Filed under: Etc. , Earnings/Financials In recent weeks, the idea that one or all three of Detroit's automakers could end up filing for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the coming weeks or months has gained a lot of momentum. In theory, the advantage of chapter 11 is that it provides protection...

Filed under: Etc. , Euro , Volkswagen , Earnings/Financials The NFL season is clearly out of control, Audi just crossed the country in a bunch of diesels you can't buy here, and GM wants to "merge" with Chrysler . But it's not just America that's home to the madness: Ferrari might...

Filed under: Etc. , Plants/Manufacturing , Chevrolet , GM , Earnings/Financials Giveth, and taketh away, isn't that always the story? On the taketh away side, GM has recently lost a serious chunk of change. On the giveth side, The General received a $56 milion package of tax credits and grants to...

Filed under: Coupes , Hybrids/Alternative , Sports/GTs , Etc. , Earnings/Financials Tesla has big plans, and to finance them it plans to raise big money. How? First, with an influx of venture capital that could put 10-percent of the company in VC hands. There has also been talk of an IPO , which Chairman...

Filed under: Etc. , Ford , Earnings/Financials There's no indication that a leopard has ever changed its spots, so while Kirk Kerkorian and his Tracinda Corporation are making noises like they'll strive to be hands-off Ford shareholders, we'd expect some eventual attempts at steering the...

Filed under: Hybrids/Alternative , Etc. , Earnings/Financials Click above for a high-res gallery of the Pininfarina Sintesi concept. Pininfarina has been in poor financial health for the last few years. The coachbuilding and design house's P&L sheet has been coated in red ink, with a 114.9 million...

Filed under: Etc. , Ford , Earnings/Financials Ford Chairman Bill Ford hasn't been compensated for working at his great grandfather's company since May 2005, and he doesn't intend to cash in until the Blue Oval makes a sustained profit. Ford's board of directors decided that nearly three...

Filed under: Auction Action , Etc. , Earnings/Financials , Lifestyle Some records stay in place for a while, and some are shattered regularly. Records set for obscene spending on frivolity never seem to stay put for very long, however, as there's always someone with more cash to blow on something...

Filed under: Etc. , Government/Legal , GM , Earnings/Financials , Tokyo Auto Salon Back in June 2007, GM was staring a lot of financial variables in the face. To help alleviate a potential cash crunch, the General took out a $4.1 billion line of credit with a syndicate of banks to ensure that bills would...

Filed under: Car Buying , Etc. , Earnings/Financials It was the best of times, it was the worst of times - it was 2007. Topping the sales figures for the year that almost was are mainly service vehicles, while the more ostentatious, less useful cars round out the bottom-feeder roster. Family cars at...