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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.

Retro style, street-rod flair made PT Cruiser a star

The recipe was simple. Use an existing small-car platform, mix in some nifty retro styling inside and out, build it in a low-cost country, and command a higher price. When it made its debut at the 1999 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, the Chrysler PT Cruiser with its street-rod flair was an immediate sensation.

Land Rover Discovery range to grow with new models

The Land Rover Discovery name is to be used on a new family of vehicles in a similar way to the Range Rover model range, the firm revealed at the Geneva Motor Show 2014. Currently used on the recently updated 2014 Discovery, the name will become a brand in 2015 as Land Rover broadens the range by introducing all-new model lines. GENEVA MOTOR SHOW 2014 LIVE BLOG Group marketing director Phil Popham revealed to MSN that these cars will be focused on versatility and practicality.