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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.

Ferrari GT teaser photos

By Ben Pulman First Official Pictures 12 May 2008 10:11 These are the first pictures of Ferrari's new GT, taken from the Italian firm’s teaser website www.ferrarigtcountdown.com. The car won't be shown until the Paris motor show this autumn, but you don't need to wait that long in this internet age – Ferrari is gradually revealing its new baby bit by bit online over the next few months. The five teaser pictures reveal a wide, low, oval front grille, distinctive creases around the door handles, five-spoke alloys, a third rear brake light and a sloping rear end.The official website also has four audio clips of the new Ferrari starting up, revving, running through the gears and then being driven hard.

Alfa's U.S. return likely for 2012, Marchionne says

Fiat's on-again, off-again plan to return Alfa Romeo to the United States is on again, this time with a target date of 2012. A Chrysler Group spokesman has confirmed remarks made by CEO Sergio Marchionne in Toronto. “I'm a lot more confident now that Alfa Romeo will reconstitute a product offering that is acceptable globally, and more in particular in the United States and Canada,” Marchionne was quoted as saying Friday.