General Motors said Friday that it has finished pumping about $2 billion of its common stock into the automaker’s hourly and salaried U.S. pension plans. GM announced back in October it would be making the voluntary stock contribution and giving $4 billion to the plans. The automaker contributed cash prior to giving the stock shares to the pension […] [Read More]

The Treasury Department is receiving a hefty sum thanks to a decision announced late last week by Ally Financial’s board of directors. The board declared quarterly dividend payments for certain outstanding preferred stock.   Members revealed a quarterly dividend payment was declared on Ally’s fixed rate cumulative mandatorily convertible preferred stock, Series F-2 (Series F-2 preferred […] [Read More]

Five federally appointed overseers for the expenditure of Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) funds reported Thursday that success of the Treasury Department’s assistance to General Motors and Chrysler is on “a promising course.” The Congressional Oversight Panel released its January oversight report and insisted the financial state of taxpayers’ investments has improved starkly. While still […] [Read More]

Despite a slowdown in values during the final six months of 2010, full-year used-vehicle prices fell less than 3 percent and finished the year with a relatively steady month, according to Kelley Blue Book. Not only that, but retained value comparisons for full-year 2010 showed improvement yet again, the company said in the latest Blue Book […] [Read More]

As its dealer body strives to kick 2011 off on a strong note, Chrysler unveiled a few new incentives for January that may help its stores drive more sales. The automaker said recently that it is offering $750 Owner Bonus Cash on the 2011 Chrysler Town & Country minivan, for instance. [Read More]

Which automaker was a big winner at Tuesday night’s Polk Automotive Loyalty Awards? The answer is Ford. The automaker was recognized in several categories. Specifically, the automaker was honored with the Overall Loyalty to Manufacturer award and received recognition in the Overall Loyalty to Make and Ethnic Market Make — African-American categories. The Ford F-Series was a repeat winner in […] [Read More]

Cars.com editors decided this week that their selection among six nominations for the Best of 2011 Award is the 2011 Kia Optima. The site tapped the Kia model over the 2011 BMW 5 Series, the 2011 Chevrolet Cruze, the 2011 Chevrolet Volt, the 2011 Honda Odyssey and the 2011 Nissan LEAF. However, two of those units still […] [Read More]

Jonathan Banks, executive automotive analyst for NADA Used Car Guide, took a cautious approach not only looking at where new-vehicle sales could head in 2011 but also as to how high fuel prices could climb this year. At the outset of his first industry update for the year, Banks reiterated 2010’s new-vehicle sales total, which […] [Read More]

The Federal Trade Commission appears to be “uncertain” about the competitive issues surrounding the proposed merger of Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group and Avis Budget Group, the two companies report in an update Tuesday regarding their ongoing dealings with regulators. In seeking the green light from the FTC to move ahead with the acquisition, Avis and DTAG […] [Read More]

General Motors will be NBC’s sole automotive advertiser for the network’s U.S. coverage of the 2012 London Olympic Games thanks to a new media partnership deal reached this week between NBC Universal and the automaker. Olympic coverage on NBC’s network and cable channels will feature a “major advertising presence” from GM brands Chevrolet and Cadillac, which will […] [Read More]