These days, with General Motors being kicked around by Ford Motor Company and the Japanese brands like Toyota and Honda, it is hard to remember 
a time when GM’s share of the total U.S. automotive market stood at a whopping 60 percent. Now, some 40 years have passed since those halcyon days for the biggest automobile maker on the globe–the go-go Sixties, rock music, the decade of youth, and the Vietnam War. To quote some unknown author, who is possibly quite tired of being so quoted except for the fact he’s dead, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” Read more . . .
There was an era when Chevrolets were nothing but plain vanilla cars with nothing much to recommend them but price and reliability.
It’s hard to imagine now, but such was the case in the Twenties, Thirties, Forties, and early Fifties. Chevrolet offered good value, and Chevies weren’t likely to leave you stranded by the road in the pouring rain, but if you were a driving aficonado you shopped elsewhere.
At least, that was until 1955. Read more . . .
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As oil passes the $50 per barrel mark, and gasoline-electric hybrid vehicles generate headlines, it is worth noting that there is more than one way to attain improved fuel economy. Yet, as gas prices continue to rise across the country, the need for more fuel-efficient trucks and SUVs is becoming more prevalent. While gas-electric hybrid engines have been hailed for their fuel-savings, they’re still an expensive option available on a limited number of vehicles. Read more . . .
General Motors and the other U.S. auto manufacturers have taken some pretty hard knocks from the general and business press for being slow to jump on the hybrid bandwagon, but now a report from Tokyo indicates that Toyota Motor Corporation, one of the key proponents of gasoline-electric hybrid power, might be seriously rethinking its strategy.
Toyota’s hybrid-only Prius model has become the poster child for hybrids in the United States, but after launching the Prius to building acclaim, Toyota has hedged its bets by launching a hybrid version of existing models like the Toyota Highlander and Lexus RX 400h. Honda is following a similar strategy with its Civic and Accord hybrids in addition to its hybrid-only Insight, a two-seater that is Read more . . .
At first, hybrid vehicles touted their freedom from electric cords. Now it appears that the electric cord might be the salvation of hybrids, a vehicle type that might need a new wrinkle to continue its upward climb. When the Honda Insight and Toyota Prius hybrid gasoline-electric vehicles were first introduced to the US market, their manufacturers were quick to point out that they never had to be plugged in. Since the plug-in General Motors EV-1 was considered by GM to be a dismal failure in the marketplace, the fact that the Prius and Insight never had to be connected to a receptacle was seen as a major plus. And now large-format lithium-ion rechargeable Read more . . .