Barack Obama

U.S. says A123 sale requires its consent

10:28 pm U.S. ET | Nov. 28, 2012
The U.S. government said bankrupt A123 Systems Inc. cannot be sold without its consent because the battery maker received a $249 million grant from the Energy Department, according to court documents.... Read More »

 

Detroit unnerved by looming fiscal cliff

2:04 pm U.S. ET | Nov. 28, 2012
Ford is making contingency plans, including possible production cuts, should the nation's economy falter if President Barack Obama and Congress go over the fiscal cliff during budget deficit and tax talks.... Read More »

 

Obama win should fuel electric car production, says Tesla CEO

7:37 am U.S. ET | Nov. 13, 2012
The re-election of President Barack Obama will likely mean a continuation of the federal government's policy promoting electric and hybrid vehicles, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said Monday.... Read More »

 

Mulally to join corporate chiefs in U.S. deficit talks with Obama

1:45 pm U.S. ET | Nov. 13, 2012
Ford CEO Alan Mulally will be one of a dozen American corporate leaders meeting with President Barack Obama Wednesday to discuss ways to control the federal deficit, the White House said Monday.... Read More »

 

ELECTION 2012

Obama, Congress face the moment of truth on taxes, spending cuts

12:01 am U.S. ET | Nov. 12, 2012
With President Obama's auto agenda likely to be unchanged in his second term -- electric cars and stricter fuel economy rules -- industry leaders have turned their attention to a more immediate concern inside the Washington beltway. Even before the next Congress is seated in January, lawmakers and the White House will wrestle with the so-called fiscal cliff, the result of automatic tax increases and spending cuts set to take effect on Jan. 1.... Read More »

 

Obama's next transportation chief faces highway-funding dilemma over gas tax

2:34 pm U.S. ET | Nov. 9, 2012
The next U.S. Transportation secretary -- whether it's Ray LaHood or someone else -- will confront a highway system starved for cash and financed by a gasoline tax almost no one wants to raise.... Read More »

 

Obama finding what's good for GM not so good for taxpayers

12:20 pm U.S. ET | Nov. 8, 2012
The GM bailout played an important role in the re-election of President Barack Obama, who stumped on the issue in Midwestern swing states. Now comes the hard part: unloading the government's stake, probably at a big loss.... Read More »

 

Obama victory may boost EV agenda, spur rules on emissions, safety

Nov. 8, 2012 06:01 CET
President Barack Obama's second term likely will include a return to an agenda of support for electric vehicles and also could clear the way for new rules on tailpipe emissions and auto safety.... Read More »

 

DAVID PHILLIPS

Sales outlook hangs on whether fiscal cliff is avoided

2:57 pm U.S. ET | Nov. 7, 2012
One big question down. One very big one on the near horizon. To what extent can a re-elected President Obama work with a sharply divided Congress and resolve a fiscal crisis while keeping the feeble economy humming? The answer will play a major role in how strong the recovery in auto sales continues.... Read More »

 

Obama leverages auto bailout for crucial Midwest wins

7:16 am U.S. ET | Nov. 7, 2012
Support in Ohio for the bailout helped Obama to a victory Tuesday in the state, which together with Michigan has about 65 percent of General Motors and Chrysler Group's domestic factories. A projected Ohio win for Obama shortly after 11 p.m. Eastern time and a win in Oregon pushed the president over the required 270 electoral votes, according to the AP.... Read More »

 

Obama victory may boost EV agenda, spur rules on emissions, safety

12:30 am U.S. ET | Nov. 7, 2012
President Barack Obama's second term likely will include a return to an agenda of support for electric vehicles and also could clear the way for new rules on tailpipe emissions and auto safety that his appointees have been eager to release.... Read More »

 

Detroit 3 profits underscore auto industry gains under Obama

12:01 am U.S. ET | Nov. 3, 2012
The Detroit 3 automakers would endorse four more years with profits like those this week. A second term for President Barack Obama, who made saving General Motors a campaign pillar, hinges on whether voters give him the credit.... Read More »

 

U.S. automakers protest distortions in Romney ad

7:36 am U.S. ET | Nov. 1, 2012
Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, attacking President Barack Obama for his auto industry policies as he battles for votes in Ohio, is drawing pointed rebuttals from General Motors and Chrysler Group, which are being pulled into the election against their will.... Read More »

 

Dow Chemical plans $1.1 billion charge to write down plant closings, battery business

