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Think about it. Very few people probably buy a vehicle because they saw a SuperBowl commercial. The place where the bread is buttered and could be a good indicator of a rebound is local advertising...

If you ever want to take a look at some of the goofy things people do with their cars and the situations they wind up in, visit Wrecked Exotics. I especially like looking at the weird accidents like this one where the driver of the vehicle had just gotten a ticket and was so angry he didn't realize he was in reverse when he tried to peel away. I bet the follow up ticket made him happy too!

The road to hell is paved with good intentions and I'm pretty sure it starts in California. On the surface, it sounds like an idea that nobody should disagree wtih... require manufacturers to hav sun-reflecting glass on cars sold in California to keep them cooler during hot weather, reducing the amount of air conditioning their drivers and passengers need...

 After months of legislative efforts, the Cash for Clunkers bill, later renamed the CARS bill (Car Allowance Rebate System), was signed by President Obama on June 24th, and is now official.  At this point the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has 30 days to register participating dealers and put the program fully into place.   Best estimates are that the Car Allowance Rebate System program will be in operation by late July...

From Bloomberg.com By Ben Livesey June 25 (Bloomberg) -- General Motors Corp. has asked investors to make improved offers for its European division, to rival the bid from Magna International Inc., the Financial Times reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Co...

 Which is it?  The Cash for Clunkers bill appears to be taking on a new name, as the official government site for the program now shows the current name of the program as the Car Allowance Rebate System (CARS).  Even better - the bill can now be downloaded online, and within the bill, the program is titled the Consumer Assistance to Recycle and Save Program (CARS)...

No, it's not John Wilkes Booth, it's Rudolph Diesel and Audi is planning to offer two diesel models in the U.S. by the end of the year as a better way to cut oil use than hybrids and electric cars. “We’re not saying these technologies are nonsense,” Johan de Nysschen, president of Audi of America Inc., said yesterday in a telephone interview...

AR Index     505.69  -32.17  (-5.98%) Stocks of individual interest Toyota  74.67  -2.00 GM        1.20    -0.06 Ford      5.39    -0.55 Dow 8339.01  -273.12   (-3.17%) My focus today (pardon the pun) is on how Ford has gotten itself back into the game over the last couple of months, at least as far as its part in contributing to the AR Index. Just before the end of March it appeared that both GM and Ford were on the rebound a bit, but then came the government fingers in the pie forcing out Rick Wagoner at GM, followed by the bankruptcy all that money we threw down a black hole was supposed to stave off, and you can see the result. If GM continues to run in a flat line, I may have to consider another stock to replace it as a gauge of the health of the auto industry...

The shifting landscape of the North American auto market has shuffled market share and Toyota, who has held the top spot in light vehicles sold globally since last year, is about to move into that spot in the U.S. market. Its share of the North American light-truck and car market probably will rise to around 20% from 18.4%...