U.S. Auto Industry Speeds Up as China and Europe Slow Down

What difference only three years can make: in 2009, U.S. sales had dipped to their lowest point in the last 25 years, while sales in China were increasing exponentially.
Today, the picture is quite different. The U.S. auto market has recovered and according to a report from Autonews, it may be the safest bet for profitable growth. Emerging markets including China, India and Brazil, which until recently looked like the land of opportunity for carmakers, are slowing down.

“The U.S. is now the high-growth market in the world as much as India or China”, said senior partner for Boston Consulting Group, and adviser to the 2009 government bailout of GM and Chrysler, Xavier Mosquet. “The worst thing five years ago was to be a U.S. automaker or supplier. Now it’s the best thing to be.”

U.S. light-vehicle sales increased by 10 percent or 1.19 million to 12.8 million compared to 2010. It was also a substantial increase from 2009’s 10.4 million sales.

On the contrary, China’s new car deliveries increased by 3-5 percent in 2011, the lowest number in the last 12 years according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, which will release annual data this week.

This is probably the first time since 1998 that U.S. sales rose faster than in China and quite a turnaround from the 2009 bankruptcy of GM, Chrysler and many of their suppliers.

What’s more, 10 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg forecast that in 2012, the U.S. market will rise again, by nearly 5.6 percent. Detroit's Big 3 are rolling out one new model after another, while many foreign automakers are increasing their North American plants’ production further reinforcing the U.S. economy.

Some analysts, like Mike Jackson, CEO of America’s largest retailer of new cars and trucks AutoNation Inc., are even more optimistic about the next couple of years: “The vehicles in America are old and wearing out. We are going to take another step in the recovery this year and we’re on a journey back to 15.5 million to 16 million units as soon as 2013”, he said.

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Buying Classic Cars Online

Whether you're a classic car enthusiast, collector or investor it pays to search for vintage vehicles online. Finding old cars for sale can be a great opportunity to fix up a vintage Ford Model T or Pontiac GTO and add it to your collection or sell it for a profit. However, finding the right vehicles can be tricky since dealers can distort photos and details of an old car to cover up dents, high mileage and faulty parts. By starting your search online you can avoid wasting time by getting a great look at a classic car through multiple color photographs and reading up on a detailed description of the vehicle.

Anytime you are looking to buy a vehicle, be it a vintage car or modern truck, you have to be prepared for some salesmanship. Car dealers are well known for making every car sound like a bargain and as a buyer you need to be aware of these tactics and how to negotiate so you get the best deal possible. Rather than drive to a used car lot or sift through dated newspapers and auto trader magazines the best way to start a search for an old or classic car is to start online.

First, by browsing vintage cars online you are relaxed and can spend as much time as you want looking over a vehicle while opening another browse to research the specific vehicle and what previous owners have to say about it. When you go in person to check out a car there is always pressure from the seller to get you to buy it ASAP. Avoid pushy salesmen by taking your time on a classic car classified site where you can look through multiple photographs of a specific vehicle, read the detailed description of the car from the seller and compare the price against other models available.

Another reason to shop for classic cars online is that information about a vintage or antique vehicle may be hard to come by. It's easy to find facts about current cars but try asking about vintage Studebakers and Buick Road Masters and you're likely to get blank stares. When you shop online you have the capability of using search engines and auto trader sites to get valuable information about older cars such as original engines, standard features and any known defects. Being able to research this information in the comfort of your own home will allow you to learn more about the vintage car you are interested in buying without having to listen to the seller's spiel.

Lastly, browsing for classic cars on the web let's you compare similar vehicles at the same time. If you simply go to a used car lot or the home of a car seller you can't thoroughly assess the vehicle because you're only seeing one model. With the web you can pull up several exact makes and models to see if the one you're interested in measures up. Having time to be patient and make informed decisions will make buying classic cars online much easier and less stressful.

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Ford to Cut Down Number of Global Platforms to 9 Sooner than Expected

At this week's 2012 Detroit Motor Show, Ford revealed the new Fusion sedan, which unlike the outgoing model that shared its platform with the Mazda6 and was only available in North America, is based on a new global mid-size architecture and will be offered internationally under the Mondeo nameplate.
The Blue Oval did the same with the latest generations of the Fiesta, Focus as well as the Ranger pickup truck that were all developed as global models under its "One Ford" plan global product development strategy.