6:21 pm U.S. ET | Oct. 30, 2012
Dow Chemical will take a fourth-quarter charge of as much as $1.1 billion related to last week's announcement that it will close 20 plants, write down the value of its lithium ion battery business and lay off thousands of workers.... Read More »

 

Obama campaign to respond to Romney's Ohio Jeep ad

7:53 pm U.S. ET | Oct. 29, 2012
President Barack Obama's campaign said it will air an Ohio television ad that rebuts what outside observers call a false impression left by Republican challenger Mitt Romney about Chrysler Group LLC moving Jeep production to China.... Read More »

 

Iacocca endorses Romney, saying 'America is in deep trouble'

1:07 pm U.S. ET | Oct. 23, 2012
Former Chrysler chairman and CEO Lee Iacocca, saying “America is in deep trouble,” is endorsing Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney. In an opinion piece published in The Detroit News, Iacocca, 88, said Romney has a plan that “will enable a stronger America.”... Read More »

 

National debate over auto bailout plays out in Ohio house race

12:01 am U.S. ET | Oct. 20, 2012
U.S. Representative Jim Renacci says he wouldn't have run for Congress had his Chevrolet dealership in Wadsworth, Ohio, not closed when the federal government bailed out GM in 2009. The viability of the U.S. auto industry and manufacturing in general is defining the presidential race in Ohio, a state that no Republican won the White House without.... Read More »

 

How manufacturing setbacks, nascent EV market doomed A123

12:01 am U.S. ET | Oct. 19, 2012
A123 Systems, the electric-car battery maker that filed for bankruptcy this week, had promising chemistry and marquee customers. What it couldn't overcome, even with government funding, were missteps in manufacturing and a nascent EV market that has failed to catch fire with consumers.... Read More »

 

PHILIP NUSSEL

How Romney could attack Obama's auto bailout

12:49 pm U.S. ET | Oct. 17, 2012
Most voters know that Republican presidential challenger and Michigan native Mitt Romney is a businessman with a lifetime connection to the auto industry. So one must wonder why Romney's attacks on President Obama's auto bailout have been filled with inaccuracies when he still has plenty of more credible ammunition to work with.... Read More »

 

Obama's $5 billion delivers slow jolt to electric vehicles

8:21 am U.S. ET | Oct. 16, 2012
President Barack Obama has put $5 billion in taxpayer money behind his goal of having 1 million electric cars on U.S. roads by 2015. The Republican presidential ticket says it's money wasted on “losers.” Whether the technology itself is a loser or consumers are merely slow to adapt to new things, car buyers so far haven't embraced electric vehicles in numbers close to Obama's goal.... Read More »

 

Auto bailout, energy hot topics in presidential debate

11:32 pm U.S. ET | Oct. 16, 2012
President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney for several months have been separately discussing the benefits and liabilities of the auto bailout, but on Tuesday night they got to argue about it face-to-face.... Read More »

 

Akerson was no fan of GM, model lineup when he joined board, Whitacre says in book

4:47 pm U.S. ET | Oct. 14, 2012
GM CEO Dan Akerson was not a fan of GM's model lineup and thought the automaker was one of the most poorly managed companies when he became a director in 2009, his predecessor, Ed Whitacre, says in a new book. Whitacre also blames many of GM's woes prior to its 2009 bankruptcy and restructuring on management. And Whitacre, who replaced nearly all of the top executives at the company during his tenure, says GM still has a lot of fat that needs to be cut.... Read More »

 

Obama touts benefits of auto bailout as debate looms

9:16 am U.S. ET | Oct. 13, 2012
President Barack Obama sought on Saturday to sustain momentum from Vice President Joe Biden's strong debate showing by touting the benefits of one of his signature actions, the rescue of the U.S. auto industry, as he prepared for his next debate with Republican Mitt Romney.... Read More »

 

China says U.S. auto trade complaint driven by election race

7:46 pm U.S. ET | Sept. 18, 2012
China said it has been made a victim of U.S. electoral politics after Washington launched an international trade case alleging that Beijing has been unfairly subsidizing automobile and auto parts exports.... Read More »

 

U.S. launches automotive trade case against China

7:13 am U.S. ET | Sept. 17, 2012
The U.S. said today it had launched a new trade case against Chinese auto and auto-part export subsidies that threaten jobs in Ohio and other states key to the outcome of this year's presidential election. The U.S. also said it was also taking the next step in a separate World Trade Organization case launched this year against Chinese duties on U.S. auto exports.... Read More »