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About Auto

 Last year some 1.75 million bicycles were sold, about 2,000 more than the number of new cars registered, La Repubblica newspaper reported.It attributed the change to a slump in car sales during the economic crisis and the rising price of petrol, as well as bikes coming back into fashion.Car sales have slumped to the level at which they stood in 1964, it said.Though bicycling has a strong tradition in Italy, the centres of big cities are largely dominated by cars and scooters.Ahead of a cycling conference being held in Italy this weekend, President Giorgio Napolitano appealed to Italians to "catch up" with other European countries by making their roads more cycle-friendly. 

 

 

The top Auto Stories

Resilience and the auto industry went hand-in-glove in 2012 as automakers plumped up their bottom lines, ladled on luxury features in new models and turned their once-battered fortunes on their heads.

Nothing seemingly could blunt the industry's momentum. Hiring soared at auto plants around the country, with some places adding third shifts, worker overtime and even six-day work weeks to meet the demand for vehicles.

Oil prices surged, and gas prices topped an average $3.90 a gallon, though they never reached the July 2008, record of $4.11 a gallon. Yet, vehicle sales remained strong. Even when Superstorm Sandy lopped off October's sales by tearing through the East Coast, it blew new life into November's tally. Buyers were willing to pay more, as well. The average transaction price for all vehicles -- the price people actually paid for a new car at dealerships -- hit a record $30,700 in March, according to TrueCar.com. It still hovers above $30,000.

The year was marked by high-profile departures. American Suzuki Motor announced that it's going to stop selling cars in the U.S. Saab all but died in bankruptcy but was resurrected when National Electric Vehicle Sweden, a Chinese company, bought its assets to turn it into an electric car company.

Ferdinand Porsche, designer of the signature Porsche 911 sports coupe and descendant of the founder of the automotive giant, died. America lost its own design and racing icon, Carroll Shelby, creator of the Shelby Cobra and the Shelby Mustang. The legendary Shelby, a key figure in the automotive industry for more than five decades, became synonymous with high-performance machines.

Against that backdrop, here are the year's top automotive stories as picked by USA TODAY editors and reporters:

1. The auto industry stages a comeback. Wow, what a year. The auto industry came clawing back with the highest sales since 2007. After an expected strong showing this month, the industry is on track to sell 14.5 million new vehicles this year, says analyst Brian Johnson of Barclays in a note to investors. That would be an impressive 13.5% increase from last year Even more remarkable is how the industry has steadily churned more sales since the depths of the recession in 2009, when sales bottomed at 10.4 million. If the industry can keep its momentum, it could get back to 16 million in 2013, which would be on par with the best banner years of a decade ago.

2. The auto industry takes center stage in the presidential contest. President Obama's decision to bail out General Motors and Chrysler during their darkest hours figured large in his re-election victory over former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney. Obama used the bailout to pound away at GOP nominee Romney in the Rust Belt, especially Michigan and northern Ohio, where Detroit automakers have unionized factories. Though Romney was born in Detroit to a former Michigan governor who had run American Motors, he was hampered by a 2008 op-ed he wrote for The New York Times headlined, "Let Detroit Go Bankrupt." Since no Republican has made it to the White House without Ohio, it was considered pivotal to Obama's re-election. Obama won Ohio with 50.7% of the vote, compared with Romney's 47.7%.

3. Hybrids go mainstream. In the past, motorists have associated the greenest of cars with distinctive designs that sometimes sacrificed performance or comfort, such as Honda's original Insight or an early Toyota Prius. Now, hybrids have gone mainstream, with big sales expected. A 2013 Toyota Camry Hybrid sedan averages 41 miles a gallon. The Ford Fusion Hybrid is rated at 47 mpg, not far off the 50 mpg of a 2013 Prius (although the EPA is reviewing that Fusion figure). Automakers need to bring hybrids to their mainstream cars and try to meet a new corporate average gas mileage standard of 35.5 mpg by 2016.

4. Ford's CEO picks a successor. Talk about big shoes to fill. No other CEO has made a bigger, more longer-lasting impact on a Detroit automaker in recent years than Ford Motor's Alan Mulally, who arrived from Boeing in 2006. He shepherded Ford through the recession and avoided the bankruptcy reorganizations that both General Motors and Chrysler undertook. Ford had a particularly strong bench of executives to eventually succeed Mulally, but the folksy Kansan named Mark Fields -- the head of the automaker's operations for North and South America -- as his heir apparent. Fields, who took over this month as chief operating officer, is best known for turning around Japan's Mazda when it was under Ford's control. He also did a stint as a top executive for Ford of Europe. Fields is an astute strategist who isn't afraid of making gutsy decisions.

5. Forty miles a gallon? Instead of styling or features, automakers in 2012 had to deal with a world in which buyers cared most about how much mileage a car could squeeze out of every gallon. But where do you set the bar in a way that impresses would-be customers? Hyundai found it when it marketed its new Elantra compact as getting 40 miles a gallon in highway driving. Suddenly, competitors were forced to try to match the easy-to-remember number, usually with editions that added special gas-savings. Honda went after it with special editions of the Civic, Ford with the Focus and Chevrolet with the Cruze. The irony? Under pressure from the Environmental Protection Agency, Hyundai had to revise its gas-mileage figures on several models and lost the ability to claim 40 mpg.

6. Recalls that stung. Automakers loathe recalls, which are not only expensive but embarrassing. In terms of sheer numbers, it appeared that the year would end with about as many as 2011. But some stung worse than others. Ford, after touting the wonders of its 1.6-liter EcoBoost turbocharged engines, had to recall 89,153 Fusion sedans and Escape crossovers earlier this month because of an overheating issue that could lead to fires. All appeared to end well since the problem could be fixed with a software update.

