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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.

Infiniti QX56 (2011) leaks

Infiniti's doubtless very able - but visually 'Challenged' - 2011 QX56 If you’re reading this from the New World side of the Pond you’ll know exactly what the Infiniti QX is. It’s a full sized SUV from Nissan’s luxury arm Infiniti, aimed right at the North American love of big 4x4s, but also sold in the Middle East and Russia. The current version of the QX56 has been on the market since 2004 and is at the end of its shelf life, with a new 2011 Infiniti QX56 debuting at the New York Motor Show this week.

Fiat will buy the rest of Chrysler for $4.35 billion

Fiat has announced that it will purchase the rest of Chrysler in a deal totaling $4.35 billion. Currently, the outstanding 41.6 percent stake in the company is owned by the UAW's voluntary employee beneficiary association, or VEBA, trust. Under the terms of the deal, Fiat won't shell out all $4.35 billion.