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Car Loans Looser Credit Frees Buyers To Pounce Tuesday's move by the Treasury Department to boost auto lending could improve sales, if consumer confidence also rises enough to get buyers back in showrooms.
"We believe that this is a major step providing greater access to liquidity and freeing up the credit market," says Amber Gowen, spokeswoman for Chrysler Financial. "This will increase credit availability to provide auto loans."
Access to auto loans tightened in recent months, meaning dea ... read more>> |
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Cash In Old Cars For New Ones In spite of the many challenges our country faces, I strongly believe the government stimulus and other steps to thaw credit markets will be effective in driving economic growth over time.
But we still face an immediate and serious challenge. Last week, President Obama observed that U.S. auto sales have seen a huge drop off, starkly noting "every automaker is getting killed right now." In just one year, U.S. auto sales have fallen by nearly 50%. ... read more>> |
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Detroit Gets A Money Lifeline But What About Cars By March, it should be clear whether Detroit's automakers are making the progress necessary to warrant any additional help from Washington. It will be measurable in their success at restructuring labor contracts, renegotiating debts, and paring product lines and dealerships.
But one thing about their potential rebound won't be known by then, making any auto bailout an article of faith for taxpayers. That is whether the Big Three (or the survivor ... read more>> |
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Guide To Getting The Best Values We pick "best in class" and "best new" winners based on performance, value and safety. About half the score is awarded for performance and value, including resale value, power, fuel efficiency, front and rear legroom, headroom and cargo space (the space in the trunk or the space behind the second row seats in a wagon, SUV or minivan). Sedans are ranked within price categories. With sports cars, SUVs, crossovers, minivans and wagons, we also score ... read more>> |
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| New Repossed Cars Articles Edition... |
 | Newest Members Of Solar System Cars Even as skies are gray this winter, automakers are looking to sunnier times not just for more sales, but also to power solar cells going on new cars.
Toyota just announced that the next generation Prius will have an optional solar panel that powers an electric fan. The fan activates to cool the cabin when the car is parked and the interior temperature rises.
Fisker Automotive, a start-up based in Irvine, Calif., goes further. The luxury hybrid ... read more>> |
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 | Should You Buy A New Chrysler Today Or Wait Go ahead, buy that Chrysler.
That's the consensus of analysts, consumer advisers and consultants, who noted Thursday that Chrysler now is like a government bond, backed by the "full faith and credit of the United States."
The government says it wants Chrysler to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization quickly and undamaged. The government says it'll stand behind the warranties on Chrysler's Jeep, Dodge and Chrysler brand vehicles.
The ... read more>> |
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 | Tests Show Gas Savings Can Risk Safety Buyers choosing the smallest cars for low price and high gas mileage could be endangering themselves and their passengers, says a major auto safety researcher.
In new crash tests, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety rammed three automakers' smallest cars into their midsize models. Although the small cars had passed other IIHS tests, they flunked in collisions with larger but still fuel efficient sedans. "The safety trade offs are clear," ... read more>> |
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 | When To Go Hybrid Car sales are flat, dealers are hungry and the price of gasoline is still threatening to revisit the $4 a gallon levels it saw in July. Does that make it an ideal time to sell the clunker and spring for a fuel efficient hybrid?
Maybe not. It's true that as gas prices rise, hybrids will pay for themselves more quickly than they used to. But the combination of getting a low price when you trade or sell your existing car and the extra amount you'll ... read more>> |
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