Economy

Plant closures were associated with an 85% surge in opioid overdose mortality rates among working-age adults five years later, compared with what would have been expected if these factories had remained open, researchers report in JAMA Internal Medicine. "We found that automotive assembly plant closures - which led to dramatic reductions in economic opportunities in manufacturing for individuals living in those areas - were strongly associated with poor health outcomes, specifically higher opio

A massive data leak has revealed the personnel files of hundreds of employees at Jaguar Land Rover's factory in Solihull, England. The documents reveal details such as sick days used, disciplinary issues and — most notably — red lines indicating potential firings in the weeks or months ahead. In total, the personal records of more than 600 workers were released. JLR is scrambling to contain the crisis. The breach was first reported by the Huffington Post UK, with the automaker initia

Traffic fatalities continue to rise at their fastest pace in decades, according to the latest federal data available.

​There's never been a better time to be in the business of selling cars. But a six-year streak of increased auto sales may soon come to an end.

Safer cars don't necessarily make for safer roads as car related fatalities are on the rise in 2015.

The economy is good. The gas prices are low. This is an ideal summer for road-trippers, commuters and motorists of every kind. But the good times come at a high cost.

In a speech on the US economy, Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaks out against companies that use contracted workers instead of actual employees.

Just as China's stock market collapses, the country's passenger car association reports the first sales slump there in over two years. The fall is predicted to extend further into the second half of 2015.

A range of economic index numbers are moving in positive directions, at the same time as consumer spending is up, personal savings are down, and gas prices are way down. However, payment companies have found that consumers aren't spending all of their gas savings on purchases.

It's fair to say that most consumers would prefer a green vehicle, one that has a lower impact on the environment and goes easy on costly fuel (in all senses of the term). The problem is that most people can't – or won't – pay the price premium or put up with the compromises today's green cars demand. We're not all "cashed-up greenies."

Teens are driving less. That much, we know already. We've watched the auto industry gnash its collective teeth over the downward trend in Generation Y driving for the better part of a year.

Compared with the rest of the world, the U.S. has long been known as the gas guzzler country--the nation of the widest roads, largest vehicles and the least amount of reliable mass transit for the geography. That image could be changing, according to a new study that says driving in the U.S. has already peaked and will decline.

Old habits die hard, and when it comes to changing our spending habits to account for gas price increases, newer ones do as well. About four in five Americans have held steady with their lower discretionary spending levels from last year – a time when gas prices spiked – despite the fact that the cost to fill up a tank has dropped since then. And those habits are consistent across age and income brackets.

A whopping 93 percent of automotive OEMs and suppliers say they have seen an increase in demand for their vehicles, parts and services in the past year. Those numbers are reported in the 2012 Dykema Automotive Institute Survey: Industry Challenges. Due to the jump in business, 77 percent surveyed said they had "made substantive changes" to handle the growth.

We know rural Midwestern folks sometimes do things a little differently than their urban cousins. If you want to get a tan in the reedy areas of The Corn Belt you don't need a booth, you just lie down in your own yard. One thing you don't do when bronzing, however – even in the Midwest – is lie down in the street. That is what two unlucky girls did in Economy, Pennsylvania and when they fell asleep during their sunlight session they got run over by a car.

Demand for supercars in India has exotic automakers scrambling, with Lamborghini on the verge of opening its second dealership in India this year, and Ferrari planning to open four more by the end of 2012.

The price of a gallon of gasoline has been a major downer so far in 2011, and data shows that it may be affecting driving habits. According to The Detroit News, the Federal Highway Administration claims that Americans drove 1.453 trillion miles in the first half of 2011. That's down 1.1 percent compared to the first six months of 2010, or an eye-popping 15.5 billion fewer miles compared to the first half of last year. In fact, the government report shows that total miles are down to the