The sheer number of cars destroyed by hurricanes Harvey and Irma in 2017—by some estimates totaling north of half a million vehicles—resulted a boom for both new and used car sales. That's hardly unexpected. The disaster-driven sales are already virtually non-existent, however, having...Read More»
On Monday, May 20, a tornado touched down in the town of Moore, a suburb of Oklahoma City. Tornadoes are a fact of life in the Midwest, but this one was far from ordinary -- a fact proven by the numbers we use to describe it: 200 mph winds, 1.3 miles wide, a path of destruction 17 miles long, 377...Read More»
Officials from the National Weather Service say the tornado that ripped through Oklahoma on Monday was one of the strongest on record, with winds topping 200 miles per hour. It will be days -- if not weeks -- before damage estimates are finalized, but what's abundantly clear is that the storm left...Read More»
In Calverton, New York, toward the eastern end of Long Island, there is an airfield. It's no longer home to planes, though: it's become an impromptu graveyard for thousands of vehicles destroyed by Hurricane Sandy. This does not sit well with environmentalists like Dick Amper, who heads up the Long...Read More»
After Hurricane Katrina struck in 2005, shoppers reported finding flood-damaged vehicles in used car lots across the U.S. Today, government officials and watchdog groups are working to prevent a repeat of that problem in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. The National Insurance Crime Bureau, a nonprofit...Read More»
Five weeks after Hurricane Sandy made landfall, life across much of the northeast has returned to normal (or a rough approximation thereof). But some automakers have followed an easier road to recovery than others. Reporting on the strong state of the U.S. auto market, Detroit News mentions that...Read More»
In the areas of the U.S. affected by Hurricane Sandy, lines for gasoline have been long. The problem isn't really one of supply; rather, it seems to be one of electricity. After all, if there's no power, there's no way to run the pumps. Several elected officials have proposed a legislative solution...Read More»
UPDATE: See below The effects of Hurricane Sandy are far bigger than many imagined. The storm reshaped communities, and some will argue that it changed the outcome of yesterday's election. Sandy will also have a small but important impact on used-car values. As proof, the National Automobile...Read More»
One week ago, after Hurricane Sandy's violent landfall, residents along America's eastern seaboard awoke to starkly different landscapes than they ones they'd known a few hours earlier. Homes and offices had been destroyed, mementos and landmarks ruined, lives changed, taken, forever altered. But...Read More»
The year 2011 will not go down in history as the happiest year for the auto industry. From March's destructive earthquake and tsunami in Japan, to the year-long Saab saga that's ending sadly, it's been a difficult, sometimes tragic, year for the people who work in the auto industry. There is...Read More»
Last week, Honda warned shoppers that the redesigned 2012 CR-V could be delayed due to severe flooding in Thailand. An article posted last night to Auto News, however, confirms that the CR-V will arrive on time after all. The Thai floods have had a significant impact on Honda's production schedule...Read More»
Thanks in part to record incentives, car sales in the United States are up, but that brings with it both good news and bad news. First the good news: consumers don’t spend money on things like automobiles unless they have confidence in the economy, which could mean that the worst of the...Read More»
Flooding in Thailand has begun making serious waves in the U.S. According to a press release, the disaster will force Honda to scale back production at facilities across the U.S. and Canada in coming weeks, and there's a distinct possibility that the automaker will miss its December launch window...Read More»
The floods ravaging Thailand have been back-page news in much of the U.S., but as the water continues to rise, it may finally saturate the headlines. The latest news is that Toyota plans to shut down production at U.S. facilities this weekend due to a shortage of parts from Thai suppliers. The...Read More»
Incentive spending is up among many automakers, and when incentives rise, car sales often follow. In fact, new data suggests a Seasonally Adjusted Annualized Rate (SAAR) of 13.4 million new car sales for the year, which is higher than the U.S. has seen since August 2009. Incentives make a comeback...Read More»
If you're packing the coolers, the picnic blankets, and the rooftop carrier—and heading out on the road over the Labor Day holiday weekend, be glad that you're not paying even more at the pump. Hurricane Irene—in addition to wreaking havoc on much of the Northeast—affected some...Read More»
Hurricane Irene is poised to make landfall on the Eastern seaboard, then cruise up the coast, impacting up to 50 million drivers in cities from Washington, D.C., to Boston. Are you prepared? While hurricanes can be brutal and devastating, they offer at least two upsides that many other natural...Read More»
One lesson learned from the recent earthquake and tsunami in Japan was this: hybrid or battery-powered vehicles can provide essential electricity in the event of a natural disaster. Owners of Toyota’s hybrid Estima vans, which come with AC power outlets, used their vehicles as a source of...Read More»
Supply and production interruptions due to the March earthquake in Japan (and the resulting tsunami) have left the new 2011 Nissan Murano CrossCabriolet in short supply—and from the sound of it, some shoppers might not even see Nissan's quirky new soft top crossover in showrooms until after...Read More»
