Will Gen VII generate a louder buzz for Maxima?

CHICAGO TRIBUNE

Seventh time a charm?

Nissan brings out its seventh-generation Maxima for 2009, a sedan that's had to cope with an identity problem the last six gens as Nissan debated whether it should be the luxury flagship or the sporty companion to the midsize Altima sedan.

For Gen VII, Nissan has opted for the sporty designation, saying that Gen VI had become too entry-level luxury and not enough mass-market sports sedan. So now it has what Nissan calls a "breakthrough exterior design" that imparts a feeling of "liquid motion" and gives... Read more

Meme-It

Electrics Light Up Paris Auto Show

LOS ANGELES TIMES

Either Renault Executive Vice Chairman Patrick Pelata had too much champagne, or he knows something we don't. At the Paris Motor Show on Thursday, Pelata announced that the French carmaker would build a pure electric version of the Fluence, a... Read more

Meme-It

Auto sales plunge as credit crunch hits

REUTERS

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Major automakers reported plunging U.S. sales for September -- led by a 34 percent slide at Ford Motor Co -- as an escalating credit crisis hit the slumping industry and... Read more

Meme-It

Execs at Paris auto show brace for industry storm

ASSOCIATED PRESS

PARIS - Auto executives agree: their industry is headed into a giant storm. The clouds of global economic turmoil cast a pall over the opening of the Paris Motor Show on Thursday - although a... Read more

Meme-It

Toyota Offers Interest-Free Loans in Bid to Boost Sales

LOS ANGELES TIMES

Toyota Motor Corp., trying to reverse a U.S. sales slump, said Thursday that it was offering no-interest loans on 11 models for the next month, the first time the company has used free financing across so many models. Shares of the world's... Read more

Meme-It

Toyota offers interest-free loans on 11 vehicles

REUTERS

DETROIT (Reuters) - Toyota Motor Corp is offering interest-free loans to U.S. consumers across most of its lineup in a rare move that follows a surprising 32 percent slide in its U.S. sales in... Read more

Meme-It

Ford Kicks Off Production of New F-150

AFA

CLAYCOMO, Mo. (AP) - Ford Motor Co. kicked off production Thursday of a new, more fuel-efficient version of its popular F-150 pickup truck. However, it... Read more

Meme-It

Dealership closures to increase into 2009

REUTERS

DETROIT (Reuters) - The number of U.S. car dealerships closing is expected to increase into 2009 with as many as 3,800 dealerships at risk of closure because of dwindling sales and tighter credit,... Read more

Meme-It

Auto Sales Fall 27% on Credit Squeeze; Industry Records Worst Drop Since '91

MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL

Consumers couldn't get loans and remained skittish about buying new cars and trucks in September, as the credit crunch tightened even as energy prices continued to ease. Automakers posted... Read more

Meme-It

AUTOMAKERS BAILOUT A Big Three Mistake Under the Cover of a Much Larger Bailout Has Come the Biggest Intervention Ever in the Auto Industry.

MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL

What's another $25 billion among friends? Compared with $700 billion, it's chump change, right? Such appears to be the attitude in Washington after passage of a massive spending bill that includes... Read more

Meme-It

Carmakers sound alarm at gloomy Paris show

REUTERS

PARIS (Reuters) - Top automakers including General Motors Corp (GM) and Ford warned of tough times as the Paris Auto Show opened on Thursday amid concerns that slowing demand could force production... Read more