance, fuel-economy and overall value is now more important than ever. Today, it's hard to find a truly bad car and differentiating between brands, ..]]> http://blogs.thecarconnection.com/marty-blog/1036670_lutz-just-one-car-returned-under-60-day-money-back-guarantee http://blogs.thecarconnection.com/marty-blog/1036670_lutz-just-one-car-returned-under-60-day-money-back-guarantee Wed, 14 Oct 2009 18:26:00 -0400 In September, GM launched a program putting its cars up against the industry's best, offering a 60-day money-back guarantee on all 2009 and 2010 model-year Buick, Chevrolet, Cadillac and GMC vehicles. So far, it looks to be going well for GM, with just one customer taking the car in for a refund--and even then, he ended up with another GM ..]]> http://blogs.thecarconnection.com/marty-blog/1036614_gm-ramps-up-for-2011-chevrolet-cruze-and-volt-production http://blogs.thecarconnection.com/marty-blog/1036614_gm-ramps-up-for-2011-chevrolet-cruze-and-volt-production Tue, 13 Oct 2009 11:04:00 -0400 General Motors is investing more than $230 million in four plants in the greater Flint, Michigan area to support the production of the upcoming 2011 Chevrolet Cruze and 2011 Chevrolet Volt, a move that will form more than 500 jobs. The four plants include Flint Engine South, Flint Metal Center, Flint Tool & Die and Grand Blanc Weld Tool ..]]> http://blogs.thecarconnection.com/marty-blog/1036486_porsche-wants-you--on-twitter-and-facebook-social-media http://blogs.thecarconnection.com/marty-blog/1036486_porsche-wants-you--on-twitter-and-facebook-social-media Mon, 12 Oct 2009 16:00:00 -0400 Follow us on Twitter: @highgearmedia @carconnection @therealma @greencarreports and join our Facebook fan page Follow Porsche on Facebook and Twitter @porschenewswire Maybe the whole world of social media is second nature to you--MySpace, Tumblr, Twitter and Facebook, you're everywhere, dude. But to the automotive world, social media's a brave ..]]> http://blogs.thecarconnection.com/marty-blog/1036438_chrysler-profitable-in-two-years-says-ceo http://blogs.thecarconnection.com/marty-blog/1036438_chrysler-profitable-in-two-years-says-ceo Sun, 11 Oct 2009 20:30:00 -0400 The recently announced alliance with Fiat notwithstanding, Chrysler's current position in the market is regarded as precarious by buyers and analysts alike. New CEO Sergio Marchionne is more optimistic, however, stating that Chrysler will be profitable within the next two years. Early next month Marchionne will divulge Chrysler's ..]]> http://blogs.thecarconnection.com/marty-blog/1036335_hummer-sale-to-chinas-tengzhong-official http://blogs.thecarconnection.com/marty-blog/1036335_hummer-sale-to-chinas-tengzhong-official Fri, 09 Oct 2009 13:17:00 -0400 The saga of GM's sale of HUMMER has finally come to a close. With the sudden collapse of the Penske-Saturn deal last week, many feared a similar fate would befall HUMMER, but today's announcement of the sale agreement between GM and China's Tengzhong puts those fears to rest, at least for the present. The deal must still secure final ..]]> http://blogs.thecarconnection.com/marty-blog/1036369_chrysler-set-to-announce-new-five-year-business-plan http://blogs.thecarconnection.com/marty-blog/1036369_chrysler-set-to-announce-new-five-year-business-plan Thu, 08 Oct 2009 23:46:00 -0400 Chrysler is scheduled to unveil a new five-year business plan November 4 at its Auburn Hills headquarters, most likely outlining how the company will operate under the guidance of new CEO Sergio Marchionne and as a part of the Fiat Group corporate umbrella. The next couple of years are crucial for Chrysler as they will determine whether or not ..]]> http://blogs.thecarconnection.com/marty-blog/1036315_mark-laneve-replaced-by-susan-docherty-as-head-of-sales-at-gm http://blogs.thecarconnection.com/marty-blog/1036315_mark-laneve-replaced-by-susan-docherty-as-head-of-sales-at-gm Thu, 08 Oct 2009 08:41:00 -0400 General Motors has named Susan Docherty its new vice president of U.S. sales, replacing Mark LaNeve immediately. LaNeve elected to leave GM from the 15th of this month to pursue another opportunity with a non-automotive company, with Docherty set to fill his shoes the day after. Docherty will be leaving her post as head of the Buick- GMC line, ..]]> http://blogs.thecarconnection.com/marty-blog/1036046_toyota-president-company-grasping-for-salvation http://blogs.thecarconnection.com/marty-blog/1036046_toyota-president-company-grasping-for-salvation Fri, 02 Oct 2009 18:18:00 -0400 Today Toyota Motor Co. president Akio Toyoda dished out a dose of reality to the world on the state of the largest global carmaker: it's on the brink of irrelevance and possibly even insolvency. Referencing Jim Collins' book How the Might Fall, Toyoda said the company is "grasping for salvation." That puts Toyota at the fourth of five stages ..]]> http://blogs.thecarconnection.com/marty-blog/1035868_general-motors-sale-of-saturn-to-roger-penske-nearly-done http://blogs.thecarconnection.com/marty-blog/1035868_general-motors-sale-of-saturn-to-roger-penske-nearly-done Tue, 29 Sep 2009 11:11:00 -0400 Good news for Saturn enthusiasts (and we know there are quite a few of you): General Motor's deal to sell the brand to businessman Roger Penske seems to be on track. According to Detroit Free Press, Saturn's general manager, Jill Lajdziak, has requested an early retirement package from GM, and "Saturn dealers have been asked to sign new ..]]> http://blogs.thecarconnection.com/marty-blog/1035847_hyundai-latest-to-pull-out-of-2009-tokyo-motor-show http://blogs.thecarconnection.com/marty-blog/1035847_hyundai-latest-to-pull-out-of-2009-tokyo-motor-show Mon, 28 Sep 2009 19:54:00 -0400 The Japan Automobile Manufacturers' Association (JAMA) has decided not to cancel this year's Tokyo Motor Show, despite most of the world's automakers pulling out of the event. Skipping the show this year will be the Detroit 3, as well as automakers from Germany, France, Sweden, and China, and now we can add South Korea to that ..]]>