Auto Industry | featured news

Sunday’s Super Bowl game saw a powerful ad air for U.S. automaker Chrysler — a company desperately in need of some serious buzz.

Mechanical defects that have already been addressed were the only known cause of the acceleration problem, Transportation Department investigators found.

General Motors is planning to pay its hourly workers in the U.S. at least $3,000 each under a profit-sharing provision in its UAW contract.

General Motors said that 90% of GM dealers are reporting profits, up from 40% at the end of 2009.

General Motors Co posted a 22 percent rise in sales for January, outperforming expectations for the market as a whole on gains in demand for its pickup trucks.

An optimistic Chrysler narrowed its net loss significantly in the fourth quarter and forecast a net profit for 2011 as it continued a comeback from bankruptcy protection.

Ford earned its largest profit in more than a decade in 2010, as demand for its cars and trucks rose and it benefited from years of restructuring.

General Motors Co has withdrawn its application for $14 billion in subsidized loans from the U.S. Department of Energy, saying it has the financial strength to fund investment in more fuel-efficient and electric vehicles.

General Motors' sales in China increased 28.8% in 2010 while U.S. sales rose just 6.3%. GM is one of the best-positioned automakers in emerging markets, even better than Toyota, says one expert. General Motors Co. sold more vehicles in China than it did in the U.S.

A congressional panel says taxpayers' estimated loss is down from $40 billion, and the three biggest recipients of bailout funds are heading toward financial stability. But whether the entire investment is recouped remains to be seen.