Hummer Sale: GM sells brand to company in China

Following on from our post yesterday about General Motors in talks with Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Corp over its deal to try to sell its Hummer brand, we can now inform you that the brand was sold on Friday. No financial terms were discussed, but there had been rumors that the sale was for around $150 million. Read more

GM CEO Fritz Henderson: Exiting bankruptcy protection

On June 1, 2009, General Motors had filed for bankruptcy protection, well according to General Motors CEO Fritz Henderson; GM will be able to exit bankruptcy protection long before the 60 to 90 days timeline. Henderson said that GM is moving aggressively and according to plan. Read more

Tesla Model S Electric Car: 300 miles on one charge

Times are hard for most of us and we have to try to make our money stretch as far as possible, and that also includes how much we spend on running costs for our vehicles. Oil prices are down as low as they have been in years, but that still does not stop us wanting more for our money, and that is where the Tesla Model S Electric Car comes in. Read more

Cayenne GTS Porsche Design Edition 3

The Cayenne GTS Porsche Design Edition 3 is much like the Boxster S Design Edition 2 and the Porsche Cayman S Design Edition 1, as they are showing us that they can take an already good performing car and make it even better. Read more

Software Automation to Play Key Role Reducing Rising Energy Costs

STOUGHTON, Mass., Sept. 17 /PRNewswire/ — In a white paper announced today, Beagle Research Group, LLC founder and managing principal Denis Pombriant called on the software industry to develop and enhance technologies that can reduce corporate energy use and create greater customer intimacy Read more

Oil prices force Toyota to Cut 2009 Sales Forecast

Toyota Motor Corp. has had to make the decision to cut their sales figures for 2009. The have reduced the sales forecast by 6.7 percent as a result of current oil prices, as gasoline is nearing the $4 a gallon mark.

The biggest blow for Toyota, the world’s second-largest automaker, is that the demand for trucks has dropped massively. It seems that it is now smaller cars that Americans are wanting. Read more

Toyota Profit hits five year low: Down 28 percent

Toyota Motor Corp. has seen a huge drop in their profit, the biggest in five years. The world’s second-largest carmaker has blamed poor sales of sport-utility vehicles and trucks, due to high fuel prices.

Toyota has reported that their net income has fallen by 28 percent to 353.7 billion yen or $3.2 billion, shares are now just 112.28 yen a share. The year earlier net income was 491.5 billion yen, or 153.89 yen per share.

According to Bloomberg, Toyota’s operating profit in North America feel by 57 percent, as we mentioned it is the sale of larger vehicles that have seen the biggest drop. Katsuaki Watanabe, President of Toyota Motor Corp. has had to halt the production of Tundra pickups and Sequoia SUVs for three months as a result of high oil prices.

Toyota has always been known for their larger vehicles, where Honda seems to produce smaller and fuel-efficient cars. This has seen an 8.1 percent gain for the automaker.

It is not just Toyota who is being hit with huge profit losses; Ford and GM are two more to add to that list. Automakers are now facing a fork in the road; they now have some tough decisions to make. One thing is certain; they will all have to think about producing smaller fuel-efficient cars.

Supermarkets begin petrol price war

I am getting a little exited just thinking about this piece of new, it looks as though the UK’s top supermarkets have started a petrol price war. This will bring a huge relief to millions of motorists in the UK.

Asda have cut the cost of a litre of unleaded and diesel by 3p, Morrisons then reacted by reducing theirs by 4p. Both supermarkets have said that the reason for reducing the price of fuel is a direct result of the price of a barrel of oil going down.

Sainsbury’s have announced a new promotion, if you spend £50 in store; you will receive a voucher for 5p of a litre. That is the same deal that Tesco has on at the moment.

Tesco have also announced that they are reducing the price of a litre of diesel and unleaded by 4p.

BP are only lowering their prices by 1p, well at least it is better than nothing.

According to The Guardian, the AA president, Edmund King has said that this current price cuts show that the fuel spike has now reached a plateau. Hopefully if the price of oil drops further, then we could see even more reduction in the price of fuel.

Elevated Gas Prices: Ford helps you save money on fuel

Ford calls it EcoDriving – ECOnomical because it saves money and ECOlogical because it is better for the environment. Following are simple tips from Ford that any driver can use:

Consolidate trips – Plan ahead to consolidate your trips. This will enable you to bypass congested routes, lead to less idling, fewer start-ups and less stop-and-go traffic. Whenever feasible, share a ride and/or carpool.

Choose the right oil – Use good quality, energy-conserving EC oils with the viscosity grade recommended in the Owner’s Manual Read more

GM News Announcement: survival in economic crisis

The current economic crisis is bad the world over and while its hitting some companies hard, GM shows just how bad with numbers.

Today we are hearing from a GM CEO news announcement that the automaker is making some massive cut backs just in order to survival the economic crisis, Rick Wagoner has shown in this press release just how bad things are.

General Motors are taking drastic measures that include cutting 20% of salaried workforce, selling off $4 to $7 billion in assets and halting its quarterly dividend payout.

This may seem harsh but it’s also a decision that will enable GM to take some control in the current economic crisis and maintain operating liquidity.

The current oil prices have continued to increase and it’s anyone’s guess where they will go from now, this fact has hit GM hard on its truck and SUV lines.

Rising gas prices have not just affected GM, we expect others in the American auto industry to make similar announcements in the coming weeks that will show how bad the auto industry has been hit by the price of oil.

GM is now hoping to replace its experienced and expensive workers with cheaper labor by offering them all buyouts. Do you think GM has made the right choices?