Ford's original plan was to reduce the number of global platforms to 11 by the end of 2014. However, at the Automotive News World Congress, Ford global marketing and sales chief Jim Farley revealed that the company is moving at a faster pace and will only reduce its target to nine platforms worldwide, but it will also achieve this before the end of 2013.

The nine platforms will cover 85 percent of Ford's global sales.

"We're bringing global scale to the different markets, whereas most of our competitors are using regional," Farley said at the Automotive News World Congress.

While Farley declined to name the platforms being killed, he did tell reporters that the reduction wouldn't result to the loss of any models in Ford's portfolio.

Ford claims that the use of common platform architectures across its global range will cut costs and allow the brand to improve its quality.

Story References: Detnews & Autoweek

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Toyota Tundra Lighting Upgrades

Thinking about upgrading the lights in your pickup truck, you are not alone. Replacing factory components with aftermarket offerings is fast becoming a popular trend today. In fact, some of today's vehicles features LED direct from factory.

Whether you have decided or entertaining the idea of upgrading the luminosity components of your Toyota Tundra pickup, you will find plentiful accessories to help improve the illumination in your vehicle. If you are looking to advancing the inside and outside of your pickup truck with the latest in lighting technology; LED Lights and LED light bulbs, below is a short list of aftermarket light and accessories to help illuminate your ride.

LED Taillights

If you are looking to create a new and stylish look for your pickup truck, consider replacing factory tail lamps with aftermarket offerings. Let's face it, the LED tail lamp for the Toyota Tundra looks better and illuminate brighter than factory tail lamps. Black, Smoke or Clear lens are popular color lens to improve or upgrade your stock taillights.

Projector headlights

Beam up the road ahead of you with style with aftermarket projector headlights. Toyota Tundra Projector headlights can really enhance the appearance of your pickup. At the same time can help improve driving visibility at night.

HID Headlight kits

Another low-cost and trendy ways to improve illumination is to add HID Kits to your headlight. Tundra HID, or High Intensity Discharge, is a technology that utilizes xenon gas with an electrical arc to produce brighter, more efficient headlight bulbs. Furthermore, HID light kits are significantly brighter than factory halogen

Fog / Driving Lights

If your Tundra was equipped with factory fog lamps, go ahead and drive safely. However, if your vehicle was not equipped with factory fog lamps, don't worry, help is on the way. Now you can easily add aftermarket fog and driving lights to your pickup truck without paying dealer prices. More so, if your vehicle is equipped with factory foglights, you can still upgrade the bulbs in your fog driving lights with LED bulbs. It is way better and provides more enlightenment than stock.

LED Third Brake Lights

A unique, innovative, and stylish design for the Tundra designed to replace the factory OE 3rd brake lamp. Deep LED lighting that is super bright and innovative designs to create a unique vehicle appearance. It features easy Plug-N-Play installation. 3 lenses options are available; Clear, Smoke, and Ion Chrome.

Interior LED Bulbs

An additional way to improve illumination for your pickup truck is to replace stock bulbs with aftermarket LED bulbs. LED replacement bulbs come in a wide range of styles, colors, and shapes. With LED interior bulbs, you can easily and inexpensively substitute or advance your dome, map or courtesy lights for better illumination or visibility.

License Plates
Replacing factory components are not the only factory upgrade available; there are additional options to upgrade factory mechanisms. License plates surround can be replaced with LED bulbs to help improve your lighting. They not only make your vehicle look better, they beam up better than factory.

Upgrading Toyota Tundra factory lights is not hard. Most of the upgrades are inexpensive and are easy to install; most, if not all are essentially plug and play, with no alteration or modification to install. Finally, LED illumination is way better than factory, and is also cost effective than manufacturers.

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Where to Find Cheap Car Insurance Online

If you have ever struggled trying to find a cheap car insurance policy to suit your needs and your budget, then surely you already know the challenges that lie ahead for you. With technology at an all-time advanced, there are easier and more efficient ways to gather insurance quotes than any other time in history.

