big3

We often think of the 1950's as being the heyday for Detroit's fortunes, but even in the early-to-mid Sixties, it remained something of a modern marvel, thanks largely to its world-leading auto industry. This archival video was apparently ...

There's no question that the Detroit-based auto industry needs a lot of help. There's a 100-year history of how it got into the problems it's in, and some of those problems are beyond management's control. But there is one area where General Motors, Ford and Chrysler have total, complete ...

While there have been rumors and suggested candidates floated for the so-called federal "car czar" post, it now no longer looks like that position will be filled. That's because President Barack Obama has apparently gone cold on the idea. Instead, new reports suggest that he will look to a select ...

President George W. Bush will doubtlessly be remembered for many things things, but his parting legacy may yet be his eleventh-hour pledge of $17.4 billion in low-interest loans to General Motors and Chrysler (Ford Motor Company has said it does not require relief at this time).The funding will ...

Chet Czaplicka doesn't own one of the Big 3's suppliers or run a car dealership. Instead, he is the chief executive of a blood-processing firm in the Detroit suburb of Livonia, Michigan. But like most people in that part of the country, he has several autoworkers in his family. And, perhaps more ...

With the U.S. Senate denying the Detroit 3 relief plan, it looks like oil prices might continue to tumble. Our sibling site BloggingStocks is predicting barrel prices might drop as low as $35 as a result. This comes on the heels of predictions of higher prices in the near future.It had been thought ...

What to do when you wanted $34 billion and Congress only gave you $15 billion? Try again, but this time go North young man. The Detroit 3 are now making a pitch to the Canadian legislature seeking an additional $6.8 billion from Canada where nearly 100,000 workers are employed in factories and ...

If we keep this up, we're going to best our record of six in a row, or whatever it was. The Autoblog Podcast crew returns for Autoblog Podcast #105 with Chris, Sam, and Dan discussing a paltry sweep of subjects as the quiet gathers before the storm of Congressional hearings is unleashed this week. ...

We'll be hearing more about the Detroit 3 in the mainstream media this week as their homework entitled "What I Would Do With My Share of $25 Billion in Government Loans" gets turned in to Congress. While Detroit deserves much of the ribbing that's on the way, it irks our ears every time we read an ...

While there is definitely a huge rift between those who favor a Detroit bailout and those who would rather see the Big 3 fade away, you'd think that someone like Flint-native and documentary maker Michael Moore would be all in favor of helping the Big Three succeed. After all, Moore rose to fame ...

Matthias Wissmann, current head of the Verband Deutscher Automobilhersteller (VDA, or Association of the German Automotive Industry for us non-German speaking folks), is none too pleased with the passing of a $25 billion financing package for the Detroit automakers. Under the terms of the ...

The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill this afternoon approving a $25 billion low-interest loan for domestic automakers. The bill passed with an overwhelming majority – 370 to 58 – and is on its way to the Senate for a vote on Friday before the White House gets the opportunity ...

Showing great discipline amid declining sales, the Detroit 3 have held back on the temptation to dump vehicles on fleet customers in order to boost numbers. As we reported last month, selling vehicles to corporate fleets and daily rental companies has been a long-practiced method to offload ...

Just less than a year ago, the Big 3 domestic automakers' combined market share dropped to less than 50-percent of the overall automobile market. That sobering statistic was made factual when the combined sales of vehicles from both Asian countries, such as Japan and Korea, were combined with sales ...

Until Detroit automakers signed landmark deals with the UAW that shifted retiree health care costs to the union, it was cheaper to make vehicles in Canada. Government health care saved automakers about $6 per work hour, a savings of over $12,000 a year per worker. Since Ontario produces more ...

Assembly workers at Toyota's Georgetown, Kentucky plant make about $25 per hour, they build the best-selling non-truck in North America, and a lot of workers still aren't happy. UAW members that are hurt on the job get paid 100% of their wage until they're well again, but at a Toyota plant, you ...

When sales slow, the old business adage dictates that you either cut expenses or raise rates. For the two big boys left in Detroit and the soon-to-be, if not already, sold off Chrysler corp, the latter seems to be the only viable option.A recent sales droop is causing all three automakers to ...

Most people looking to purchase a Toyota or Nissan just don't care about the value of the Yen vs. the Dollar. It just isn't relevant. For automakers here and in Europe, however, it's a very big deal. The Auto Trade Policy Council estimates a Japanese auto manufacturer advantage of $9,000 on ...

Toyotas don't always have the best looks or the best horsepower or the best driving characteristics, but customers seem to want the company's products the most anyway. They're winning share from other automakers and they're winning on the profit sheet. It's got to be fun right now being Toyota. ...

UPDATE: Thanks to Autoblog reader Steve M., you can watch the ABC News Towh Hall Meeting, all 45 minutes of it, after the jump. Please watch, if only to see the contorted facial expressions of our esteemed colleague at Jalopnik, Ray Wert III, who nabbed a seat in the front row. Anybody that's been ...