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DETROIT — The auto industry moved a step closer to winning the first of two battles it's been waging in Washington for the past few weeks: A $25 billion direct loan program for automakers and suppliers was attached to a broad government spending bill approved Wednesday by the House of Representatives.

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Holly, a Lexington (KY) resident, was in a situation where she needed to cut an additional $1,500 out of her monthly budget. Carmen and Holly discussed her rental costs and found some ideas on how to cut down. They rent in the area because the school district is good and their son is in his last year of high school. And they tied the end of the lease to the end of the school year.

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CHICAGO, Sept 23, 2008 TransUnion.com released today the results of its analysis of trends in the auto lending industry for the second quarter of 2008. The report is part of an ongoing series of quarterly consumer lending sector analyses focusing on credit card, auto loan and mortgage data that may be found on TransUnion's Web site.

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OE Source may obtain advances ...

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Now that DaimlerChrysler has put the Chrysler Group up for sale, the long-expected massive restructuring of the American automobile industry might finally have arrived.

Take a snapshot for posterity, because today's U.S. automotive landscape won't look like it does for much longer. As a friend reminded me, it's like what happened in the rail business at the turn of the 20th century, when once-dominant steam locomotives gave way to diesel- and electric-powered ones. The entire r...

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WASHINGTON -- The U.S. auto industry is facing the worst business conditions in more than 30 years, and its problems could affect tens of thousands of workers, the chief executives of Detroit's three automakers told congressional leaders Wednesday as they lobbied for $25 billion in federal loans.

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SOUTHFIELD, Mich. — Auto parts maker Federal-Mogul says it's cutting its workforce by 4,000 jobs, or eight per cent, due to a tough automotive market.

The Michigan-based auto supplier, which also has operations in Canada, says the cuts are part of a restructuring plan that will streamline business, consolidate or close locations and lower general and administrative staffing.

In Canada, the company has plants in Concord, just north of Toronto, and Windsor, an industrial c...

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WASHINGTON -- Michigan lawmakers will meet with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., today to map plans for votes on funding $25 billion in loans for the auto industry, while Detroit automakers step up their lobbying efforts.

The turmoil in financial markets only served to emphasize the bid by Detroit automakers and parts suppliers for some aid toward retooling factories. The $25 billion in loans was approved, but not funded, in last year's energy law as part of a compromise t...

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Detroit -- General Motors Corp. on Tuesday plans to officially unveil its most important model in decades -- and possibly the key to its survival.

A GM engineer with the Chevy Volt, due to hit the market by late 2010

The Chevrolet Volt is a battery-powered compact car scheduled to hit the market by the end of 2010. It is designed to give GM the kind of highly fuel-efficient vehicle it needs to compete in an era of near $4-a-gallon gasoline.

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The lengthening lead Japan's auto makers hold in securing supplies of advanced batteries to power the next generation of automobiles has become a rallying point for the U.S. auto industry in seeking at least $25 billion in government loans.

Over the past decade, Japan's auto giants have been teaming up with its electronics companies, which have dominated global battery manufacturing for laptop computers, mobile phones and other products.

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The car leasing bubble has burst as auto companies withdraw leasing incentives and resale values of gas-guzzlers drop quickly.

That has prompted car dealers to turn from lease incentives to sales incentives. And it leaves their lots occupied by vehicles loaded with expensive options that can be difficult to move. As manufacturers were being hit with big losses at lease end, residual values - resale amount at the end of the lease - were adjusted downward, said Steve Demers, general man...

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General Motors chief executive G. Richard Wagoner Jr. has been selling cars for a long time, but his pitch today in Washington will be one of his most urgent. He will try to convince lawmakers that the country's homegrown automakers deserve help from the government as they prepare to build more hybrids and other fuel-efficient cars for a radically different market.

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Auto makers must spend billions of dollars in coming years to develop cars that meet stringent new standards for fuel efficiency, a transition that is expected to cost the industry $100 billion. But mounting debt, a steep decline in sales and tightened credit markets have crippled the ability of the Big Three to obtain loans at reasonable rates.

A program approved as part of last year's energy bill calls for up to $25 billion in government loans to be issued to auto makers and ...

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WASHINGTON -- House Democratic leaders are considering a $25-billion rescue package for the auto industry as part of an effort to bolster the sagging U.S. economy. The aid proposal, with its clear political implications for key battleground states, is likely to be put on a legislative fast track, possibly clearing Congress in a matter of weeks.

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Here's something you don't see every day: Factory sponsored low interest rate financing deals on new BMWs. But they're out there now, because even luxury brands are getting bounced around by a choppy economy.

Several major luxury brands, including BMW, Tata Motors Ltd.'s Land Rover, Daimler AG's Mercedes-Benz, Toyota Motor Corp's Lexus, Nissan Motor Co.'s Infiniti are promoting discounted leases or other price cutting deals to spur sales. These brands ten...

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DETROIT — The auto industry this week begins a hectic push to get Congress to fund $25 billion in promised loan guarantees. Some in the industry even hope for an additional $25 billion.

Unclear is the effect the federal takeover of mortgage giants Fannie Mae (FNM) and Freddie Mac (FRE) will have on their efforts. The auto plan would mark the third time this year the government has stepped in to aid ailing industries. It helped bail out investment hou...

