Support Wanes for Additional Automaker Aid
from USA TODAY
 Just one-fourth of Americans think the government should continue lending money to Detroit automakers, according to a new USA TODAY/Gallup Poll, even though the manufacturers say they'll go out of business without federal help. That's a huge, and fast, change of heart. In December, before the government approved emergency auto loans, the poll found that 61 percent favored some kind of government help. More
Auto Repair Businesses Are Surging
from The Tampa Tribune
Chris Fuller can't believe what he has seen and heard during the last few months. A man pulled up in a 1989 Toyota Corolla. The passenger-side floor board was gone and replaced by an old rusty slab of sheet metal. "The customer comes in and said, 'I need a car. Just fix it,'" said Fuller, who owns Brooksville Transmissions in Hernando County, Fla. Body shops and auto technicians are among the short list of businesses that are thriving during a sputtering economy. More
CARB Postpones Hearing on Cool Car Strategies
from Automotive Service Association
 The California Air Resources Board (CARB) hearing to consider the Cool Cars and Test Procedures regulation of Assembly Bill 32 has been rescheduled for June 25-26. It was originally scheduled for March 26-27. Assembly Bill 32 - the California Global Warming Solutions Act - was established in 2006 to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2020. More
Rising Sales of Used Luxury Cars Are Boon and Curse
from The Wall Street Journal
Times are hard, but lots of Americans still have good jobs, and still want to drive around in style. The result: Demand for lightly used luxury cars is booming even as new vehicle sales sag. Manufacturers and auto industry data analysts each rely on different figures for measuring used-car demand. But most agree that demand for used luxury cars is remarkably strong compared to the wilting new vehicle market. The trends suggest affluent car buyers aren't paralyzed. But they are searching for a new balance between saving money and hanging on to the lifestyle to which they became accustomed in better times. More
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Looking Inward: Interior Innovations from Visteon
from Motor Trend Magazine
Most of the news coming out of the auto industry and supplier base is grim these days, but technology and innovation march bravely on. On an appropriately bleak snowy Detroit afternoon recently, Visteon lured us out to see some of the latest tricks it has up its sleeves to help automakers tempt a shell-shocked buying public into prying open their wallets for the latest automotive gimcrackery. More
Recession Revs Up Some Auto Repair Shops, Puts Brakes on Others
from WRAL-TV
Some auto repair shops have seen their businesses rev up, while the recession has taken other repair shops onto a bumpier, less profitable road. Tao Auto specializes in car trouble, and owner Thomas Owen said he's had no trouble getting business at his Raleigh, N.C., shop lately. "My biggest growth has been every time an economic downturn happens," Owen said. More
Saab Forced to Halt Production
from Motor Authority
Saab recently announced its independence from General Motors with optimism, but now the carmaker has been forced by Sweden's Customs Office to cease production and delivery of cars because it hasn't paid the required fees. The Trollhattan plant in Sweden has stopped production temporarily, though the acute shortfall of cash could speak of deeper troubles within Saab. Many in the industry mourned the loss of Saab when GM cut it loose, thinking the brand was as good as dead. More
Industry Support Sought for Regulatory Relief from Troubling Provisions of New Anti-lead Law
from ABRN
Tire dealers and other operations serving the all-terrain vehicle and motorcycle segments are being urged to join efforts seeking to alter provisions of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act that went into force Feb. 10. These new rules – designed to protect children from lead poisoning – have effectively banned sales of numerous ATVs and cycles designed for the youth market, which could result in an industry-wide decline of up to $1 billion in lost economic value for this year alone. More
Economic Concerns and Gas Prices Keep Consumers Driving Less
from ABRN
Consumers’ economic concerns and uncertainty about the future of gas prices are contributing to declines in miles driven, even though gasoline prices have declined sharply from last summer's historic highs. The U.S. Department of Transportation released its December 2008 miles driven report, which shows a 14-month consecutive decline in driving. Motorists drove 3.8 billion fewer miles in December 2008 compared to the same month a year earlier. More
Even Car Repairs See a Slowdown
from The Union Leader via MSNBC
Some New Hampshire technicians say they are dealing with a significant slowdown in business and customers have become much more cost-conscious when it comes to having their vehicles repaired. "People nowadays want you to do exactly what needs to be done and they're very price (conscious)," said Ed Delage, who has owned and operated Ed's Auto in Milford, N.H., for 12 years. "They want the exact dollar figure, whereas my customers used to just come in, hand me a blank check and just say, 'Fix it.'" More
Ford Small-Block V8 Engine Swap - Swapping From Six to Eight
from Mustang Monthly Magazine
When you decide to convert a six-cylinder Mustang to a V-8, what do you need to get the job done? First, you need the vehicle, engine and driveline, brakes, and suspension to be cohesive. This means you cannot and should not do it half-way and on the cheap. In other words, don't just drop a V-8 into a six-cylinder Mustang without changing the rear axle and all underpinnings. More
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