2003 Jeep Liberty Tail Light - Left/driver Side on 2040-parts.com

Crunch watch Dec 08: the auto industry in crisis

By Tim Pollard and Simon Stiel Motor Industry 31 December 2008 14:05 Wednesday 31 December 2008• GMAC, GM's finance arm, said it would immediately revise its criteria for providing loans, after the US government bail-out of the General's credit arm. It will now supply credit for anyone with a score of 621 or more on the Fico scale, the scale used to assess Amercian customers' creditworthiness (Financial Times)• The news means that 80% of US consumers would now qualify for a loan from GMAC – which should improve sales in the depressed US market (Detroit News)• Chrysler is being lambasted for taking out full-page adverts in the American national press thanking the nation for supporting its auto industry. But critics point out this is a fresh waste of bail-out resources, as pages in the Wall Street Journal – one of the titles in which the ad ran – reportedly cost up to $264,000.

2011 Saturn Vue: GM confirms plug-in crossover is on track

A plug-in electric powertrain once destined for a Saturn crossover will live on at General Motors and will arrive in 2011 in another vehicle. GM vice chairman and product chief Tom Stephens confirmed to wire service Reuters that the project remains on track. The automaker was scheduled to bring a plug-in version of the Saturn Vue to market in 2011.

2010 Cadillac SRX recalled for possible fire issue

Cadillac is recalling 3,996 copies of the 2010 SRX crossover to check for possible damage to a power steering line, which could result in a fire. If the power steering line is damaged, fluid could leak out onto hot engine parts and start a fire in the engine compartment. Cadillac says only one fire has been reported.