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WHEN the first-generation Mazda 6 was introduced six years ago, reviewers gushed over its lithe handling: here, at last, was a reasonably priced midsize front-drive sedan (and later, a hatchback and a wagon) that was exhilarating to drive.

But zoom-zoom never made the Mazda 6 a serious challenger in the marketplace to the big-selling Honda Accord, Toyota Camry or Nissan Altima. In comparison with these august competitors, the shoulder and leg room were a b...

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ETROIT -- Auto makers reported another big drop in U.S. vehicle sales for August, but an easing in gasoline prices and emerging signs of improvement in the economy have boosted the industry's hopes that it is near the bottom of its downturn.

Sales of cars and light trucks fell 15.5% to 1.25 million last month, down from 1.48 million a year earlier, according to Autodata Corp. The closely watched seasonally adjusted annualized selling rate was 13.7 million ...

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WASHINGTON - Auto industry allies hope to secure up to $50 billion in government loans this month that would pay to modernize plants and help struggling car makers build more fuel-efficient vehicles.

With Congress returning this coming week from its summer break, the industry plans an aggressive lobbying campaign for the low-interest loans. The situation is growing dire after months of tumbling sales, high gasoline prices and consumers' abandoning profitab...

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RedBook - A car loan: Having trouble making your car payments? As with other types of debt, you can contact your lender and try to negotiate anything from refinancing to extending the loan period to accepting partial payment.  If you can't afford the payments on a car lease, know that terminating your lease early can carry stiff financial penalties

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Heart & Soul
Lease or Buy - It seems like there are as many reason for wanting out of a car lease as there are car leasing customers.  Maybe your growing family is all but dangling out of your compact car, or obscenely high gas prices have convinced you to say sayonara to your vehicle altogether.  With Leasetrader.com fast becoming a raft int he flood of consumer car buying, leasees don't have to stay stu...

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Automakers in the US saw another painful slide in sales in August and the chances for a government aid plan are getting better.

Total new car sales were 1.249-million, down 15.5 percent from a year ago, according to research firm Autodata.

The Detroit Big Three reported hefty double-digit declines and Japan's Toyota and Honda saw single-digit losses; Nissan, however, bucked the trend with increased sales.
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Meanwhile, General Motors Corp. reported a 20.3 percent drop in sales from a year ago but a 31 percent improvement over its July totals, mainly thanks to offering all buyers employee pricing on many models.

Chrysler LLC said its U.S. sales fell more than 34 percent in August, and Honda Motor Co. saw a 7.3 percent slide.

While Chrysler had a huge decline from the year-ago period, it showed a 12.3 percent gain over July...

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NEW YORK (AP) -- With gas prices still near record highs, the overall economy in a slump and continued trouble in the credit markets, just about everybody expects August vehicle sales to be down significantly from a year ago.

But analysts say August's numbers probably won't be as bad as July's record lows, mainly because of General Motors Corp.'s (GM, Fortune 500) late-month employee pricing offer.

Jeff Schuster, executive director of global forecasting for J.D. ...

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It's getting harder to find a car to lease these days. Chrysler's financial arm recently pulled out of the car leasing business, and Ford Motor Credit, GMAC and many large banks also have announced pullbacks.

The reason? Lease financing companies, particularly the Big Three automakers' captive finance arms, are being pummeled by the falling residual values of trucks and SUVs coming off lease, which have fallen as much as 20 percent in just the last few months.

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Well, it's finally official. After dropping its 2008 sales expectations, Toyota Motor Corp. has reduced its bold (and record setting) 2009 worldwide sales outlook of 10.4 million vehicles to a more reasonable 9.7 million.

Even as the world's most profitable automaker, the rising costs of raw materials and fuel, combined with the ailing North American automotive market, has proven too much for the Japanese company to withstand without consequence.

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Early next year Chevrolet is bringing back one of its most famous vehicles ever

the Camaro.

It might seem like exactly the wrong time. High-powered muscle cars like the Camaro could become a tough sell with consumers flocking to smaller, more fuel-efficient models. And the aggressive-looking new Camaro appears as if it's ready to leave a big carbon boot print on the ozone layer.

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TALEGAON, India -- General Motors Corp. opened a second plant in India today, boosting its production capacity in the country from 85,000 to 225,000 vehicles a year.

The factory is part of GM's aggressive push into emerging markets, which have helped cushion the beleaguered auto giant from falling sales in the developed world. It also furthers the Indian government's ambition to turn the country into a manufacturing hub for small vehicles.

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Ford Motor Co. Tuesday named a new top executive at Volvo Car Corp., its ailing Swedish upscale brand.

The appointment of Stephen Odell as president and chief executive officer of Volvo Car marks a significant cultural change inside the brand, which has never had a non-Swede chief executive, according to Ford officials.

Mr. Odell succeeds Fredrik Arp, who Ford executives said decided to leave the company on his own. Sta...

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The Car of Tomorrow has hurt Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon and other normally top-caliber drivers.
Getty Images

Jeff Gordon was mediocre Sunday at the Auto Club Speedway in California, finishing 15th and remaining winless through 25 races of the Sprint Cup season. Teammate Jimmie Johnson was untouchable, leading virtually from green to checkered flag for his third win of the season.

They are both Cup multi...

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