Auto Industry's Wild Ride Gets Smoother
from Brandweek Magazine
 The state of the auto nation is shaky at the moment, but all is not lost. Offsetting the unrelentingly negative news are 2009 highlights like a 69 percent spike in Sorento model sales, a 48 percent increase in Sedona sales, and the successful launch of the economically priced Hyundai Genesis and Kia Soul, both targeting younger drivers. Conversely, luxury vehicles that attract middle-age consumers managed to outpace the market, although the category experienced a long-tail effect, a two- to three-month delay from shopping to closing the sale. More 
Last Chance to Register Online for ASA's Capitol Hill Fly-In!
Online Registration Ends July 8
from Automotive Service Association
 ASA is giving its members a chance to really make a difference in the collision repair industry by hosting a Capitol Hill Fly-In July 28-29, in Washington, D.C. ASA members who register for the fly-in will have the opportunity to meet on Capitol Hill and urge policymakers to institute federal regulation of Property and Casualty Insurance and the repeal of McCarran-Ferguson. Online registration for the event ends Wednesday, July 8. To register, visit www.TakingTheHill.com. More
Obama Signs Cash-for-Clunkers Bill
from The New York Times
First of all, it’s no longer Cash-for-Clunkers. The program is now called the Car Allowance Rebate System (C.A.R.S.). The program, which President Obama signed into law last week, pays consumers up to $4,500 in credit for trading in their cars or trucks for those that are more fuel efficient. The law allocates $1 billion for the program. More
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Coming to Grips with Super Steels
from AutoInc.
The collision industry is under the gun. According to the American Iron and Steel Association, 60 percent of the steels used in manufacturing cars today did not exist 10 years ago. Automakers' use of new lightweight steel and steel alloys has grown quickly and is expected to accelerate over the next generation. For collision shops, this trend presents an enormous, dynamic challenge. More
EPA Grants California GHG Waiver
from U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
EPA is granting California's waiver request enabling the state to enforce its greenhouse gas emissions standards for new motor vehicles, beginning with the current model year. Using the law and science as its guide, EPA has taken this action to tackle air pollution and protect human health. More
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Product Showcase:
URG Offers Quality Recycled Parts Search Engine
 United Recyclers offers body shops and mechanical repair shops the ability to search used parts for cars and trucks. Each URG member provides quality assurance to the product. The result is a nationwide label that delivers consistently high quality parts and maximizes consumers, collision center, and estimator confidence. More info
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Ford: June Could Be Best Month for U.S. Auto Industry
Since September
from CNN Money
June could be the U.S. auto industry's best month since sales began their freefall last fall, Ford Motor Co.'s chief sales analyst said. Bouyed by fewer jobless claims and improved consumer confidence, the annualized sales rate in the U.S. could hit 10 million this month for the first time in 2009, Ford analyst George Pipas told reporters. More
Related story:
GM Makes Further Concessions on Liabilities to Smooth Sale Path ( Bloomberg )
The Jolt Ailing Industry Needs?
from The Star Tribune
Bob Albertson, a 72-year-old serial inventor, thinks he's created something that will revolutionize the auto industry. At his home just south of this tiny city on the Mississippi River, Albertson built a fully electric Ford Ranger pickup truck that he's 99 percent certain Ford Motor Co. will want to mass-produce. More
AMI Accepting Applications for Six Scholarships
from the Automotive Management Institute
The Automotive Management Institute is accepting applications for the following six scholarships to be awarded this year: the Emil Stanley Merit Award, the BodyShop Business Magazine Scholarship, the Gale Westerlund/Richard Cossette Memorial Scholarship, the Tom B. Babcox Memorial Scholarship, the Automotive Video Inc. (AVI) Educational Scholarship and the Zurich “High Octane” Scholarship. More
The End of the Affair
from The Wall Street Journal
The phrase “bankrupt General Motors,” which we expect to hear uttered on Monday, leaves Americans my age in economic shock. The words are as melodramatic as “Mom’s nude photos.” And, indeed, if we want to understand what doomed the American automobile, we should give up on economics and turn to melodrama. Politicians, journalists, financial analysts and other purveyors of banality have been looking at cars as if a convertible were a business. Fire the MBAs and hire a poet. The fate of Detroit isn’t a matter of financial crisis, foreign competition, corporate greed, union intransigence, energy costs or measuring the shoe size of the footprints in the carbon. It’s a tragic romance—unleashed passions, titanic clashes, lost love and wild horses. More
Lear Prepping for Bankruptcy, has Creditor Support
from The Associated Press
Automotive parts supplier Lear Corp. said it is preparing to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and has lined up financing to fund its operations while under court protection. Lear, which makes automotive seating systems and electronics, said it is still negotiating with lenders and bondholders for additional support for its restructuring plan. In the meantime, the company said it has a commitment for $500 million in loans to finance its bankruptcy from a group of lenders led by J.P. Morgan and Citigroup. More
Automakers Scrap Diesel Plans
from Automotive News
Mainstream carmakers have put the brakes on nine diesel-powered vehicles that had been scheduled for 2010. Honda, Chrysler, Ford, General Motors, Nissan and Toyota have halted diesel programs because of spiraling costs and other problems. Financial problems halted the programs at some companies. Others, like Toyota Motor Corp., are looking elsewhere for fuel economy. "We are banking heavily on hybrids," said Toyota spokesman Curt McAllister. More
Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger to Keynote ASRW Events — NACE and CARS
from Automotive Service Association
 ASA, NACE and CARS, in cooperation with the Auto Glass Replacement Safety Standards Council (AGRSS), is excited to announce that Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger III, the heroic pilot who masterfully landed US Airways Flight 1549 in the Hudson River earlier this year, saving 155 people, will serve as keynote speaker during the Opening General Session, sponsored by DuPont Performance Coatings. More
See also: 2009 NACE, CARS Online Attendee Registration Opens
No Price Increase Over 2008 Fees
Porsche Rejects VW Takeover Offer
from BusinessWeek
Porsche, the debt-laden German sports carmaker, rejected Volkswagen's offer to buy a 49 percent stake as the damaging power struggle between the two companies escalated. "It's not a viable option to sell 49.9 percent of Porsche AG to VW," a Porsche spokesman told German news agency DPA. More
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