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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.

Racing granny wished for more speed

A 102-year-old woman said she was disappointed racing great Mario Andretti could not go faster than 180mph during their laps around a speedway track in Indianapolis. Edith Pittenger, of Muncie, said she had a great time riding with Andretti in a two-seat race car. "He said 180 is the maximum," she told the Star Press.

Chris Bangle, Peter Stevens and Tom Matano speak out about Google's driverless car

Google's driverless car technology took a major step on 27 May. The tech firm unveiled its self-designed autonomous car prototype, which will supplement the fleet of modified Toyota Prius and Lexus RX SUVs that have been used thus far. But what do some of the best-know car designers think of Google's foray into the automotive world?