Posts Tagged ‘auto industry’

Gas Guzzlers About To Get An ‘F’

Monday, August 30th, 2010

A new letter grading system could turbocharge green vehicles sales!

  • The Environmental Protection Agency and the Transportation Department have proposed new rules that would require car dealerships to display a letter grade on each of their vehicles, illustrating how well (or poorly) the vehicle does on fuel efficiency and harmful emissions.
  • Electric cars and hybrids would be the ‘A’ students, while Hummers and the like are most likely to end up in detention.
  • Right now, dealers are only required to display a vehicle’s miles per gallon and estimated yearly fuel costs. The industry is obviously not happy with the proposal, saying it would amount to a government endorsement of certain cars and not others. Still, major auto manufacturers have been preparing for this kind of change by producing more hybrid and electric cars.

Facts & Figures

  • Grades will range from A – D
  • A small car like the Toyota Yaris would likely be graded B+ while many SUVs and pickup trucks would probably score C or worse
  • Sales of SUVs and crossovers have gone up by 21% this year

Best Quote

“We think a new label is absolutely needed to help consumers make the right decision for their wallets and the environment.” – Gina McCarthy, Assistant Administrator for Air and Radiation at the EPA

Ford Gives The U.S. Hope

Wednesday, August 4th, 2010

Ford reports an exceptionally strong first half of 2010 and causes optimism for the U.S. auto industry.

  • Ford’s second-quarter earnings were much stronger than expected and the company is on track for “solid profits” in 2010.
  • Ford plans to discontinue its Mercury brand and sell Volvo to China’s Geely in the 3rd quarter because it wants to focus on mass marketing Ford and Lincoln brands.
  • Ford was the only large U.S. automaker to avoid bankruptcy in 2009, and is therefore in greater debt than GM and Chrysler.
  • Ford paid back 7 billion dollars of debt in the 2nd quarter (now $27.3 billion in debt) and plans to continue debt reduction.

Facts & Figures

  • Second-quarter net profits were $2.6 billion, compared to $2.26 one year ago.
  • Ford revenue increased by $4.5 billion to $31.3 billion.
  • This is the 4th consecutive quarter that Ford has reported profits.

Best Quote

“We delivered a very strong second quarter and first half of 2010 and are ahead of where we thought we would be despite the still-challenging business conditions.” -Alan Mulally, Ford Motor Co., Chief Executive