For the government to recoup its full investment, GM must sell at $134 per share.
That is the estimated price at which shares will have to sell in order for the government to recoup its $50 billion investment in the Detroit automaker. (That figure does not include a $6.7 billion loan that has already been repaid.) The Obama administration is looking to rid the federal government of its 61 percent majority stake in GM.
By Diana T. Kurylko, Automotive News
Bentley's sales have plummeted as its cars aged and the economy fell into recession.
The launch of the Mulsanne flagship this year is cause for optimism, as is the coming reskin of the Continental range, which was introduced in the United States in 2005.
Bentley will begin rolling out the new versions of the Continental next year, starting with the GT coupe.
S60 and V60 to get the full R-Design treatment.
The Paris Auto Show is right around the corner, and carmakers are in full teaser mode during the lead-up to the main event. While big names such as Lamborghini typically steal the spotlight with a barrage of mysterious detail photos, no one is immune to the temptation to give the public a quick taste of what will be on display in France. Volvo recently let us all in on what it will be bringing to the show, and while we can’t expect to see an all-new model, fans of the brand will be excited to know that both the S60 and the upcoming V60 will get the performance treatment with new R-Design models.
Consumer Reports from the 2010 Distracted Driving Summit.
- Turn your phone off or switch it to silent mode before you get in the car.
- Set up a special message to tell callers that you are driving or sign up for a service that offers this.
- Pull over if you need to make or receive a call.
The 2010 Motorist Choice Awards.
Yesterday marked the fifth annual Motorist Choice awards, based on extensive consumer data compiled by IntelliChoice and AutoPacific.The awards are picked by active consumers and aim to honor vehicles that serve the real-world wants and needs of drivers. For the first time this year, "awards were broken up into popular lifestyle categories that shoppers easily identify with, rather than the alternatives based on vehicle size, price and other such factors" according to the Motorist Choice press release. The 15 categories are broken up into "popular" and "premium" brands, and include titles such as "country club" -- that is, which automobile would drivers most prefer to be seen in when they arrive at their country club -- "cute" car, "high tech," "performance" and "value hauler," among others.
Two interesting tidbits about this year's awards (you can get the full list after the jump): Toyota, including its luxury Lexus badge, walked away with 10 awards despite its recent safety woes; and the Hyundai Genesis took home the country club award in the "popular" category (the Audi A6 won on the "premium" side) signaling that the Korean automaker may indeed have a viable shot at entering the luxury and near-luxury marketplaces in consumers' consciousness.
By Mark Rechtin, Automotive News
Has engine performance gone as far as it can?
With horsepower per liter having long since broken the 100-1 mark, Lamborghini seems to think so. So do many European regulators who want to strangle carbon dioxide emissions.
As a result, the Italian supercar maker sees its future dictated not by raw horsepower but by power-to-weight ratio. That means lots of carbon fiber--so much so that Lamborghini has developed a carbon fiber research center.
Already the Gallardo and Murcielago have had midcycle improvements that replaced aluminum and high-strength steel with carbon fiber panels. Expect that to increase as vehicles are redesigned.
Today is world car-free day.
"But we do not want just one day of celebration and then a return to 'normal' life. When people get out of their cars, they should stay out of their cars. It is up to us, it is up to our cities and our governments to help create permanent change to benefit pedestrians, cyclists and other people who do not drive cars."
"Let World Carfree Day be a showcase for just how our cities might look like, feel like and sound like without cars … 365 days a year."
By Diana T. Kurylko, Automotive News
Now that it's owned by Volkswagen, Porsche reportedly is planning two small vehicles that the German sports car maker's previous management had nixed.
Porsche is expected to increase the size of its Boxster roadster, leaving room at the bottom of the range for a smaller midengine car engineered jointly with Volkswagen. A small SUV also is likely to be added.
Plug-in hybrid versions of the Panamera four-door sedan and Cayenne SUV also are part of a plan to increase Porsche's worldwide sales to 150,000 vehicles in the new few years.
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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
