What will the automaker's stock offering look like?
It’s unlikely that taxpayers will ever see every penny of the $52 billion that the government put into General Motors. But the Treasury Department’s plan to hang onto a good chunk of its 61 percent stake in GM -- rather than sell it all at once during GM’s initial public stock offering -- is a smart move. It's clear that everyone wants the government out of the car business, including the government. But holding onto a meaningful stake until GM recovers fully and seriously boosts its stock price should ensure that taxpayers see more money in the long run.
The New York Times reported that Treasury has cooled off GM’s plan for an IPO that might have rivaled Visa’s 2008 offering as the largest in history, when the credit-card king raised more than $19 billion. Instead, the feds want GM to get the highest stock price possible during its IPO, rather than obsess over the maximum size of the offering.
Strategies for battling the problem.
As the second annual distracted-driving summit in Washington, D.C., winds down, the topic turned to tackling the problem going forward.A pilot enforcement program in Hartford, Conn., and Syracuse, N.Y., called "Phone in One Hand. Ticket in Another" has proven effective, though the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has noted that a federal program could not go into effect until all 50 states have implemented anti-texting laws -- something expected to happen within the next two years.
Of course, enforcement won't be the only strategy.
By Mark Vaughn
WITH VIDEO -- Eric Lazar grew up a Southern California kid, “playing all sports: skateboarding, surfing, racing motocross and traveling the world.”
When he grew up, Lazar was a burly Teamster truck driver, working in the movie and television industry. Even today he looks like he could bench-press a Volkswagen. But seven years ago it all came to a stop when he broke his back in a motorcycle crash.
A person in that situation could be forgiven for a few moments hesitation about life. Not Lazar.
“When I was in rehab at the hospital they took me to an abilities expo,” he said. “There happened to be two go karts there with hand controls and I was like, ‘Hey when can I drive that?”
It took a whole year to do it but he finally got a chance to drive one.
14 finalists announced
From the North American Car of the Year organizing committee: "The three car and three truck finalists will be announced on Dec. 16 at an Automotive Press Association luncheon in Detroit. The final two winners, a North American Car of the Year and a North American Truck of the Year, will be announced in January at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit."
The full list of cars and trucks is posted after the jump.
Nissan reaches its reservation goal three months ahead of schedule.
Nissan expected to hit that mark around December, around the time of the first Leaf delivery. The process began in April.
By Hans Greimel, Automotive News
Subaru said its next-generation, horizontally opposed engine will debut this year in the Forester and deliver a 10 percent boost in fuel economy.
The four-cylinder engine, which will come in displacements of either 2.0 or 2.5 liters, is the first major overhaul of the brand's signature boxer power plant in 21 years, Subaru's Japanese parent company Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. said. Word of the new engine began leaking out in Japanese media reports last month, but Subaru had not confirmed it until the Thursday statement.
The Chrysler Ram Laramie Longhorn edition.
There are plenty of performance luxury sedans on road -- the BMW 6-Series and the Porsche Panamera among them -- that we'd bet aren't actually being put through the "performance" part of their paces on any given day, so why not a high-end luxury pickup truck for those who prefer that segment over a 4-door but may not actually be regularly hauling a few hundred pounds of lumber?That seems to be the thinking behind the Chrysler Ram Laramie Longhorn Edition, revealed today, which boasts 20-inch chrome or aluminum wheels, contrasting piping on its leather seats, saddlebag pockets on the rear of the front seats (with tooled-metal buckles and steer logos) and chrome badges on the grille and tailgate -- just a few details that don't exactly belie the overall opulence of the (once) working man's vehicle.
By Brad Constant
Peugeot's latest concept car, the electric EX1, set six acceleration records on Tuesday at the Montlhéry circuit in France.
The EX1, driven by French explorer Nicolas Vanier, broke the quarter-mile, 500-meter and 1,000-meter records held by Opel's GT Electric since 1971. The Peugeot covered the quarter-mile in 14.4 seconds, the 500 meters in 16.81 seconds and the 1,000 meters in 28.16 seconds.
The EX1 also set records by completing one-eighth of a mile in 8.89 seconds, the half mile in 23.85 seconds and 1 mile in 41.09 seconds.
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Contributors
Clifford Atiyeh has spent his entire life driving cars he doesn't own. Raised in Volvos, he has grown to love fast, irresponsible vehicles of all kinds. He is the senior news editor at MSN Autos and also reports for Car and Driver, Road & Track, The Boston Globe and other publications.
In the garage: 21-speed Iron Horse, 2002 Jeep Wrangler X (not his)
Doug Newcomb has covered car technology for over 20 years for outlets ranging from Rolling Stone to Edmunds.com. In 2008, he published his first book, "Car Audio for Dummies" (Wiley). He lives and drives in Hood River, Ore., with his wife and two kids, who share his passion for cars and technology.
In the garage: 1996 Chevrolet Impala SS, two 1984 Chevrolet Blazers, 2008 Honda CR-V
James Tate learned to drive stick at age 13 in a 1988 Land Cruiser - in La Paz, Bolivia. He's since been a mechanic, on a pit crew and has wrenched on every car he's owned since his first 1989 Honda CRX Si (and won't stop until the car is a 1973 Porsche 911 RS). His work has appeared in Car and Driver, Popular Mechanics, Automobile and others.
In the garage: 1995 Porsche 911 Carrera, 1988 BMW M5
