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The image is from the Charlie Chaplin classic, "Modern Times", which follows the Little Tramp through his trials and tribulations at a factory. I was reminded of the film while reading an interesting op-ed piece in the Wall Street Journal about how Ford is making it comeback, and how the UAW is throwing a real monkey wrench into the works. The real issue is the job classifications...

It's a headline too good to pass up... As Chrysler sits on blocks, what will Fiat do to fix it? Given that some folks have suggested that Fiat is an acronym for Failure In Automotive Technology or Fix It Again Tony, the headline gave me a little chuckle...

How appropriate that on election we have a story about how the US Treasury is considering options for divesting itself of our stake in the auto industry. One of the options it is focuing on is on a series of public offering. Taxpayers have sunk more than $50 billion in bailout and bankruptcy financing in GM and more than $14 billion in Chrysler this year...

In just two days of voting, the Canadian Auto Workers pulled off what the UAW was unable to do in weeks -- convince its membership to vote for yet another set of contract changes with Ford Motor Co. Not only did they agree to the changes in the contract that put them in line with the deals with GM and Chrysler, they did so by voting 83% in favor as opposed to roughly the same percentage in opposition at the UAW plants. Will Ford start to migrate work to Canadian plants?..

Another historic UAW "victory" as workers at the Sterling Heights axle plant vote down the concessions Ford needs to stay competetive. Under the terms of the agreement, Sterling Axle was supposed to get new rear-wheel drive work that would have added about 100 jobs. Now, union sources fear that work will be given to Getrag Corp., a German supplier with a nonunion factory in North Carolina...

China has told the U.S. that it will take steps that could lead to higher tariffs on imports of autos made by GM, Chrysler and Ford. Steve Collins, president of industry trade group the American Automotive Policy Council, said Wednesday that U.S...

From freep.com The trusted magazine Consumer Reports heaped praise Tuesday on Ford Motor Co., which continues to gain momentum in the face of the global recession. "Ford is the only domestic automaker that's producing vehicles with world-class reliability," Rik Paul, Consumer Reports' automotive editor, said. He was in Detroit to announce the magazine's 2009 Annual Car Reliability Survey...

To promote its upcoming extended-range electric vehicle, the Chevy Volt, General Motors is playing a game of "name that color." If you've seen pictures of the Volt, you're likely already familiar with its greenish-silvery hue. A contest inviting the public to suggest a name for that color launched Friday and will continue through Nov. 4...

I'm willing to bet that if you look up the etymology of the idiom, "cut off one's nose to spite one's face", you'll find references to the UAW. Is it just me, or are we in challenging economic times, particularly in the auto industry? On October 13, Ford and the UAW reached a tentative agreement on a contract...

Here's why you don't want the government's fingers in the day to day business pie. The government has sunk $50 billion into GM and $14 billion into Chrysler. Rattner has long maintained that the money the Bush administration gave the automakers -- roughly $20 billion for GM and $4 billion for Chrysler -- would have to be written off because it wasn't tied to restructuring...