Last week we wrote about New York State's plan to issue new license plates, ostensibly to replace old ones whose reflective material may have worn off. The new and clearly retro design was meant to evoke the bright yellow plates used from 1973 to 1986. But in reality, the sole purpose of the $25...Read More»
Obviously you have to replace license plates now and then. Among other reasons, the reflective material wears off. And besides, that way cops can tell if a car hasn't been re-registered in, ohhh, several years. Like many states, New York is grappling with major budget deficits. Now it has turned to...Read More»
One of the great things about our job is that we get to read all about cars. And, often, some of the peripheral topics too. Like bridges. In fact, we get to read things like Better Roads magazine, which serves "governments and construction contractors involved in...highway, road and bridge...Read More»
Yesterday's headlines may have centered on Ford's new-found profitability, but Chrysler and GM are working toward the black ink, too. General Motors in particular has high hopes for the future, but the federal government is slightly concerned that GM may be rushing its game plan and setting itself...Read More»
In a result that surprises no one but ought to shock us all, a congressional panel has released findings that tens of billions of dollars of the U.S. government's bailout of the auto industry won't be repaid. The report, undertaken by the Congressional Oversight Panel, says that about $5.4 billion...Read More»
Environmentalists and bureaucrats have reason to celebrate: the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Environmental Protection Agency are preparing to issue their first-ever joint regulations. The topic at hand will be automobile emissions levels and fuel-efficiency, the latter of which is...Read More»
These days, you can't turn around without finding electric-car news and updates. The 2010 Tesla Roadster, the 2011 Chevrolet Volt, and 2012 Nissan Leaf all sop up their share or more of ink and electrons. Now, add the Think City to that list. Think, the Norwegian electric-car company whose City is...Read More»
Yesterday afternoon, the US Senate passed a $2 billion extension to the Car Allowance Rebate Systems (CARS) program--better known as "Cash for Clunkers"--by a vote of 60 to 37. President Barack Obama is expected to sign it today. The vote approved a bill identical to the one passed last Friday by...Read More»
On October 1, Alan Taub will become VP of Research and Development at General Motors. It's a big job, not to mention that the company's historically independent R+D group was just made part of the Product Development group as GM starts to emerge from its recent bankruptcy with the aid of...Read More»
Well, that was quick. Just four days after the launch of the Car Allowance Rebate Systems (CARS) program, better known as "Cash for Clunkers," it appears that it may be suspended due to its own success. Apparently eager buyers have blown through the $1 billion allocation, and dealers are worrying...Read More»
The French are different. Just look at their cars, which have included single-spoke steering wheels, turn indicators that don't self-cancel (to keep the driver on his toes?), and pneumatic suspensions that let them sink to the ground with a sigh when parked. Now a few members of GCT, the French...Read More»
On numerous occasions, de facto Car Czar Steven Rattner has said that neither he nor the U.S. government wants to be in the auto business--at least not for long. Those sentiments were reaffirmed yesterday when Rattner indicated that the feds are planning to sell off their 60.8% stake in the New GM...Read More»
The venture-funded Better Place consortium has ambitious plans to remake transportation for the 21st century. And they've gotten a lot of press, including more today for their release of a PR video demonstrating a two-minute battery pack swap. We weighed in on our skepticism over that one already...Read More»
