Chrysler and other info you may be interested in
Inside sources say Chrysler is in talks with Tata Motors and a host of other potential partners to sell some of their products in other parts of the world. In Particular, the sources say Chrysler wants Tata to help distribute and sell the Jeep Wrangler. It's rumored they're have the same discussion with Fiat, Nissan's parent company.
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Chrysler said they were done leasing vehicles while Ford and GM stopped short of that by saying they would "scale back" on the number of leases they write. Also, GMAC says it will cut back on financing people with marginal credit or require them to buy lesser vehicles or come up with more down payment than in the past.
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GM abruptly shortened the warranty period of Saab vehicles this week in an effort to cut costs. Previously, Saab warranties were 5 year and 100,000 miles. Under the new program which took effect this week, the warranty falls to 4 years or 50,000 miles. Scheduled maintenance is still included however.
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The NAACP gave Chrysler and Ford the best marks for promoting diversity in the auto industry, although both companies scored a b minus. Last in the study was Volkswagen who scored a D rating.
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GM said this week it would cut 5000 salaried workers here in the U.S. within a year and a half. GM announced the cuts as part of their continued restructuring and in an effort to shed ten billion dollars from their bottom line expenses.
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Ford has chosen Honeywell as the manufacturer of their new turbocharger that will power many Ford products beginning in 2010. The turbo will be part of Ford's patented Ecoboost family of engines. The new engines will be smaller, lighter, and much more fuel efficient without sacrificing power or torque.
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Smartly, the UAW ended an 8 day strike against Johnson Controls in Spring Hill, Tennessee, although their efforts paid off. Internal reports say the average worker will get a raise from $10 per hour to $13 per hour and in some cases, up to $16 per hour. This plants makes interiors for many GM Vehicles, including the new Chevrolet Traverse-the sister vehicle to Buick Enclave, GMC Acadia, and Saturn Outlook.
Fuel prices in DFW have FALLEN AGAIN in the last week for the second week in a row. Since last issue, gas dropped to an average of $3.78-a full 11 cents after an 8 cent drop last week! The national average also fell 12 more cents after last week's big drop of 9 cents. One year ago this week gas prices in DFW had dropped to $2.74 per gallon on average, while the rest of the nation was paying $2.86. Diesel fuel this week fell BIG TIME. I had reports from listeners of seeing $4.30 per gallon. The cheapest premium gas in the area took another sharp drop to $3.86 per gallon, a fall of 10 cents and the cheapest midgrade fell 4 cents to $3.75. The cheapest regular gas is found at numerous places for $3.65, a fall of 13 cents from a week ago. If we can only keep this trend going!
Remember, if you want to find the cheapest gas in YOUR area, it is now very easy: [FONT='Tahoma', 'sans-serif']autos.msn.com/everyday/gasstations.aspx?zip=&src=Netx[/font]
Last edited by Char; Aug 1, 2008 at 10:42 AM.