Rumors abound, Saturn to divorce

Ok so I seem to have a penchant for surpassing my ability for cheesy headlines, it looks like I may have a future working for a tabloid.

While devoid of details it looks like GM may be planning on spinning off the Saturn division,the how and why is still unexplained but considering that GM seems intent on everything short of a fire sale this doesn't seem improbable.

Saturn which  was originally created to compete with the Japanese imports and was supposed to be a different way for GM to do things. Unfortunately things haven't faired as well, the division seemed to languish as the top brass at GM showed a lack of commitment on what they wanted to do with the brand. Now with the economy and bankruptcy a real possibility the General wants to unload Saturn to reduce costs and overhead.

This ongoing soap opera shows no sign of letting up.

Fiat plans for Chrysler

While the new Chrysler,FIAT relationship is only a few days old, it seems  as though the bloom is wearing of the deal.

Questions are already being asked as to how Fiat will utilize Chrysler to enter the north American market and how will a pairing up with Fiat Benefit the company that Walter Chrysler built.

Dire times always make it easier for these kind of deals to get at least initial approval and with Chrysler bleeding money it’s no wonder that their quite happy to have a suitor who's  interested in merging with the company.

As with everything in business mergers, synergy between the two is critical to making such a large transaction work. but there are bigger questions that should be asked here, no doubt that combining the two companies would give each the kind of scale needed to compete in such a hotly contested market.

But another question that hasn’t been asked is should there be any effort made to help Chrysler, obviously with the economy still trending downwards the last thing needed is more unemployed workers and the ramifications that would come from this occurring but…

Lets face it.. the market in north America is saturated with too many players and the weak ones are being weeded out, would there be such an effort in better times or would the government let fate take its course.

Probably the latter.

Fiat and Chrysler are Dating

Sure is sounds kind of tacky but it seems that the two are together making a sort of automotive odd couple. The Italian Auto giant has decided that it wants a piece of Chrysler even after Daimler Benz realized that it couldn't make the relationship work.

What makes the Italian auto giant think it can do what the industrious Germans couldn't, only Fiat and Chrysler know.

Fusion Hybrid claims fuel crown

Fords fusion seems to be the jewel in the lineup that gets the respect it needs form the automotive press  but gets no love from the public when it comes to comparisons against the Asian manufacturers.

Inside Line put the fusion through its paces and found the car quite capable but lacking in some of its mileage claims, otherwise the car pleased in the driving feel and fit and finish inspections.

Hybrids today seem to have the same level of appeal that SUVs had several years ago, with a certain segment of the population wanting the car bad enough and ignoring the fact that they won’t recoup the additional expense in the car for many years.

The Fusion Hybrid will bring Ford lots of good press and positive image in the eyes of the auto neophyte , but like every other Hybrid, its not the real answer to reducing or eliminating the reliance on fossil fuels.

In the end this car will help Ford and put some cash in the coffers and that's always a good thing.

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