Every day seems to bring new tales of doom and gloom for Europe. Is it time for a Continental Deathwatch?
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Automakers looking for a bit of a break with CAFE compliance can now get a 2 for 1 special on EVs.
Katt Williams once famously commented on the supposed resemblance between the Chrysler 300 and the better class of Anglo-German luxury cars, and in this image from The Smoking Tire‘s Matt Farah we see a similar confrontation: the Fusion meets an AM Rapide in Beverly Hills. What say you, TTACers? Imitation, inspiration, or idiocy?
Though Porsche is sparing no expense — and leaving no corner un-cut — breaking the hearts of their loyal fanbase, not everyone is willing to ride a diesel Panamera into the bleak lease-only future. Magnus Walker has come up with a unique aesthetic for the earliest Nine Elevens. He’s made an impression with a lot of people, he’s made more than a couple bucks doing it, and now he’s made a film.
Anemic demand is causing Volvo to shut down their main Swedish factory for one week, starting October 29th.
The introduction of the Buick Verano Turbo is right around the corner, and that could spell doom for the Buick Regal, which has seen sales plunge by 37 percent this year.
TTAC Commentator Morea writes:
Sajeev, hope it’s not too dumb, but it really is a question I have! I wish to someday own a car with a straight eight engine. (Read More…)
Tata CEO Ratan Tata has apparently decided to sell the Tata Nano minicar in the United States, even as Tata lacks though proper sales channel.
In an interview with Automotive News, the company namesake said that a redesigned Nano, with features like traction control, a more powerful engine and power steering, could go on sale at a price below $10,000 in three years time.
But a distribution channel is still a giant question mark, with Tata saying “We have to give a lot of thought to how we would distribute the car,” and little else. Tata’s remarks came at the opening of a New Jersey-area Jaguar Land Rover dealership
After travelling to Japan, Russia and the USA over the last week, this time I’m taking you to Iran where the automotive industry is experiencing a very eventful year…
The last time we went to Iran with Best Selling Cars Around The Globe was in April 2011 – in other words an eternity because at that time I didn’t have access to official production figures, so it’s time for a thorough update.
Not into 80s Peugeots and Kias (yes that’s what the Iranians buy)? That’s ok, you can discover the best-selling models in 167 additional countries and territories in my blog. Or today I can also offer you the Top 277 best-selling models in the USA over the first 9 months 2012…
Back to Iran.
It’s been almost a year since the Internet was treated to the story of a boy, a girl, and a dodgy take on a dead supercar. The story had all the makings of a classic tale: ambition, speed, deceit, accusation, busty Asian women in leopard-skin print outfits dancing on top of cars in the desert.
Well, the story isn’t quite over yet.
Space Shuttle Endeavour was hitched to a silver Toyota Tundra CrewMax half-ton pickup to cross the 405 Freeway on its two day trip from LAX airport to the California Science Center (CSC). (Read More…)
Yesterday, La Tribune in Paris had it on good authority that moribund Opel and the carmaking arm of PSA Peugeot Citroen would be merged into a joint venture.Reuters started digging a bit deeper and can say with conviction that “General Motors and PSA Peugeot Citroen are exploring ways to combine European operations in a second phase of the carmaking alliance they forged to save costs earlier this year.” They just don’t know yet how.
A few days ago, reader Willman was banned for making rude comments in violation of TTAC’s commenting policy. Willman is back. (Read More…)
Longtime reader and new contributor Tyler Vandermeulen is a financial analyst by day. He took a deep dive into the EDGAR database to unearth how much of GM’s money flows abroad. Please welcome Tyler with the respect he deserves. Rude comments will not be tolerated.
Before the bailout of General Motors, it was well understood that the world’s largest automaker was losing huge amounts of money in the US and was staying afloat thanks to stronger performance in overseas markets. Since the bailout, however, that dynamic has been turned on its head. Thanks to a leaner manufacturing footprint, debt eliminations and steadily recovering sales, GM’s US operations have generated the lion’s share of the company’s profit since the bailout. And now, as the rest of the world economy slows, GM is spending more and more of its taxpayer-enhanced cash pile to shore up its faltering foreign divisions. In fact, according to an analysis of GM’s SEC filings, the company is likely to incur over $6.5 billion in losses and expenditures overseas in the 2011-2014 period, not counting over $1.6b in foreign potential legal liabilities or several other incalculable expenses that could add up to billions more. Not only are these expenses a challenge to GM’s overall financial health at a time when it also faces billion-dollar expenditures on pensions in the US, it shows the basic problem with national bailouts of global companies. Taxpayers who were told they were saving an American company are now seeing their tax dollars flowing overseas by the billions. (Read More…)
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