Exclusive

With the Cash for Clunkers program now called CARS (Cash Allowance Rebate System) nearing its launch, new car shoppers will soon have the opportunity to receive a $3,500 or $4,500 voucher towards the purchase or lease of a new vehicle if their trade-in vehicle meets specific program criteria (see list below). This government-funded program is meant to incentivize car shoppers to purchase or lease a new and more fuel efficient vehicle when they trade in a less fuel efficient vehicle.

To make this program easier and better understood by the consumer, AutoTrader.com and NADAguides.com have collaborated on a website tool located on both sites that allows car shoppers to enter their used "clunker" to not only see if it qualifies, but to see a large list of qualifying new vehicles and voucher amounts that may be applied towards the purchase. The trade-in vouchers range from $3,500 to $4,500 depending on the type of vehicle purchased and the difference in fuel economy (mpg) between the purchased vehicle and the trade-in vehicle.

"The Car Allowance Rebate System will work to not only get high polluting vehicles off the road, but will also help stimulate new vehicle sales. This is a win-win for consumers and auto dealers by helping car shoppers with new vehicle purchases," said Michael Caudill, automotive expert, NADAguides.com. "This is a great break for consumers who are either in the market for or considering the purchase of a new vehicle."

What are the trade-in qualifications needed to receive the voucher?

• Your vehicle must be less than 25 years old on the trade-in date
• Only purchase or lease of new vehicles qualify
• Generally, trade-in vehicles must get 18 or less MPG (some very large pick-up trucks and cargo vans have different requirements)
• Trade-in vehicles must be registered and insured continuously for the full year preceding the trade-in
• Dealers must register to be a part of the program. Consumers should ask this of dealers
• You don't need a voucher, dealers will apply a credit at purchase
• Program runs through Nov. 1, 2009 or when the government funds are exhausted, whichever comes first
• The vehicle that you are trading in is required to be destroyed. Therefore, the value you negotiate with the dealer for your trade in is not likely to exceed its scrap value. The law requires the dealer to disclose to you an estimate of the scrap value of your trade-in vehicle.

To find out if your vehicle qualifies and to view a list of qualifying vehicles and associated voucher amounts, visit the CARS tool at NADAguides.com or AutoTrader.com.

For the third month in a row, Ford Motor Co. outsold the Japanese juggernaut in the United States, still a crucial and rich market amid this nagging recession. In June alone, the Dearborn automaker reported an 11 percent year-over-year decline in monthly sales to 148,153 cars and trucks, compared to Toyota's 34.6 percent slide to 131,654 vehicles.

And this: General Motors Corp. -- beleaguered and bankrupt, its dealer body jittery and brand image suspect, its only willing lender the Treasury -- so far this year has outsold Toyota 947,518 to 770,449, according to Autodata Corp. Partly evidence of Toyota's strong presence in, and dependence on, the imploding California market?

Yes, but what else?
For the first three months of the year, Toyota lost more money than Ford and even GM. Since then, the Japanese automaker has replaced its president with a scion of the founding family, 53-year-old Akio Toyoda, who promises a "back to basics" push for the industry's richest automaker even as more troubles emerged in the first weeks of his new assignment.

There really isn’t anything more I can say but watch the video.

Due to slipping sales and Chrysler’s lending shift to GMAC, Chrysler Financial says it will shed about 350 jobs. Chrysler Financials entire business model will also be restructured, resulting in the closure of the company’s customer service center near Kansas City.
Chrysler Financial will eliminate positions at all eight of its business centers, as well as at the company’s Farmington Hills headquarters. In all, Chrysler Financial will shed about 9 percent of its total workforce.

“While these were difficult decisions to make, they are necessary in light of our declining portfolio,” said Tom Gilman, Chairman and CEO — Chrysler Financial. “We have made every effort to limit the number of job losses and to ensure the affected employees are treated fairly.”

Chrysler Financial – held by Cerberus Capital Management – was dumped as the lending arm of Chrysler during the company’s time in bankruptcy. Despite being displaced by GMAC, Chrysler Financial still holds a $45 billion portfolio with operations in dealership insurance and retail financing.

This version, called the LP550-2 Valentino Balboni in tribute to the pilot maker at the point of the Italian firm since 1967, therefore differs in its transmission to the rear wheels.

One more player Gallardo
Immediately identifiable with his long white stripe with golden borders, the Lamborghini Gallardo LP550-2 was clearly intended to thrill to appreciate the passage of the 550 horsepower V10 in the rear. A selection technique that allows the beautiful to lose 120 kg, thanks to the abandonment of the heavy transmission 4 wheel drive, but on paper does no benefit to performance.  This declination looses 2 tenths of a second on the of 0 to 100 km/h relative to the LP560-4 (3.9s against 3.7s), which is more powerful by 10 horses.

Presentation in Frankfurt 
Radical but not stripped however, this special series limited to 250 copies Series offers many facilities such as navigation system, reversing camera, or the carbon brakes ceramics. We should learn more during his presentation to the public at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September. Its price should, however, around US $282,100.

Stuntman Steve Truglia has entered the realm of awesomeness by completing the World’s largest loop-the-loop. The stunt that required great precision was completed with the help of a Cambridge physicist, and the feat done at Suffolk airbase. The maneuver was done for the TV show Fifth Gear, and will be aired this Saturday. He completed the 40-feet loop in a Toyota, and entered the record books.

Via: DailyMail

Found this info on another site and wanted to pass the word along. I bolded some of the high points.

Hi Robert - My name is Karah Street and I work for a PR firm that represents smart USA. I see that you have written about the new crash test conducted with the smart fortwo by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), in which the smart for two was paired against a Mercedes C-Class. Two other cars were paired with larger vehicles from the same automaker (Honda Fit vs. Accord, and Toyota Yaris vs. Camry). What you may not know is that this test represents a type of crash that is rare and extreme — less than 1% of all accidents can compare to this type of test — and it is neither recognized nor required by federal safety regulators. By pitting “big vs. small,” this test seems to have one goal: to imply that bigger, heavier cars are always safer.

The smart fortwo meets or exceeds all federal government safety standards, including earning a five-star side crash rating from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the highest ratings for front and side crashes in the IIHS’s own barrier test. As I mentioned earlier, this test unfairly singles out only mini and micro cars, rather than testing vehicles in all segments, big and small.

This test also does not address where we are heading as a society, where people are choosing small yet safe cars for many reasons (fuel economy, smaller carbon footprint, low cost of ownership). smart USA has created a new website, safeandsmart.com, where smart drivers are sharing their own real-life stories of how smart’s advanced safety features helped keep them safe.

I also encourage you to speak with the following organizations for their take on the crash test: 1. Eli Hopson, Washington Representative for Clean Vehicles, Union of Concerned Scientists 2. John DeCicco, Senior Fellow – Automotive Strategies, Environmental Defense Fund 3. Dan Becker, Director, Safe Climate Campaign. For an official statement from smart USA, please visit smartusa.com or read an official blog by smart USA’s president, Dave Schembri. Please let me know if you need any other resources (images, video, etc) from me. Thank you for your time. Karah Street.

Source:http://www.iihs.org/news/rss/pr041409.html

Source:TTAC

Directed by the Treasure Department, TM is laying the groundwork for filing bankruptcy. By June 1, GM must reach an agreement with bondholders to "exchange roughly $28 billion in debt into equity in G.M. and with the United Automobile Workers union," writes the New York Times. Should they miss the deadline, GM may need to resort to a Chapter 11 filing.

“If we need to resort to bankruptcy, we have to do it quickly,” Mr. Henderson said in an interview with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

Source: NYTimes