Autoline Daily

China’s Ministry of Commerce is accusing the United States of dumping cars in China. Ford is teaming up with The Ohio State University to figure out how to use dandelions as a sustainable resource for rubber. Bob Stempel, the former Chairman and CEO of General Motors, passed away last weekend. All that and more, plus John shares his take on the Buick Regal Turbo.

Ford is paying U.S. line workers $8 an hour more than the foreign transplants and says it needs to close that gap if it’s going to continue investing in the United States. Low inventory levels of new cars in the U.S. is pushing prices of used cars up by as much as $3,000. The Chevy Volt may not qualify for incentives under China's New Energy Vehicle Development Plan because it's not built in the country. All that and more, plus John shares his thoughts about the new Acura TL.

Despite tripling its net profit, GM's stock dropped yesterday because Wall Street wasn't impressed with its operating profit. The Obama administration is looking at a new road tax based on vehicle miles driven to help raise money to fix our roads. Jaguar is going to build the C-X75 concept it unveiled at the Paris auto show last year. All that and more, plus a preview of this week's Autoline Detroit with Tim Manganello, the chairman and CEO of BorgWarner.

General Motors absolutely blew through analysts’ expectations for the first quarter. New federal regulations are requiring suppliers to disclose their use of minerals that come from war-torn countries in Africa. Demand for diesel fuel and gasoline has been falling in the U.S. for more than a month. All that and more, plus John responds to your questions and comments in the "You Said It!" segment.

April sales numbers are in and they're up over 13% compared to a year ago, coming in at over 1.1 million new vehicles sold. Even though sales were up last month, automakers were able to increase them with reduced incentives which were at there lowest levels since 2005. New York City announced that Nissan won its "Taxi of Tomorrow" competition with a modified version of its NV200 commercial van. All that and more, plus guest host David Welch from Bloomberg News/BusinessWeek shares his thoughts on Toyota's recent decline.

Saab is saved . . . again. The Swedish automaker just received a €30 million loan plus an even bigger investment from Chinese car company Hawtai Motor Group. Audi is adding shifts and boosting production to keep up with brisk demand for its vehicles. Cadillac is expected to introduce turbocharged four-cylinder engines on its upcoming ATS and XTS models. All that and more, plus a look at Delphi’s plug-less EV charging system.

More first quarter financial numbers are in. Chrysler posted its first net profit since emerging from bankruptcy in 2009 and the tire maker Goodyear posted a record net profit for its first quarter. Ford will offer the Boss 302 5.0 liter V-8 as a crate engine through the company's performance-parts catalog. Fiat planted pear trees in eight different 500s to participate in New York City's, Million Trees NYC project. All that and more, plus a few of John’s thoughts on the Chevy Cruze Eco.

More first quarter earnings are in. We'll take a look at the financial numbers for Daimler, Kia and BorgWarner. Ford says demand for its EcoBoost engine in the F-150 is stronger than expected. Mazda North America announced that Robert Davis is being promoted to senior vice president of the company's newly created U.S. Operations Group. All that and more, plus a preview of this week's Autoline Detroit with Joel Ewanick, the head of global marketing at General Motors.

Wow! Hyundai just surged past Honda in global sales in the first quarter. The federal government is downsizing . . . the vehicles in its fleet, that is. Six U.S. Senators - three Democrats and three Republicans - are working on a debt-reduction plan that includes a gas-tax increase! All that and more, plus a look at the power-to-weight ratios of some popular b-segment cars.

Volkswagen’s first quarter numbers are in and they are a record for the German automaker. Audi just completed its first public test of its latest diesel powered racecar, the R18 TDI, at Le Mans over the weekend. General Motors released a couple images of its next-generation Opel Astra GTC which is set to debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September. All that and more, plus John responds to your questions and comments about hydraulic hybrids, Lexus design and more in the "You Said It!" segment.