A surprising sales gain by General Motors Co and strong performances by Ford Motor Co and others helped put U.S. February auto sales on track for their highest annual sales rate in nearly four years.
New car sales grew at a better than expected pace, continuing automakers' steady revival in 2011 and the early months of 2012 and forcing many analysts to revise year-long sales forecasts above a benchmark 14 million mark.
Major automakers including General Motors Co posted a rise in auto sales for the month of February, helped by American drivers' need to replace aging cars and trucks despite the rise in fuel prices.
Chrysler Group LLC said its auto sales jumped 40 percent, boosted by sales of its sedans last month, marking the best February for the smallest U.S. automaker since before the financial crisis.
U.S. auto sales for February are expected to post a modest rise from year-earlier levels, as the industry continues its gradual recovery thanks to a rise in consumer confidence and the need to replace aging cars and trucks.
Automakers will report nearly 1.09 million new cars in February on Thursday, according to two industry forecasts, continuing the ongoing revival of the industry as sales jumped nearly 6 percent from February 2011 and an eye-popping 20 percent from January. That would equal a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) above 14 million units -- the highest level since early 2008.
President Barack Obama on Tuesday hit Republican presidential challengers hard during a speech at the United Auto Workers conference in Washington, most notably lashing out at former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney for his views on the auto bailout.
Honda Motor Co <7267.T> lost its top spot in an influential annual automotive report on quality, while Mazda and Chrysler showed the biggest gains.
Seventy-five years ago, Mopar began as a name for an antifreeze product. That antifreeze brand has grown into the global automobile parts and service arm of Chrysler Group LLC, and its latest announcement further expands its global footprint.
White House hopefuls Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum battled over who was the most conservative Republican on Saturday -- while knocking President Barack Obama on account of accelerating gasoline prices -- as the high-octane race in Michigan moves toward a still-uncertain finish.
First, Mitt Romney gaffed in admitting he was not worried about the very poor. Then, he admitted he only paid about a 15 percent tax rate. Now, his ad-libbing in Detroit led him to a flub about his wife Ann's Cadillacs.
Some descriptions of Mitt Romney's auto bailout position from former Obama car czar Steven Rattner: dead wrong, utter fantasy, has delusions, and hasn't felt a need to be consistent.
General Motors Co. said Thursday it has begun shipping low-emission Chevrolet Volt models to California that qualify for a $1,500 state rebate and allow drivers to travel in the state's carpool lanes.
Republican presidential candidates revved up discussion Wednesday night of the 2008 and 2009 auto bailouts of General Motors Co. and Chrysler Group LLC during the 20th, and perhaps final, Republican debate in Arizona.
The Arizona CNN Republican debate, perhaps the last in the roller-coaster campaign to challenge President Barack Obama, saw rivals piling criticism on Rick Santorum, who was apparently trying to build on his surprise rise in recent polls.
A super PAC supporting President Barack Obama in his re-election campaign released its first ad Wednesday, blasting Republican Mitt Romney for his opposition to the program of government loans to rescue General Motors and Chrysler.
The four words that envelop the headline nag along behind Mitt Romney wherever he campaigns on stops in Michigan. Let Detroit Go Bankrupt.
These were the four words that served as the theme and message of an opinion-editorial Romney penned more than three years ago for The New York Times. It came in the midst of bipartisan bailouts to the swooning auto industry, in a time of debate over how to save what was once Michigan's most prestigious industry in its most prestigious city.
The auto industry is the engine of the Michigan economy, but Mitt Romney's opposition to the ultimately successful government rescue of General Motors and Chrysler won't be a major concern of Republican voters in the state's Feb. 28 primary, observers say.
Chrysler Group on Thursday withdrew its application for a $3.5 billion Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing loan from the Dept. of Energy after the company's financial outlook improved and the government ramped up its lending standards.
Ally Financial is weighing a sale of all or part of its auto lending and banking businesses, as an initial public offering looks increasingly remote and the U.S. government seeks to recoup some $17 billion in bailout money, sources familiar with the situation said.
General Motors Co. has posted its best annual profit, which jumped 62 percent to $7.6 billion, beating expectations and breaking records two years after it nearly collapsed into bankruptcy.
Consumer advocates released their fourth annual ranking of car interiors that included over 200 vehicles produced in 2011-12gave the Civic top pick while both Outlander and the Chrysler 200 SC ranked the worst in interior pollution.
