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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.

Flying car gets regulatory clearance

The Jetsons' futuristic vision of a flying car is one step closer to becoming a reality. Terrafugia, a Massachusetts company developing a "roadable aircraft" named the Transition, just received special exemptions from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that will help it move the vehicle move forward to production. NHTSA will allow the Transition to be outfitted with plastic windows rather than standard automotive safety glass.

General Motors draws on global designers for the new Chevrolet Corvette

For the first time, General Motors studios across the world have submitted design studies for the next-generation Chevrolet Corvette. Late last year, Ed Welburn, GM's vice president of global design, invited GM's 10 styling studios to submit design proposals. Some "were absolutely phenomenal," Welburn said.