The latest Automotive Digest headlines

+ Auto Recovery Stalling; Some Hopeful Signs Remain—August sales weren't wonderful, but they are on par with June and July, and analysts say we're on the road to recovery but we're not there yet. So far...

+ Used Car Demand Pushes Prices Up—In the world of unintended consequences, the ripple effects of Cash for Clunkers are still being felt. One year after the end of this federal governme...

+ Kia Sets Out To Upgrade Image—Kia, sibling of the very popular Hyundai brand, is trying to move the brand more up-market and become a style leader. Not easy to do, but rental vehic...

+ Safety Advocates Want to Protect Kids from Hot Cars—Safety advocates are urging Congress and regulators to force carmakers to install warning systems that would prevent distracted parents from leaving c...

+ Santander Finalizing Deal for HSBC's Auto Loan Portfolio—Spain's Banco Santander has apparently finalized a deal to purchase the remainder of HSBC's portfolio of auto loans for about $4 billion. The bank fil...

+ Continuing Drop in Auto Loan Delinquencies—Latest credit analysis from Experian Automotive shows positive signs for a healthier auto lending market. Automotive loan delinquencies dropped during...

+ Winning the Lithium-ion Battery Battle—Panasonic and Samsung, the world's two largest battery producers, are planning to flood the electric vehicle market with lithium-ion batteries. Indust...

+ Better Place May Follow Thomas Edison’s Lead Inventing Light Bulb Industry—A century ago the electricity industry was being invented along with the light bulb. Thomas Edison didn't invent the light bulb but did set the bluepr...

+ Dealers, Car Buyers Want Green Cars; Auctions Wait to Reap Rewards—Jim Stickford interviewed auction executives to find out that while green vehicles are becoming popular with dealers and the public, this hasn't yet t...

+ Researcher Says CAFÉ Could Reach 74 MPG by 2035—University of Michigan researcher John DeCicco estimates federal CAFÉ standards could reach 74 mpg by 2035. Whether or not fuel economy triples by tha...

+ D3 - HTL3

+ Incentives Higher than Usual for August, Edmunds Says—August sales took a dive despite higher than normal incentives offered to shoppers reluctant to buy. An average of $2,681 in incentives represents a 9...

+ GM Works with Fire Chiefs to Make Chevy Volt Safe for First Responders—The National Fire Protection Association is working with GM to train first responder fire fighters how to safely manage the site of an electric vehicl...

+ 2011 Buick Regal Wins NADAguides 'Car of the Month'—The all-new 2011 Buick Regal is given the September "Car of the Month" award by NADAguides.com for its innovative technology, increased power and fuel...

+ East Coast First to Get Hydrogen Highway—California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger planned to bring 100 hydrogen fueling stations to the state by the end of this year, but that's languished i...

+ Look for More Clean Diesel Vehicles on American Roads—While diesel engine vehicles make up about half of what's on the road in Europe, it has remained a small portion of the U.S. market. Car owners have b...

+ US Auto Sales Down Sharply in August—Most automakers saw declining sales in August over last year's "cash for clunkers" boom -- GM down 25%, Ford down 11%, Toyota down 34%, Nissan down 27...

+ Researchers, Safety Advocates Want to Ban All Non-Driving Distractions—Obvious distractions are things that cause drivers to look away or use their hands. Cognitive load on the brain is also a proven problem even when ha...

+ New Products Helping Detroit's Sales, Residuals—ALG says the introduction of new and redesigned 2011 models from Detroit automakers has added significantly to both sales and residuals. The 2010 fore...

+ Dealers Expect Chrysler Product Binge in 2013—Chrysler could have up to 25 models between its brands by 2013 when new Fiat-based models are set to arrive. By comparison, Toyota-Scion offers 19 nam...

+ Ford Moves Forward Customizing Vehicles Starting with Infotainment—Vehicle systems that can be programmed via Wi-Fi allow affordable customization by Ford on the assembly line. It also opens a path for hackers to bre...

+ Federal Agencies Post New Window Sticker Grading for Public Comment—Beginning with the 2012 model year, vehicles will be given a fuel mileage rating on the MSRP, possibly a proposed A-D type indication. Updated sticker...

+ Mexican Border Businesses Face New Anti-Laundering Rules, Threats—Mexican President Felipe Calderon is stepping up his war on drug and human smuggling cartels. The latest efforts include new anti-money laundering rul...

+ Closeout Deals Failed to Draw Worried Consumers to Showrooms—When U.S. auto sales figures come out, later today, they could be very disappointing even though discounts have been prevalent. All indications are co...

+ Automakers Initiate Own Recalls Amidst Toyota Fines, Public Backlash—Automakers have increased the frequency and reduced the threshold for voluntary recalls of vehicles with safety related problems. This is partially d...

