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General Motors was the recipient of four segment awards in the 2013 J.D. Power Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout (APEAL) Study released Wednesday, July 24th. Of those four, Chevrolet had three — more than any other brand in the Volt, Sonic, and Avalanche, while Buick had one, in the Encore. In addition to the four award recipients, seven GM models placed in the top three of their respective segments.

Notably, three GM products, including the Chevy Volt, Buick Verano, and Chevy Cruze, respectively, swept the Compact Car category

The North American Car and Truck of the Year jurors have released their long list of early contenders for the 2014 top spots.

Among the candidates for the two prestigious annual awards — in their 21st year — are five Chevrolet models, two Cadillacs and a pair of Fiats, according to a list distributed to jurors this weekend

July 24, 2013 , Auburn Hills, Mich. - The 2013 Dodge Charger and Fiat 500 lead their segments in J.D. Power’s 2013 U.S. Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout (APEAL) Study™, while the Ram Truck brand ranks as the highest non-premium brand in the industry.

The APEAL Study measures how gratifying a new vehicle is to own and drive, based on customer evaluations of 77 vehicle attributes of new 2013 model year vehicles. Customers are surveyed after 90 days of ownership at the same time as J.D. Power’s Initial Quality Study (IQS). According to J.D. Power, the most appealing vehicles have greater owner loyalty, command higher transaction prices and spend less time on dealer lots before purchase.

It was a great weekend on the track for the Chrysler Group: Mopar driver Allen Johnson captured the “Wally” trophy for the Pro Stock class at the Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals near Denver, while the SRT Motorsports Viper GTS-R sports cars grabbed the pole and two of the three podium steps in the GT class at the American Le Mans Series race at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park near Toronto.

Johnson is the defending Pro Stock champion for the drag race at Bandimere Speedway, as well as the reigning Pro Stock champ. He dominated the Bandimere track this year, earning the top qualifier spot. The final elimination was an all-Mopar affair that pitted Johnson against V. Gaines, with Johnson reaching the finish line 0.086 seconds ahead of Gaines.

DEARBORN, Mich., July 23, 2013 – Ford Motor Company will hire an additional 800 salaried employees for a total of more than 3,000 salaried employees in 2013. The new hiring represents a 36 percent increase over the original projection of 2,200 additional salaried jobs announced in January. With only a 2.7 percent attrition rate, the majority of these jobs are new.

This salaried hiring initiative is the largest since 2000, and is necessary for Ford to meet surging demand for its products and continue its aggressive global growth. Ford’s U.S. market share is up almost a full percentage point from last year, and the company reported its best June sales since 2006, fueled by share gains on the east and west coasts and surging demand for Ford Escape and Ford F-150.
 

General Motors squeezed more profits out of its flourishing North American business and trimmed its losses in Europe during the second quarter.

The automaker reported net income of $1.2 billion for the second quarter, including a $2-billion operating profit in North America. The net income was down 19% from the same quarter a year ago, but the financial performance still reflected momentum in several key areas.

There's something about the smallest of cars that lend themselves to wild paint jobs.

But purple? And pink? When it comes to its two smallest models, Sonic and Spark, Chevrolet is plumbing the depths of customer appeal for colors like, well, plum.

Powered by record profits in North America, Ford Motor said Wednesday that its second-quarter net income increased 18.5% compared with a year ago, to $1.2 billion, or 30 cents a share.

On an adjusted basis without one-time charges, Ford earned $1.8 billion, or 45 cents a share, a 52.4% increase. That easily beat analysts' estimates of 37 cents a share, according to S&P Capital IQ.

Ford Motor Co. (F), fresh off record first-half profit in North America, has plenty left in the tank as it builds more of the models pacing the U.S. auto industry’s growth.

Ford, the second-largest U.S. automaker, made $4.77 billion in its home region during the year’s first six months, driven by surging demand for Fusion family cars and F-Series pickups. The Dearborn, Michigan-based company is adding factory capacity to build more of both of those models starting this quarter.