Free Republic

If you pay for car insurance, you’ve probably noticed that rates are really high lately. You’re not alone. Last week’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) report — the government’s method for tracking what people are paying for goods and services and how that’s changing over time — noted that the price of car insurance was up more than 20 percent over the same time last year. What’s particularly painful is that rates were already rising: CPI reports have shown that, overall, car insurance rates are up more than 38 percent since January 2020. What’s going on? The big insurance companies have...

Formula 1 fans watching the Las Vegas Grand Prix tore down controversial track view-blocking screens along the public areas of the city’s famous Strip during the returning race, Motorsport.com has learned. The race had already courted some controversy in the weeks leading up to this weekend on this element when view-blocking filters were applied to areas of pedestrian bridges running over the Strip that prevented people without tickets from seeing the track. When attempts were made to remove this by local residents, it was replaced in the relevant areas and had cage-like structures added that also covered the bridges' upper...

With auto loan rates at historic highs, rising payments, and mounting consumer debt, the auto lending industry is facing an inflection point. With lenders continuing to tighten restrictions and some even deciding to leave the consumer auto loans market, the stage is set for what could become a full-blown auto loan debt crisis. But how impactful such a crisis would be and how the industry can navigate its way out remains to be seen.

Former Chrysler and Home Depot CEO Bob Nardelli explains why he thinks the UAW strikes will 'go on for a while.'

On Friday’s broadcast of MSNBC’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports,” NBC News Business and Data Reporter Brian Cheung stated that auto workers are pushing for higher wages in part due to the massive inflation in recent years, but also because they “want to make sure that they can extract as much now, given the fact that we’re not past high inflation.” Host Andrea Mitchell said, “[L]et’s talk about the backdrop here: The workers gave up a huge amount in salary and pension benefits back when there was the government bailout. The auto industry was going bankrupt and the White House stepped in...

WASHINGTON — President Biden endorsed a United Auto Workers strike at manufacturing plants of the “big three” domestic car makers as the union demands a 40% pay raise and a 32-hour work week. “Over the last two — past decade, auto companies have seen record profits, including the last few years, because of the extraordinary skill and sacrifices of the UAW workers,” Biden, 80, said at the White House Friday, hours after the strike began.

A Bronx car-theft crew behind a major $3 million crime ring was busted after members were caught flashing wads of cash and stolen vehicles on social media, authorities said. Six members of the brazen crew were caught targeting car dealerships, cell phone stores and ATM businesses amid a soaring grand larceny auto rate in New York City, according to Attorney General Letitia James. They pleaded guilty to more than 200 thefts last week and all six were sent to prison, prosecutors said on Friday. In total, the thieves stole a staggering $3 million worth of goods, including at least 54...

Bidenomics, the term for “Government Gone Wild! in terms of spending and EPA regulations, is a disaster for the US middle class and low wage workers. Even the 1% are now hurting if bought into Biden’s green lunacy. Ford is now down -48% since January 14, 2022 as The Fed started raising rates to fight inflation. GM is down “only” -40%. Ford is slated to lose $4.5 billion from its EV segment this year, a $1.5 billion larger loss than the company had expected. So far this year, the division has lost $1.8 billion and this year’s $4.5 billion loss...

The Los Altos and Palo Alto police departments continue to collaborate on the search for a suspect implicated in a May 3 felony hit-and-run, as well as another subsequent vehicle theft by the same suspect, according to Los Altos Sgt. Brian Jeffrey. The suspect entered the McClaren car dealership on El Camino Real in Palo Alto and stole a 2023 McClaren GT before heading eastbound on Foothill Expressway toward Los Altos. The suspect attempted to turn from Foothill onto Magdalena Road, but because the vehicle was traveling at a high speed, the car veered off the road and hit three...

Conservative commentator Mark Levin blasted the Ford Motor Co. and other automakers for removing the AM radio frequency from their vehicles. Levin labeled the move an assault on conservative talk radio...