+ Focus on Cell Phones, Toyota Acceleration Distracting From Bigger Safety Issues—IIHS President Adrian Lund has been critical that US DOT, Congress and the media are too worried about cellphone use and run-away Toyotas to the exclu...

+ Auto Lenders Loosening Up, But Just Barely—Confirmed by study results that were released by Experian Automotive at "Auto Finance Summit 2010," and conducted by Experian-Oliver Wyman Market Inte...

+ Nissan Changes its Advertising Strategy—For the better part of a year Nissan, along with its lead creative agency, TBWA/Chiat/Day, has been prepping the launch of a new corporate push dubbed...

+ D3 - SL

+ D3 - DIR—How to Design a Fixed Ops Marketing Plan A worthy goal for every dealer would be to sell a new or used vehicle today and keep that customer coming ba...

+ New Federal-Mogul Piston Ring Designed for Improved Fuel Economy, Lower Emissions—A new piston ring design for direct-injection gas engines is available from Federal-Mogul. The 2-piece oil ring was previously developed for diesel ap...

+ Forecasters Trim Sales for August and Beyond as Economy Slowly Recovers—Uncertain economic trends will continue to dog the auto industry, say analysts, and without the benefit of a "cash for clunkers" type promo, August sa...

+ Best Buy, Other Big Stores to Compete with Dealers for EV Sales—The Best Buy retail chain started bringing electric vehicles into its business model by having its Geek Squad drive Mitsubishi i-MiEVs and selling Bra...

+ Car Prices Staying Low as Bargain Hunters Await Year End Sales—Dealers need to be aware of customer savvy, hoping to net a great deal in the final days of summer as prices trend lower -- particularly Chevy Silvera...

+ Nissan Releasing First In-House Hybrid as Luxury Infiniti M35—Nissan is releasing its first in-house hybrid as the 2010 Infiniti M35. Unlike its Toyota technology-dependent Altima Hybrid, the M35 will use a lith...

+ State Farm® Free 'On the Move' Android Widget Fights Distracted Driving—State Farm Insurance has added the free Android smartphone widget 'On the Move' to its Pocket Agent suite in hopes of curbing texting distractions whi...

+ Jump in Lease Penetration Fueled by Attractive Deals—Art Spinella, president of CNW Research, calls the surge in lease penetration for first two weeks of August "incredible," a 25 percent leap representi...

+ Redesigned NADAguides.com Page Focuses on Certified Vehicles, Reviews—NADAguides.com has redesigned its Certified Pre-Owned Car Center and the New and Used Car Reviews Center. Visitors to the sites can get updates on inc...

+ NHTSA Probing Fire Threat in Jeep Gas Tanks—The NHTSA opened a preliminary investigation into a possible fire hazard from the gas tank during a collision with 1993-2004 Grand Cherokees. Four acc...

+ SmartDrive Captures Distracted Driver Behavior on Video—The SmartDrive Safety program used in-vehicle recorders to capture video, audio and vehicle telematics data. Events like sudden stops, swerves and cr...

+ Ford Improves its Lithium-ion Battery Capability, Durability With Remote Wireless Monitoring—Ford's global electrification plan depends on optimizing its lithium-ion batteries. It is doing so by testing them in the lab and in a test fleet whi...

+ Late Model Luxury Vehicle Depreciating More than Counterparts, KBB Says—Used-car market was relatively flat in July, but onslaught of 2010-model vehicles at auction may push late-model luxury vehicles, including crossovers...

+ JD Power Sees Auto Sales Drop in August—A sluggish recovery and lower incentives compared to last year will contribute to a 15% drop in August auto sales, predicts J.D. Power. Total annualiz...

+ Higher Inventory Prices Raise Stakes for Buy Here-Pay Here Dealers—Even though prices are stabilizing, for some dealers inventory is so low they are forced to go to auction more often, pay more for less, and many are ...

+ GM to Recall Nearly Quarter Million Crossover Vehicles—GM plans to recall more than 243,000 2009-2010 crossover utility vehicles, including the Chevy Traverse, Buick Enclave, GMC Acadia and Saturn Outlook....

+ Chevy Ousts Jim Campbell in Marketing Shakeup—Jim Campbell, co-author of a controversial memo that angered Chevy fans, has been replaced by a former Hyundai executive as vice president of marketin...

+ Facebook Launches New 'Places' Program—Facebook has launched Places, its long-awaited geo-location product. Users can share where they are with friends and discover new places around them. ...

+ Marketing Coda's Electric Vehicle—Coda Automotive plans to market an all-electric car starting in December 2010. It is comparable to a Nissan Leaf in specification but rather plain in...