Source: Read

What Credit Crunch? New iPhone 3G selling out

The reason we ask if there is a Credit Crunch, it seems hard to believe that we are actually in one when you see how the consumer keeps spending like there is no tomorrow.

Today has seen nearly every Apple, O2 and Carphone Warehouse store sell out of iPhone 3G’s, if they have not yet then they will do buy the end of the day.

100 Mortgages has raised this point and why spend like we do with the economy in the state it is? Interest rates feared to increase to keep inflation down, house prices dropping, oil prices extremely high and food prices increase thanks to the cost of fuel.

Have you bought the new iPhone 3G today and if so, does it not worry you with budgets getting tighter?

If your in a contract already then we can understand that you can get the iPhone 3G for free on a price plan £45 or more and its only £99 for the iPhone this time.

Some families will need this £99 in the months to come and the £45 a month will be near impossible to find, so looking at the demand for the iPhone 3G today, we guess inflation may keep rising and the consumer is not that worried about the future.

New buyers will have to keep up this contract for 18 months, even if they have no money.

Via 100 Mortgages

Toyota plans solar-powered air conditioning in Prius hybrid

Back in May we reported that the Toyota Prius Hybrid had achieved over one million car sales, this was great news for global warming and today we have heard some more news about Toyota’s efforts in this area.

Toyota are planning to put solar-powered air conditioning in high-end Prius hybrid models, this new feature will show that the Prius is a car that wants to be good for the environment.

The third-generation Toyota Prius will launch in 2009 and Kyocera solar panels will be used to generate between two and five kilowatts of electricity.

While Toyota has not commented officially on this news, it is believed to be a solid rumor.

With oil prices rising we will all have to look towards cars that use less oil and give more kilometers per gallon, this is one reason why the sales of Prius have been increasing.

How have oil prices affected you and will you be looking towards hybrid cars in the near future?

Source: Read

Review 2008 BMW X6 and 2009 Infiniti FX: More Sport, Less Utility

Just a few years back one of the most popular types of vehicles was the S.U.V., but it seems as if an epidemic is now hitting this popular vehicle. We have always known that this type of vehicle is thirsty on fuel, and with the current high oil prices, this was something that BMW and Nissan had to address when developing their 2008 X6 and the 2009 Infiniti FX. It seems that these vehicles are now sneaking a little towards being a station wagon.

Ok I understand that these Sports Utility Vehicles do not look much like a station wagon, but The New York Times has hit on something very interesting about their mission statements. Both are unit-body four-door hatchbacks with a priority on performance and luxury trappings. So will these new vehicles be able to cut in this tough market, remember economy has to be the major factor now.

The 2008 BMW X6 is being called a SAC or sports activity coupe, BMW have decided to trade the back seat area so that they could have that sloping roofline. ON first look the X6 looks like an over grown hatchback, however just consider that this beast managed to pull about 6,000 pounds, so that V-8 really comes in handy. The NY Times sums the car up by saying that the “X6 is basically a luxury tow-vehicle sports-car grocery-getter 4-by-4 hatchback.”

Nissan like BMW faced the very same challenge with their new 2009 Infiniti FX and it seems that the car maker has come up with a fresh new design. The front end is blunt while the roofline is tapered; the vehicle seems to have a more aggressive stance than the older Nissan Murano did.

The 2009 Infiniti FX uses 21-inch rims and vender vents also helps to give it that sinister and aggressive look. Both the BMW and Nissan offer the choice of a V-6 or V-8, so if you want to be kinder to the environment you now have a choice. As you would expect the BMW’s engines seems to be a little more refined than the ones used in the Nissan, The Infiniti FX engines are slightly larger than the BMW’ but this is because BMW have dropped twin turbochargers inside.

For a full review visit: NY Times

Federal Reserve Slashes Fed Funds Rate by 75 basis points to 2.25pct

The Federal Reserve has just announced that the Federal Funds Rate is being but from 3.25 percent to 2.25 percent, a massive cut of 75 basis points.

The Fed has cut rates so dramatically in light of the worsening US economy and turmoil in the financial sector. The fed rate cut is aimed to Read more

2008 Chevrolet Tahoe: world’s first two-mode hybrid SUV

Before you go out and make your purchase on a new SUV, maybe you should stop a think a little about the planet that we are living on. If you were to purchase the new 2008 Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid, which is actually the Read more

Fed Rate Cut By 0.5 pts, Federal Reserve Announcement Lowers Interest Rate to 3.0 pct

The Federal Reserve has just announced a Fed rate cut of half a point to 3 pct.

The announcement was made by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke after the monthly Fed meeting due to increasing pressure caused by the meltdown in the stock markets across the globe Read more

Tata Nano could send oil over $200 a barrel?

I’m not one to scare people with the likelihood of oil reaching $200 a barrel, but one thing stands in the way of this, and that is the world’s cheapest car, the Tata Nano. This car is the newest vehicle from Read more

Crude Oil Jewellery from Design Glut

Design Glut have brought out a range of Crude Oil jewellery, with the prices of oil rising this will definitely help you to remember just how cheap it used to be. Read more

Oil hits $84 a barrel: record high fuelled by dollar weakness

Monday has seen the price of oil rise to $84 a barrel; it seems that the upward trend in the price of oil shows no signs of changing. Much of the cause has been due to tensions between Turkey and Iraq, also the upcoming winter worries in the Read more

Parents Desperate For Kids To See Miley Cyrus Concert

It has been reported that the hottest concert ticket of the year is not Justin Timberlake or even the Police but the one and only 14 year oil pop star Miley Cyrus who is the star of the TV show Hannah Montana.

It is said that Fans are so desperate Read more

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