7. Toyota and Honda resurrected. Both saw their sales slammed by the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan, then flooding in Thailand. This year, with factories repaired and the supply pipeline back to normal, sales jumped in the U.S. Toyota sold 28.8% more vehicles through November of this year, vs. the same period a year ago, Autodata says. For Honda, the gain was 23.8%. Toyota is likely to be the world's best-selling automaker. But it can't get comfortable. Volkswagen saw a 30.7% gain in the U.S. during the first 11 months of this year.

8. Design's slippery slope. Hearts were aflutter a couple of years back when Jaguar unveiled its XJ, and Audi showed off the A7. Both sedans had a similar shape, the gently sloping roof line of a fastback that gave them the racy looks of a coupe. In 2012, the style became the de facto industry standard, as mainstream makers followed. The new Chevrolet Impala gets the same treatment, along with Toyota Avalon and the Mazda6. The slope is gorgeous but not always practical. Not only can it eat into rear-seat headroom, but it makes the trunk appear smaller.

9. Michigan becomes a right-to-work state. For the labor union movement, no state has been more important than Michigan, home to United Auto Workers and thousands employed making cars. The number of Michigan workers represented by a union fell from 27% in 1990 to 18% in 2011, the Detroit Free Press reports. Union influence has declined as Detroit automakers shut down plants while foreign makers, both European and Asian, opened non-union plants mostly in the South. But the fight in Michigan isn't finished. Unions vow a tough struggle to put the Wolverine State firmly back in the union column.

10. Goodbye "Government Motors." The Treasury Department announced earlier this month that it will sell all of its remaining 500 million shares of General Motors in the next 12 to 15 months, ending the $49.5 billion bailout that kept the nation's largest automaker alive. Though the bailout kept thousands of workers employed and let one of the nation's most famous corporate names live on, it led to the ugly moniker "Government Motors" and resentment by some investors. GM will benefit, though, with fewer restrictions on its operations without government strings attached, such as caps on executive pay.

Reasons to start using a bicycle for transportation

Economic instability and ever-increasing climate change are just two of the many reasons riding a bike is an excellent alternative to driving. 

We've always taken the greenness of bike transport as a given. But if you're just getting started — or perhaps trying to convince an employer that bicycle commuting is a good thing — we've rounded up a dozen reasons to leave that car in the driveway and start covering pavement on two wheels. Let's ride!

 

1) It's easier to finance a new bicycle than a new car. Thanks to the recession, auto loans are hard to find these days — even if you have good credit. But for the price of a single car payment, you can buy a well-made bicycle that should outlast most cars. Add a few hundred dollars more for rain gear, lights and accessories, and you have all-weather, anytime transportation.

 

2) A bicycle has a tiny manufacturing footprint when compared to a car. All manufactured goods have environmental impact, but bicycles can be produced for a fraction of the materials, energy and shipping costs of a car.

 

3) Bicycles produce no meaningful pollution when in operation. Bikes don't have tailpipes belching poisonous fumes into the atmosphere. They also eliminate the oil, fuel and hydraulic fluids dripped by automobiles onto the road surface — which means less toxic runoff into local waterways.

 

4) Bikes save taxpayers money by reducing road wear. A 20-pound bicycle is a lot less rough on the pavement than a two-ton sedan. Every bicycle on the road amounts to money saved patching potholes and resurfacing city streets.

 

5) Bicycles are an effective alternative to a second car. Perhaps you're not in a position to adopt a bicycle as primary transportation. But bikes make great second vehicles. You can literally save thousands of dollars a year using a bicycle for workday commuting and weekend errands in households which might otherwise be forced to maintain two cars.

 

6) Using a bike for transportation can help you lose weight and improve your overall health. The health benefits of regular aerobic exercise are well-known. Depending on your riding style and local road conditions, you could easily burn 600 calories an hour through brisk cycling. Most bike commuters report losing 15 to 20 pounds during their first year in the saddle without changing their eating habits.

 

7) You can store a dozen bicycles in a single automobile-sized parking place. Parking lots have enormous environmental and financial impact, particularly in urbanized areas. The more bikes you can get on the road, the fewer parking spaces you need to build.

 

8) Bicycles don't burn gasoline. Fuel is cheap compared to last year, and the economic downturn is likely to keep a lid on petroleum demand for a while. But we're not producing any more oil today than we were when it was more than $100 a barrel. A healthy bike culture will help ease pressure on supply once demand returns.

 

9) Bicycling may be faster and more efficient than taking a car. We're not talking about the crazy — and illegal — antics of New York bicycle messengers. But bikes are often faster than cars in urban areas, especially when city designers have set aside proper bike lanes. There's nothing more satisfying as a bicycle commuter than breezing past a long line of gridlocked traffic.

 

10) Bikes cost much less to maintain and operate than automobiles. You'll never throw a rod on a bicycle, and dropping a transmission on a bike usually means replacing a bent derailleur hanger or worn-out chain. Bicycles do require service, but you can learn to perform most of it yourself. Even if you have a shop do things for you, costs will be trivial compared to a car.

 

11) Bicycles provide mobility for those who may not qualify or afford to drive. Not everyone can get a driver's license (or wants one), and the cost of purchasing, insuring and maintaining a car is out of reach for a lot of people. Almost everyone can afford some sort of bike. Other than walking, bicycles are the most cost-effective transportation on the planet.

 

12) Studies show that bicycle commuters are healthier, more productive, and require less time off at work. This is why most enlightened employers are eager to accommodate commuting cyclists. Healthy workers are better workers — and that's good for the bottom line. Bikes are smart business.

 

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