Archive for the ‘auto sales’ Category
October 22nd, 2011 | 
Author: Fisker in Finland: ABC News Uncovers Another Obama Green …
carspike.com10/21/11
RUSH: ABC News has a huge story here, and it cannot get any traction. And the reason it cannot get any traction is because Obama and Biden are running around.
Fisker, electric carmaker backed by $529 million US loan, balks at Solyndra … – Washington Post
Mother Nature Network (blog)Fisker, electric carmaker backed by $529 million US loan, balks at Solyndra …Washington PostThis week, Fisker delayed until 2013 the production of the moderately priced family car it plans to build in Delaware. It also l …
ABC News just reported that an electric car company that received a $529 government loan is now manufacturing the cars overseas.
Vice President Joseph Biden heralded the Energy Department’s $529 million loan to the start-up electric car company called Fisker as a bright new path to thousands of American manufacturing jobs.
But two years after the loan was announced, it’s been revealed that the cars are being assembled in Finland.
So why is that?
Henry Fisker says:
"There was no contract manufacturer in the U.S. that could actually produce our vehicle. They don’t exist here".
"The U.S. money has been spent on engineering and design work that stayed in the U.S. and not on the 500 manufacturing jobs that went to a rural Finnish firm, Valmet Automotive".
"We’re not in the business of failing; we’re in the business of winning. So we make the right decision for the business. That’s why we went to Finland".
The loan to Fisker was part of a $1 billion bet the Energy Department made on two politically connected California-based electric car-makers producing sporty and very pricey cutting-edge autos.
Fisker Automotive, backed by a powerhouse venture capital firm whose partners include former Vice President Al Gore, predicts it will eventually be churning out tens of thousands of electric sports sedans at the shuttered GM factory it bought in Delaware.
And Tesla Motors, whose prime backers include PayPal mogul Elon Musk and Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, says it will do the same in a massive facility tooling up in Silicon Valley.
This scandal coming on the heels of several other failed loans to companies such as Soyndra is very bad and very embarrassing news for the Obama administration.
Posted in 2012, administration, auto sales, automakers, Biden, economy, financial crisis, financial system, politics, presidential elections, scam, Unemployment, US economy, video | 
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Is It Time To Trade In Your Clunker For A BMV?
BMV (Bayerische Motoren Werke) which is now the world’s biggest luxury-car maker, is offering a $4,500 rebate on its two diesel models in the U.S. in order to attract customers who otherwise wouldn’t be able to qualify for the government’s fuel-economy clunkers trade-in program.
The discounts apply to the 335d sedan and X5d sport-utility vehicle, which are BMV’s most-efficient autos presently sold in the U.S.
The rebates began last week and will run through Aug. 31.
Go to Cash For Clunkers now and find out the latest news about it.
A diesel vehicle’s fuel mileage is as much as 33% better than that of gasoline powered by engines, and diesel drive autos account for more than one half on BMVs’ global sales.
U.S. buyers became eligible for trade-in credits up to as much as much as $4,500 on July 24th under new federal incentives that encourage people to trade in their clunkers.
The $1 billion clunker program sets a $45,000 retail-price ceiling on new vehicles, which means that without the rebate, that the X5d who regular selling price is $51,200 would have been ruled out.
Diesel driven cars presently account for less than 3% of U.S. new- vehicle sales, and Aaron Bragman, who is an IHS Global Insight Inc. analyst in Troy, Michigan said, “There really is a question of, ‘Is there a market for diesel in the luxury realm?’. It can’t hurt, especially if they are trying to get the word ‘diesel’ out there first and foremost”.
U.S. sales of BMW’s 335d were just a meager 487 through the first half of this year, which is about 1% of the volume for the 3-Series line, and Dave Buchko, who is a spokesman for BMW said, “We wanted to emphasize the efficient nature of these vehicles and raise people’s awareness”.
Buyers who have qualified clunkers will receive,
a) $900 from the clunker program if the buy a 335d
b) $1,800 if they buy an X5d
The U.S. EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) rates the 335d at 36 miles (58 kilometers) per gallon in highway driving and the X5d at 26 mpg.
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Posted in auto sales, automakers, Automobiles, BMV, car, clunker, energy, stimulus package, vouchers |
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