Whether you are in the market for a car or want to learn about mortgages you can do it within the convenience of the web sites. It is very common knowledge that many insurance companies offer the best deals imaginable for their online insurance. When you enter your zip code and maybe a few other questions you can literally view hundreds of quotes and how they compare with many other insurance providers.

It is also simpler than ever to do so. The online sites get their rates directly from the provider so that they can offer the consumer direct, honest quotes. You can have peace of mind knowing that they have no desire to come between you and your insurance company.

The helpful online sites offer all of this information to you in easy to understand bullet lists. You don't have to worry about spending your valuable time sorting through and filling out endless forms and questionnaires. These online sites provide a very important service to you and others who are interested in purchasing insurance or who just want to tweak their account a bit.

One of the very best aspects of going online to browse the various insurance rates is because most of this information can be found at the click of your mouse button. It truly doesn't get any harder than that. This also provides the consumer with the peace of mind that they aren't paying for something they don't need on their current policy and you may discover there is a type of coverage that you feel you need. You can address each and every one of these in person when you arrive there.

Online insurance rates and quotes site's main goal is to ensure their visitors that they are dedicated to offering them the best service that they possibly can. These sites serve as a go between to you and your insurance provider. These sites work hard to keep the lack of openness and communication between provider and recipient to a minimum as well.

In most states, everyone is required to carry insurance on their vehicle by law, in this case the consumer will most assuredly not want to pay for something he or she doesn't need. The helpful online staff neatly and in a very organized way, group all of your many options so that you can clearly and concisely view them so that the consumer can read through their options carefully. Acquiring insurance doesn't have to be a menial and daunting task if you choose the right helpful agents and provider for your lifestyle.

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Standardizing Labor Rates in the Auto Repair Business auto repair business,auto body repair

If state legislators and industry interest groups have their way this year, Massachusetts automotive repair shops and other automotive service shops will have standardized hourly wage rates in force soon. The Auto Body Labor Rate Bill, which was first introduced in 2007, aims to raise the minimum wage rates for auto repair service workers in the state of Massachusetts, based on average industry wage rates across the rest of the United States.

The stagnation in the state of low wage rates for auto body repair workers has resulted in a discrepancy of up to 10 dollars per hour between the national average rate and what workers in the state of Massachusetts earn. This is according to the Alliance of Automotive Service Providers (AASP), which has lobbied for years for the passage of the proposed legislation. It goes without saying that low rates make it very difficult to keep talented individuals from moving across states in order to get top dollar for their skills. The reason this bill has not been moving forward is because of resistance from the insurance industry, which claims that the proposed legislation will increase their costs considerably. They say that artificial (read legislated) minimum wages does not reflect what markets should dictate. Proponents counter that this has resulted in auto body repair shops resorting to various strategies to bring their costs down. This is the only way to attract business from insurance companies who tend to seek auto body repair shops with the lowest hourly wage rates. The end result is less than excellent workmanship and even the use of substitution parts in order to keep profit margins in the black. According to lobbyists for the proposal, administration of the bill would be undertaken by a commission that would be funded by fees paid by auto body shops. The projected collection would be enough to cover the costs of the commission and would require no additional funding from the taxpayer.

The Labor Rate Bill calls for the establishment of a three-tiered system of grading for auto body and collision repair shops. Each shop would be evaluated, presumably by the commission, and be given a designation of A, B or C, with A being the designation for a top-level shop. The A-level auto body repair shops would then be subject to on-site inspections and be required to comply with the highest industry standards. Those shops would then be endorsed by the commission overseeing the bill as qualified to earn the proposed full hourly rate.

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The Truth About Car Insurance for College Students best car insurance for college students, car insurance for college students

Many college students today drive their own cars, and because a lot of them are recklessly driving their cars while intoxicated, they are prone to road accidents. Consequently, auto insurance companies now offer car insurance for college students at a high cost. If you have car insurance, the insurer will pay for the repair of the automobile if it is damaged during an accident. Maintaining car insurance involves paying monthly, quarterly, or yearly premiums.

