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.

Bentley Mulsanne Convertible (2012) first sketches

Bentley has dropped a strong hint that an open-top Mulsanne model is on the way. Almost three years to the day since the original Mulsanne limo made its debut at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, Crewe has released sketches of a soft-top Mulsanne, touted by Bentley as 'the ultimate in contemporary design, prestige and exclusivity'. Is the Bentley Mulsanne Convertible Concept just a new Azure?

Recall under way on 2013 Ford Escape to fix faulty fuel line

Ford is recalling the redesigned 2013 Escape SUV with the 1.6-liter engine to fix a fuel line that could break and lead to a fire. The automaker is telling owners of the recalled SUVs to not drive their vehicles and has told dealers not to sell units they have in stock. Ford says about 11,500 copies of the 2013 Escape with the 1.6-liter engine and the faulty fuel line in the engine compartment were built.