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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.

Mondeo to star in new James Bond film

By Phil McNamara Motor Industry 19 October 2006 11:31 James Bond will drive Ford's forthcoming Mondeo in the latest 007 adventure, Casino Royale. Ford has released images of the Mondeo hatch in action on the Casino Royale set. The latest Bond – actor Daniel Craig – will drive the 'hire car' after arriving in the Bahamas on the trail of terrorists.

GM agrees to sell Saab to supercar company Koenigsegg

General Motors confirmed Tuesday morning that it has a tentative agreement to sell Saab to a group led by Swedish supercar maker Koenigsegg Automotive. The deal would close by the end of the third quarter and put Saab in the hands of an upstart, boutique car company known for producing eye-catching cars with gaudy horsepower ratings and even gaudier price tags. The agreement includes $600 million in financing from the European Investment Bank.