DETROIT — General Motors said Wednesday afternoon that vice chairman Bob Lutz is retiring May 1. In his 47-year career, he served in senior leadership roles with BMW, Chrysler and Ford, in addition to GM. He began his auto industry career at GM at 1963, eventually making his way back to the automaker in September 2001 as […] [Read More]

NEW YORK — As part of reaching its 100th anniversary, the Greater New York Automobile Dealers Association received a special honor from New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg. The mayor made the proclamation that Feb. 24 is now to be recognized as Greater New York Automobile Dealers Association Day during a ceremony in the Blue Room at City Hall.  […] [Read More]

TORRANCE, Calif. — In an effort to boost sales after the recent turmoil over recalls, Toyota rolled out what it calls the "most far-reaching sales program in its history" on Tuesday. Basically, the March Sales Event — a national marketing campaign that runs through April 5 — will feature financing, leasing and customer loyalty offers.   This includes zero-percent […] [Read More]

FRANKLIN, Tenn. — Nissan said Wednesday morning that it is recalling close to 540,000 trucks and minivans throughout the world — a substantial portion of which are in the U.S. — to inspect and, if necessary, fix brake pedal pins and fuel-gauge components on the vehicles. The automaker emphasized that there have been no reports of accidents or […] [Read More]

DETROIT — Coming on the heels of a recall of more than 1 million vehicles, General Motors shuffled more than a dozen top executives into new roles and responsibilities on Tuesday, prompting Mark Reuss, the GM North America president, to stress that now this arrangement is "my team." Among the wide-sweeping changes are dividing teams of […] [Read More]

NEW YORK and WASHINGTON, D.C. — On the same day Toyota sent two top executives to Capitol Hill to testify before a Senate committee, the automaker named a former federal Secretary of Transportation to head a panel to examine its quality and safety issues. Toyota Motor North America tapped Rodney Slater on Tuesday to oversee its North […] [Read More]

PHILADELPHIA — It was announced Monday that a preliminary approval of settlement has been achieved in a case involving an alleged design defect in certain Suzuki motorcycles. The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida — Miami granted the preliminary approval of settlement in the case, which was a breach of warranty class action suit […] [Read More]

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — As of February, Chrysler Group has completed rolling out new standards for dealers. According to a person close to the situation, large dealers selling up to 1,800 units could earn up to $200,000 from the automaker by giving customers superior customer service. Basically, the automaker began rolling out standards to its dealers […] [Read More]

EAST NORRITON, Pa. — Addressing the Automobile Dealers Association of Greater Philadelphia late last week, Pennsylvania Gov. Edward Rendell argued that his proposed state sales tax cut can lead to improved auto sales and help close future state budget gaps. "My proposal lowers our sales tax rate by a third, increases the fairness of our business […] [Read More]

DETROIT — General Motors unveiled a plan to turn more than 40,000 factory employees into marketing specialists for the automaker's lineup of vehicles in an effort to drive more traffic to dealers. The foundation of the GM Vehicle Plant Tour is to encourage the manufacturer's employees throughout North America to help drive awareness and sales in their […] [Read More]