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I'm not one for boycotts, but I am one for data. And I like this kind of data. It's just good to have data when spending money. That's all. I mean, if I have no choice in keeping a SIGNIFICANTLY large portion of my money from being squandered by the folks that I've freaking employed up on the Hill (like drunk girls on Spring break with their Daddy's credit cards), I'm going to be as informed as possible with what's left of said money. Thus, the data thing. You know. According to the source article above and the New York...

FRANKFURT, Germany - Automaker DaimlerChrysler AG said Wednesday that its second-quarter profit fell 14 percent, even as the Chrysler division and financial services business that it has sold to a private equity group posted better results. The company also said it expects a charge of 2.5 billion euros ($3.42 billion) for the year from the sale, less than it had previously estimated. Including discontinued operations, DaimlerChrysler posted a profit of 1.85 billion euros ($2.52 billion) in the April-June period, down from 2.15 billion euros a year earlier. Sales fell to 23.84 billion euros ($32.52 billion) from 24.6 billion euros last...

A German fund set up to compensate forced laborers during the Holocaust has completed paying victims. The Remembrance, Responsibility and Future Foundation, set up in 2000, paid $5.8 billion to 1.7 million people, mostly non-Jews who were forced to work in concentration camps and participate in sadistic medical experiments, the German broadcaster Deutsche Welle reported.. The German government and German corporations that utilized forced labor during World War II contributed equally to the fund, which will see its remaining money go toward reconciliation projects. Volkswagen, DaimlerChrysler, Bayer and Deutsche Bank were among the companies that made tax-deducible donations to the...

Excerpt - BREAKING NEWS: DaimlerChrysler will sell an 80.1% stake in Chrysler to private-equity firm Cerberus Capital Management. Full article coming shortly.

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DETROIT — Billionaire investor Kirk Kerkorian's Tracinda Corp. on Thursday made a $4.5 billion cash offer for DaimlerChrysler AG's (DCX) troubled U.S.-based Chrysler unit. Tracinda in a statement said it wants "to build and strengthen" the troubled automaker and "will offer the UAW and Chrysler management the opportunity to participate as equity partners in the transaction." DaimlerChrysler has been exploring the possibility of selling the Chrysler division. Han Tjan, head of corporate communications for DaimlerChrysler in New York, said the German-American automaker is talking with possible partners about a sale and that the chairman is satisfied with the process. "All...

What You Can Do about Iran March 23, 2007 FrontPageMagazine.com Kenneth R. Timmerman This week brought unusual news from Russia, which until now has been a major supplier of Iran’s nuclear programs. The Russians said they were pulling engineers and technicians out of Busheir, the Persian Gulf site where since 1995 they have been building a nuclear power plant for Iran. They cited as pretext Iran’s failure to make timely payments on the $800 million contract. Should this turn out to be more than just a tactical maneuver, Russia’s pullback from Iran signals a real success for U.S. diplomacy. But...

The chief executive of DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler Group said that he wants to use new alliances to more than double sales outside North America, and that he hopes the uncertainty about whether Chrysler will remain part of the German auto titan is resolved "sooner rather than later." In an interview yesterday at Chrysler Group headquarters in Auburn Hills, Mich., Chrysler Chief Executive Officer Tom LaSorda said a previous goal of doubling Chrysler sales outside North America from the current level of about 200,000 vehicles is "not acceptable" and should be ratcheted up. Alliances with other auto makers could cut the...

DETROIT -- The Big Three auto makers have asked the federal government to spend roughly $500 million over five years to subsidize the development of advanced batteries required to power future vehicles such as the electric prototype generating buzz for General Motors Corp. In a follow-up to a November meeting between President Bush and their chief executives, GM, Ford Motor Co. and DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler Group last month submitted a white paper to a White House technology adviser saying the U.S. is trailing Japan in development of batteries for fuel-efficient automobiles and could suffer economically if the government doesn't help...

Eight years after being taken over by Daimler-Benz, Chrysler remains a company in need of restructuring. So much so, in fact, that executives at the German company are increasingly in favor of unloading the American subsidiary. Dieter Zetsche's stint as an advertising spokesman for Chrysler was a failure. Featured prominently in a Chrysler ad campaign, Zetsche, the CEO of DaimlerChrysler, was trying to convey a message. The ads, which were a blend of humor and irony, were meant to emphasize that Chrysler is not a purely American car company like General Motors or Ford. A Chrysler, according to Zetsche in...