From myth to masterpiece, the first street car he ever built will become a legend. The curvaceous Daedalus roadster, hand-built from scratch over a span of 17 years in a two-car garage, is a one-off original design with a hand-formed aluminum body, 302-cubic-inch GMC inline six-cylinder engine, C4 Corvette suspension, Truspoke wire wheels, and custom leather interior. Inspired by European sports roadsters that ruled Sebring, Le Mans, and high-end tracks around the world in the late 50s and early 60s, owner and builder Kris Heil incorporated styling cues from Aston Martin, Jaguar, Ferrari, and Porsche without copying any particular design....

It looks like Colorado is on track for the second year in a row to claim the dubious title of No. 1 state for auto theft. That’s among the startling findings of the latest crime study released Thursday by Colorado’s Common Sense Institute. Alarming, galling, embarrassing and depressing are among the words that should come to mind for most Coloradans. And it’s even worse than that. It’s also deeply troubling because — as law officers long have pointed out, and the new data form Common Sense makes clear — auto theft is tied to other serious crimes. Motor vehicles sometimes...

Ford will add 6,200 factory jobs in Michigan, Missouri and Ohio as it prepares to build more electric vehicles and roll out two redesigned combustion-engine models. The company says it will invest $3.7 billion in the three states between now and 2026. It also will convert about 3,000 temporary workers to full-time status with pay raises and benefits.

As workers continue to return to commuting, the price of vehicles and auto parts is soaring. The price of new and used cars and trucks has skyrocketed over the past year, according to data released by the Department of Labor on Thursday.

A New Jersey auto dealer is selling a new Ford Bronco for a staggering 43 percent above the manufacturer’s suggested retail price, as inflation reaches historic levels and auto inventory shortages wreak havoc on consumer wallets. “We are going to be like Cuba soon,” said one customer at All American Ford in Old Bridge, NJ. “No new cars and we’ll all be driving ’57 Chevys.” A New York City man expressed his truckin’ outrage on social media this week after he found a 2021 Ford Bronco at the Old Bridge dealer with a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $34,855 being...

Any help would be more appreciated than you can imagine.

As you travel during the winter months, consider the important survival gear items to keep in your car. Your literal survival may even depend on it Example: Stranded on the highway, stuck in a major snow storm or ice storm, along with everyone else. The cars are running out of gas. No heat. Now what? Hypothermia sets in… Here’s a real world example that is occurring as I post this article: “Never Seen Anything Like It” – Drivers Trapped On Virginia Interstate Since Monday The fact is, we’re not always dressed appropriately for an emergency when we hop in the...

Another month, another record (see prior records: here & here). New data shows used car prices continued to soar in the first half of December, suggesting inflation has been anything but transitory. The Manheim Index, the most recognized wholesale used-vehicle price index by financial and economic analysts, reported that the wholesale used car index rose 3.1% in the first 15 days of December compared to November. The overall index has jumped a mindboggling 48.9% from December 2020.“On a year-over-year basis, all major market segments saw seasonally adjusted price gains through the first 15 days of December. Pickups had the smallest...

A CARFAX spokesperson warned this week that a couple of hundred thousand used cars from the Tri-state area and Gulf Coast states are about to hit the market, and there’s a risk many of them are flood-damaged from Hurricane Ida. “Our data suggest that unsuspecting buyers everywhere are at risk of winding up with a previously flooded car,” said Chris Basso, CARFAX spokesperson. “The real danger is that these cars may look fine and run well for a while, but sooner rather than later major problems are likely to occur. Flooded cars literally rot from the inside out and the...

Junked-car auctioneer Copart, Inc., or simply Copart, reported earnings this week and said given the stellar growth in new and used car prices this year, wrecked car prices are getting a lot more expensive. On Thursday, Copart’s CEO Jeffrey Liaw told investors on an earnings call that strong used car prices are a driving force behind “the record average selling prices” for wrecked cars. Copart specializes in auctioning wrecked cars that insurers have totaled. The vehicles go to auction and are frequently bought by companies who part out vehicles. Selling prices for wrecked cars surged 20.7% in the most recent...