+ D3 - SL

+ D3 - HTL1

+ D3 - HTL2

+ Indiana Ford Dealers Doing Well Through Recession—Some U.S. dealers weathered two years of trying times well, and they credit their success to Ford and its CEO Alan Mulally. Anderson, IN dealership se...

+ GM's IPO Filing Reveals Unpleasant Surprises—An underfunded pension fund was revealed when General Motors filed IPO papers with the SEC. GM also said pension funding obligations may increase due ...

+ China Going Green, Plans To Be Hybrid Leader—With government assistance, 16 Chinese state-owned companies plan to research and develop electric and hybrid vehicles, hoping to become world leader ...

+ Top 10 Back-to-School Cars—So students are fully prepared to go back to school, Kelley Blue Book went beyond pens, books and laptops to create its 2010 Top 10 Back-to-School Car...

+ IIHS Names New Kia Sportage as Top Safety Pick—Joining the 2010 Forte compact sedan, 2010 Soul urban passenger vehicle and 2011 Sorento compact crossover utility vehicle (CUV), the all-new 2011 Spo...

+ D3 - DIR—Disaster preparedness: Plan to survive, Zurich says Recent events have shown that if your company is to survive a disaster, you must develop a plan fo...

+ D3 - HTL3

+ D3 - DPC—Parts Inventory Companies Help Dealers Cut Costs Keeping track of your parts inventory can save the dealership in expenses in a number of ways. Tryin...

+ D3 - HTL1

+ D3 - HTL2

+ Steering Issues Again Prompt Mazda Recall—For the second time in a year, Mazda is dealing with a power-steering problem that could lead to crashes, this time in North America, as 300,000+ Mazd...

+ Commercial Delivery Trucks May be Good Fit for Battery Power—Large truck fleets like FedEx are committed to reducing emissions and operating costs. Electric vehicles are seen as a means to do both as well as me...

+ GM, SAIC Developing Small Engines Together—GM moves forward with joint development of new 1-1.5 liter direct-injection turbo-charged engine with partner SAIC amid rumors that public stock offer...

+ GM Already Boosting AmeriCredit's Originations—Not long after announcing that General Motors is acquiring AmeriCredit in an all-cash transaction valued at about $3.5 billion, the subprime auto lend...

+ AOL Autos' Sports Car Bargains—AOL Autos is showing great deals on used sports cars that are on sale right now for under $15,000. The online auto marketer has identified 10 examples...

+ Telematics Systems Should Offer More in View of Free Smartphone Navigation—Vehicle navigation systems are capable of much more than turn-by-turn directions. Now that this is free on smartphones, telematics systems need to of...

+ Shopping by Internet Can Eliminate Trip to Dealer—Tom Vann's dealership dates to 1986, but he says "real" car selling began for him in 1996 when the Internet met auto retailing. Since then, his Team H...

+ NADA, NIADA Co-sponsoring Dealer Day Conference At SEMA Show—The Dealer Day Conference (vehicle dealers only) co-sponsored by NADA and NIADA with dealer input and feedback will take place at SEMA 2010 convention...

+ Banks Angry Government Imposing Goldman Sachs Low Fee Rate for GM IPO—Awaiting news on upcoming IPO from General Motors, Wall Street Banks see a potential $120 million gain out of stock offering. Goldman Sachs has offere...

+ Certified Sales Blazing in July—July was the best month for certified pre-owned sales in more than two years with 153,259 units sold. That's the highest level since May 2008 and a ga...

+ Civic Hybrid Recall Growing Problem for Honda—Recall for faulty ignition locks last week is followed up by deteriorating nickel-metal hydride battery pack in Civic Hybrid with letters sent to 100,...

+ Coda Electric Vehicle Coming December 2010—Coda Automotive plans to market an all-electric car starting in December 2010. It is comparable to a Nissan Leaf in specification but rather plain in...

+ Traffic-Camera Fines Politically Charged as Hidden Local Tax—Traffic cameras are money makers for local governments and contractors in over 550 locations with fines of $25-$100. Other states and local governmen...

+ CPO Prices Support Wholesale Values—ADESA's Tom Kontos sees promising outlook for late-model used units (especially certified pre-owned) with an overall July average wholesale price of ...

+ OPENLANE: Wholesale Prices Dropping Faster—The OPENLANE wholesale market index for July was 115, dropping from 118 in June and 119 in May. Even though prices dropped, they still represent year-...

+ Taurus a Model for Success and Profit—The D-size Taurus platform has worked successfully since its redo last year, but it also provides the underpinnings for the Lincoln MKS sedan, MKT cro...

+ New Hyundai Sonata to Go on Tour—Hyundai Motor America and agency Jack Morton Worldwide are rolling out an integrated, consumer-driven campaign aimed at boosting appeal for the all-ne...