The head of Airbus' parent firm has said he is against state involvement in the business amid reports the German government may buy into the company. Thomas Enders, the German co-chief executive of EADS, said there was "no reason" for Berlin to take a stake in the troubled enterprise. Newspaper reports have suggested the German state may buy Daimler-Chrysler's 7.5% holding in the business. The French and Spanish governments already own shares in the company. Jobs concern EADS has been weakened by costly delays to the flagship Airbus A380, with the first delivery of the high-profile plane put back to...

Less than a year after leaving Detroit, Dieter Zetsche is being forced to fix DaimlerChrysler's US unit - for the second time. Dr Z, as he is sometimes known, has spent the last year sprucing up Mercedes-Benz. DaimlerChrysler's German unit has bounced back from a $1.2bn (£642m) loss during the first half of 2005 to profits of $162m during the first half of 2006. "In 2006, Mercedes-Benz sales have improved on the figures of 2005, rising some 11% during the period from January to August," Mr Zetsche declares. He was speaking as he unveiled the carmaker's latest CL 63 AMG,...

Chrysler group to post $1.5 billion loss in third quarter FRANKFURT (Reuters) -- DaimlerChrysler cut its 2006 operating profit forecast by around $1.27 billion (1 billion euros) today and predicted the Chrysler group could lose $1.5 billion (1.2 billion euros) in the third quarter, much worse than first thought. DaimlerChrysler now expects 2006 operating profit of only around $6.34 billion (5 billion euros).

CHICAGO, Aug 23 (Reuters) - The automotive sector in Michigan needs to stabilize before the state can shake off the economic doldrums that have dogged it in recent years, an economist said on Wednesday. Dana Johnson, chief economist at Comerica Bank, said buyouts and layoffs that are part of major restructurings at big automotive companies such as General Motors (GM.N: Quote, Profile, Research), Ford Motor Co. (F.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and Delphi Corp. DPHIQ.PK> have created a sense of gloom in the state.

Tom Wright's dark-blue GMC Sierra Extended Cab pickup is 12 years old, but so far he's dismissed any thought of replacing it. Although it has 165,000 miles on it, Wright says times are a little too slow in the carpentry business to replace the truck, which he uses for work and to haul around his family. ADVERTISEMENT Much to the detriment of Detroit's Big Three, people like Wright are delaying truck purchases, cutting into profits and forcing Ford Motor Co., General Motors Corp. and DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler Group to idle some assembly lines. Pickup sales overall are off 15.7 percent...

Company to partner with major automotive manufacturer COLUMBUS, IND. - Cummins Inc. (NYSE:CMI) today announced it has reached agreement with a major automotive manufacturer serving the North American market to produce and market a light-duty, diesel-powered engine. For competitive reasons, Cummins original equipment manufacturer partner in the venture has asked to remain confidential. As part of the agreement, Cummins will develop and manufacture a family of high-performance, light-duty diesel engines for a variety of automotive applications in vehicles below 8,500 pounds gross vehicle weight, including standard pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles. Certain bus, marine and industrial applications also will...

* Ford cuts its own path with bold designs, more standard safety features, straightforward pricing and now the best warranty and roadside assistance packages of any full-line manufacturer. * No-deductible, fully transferable powertrain limited warranty on 2007 Ford and Mercury vehicles is now five years or 60,000 miles - 66 percent better than all Chrysler Group and most GM nameplates. * Lincoln's 2007 powertrain limited warranty is now six years or 70,000 miles - up to 20,000 miles and two years longer than Cadillac's. * Ford to offer complimentary roadside assistance, including towing, fuel and lock-out service for the entire...

The tiny car that won over Europeans with its cute looks and very high mileage is finally coming to America, just not in the way you might expect it to. The 60-mpg, two-seat coupes are made by a European company called smart, but the DaimlerChrysler division is not the one selling them here anytime soon. True, they will be sold in Canada starting in September, but not so in the United States. Instead, smart USA is betting Americans won't want the small smarts, at least not yet, and has taken a different strategy: a smart SUV, available here in...

DETROIT -- Less than a week after announcing plans to offer the first diesel-powered full-size sport utility vehicle in the United States, DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler Group said it is halting production of the diesel version of its small Jeep Liberty SUV.

Millions of American investors, as well as their pension funds, mutual funds and other institutions, have unsuspectingly invested their hard-earned wealth in foreign companies that aid and abet the Islamofascist theocracy in Iran. If you are reading this article, you’re probably one of those unsuspecting investors. You may not directly own shares of corporations that do business in and with the Islamic Republic of Iran, but chances are your 401K, mutual fund portfolio or public pension system is invested in such companies. Congratulations. A portion of your money is going toward arming and training Hezbollah terrorists, sheltering members of Al...