Archive for the ‘government’ Category

Yesterday's headlines may have centered on Ford's new-found profitability, but Chrysler and GM are working toward the black ink, too. General Motors in particular has high hopes for the future, but the federal government is slightly concerned that GM may be rushing its game plan and setting itself up for disaster (again). This could be read as an example of burdensome oversight, or it could be a matter of the government simply looking out for its investment, since there may be legitimate cause for alarm.

The concerns were expressed by the Government Accountability Office in response to talk of an IPO for General Motors in 2010. The GAO sees...

In a result that surprises no one but ought to shock us all, a congressional panel has released findings that tens of billions of dollars of the U.S. government's bailout of the auto industry won't be repaid.

The report, undertaken by the Congressional Oversight Panel, says that about $5.4 billion of the money borrowed by Chrysler won't be repaid, and it is "highly unlikely" that the government's 61% stake in General Motors will fully repay the $50 billion in funds the company received.

Not all of the money has disappeared, however. Chrysler is good for just over $5 billion of the funds lent, and as long as GM's stock improves in value,...

Environmentalists and bureaucrats have reason to celebrate: the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Environmental Protection Agency are preparing to issue their first-ever joint regulations. The topic at hand will be automobile emissions levels and fuel-efficiency, the latter of which is likely to be set at a minimum fleet-wide average of 35.5 miles per gallon by the 2016 model year.

The DOT/EPA document has been some time in coming and may alleviate concerns surrounding an EPA ruling from earlier this year, which allowed states like California to set higher emissions requirements than those mandated by the federal government. The new...