+ Isobutanol, Ethanol Blend Car Wins American Le Mans Series Race—The Castrol Mazda Lola LMP2 joined the ranks of alternative-fueled race cars in the American Le Mans Series, and set the fastest lap race record while...

+ Porsche Electrifying High Performance Cars With Hybrid Technology—The first full parallel hybrid out of the gate for Porsche will be the 2011 Cayenne S Hybrid SUV with combined gas-electric output of 380 hp and capab...

+ GM’s Dan Akerson Has to Sell One of Biggest IPOs Ever—Incoming GM CEO Dan Akerson, 61, takes over as final preparation for a new stock offering is underway, hoping to raise $16 billion, pay off $50 billio...

+ GM Announces 4th CEO Change in 2 Years—Ed Whitacre said he was only a temporary caretaker of General Motors after the Obama Administration forced the resignation of Chairman of the Board, R...

+ Big Relief for Chrysler Product Drought Coming in 2013—Chrysler could have up to 25 models between its brands by 2013 when new Fiat-based models are set to arrive. By comparison, Toyota-Scion offers 19 nam...

+ Recovery Fading Despite July Auto Sales—Forecasters are worried the recovery is stalling. Despite strong auto sales in July, other sectors of the economy are showing slower sales growth. Thi...

+ Whitacre’s CEO Replacement Named as GM Announces Q2 Results—General Motors CEO Ed Whitacre has indicated he would step down once the company was stabilized and profitable, and he will now turn over the reins of...

+ Audi CPO Units Set New Sales Record in July—Audi USA reports a record 9.7 percent increase in July CPO sales over 2009 with 2.766 units sold. Audi Q7 sales increased 243.7%; Audi A3up 108.1%, an...

+ 2011 GM Heavy-Duty Pickups Get New Diesel Engine, Other Upgrades—The 2011 GM heavy-duty pickups get a new Duramax 6.6L diesel engine, upgraded frame and front axle increasing cargo capacity, towing capacity and fuel...

+ Increased Truck Sales Helping Automakers Recover—Pickup truck sales are picking up! July figures indicate a 12.4 percent market share of all vehicles sold in July, highest percentage in nine months a...

+ 2011 Explorer Replaces Truck Frame as Last Stability Problem Holdover—The new 2011 Ford Explorer is still being considered an SUV rather than a crossover despite being built on a unibody and having components in common w...

+ Chrysler Readies Fiat Brand Launch in U.S.—Chrysler readies launch of its Fiat brand by hosting a "Fiat Experience" for 600 of its dealers August 30 in Detroit. Dealers interested in Fiat franc...

+ GM Funding Backs Bright Automotive’s Hybrid IDEA Multipurpose Fleet Vehicle—General Motors Ventures bought a minority stake in Bright Automotive hoping to accelerate the debut of their IDEA plug-in hybrid multipurpose vehicle ...

+ Speech Interface Not Panacea to Distracted Driving—Vehicle systems using even the most advanced voice recognition software are still distracting and slow reaction time as much as 30%. As human-machine...

+ uShip Joins NIADA Benefits Program—The National Independent Automobile Dealers Assn. has added uShip to the National Member Benefits Program. Now members have customized access to findi...

+ Hyundai Knocks Nissan off KBB Most-Considered Brand Ranking—Ford (29%) is the top most-considered brand, says kbb.com Market Intelligence Brand Watch™ study, and Hyundai (13%) pushes Nissan out of the top 5 gro...

+ Quick Moves by New GM Marketing Chief—If there's one thing Joel Ewanick has made clear since joining General Motors Co. three months ago, it's that he doesn't let grass grow under his feet...

+ Preliminary Toyota Investigation Not Revealing Safety Defects Beyond Pedal Problems—Government investigation into Toyota's sudden acceleration problem indicates no safety defects going beyond the pedal acceleration problem. Early rese...

+ Rural Driving Statistically Much More Dangerous—Rural roads claim 57% of highway deaths despite only 23% of people in the U.S. living in rural areas. The illusion of safety, drunkenness, lower seat...

+ Internet Can Make Dealership Visit Unnecessary—Tom Vann's dealership dates to 1986, but he says "real" car selling began for him in 1996 when the Internet met auto retailing. Since then, his Team H...

+ Chrysler Profit Rebound Extends for Second Quarter—"An extraordinary amount of work still lies ahead," says Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne, while announcing a second quarterly operating profit under th...

+ Chrysler Incentives Continue, More Added—Chrysler announced that it will continue offering its 60-day pledge and national Tent Event promotions through the end of this month. To sweeten the p...

+ Dollar Thrifty Uncertain Over Avis Bid—Dollar Thrifty Corp. has rejected a takeover bid from Avis Budget Group even though the total amount was higher than a bid from rival Hertz. Dollar sa...

Last new 7/9/10 7:16pm.