July 22, 2008
Soy foam in the seats the Ford F-150 pickups and Lincoln Navigator SUVs. Locally farmed hemp, "ethically produced" woolen fabric and floor mats made of sisal in the Lotus Eco Elise.
Some automakers are increasingly going to great lengths to make the interiors of some of their models if not environmentally friendly, at least a bit wholesome.
But others, well...
Early today the Ecology Center of Ann Arbor, Michigan, posted its second-annual consumer guide to toxic chemicals in cars and children's car seats at www.HealthyCar.org.
More than two hundred 2008- and 2009-model-year vehicles and more than 60 children's car seats were tested for unhealthy chemicals that seep in gaseous form from the steering wheel, dashboard, armrests, seats and carpet.
The "new-car smell," as the gases are commonly called, mingle with the air occupants breathe and have been linked to allergies, birth defects, impaired learning, liver toxicity and cancer.
The Ecology Center reported that Mazda, General Motors and Nissan improved since last year's findings, with GM showing the greatest gains of the domestic automakers, with an average vehicle ranking improvement of 27 percent.
The list of the 10 best and 10 worst vehicles as picked by the Center appears in the chart above.
Average child-car-seat scores improved 28 percent overall. The list of 10 best and worst car seats for 2008 as picked by the Center appears at left. Click on the chart for a better look.
For more information, go to www.HealthyCar.org.
Below are the three worst 2008-model-year vehicles by interior pollution, according to the Center (click on each to enlarge). From left to right: Mitsubishi Eclipse, Suzuki Reno and Volkswagen New Beetle.
Below are are the three best vehicles by interior pollution, according to the Center (click on each to enlarge). From left to right: Acura RXD, Chevrolet Cobalt and Smart Passion Cabriolet.
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- Scott Doggett July 22, 2008, 12:21 AM
- Categories:
- Acura, Audi, BMW, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Daimler, Dodge, Emissions, Fiat, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Hummer, Hyundai, Jeep, Kia, Lexus, MINI, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Opel, Pontiac, Porsche, Renault, Saab, Smart, Subaru, Suzuki, Think, Toyota, Volkswagen, Volvo
July 15, 2008
By Scott Doggett, Contributor
General Motors Corp. announced today that it will lay off salaried workers, cut truck production, borrow up to $3 billion and make additional investments in green-car technologies in response to the weak economy, high fuel prices, shifts in consumer vehicle preferences, and the lowest U.S. industry sales volumes in a decade.
GM said the moves will raise $15 billion to help cover losses and turn around its North American operations, including $10 billion from internal cost-cutting and $5 billion from selling some assets and borrowing against others.
"We are responding aggressively to the challenges of today's U.S. auto market," GM Chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner said in a broadcast to employees. "We remain committed to bringing to market great products that target changing consumer preferences for more fuel-efficient vehicles."
Wagoner noted that 11 of GM's 13 most recent major U.S. product launches, and 18 of its next 19 launches, are cars and crossovers, which are key growth areas.
Spending for non-product programs will also be reduced, the company said, but powertrain spending will be increased to support the development of alternative propulsion and fuel economy technologies and small-displacement engines.
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- Scott Doggett July 15, 2008, 1:58 PM
- Categories:
- Alternative Fuels, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Diesel, Emissions, Fuel Economy, Fuels & Technologies, General Motors, Hummer, Hybrid, Hydrogen, Plug-ins and Electric
June 23, 2008
BMW's X6 gets critic's nod as one of silliest packages on the market.
As do most automotive evaluators, we here at Edmunds are criticized from time to time for having an import bias.
Well, if we ever did, Auto Observer sage Bill Visnic is putting things right today with a funny – and insightful – critique of a number of vehicles, foreign and domestic, that were given the green-light back when gas was cheap and the economy wasn't lying in a hospital bed on life support.
Sure, his piece on automotive DOAs skewers Ford, General Motors and Chrysler, but it doesn't do any favors for the likes of Honda, Toyota, Nissan, BMW and Volkswagen, either...
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- John O'Dell June 23, 2008, 10:05 AM
- Categories:
- BMW, Chrysler, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Hummer, Nissan, Toyota, Volkswagen
June 19, 2008
By Dale Buss, ContributorGM's Hummer has become the unofficial symbol of the anti-green.
The big, thirsty SUVs' principal purpose for many buyers seems to be to intimidate, or to shout to the neighbors that "hey, I make more than you and can afford to blow it on this ostentatious symbol of over-consumption."
As gas prices have crept past the $4 mark, General Motors has been
pondering what to do with the tarnished but well-known brand: word filtering down from Detroit is that Hummer could be sold, or its lineup downsized with more earth- and fuel-friendly models.
While GM hasn’t decided – or at least hasn't announced -- the future of least fuel-efficient brand, one of the nation’s most successful auto dealers isn’t waiting around.
Bergstrom Automotive apparently plans to move its standalone Bergstrom Hummer Milwaukee dealership -- perched on Interstate 45 prominently overlooking one of the city’s most important thoroughfares -- into its nearby Bergstrom Chevrolet dealership.
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- John O'Dell June 19, 2008, 6:06 PM
- Categories:
- Fuel Economy, General Motors, Hummer
February 28, 2008
Hummers aren't as popular as they once were, thanks to soaring fuel prices. Silicon Valley Hummer, which hearkens back to the days when the giant fuel-guzzling SUV was barely out of military camouflage and gasoline sold for a mere $1.40 a gallon, is holding a"going out of business" sale.
Unfortunately, its probably not the start of a national trend.
The
San Jose Mercury News reports that while acknowledging that $3.44 a gallon gas and a growing credit crunch have hurt sales, dealership owner Ron Battistella says he's shutting down after giving back his franchise in a dispute with GM...
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- John O'Dell February 28, 2008, 7:15 PM
- Categories:
- General Motors, Hummer
Soy foam in the seats the Ford F-150 pickups and Lincoln Navigator SUVs. Locally farmed hemp, "ethically produced" woolen fabric and floor mats made of sisal in the Lotus Eco Elise.
Average child-car-seat scores improved 28 percent overall. The list of 10 best and worst car seats for 2008 as picked by the Center appears at left. Click on the chart for a better look.
