#government

Not long after 9/11, the California DMV started selling memorial license plates under the promise that the proceeds would go toward scholarships for children of the victims, or anti-terrorist initiatives, but the money isn’t making it home.

The new year is rapidly approaching and with it a host of new vehicles begging to be driven are sitting in dealer lots waiting to wow shoppers. When it comes to new cars, those shoppers often expect more for less as new models hit the showroom, but that wont be the case for electric vehicles like the Nissan Leaf (pictured above).

Chrysler filed documents with the Security and Exchange Commission that revealed that parent company Fiat has a one year option to increase its stake in the American automaker to as much as 70 percent.

Chrysler is preparing to pay back $6.6 billion on government loans, but the company will do so not from its own cash but by re-financing existing debt.

Lotus may build their next generation Esprit sports car outside of the United Kingdom after its request for a $50 million loan to build a new factory was rejected by an investment arm of the British government.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is investigating the possibility of making keyless ignitions a mandatory item for cars, as a means of providing drivers with a way to shut off the engine quickly in case of emergencies.

When dealing with an authoritarian state that exercises substantial government control of the economy, you generally know whose rules you’re playing by – and everyone from automakers to tech companies are happy to capitulate to the demands of the Chinese government, with car companies establishing joint ventures with local automakers for the sake of being able to compete in the world’s largest auto market.

A House of Representatives committee introduced a bill that would stop the EPA from regulating greenhouse gas emissions from motor vehicles from the year 2015 onwards, a key part of a national fuel economy program that is actually favored by many automakers.

The Hyundai Sonata’s production delay due to the removal of an on-off switch for its sound emitting device looks like a smart move now that the federal government is looking to not only make the devices mandatory for hybrid and electric cars, but bar automakers from allowing drivers to cancel the systems via a dash mounted switch.

The federal government, under the jurisdiction of Homeland Security, started investigating the importation of grey-market Nissan Skylines, tracking down their owners and even seizing the cars.

The government of Canada is auctioning off a Lamborghini Countach, with bids starting at the low price of $58,000. The vehicle was forfeited to the Canada Revenue Agency (the Canadian IRS) with only 54,000 miles on the clock.

Steve Rattner, who oversaw President Obama’s auto industry bailout, told Bloomberg News that GM’s Initial Public Offering share price was undervalued.

The United States Federal Government’s cynical Keynesian vehicle scrappage program scheme was by all accounts a success (if you believe that blind consumption is a win), but some dealers apparently skirted the rules, and now the government is looking for dealers who may have gamed the system – and may withhold $94 million in rebates because of it.

Honda was forced to shut down all four of its Chinese car plants, after 1,850 workers at an auto parts plant went on strike over wages. The strike is reported to have crippled Honda’s production capability in what is now the world’s largest car market.

As Nissan strives to sell the Leaf electric car at an affordable price point, the company is expressing concerns that the current subsidies offered by governments to encourage EV adoption will expire after three years, hurting sales and pushing the cost of electric vehicles back into unattainable territory.