US Sales of Cars and Light Trucks – 2011 and 2012

• Cars are routinely beating light trucks in sales volume these days
• They’re still close and the diversity of light trucks helps, especially since it includes the popular crossover segment
• That offsets some of the volume in pickup truck sales for automakers such as GM

Nearly a Million Natural Gas Trucks and Buses to be Sold by 2019

More than 930,000 medium- and heavy-duty natural gas-powered trucks and buses are expected to be sold worldwide by 2019, according to a new report. Sales of natural-gas trucks are expected to grow at an annual rate of 14% though 2019, according to Pike Research. In Europe and North America, the high cost of diesel fuel […]

Federal Appeals Court Rejects Petition to Rehear Challenge to E15 Blend

A federal appeals court for the District of Columbia rejected a petition to rehear a legal challenge to the EPA’s allowing introduction of gasoline with a 15% ethanol blend into the marketplace. The Jan. 15 ruling followed the US District Court’s earlier ruling that the American Petroleum Institute, American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers, and Independent […]

EPA May Change Hybrid Mileage Testing Procedures, Ford Says

Ford Motor Co. said the Environmental Protection Agency may change its procedures for testing the mileage of hybrids. Several of Toyota Prius hybrid models showed even bigger fuel-economy shortfalls against the EPA estimates than the Ford Fusion hybrid and C-Max hybrid when tested for mileage in city driving by Consumer Reports magazine, Raj Nair, Ford’s […]

Chrysler Looking at Second Minivan Variant to Increase Segment Dominance

Chrysler Group is considering a second minivan variant as it works to hold onto its sales lead in the 30-year-old segment. “We’re not willing to give up any territory in the segment that we have today,” said Reid Bigland, Chrysler’s head of U.S. sales and CEO of the Dodge brand. He said Chrysler has nearly […]