For students with cars, auto insurance is necessary for several reasons. The best car insurance for college students offers the following benefits:

1. Protection of investment (in this case, the automobile itself)

2. Compensation for medical bills sustained because of the car accident

3. Compensation for all costs incurred due to the accident

4. Compensation for car repairs due to vandalism or natural calamities

5. Compensation after car theft

6. Peace of mind

College students should consider getting auto insurance for the above-listed reasons. However, it is sometimes hard to give advice to carefree young adults. One problem is that many of these young people still ask support from their parents. So it is probably the parents that should get car insurance for their sons or daughters who drive their cars. Those students who work part-time do not have enough funds to support a decent insurance policy for their automobiles.

One problem is that car insurance can get expensive, especially if a comprehensive coverage is chosen. Complete auto insurance includes protection for accident, damage, theft, vandalism, and third party claims. Many students can only afford basic insurance coverage. College students may decide to choose low-cost insurance, which anyway would be able to cover usual car damages.

Another problem regarding auto insurance is that a lot of insurance providers are reluctant to approve applications done by students. The reason is that high cases of reckless driving and over-speeding involve college students. This is why cheap automobile insurance policies for college students are hard to obtain. Insurers will check the driving records of the student and the condition of the car. Students should search earnestly for companies that provide the most favorable insurance products.

Some insurance companies provide fine deals for the sake of competition. To not be fooled by seemingly good deals, ask quotes from different insurers and look into the details of their insurance products. At the same time, it is also essential to look at the testimonials. The reputation of the insurer should be considered.

How can you increase chances of getting the best car insurance for college students?

1. Keep good driving records. Even one "driving while intoxicated" record can cause any insurance firm to raise cost of premiums.

2. Have good academic standing. Since you are a student, it would be wise to show insurance companies you are doing well in school. The assumption is that students with good grades are more responsible and are less likely to be involved in road accidents.

3. Own a good car. A good car is a car with standard safety features. Generally, one can get low-cost insurance policy for a more recent car.

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Rolls Royce Corniche for Sale - Finding a Unique Classic Car classic Rolls Royce, classic cars for sale, rolls royce for sale, new rolls royce ghost for sale

If you are a true admirer of the brand, then it makes sense for you to look for a Rolls Royce Corniche for sale. All automobiles from this line boast with excellent performance, considerable power and the interior and exterior luxury design typical for this carmaker. There are various options to select from so you need to have a precise idea of what you are looking for.

Most buyers focus their attention on the first four generations of Rolls Royce Corniche automobiles for sale. Despite the common misconception, not all of the models are convertibles. There are first and second generation coupes. They may not have the versatility of their convertible counterparts, but they certainly have high collector value.

If you are a passionate collector or if you want a truly classic car that none of the people around you has, you may want to look for a Rolls Royce Corniche for sale from the first generation. The cars produced between 1971 and 1977 boast with 6.75-liter V8 engine, 3-speed automatic transmission, a solid and strong exterior and super luxury interior with leather and all kinds of other spoils.

The classic Corniche II models made from 1977 to 1989 are more massive than their counterparts. You can expect even more comfy seats and interior. The models made after 1987 have the L401I Bosch KE/K-Jetronic fuel injection engine allowing them to develop the amazing for the time speed of 118 mph. These have other modern features such as antilock brakes. Basically, if you want a more powerful and safer car with a classic design, a second-generation Corniche is a good choice.

Rolls Royce Corniche for sale from the third generation may be harder to find given that the cars were produced only from 1989 to 1993. Still, they have refined classic exterior which makes them particularly glam. These do not boast with any engine and transmission improvements, however.

If you are looking for a more powerful Corniche, you may want to check out the fourth generation models with L401IT Turbo V8 engine and 4-speed automatic transmission. The curved lines of these convertibles and their lavish interior and exterior make them the ideal choice for impressing the crowd at the country club. If you want a car high with high collector value from this generation, you should start looking for one of the 25 built during 1992 to commemorate the 21st anniversary of the model.

Finding classic cars for sale such as a Rolls Royce Corniche for sale will require extensive research, but for fastest results, you may want to perform it online. Check the manufacturer's website and contact a local dealership. Do not miss to go over the directories with car sale ads. Once you find what you are looking for, you must arrange for thorough inspection of the automobile and a test drive as soon as possible.

Video:
1988 Rolls-Royce Corniche ll Start Up Quick Tour, & Rev With Exhaust View - 43


1981 Rolls Royce Corniche convertible / cabriolet


1989 Rolls-Royce Corniche II

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