Greenpeace is continuing its shakedown campaign against a surprising target: Volkswagen. The manufacturer of some of the world’s most fuel efficient cars finds itself in the cross-hairs of Greenpeace, an organization that changed from greening the planet to blackmailing deep-pocketed companies. (Read More…)

It took Honda factories just a few weeks to recover from the March 11 earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan with the force of 31,250 Hiroshima-Nagasaki nuclear bombs (if some scientists are right.) Once parts came in, all Honda factories were ready to make cars again. Now, Honda faces a more devastating disaster – caused by plain rainwater. Honda will have to keep its Thai factory closed for half a year once the flood waters recede, The Nikkei [sub] writes. Honda’s total production loss is expected to exceed 100,000 units, accounting for about 3 percent of Honda’s global output. (Read More…)

Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne wants an end of what he called “two classes” of employees represented by the United Auto Workers union. The two-tiered system “creates the kind of environment that doesn’t appear to work in the same direction that we’ve been trying to use to establish the new basis of Chrysler,” Marchionne told Reuters. He continued: (Read More…)

Backed-up by real-time sales data from thousands of U.S. car dealers, the folks at Edmunds are predicting for October “the highest monthly Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate (SAAR) of sales” of 13.4 million vehicles. Says Edmunds: (Read More…)

Having been on the road with Steve Lang who conducts his buy here, pay here business (“500 down and 50 a week!”) from a cell phone that appears to be  surgically attached to his ear, I was longing for a heads up display fighter pilots have: Eyes on what’s ahead, and still masses of targeting information. We should have driven a BMW: A “full-color head-up display is optionally available for almost all series,” BMW tells me in an email. (Read More…)

There may be a deal in the works to return GM’s golden share in the increasingly important joint venture with China’s SAIC. It will be a skewed trade: The joint venture will go back to 50-50. In return, a sales company will be set up, which is majority controlled by SAIC in a 51-49 joint venture. SAIC will be controlling the most important aspect of the car business: The selling of cars.

In 2009, GM sold one percent of the 50-50 partnership.to SAIC for a token sum of $85 million. Officially, this was to allow SAIC to reflect the JV’s earnings on its books. New Chinese accounting rules say that the earnings can only be reflected if there is substantial control of the company. People had scratched their heads back then – if this share is so important, then why was the price so low? In a 10-K filing, GM explained later: (Read More…)

Toyota says it will suspend production at its assembly plants in Indiana, Kentucky and Ontario, Canada, along with an engine factory in West Virginia to cope with a shortage of parts, caused by flooding in Thailand. The parts shortage is beginning to affect global operations. (Read More…)

“I see no need for union representation,” says Adrian Leslie, line worker at Volkswagen’s Chattanooga plant. “We are being treated fairly here.”

If it would be him alone to decide, then any plans of the UAW to unionize Volkswagen Chattanooga are doomed. Leslie is not alone in his opinion, and the plans are doomed. (Read More…)

There are days when I wish industry analysts and auto industry journalists should be required to carry maltreatment insurance. This is one of those days.  Bloomberg reports that “Volkswagen AG will probably become the world’s biggest carmaker this year, vaulting past Toyota Motor and General Motors on gains in emerging markets.” Pure and unadulterated nonsense. (Read More…)

And here, a glimpse of the exhilarating Kennesaw (without h) nightlife. It’s hopping.

The staging area of the TTAC Goes South tour is picturesque Kenneshaw, GA. For whatever reason, the city sports one of the highest densities of low-priced motels. My Wifi scanner gives me a choice of 9 channels, all belonging to the giants of the roadside hospitality business.  Those who arrived from far-away places like Portland (Ed) and Beijing (BS) are already here, waiting for Steve Lang to close his last buy here, pay here of the day. (Read More…)

How do you grow your business if you are allowed to sell only 7,000 cars a year? Ferrari is in that tough spot. Last year, they sold 6,500 cars with the prancing horse. To protect Ferrari from being mistaken for a brand that everybody drives, a ceiling of 7,000 has been established. (Don’t ask me why 7,000.) So how do you grow your business if you can’t sell more cars? Simple: Charge more. “Personal touches like cashmere-covered seats and gold-colored exteriors” can add 20 to 60 percent to the price, writes Bloomberg. (Read More…)

Divorce is a complicated matter. Sometimes, it takes a while for all involved that it’s over. Apparently, they are in that phase. If the German magazine Wirtschaftswoche is correctly informed, then VW CEO Martin Winterkorn wants to bring the matter to a conclusion until the end of this year – one way or the other. Says Wirtschaftswoche: (Read More…)

Toyota is the last of several other major manufacturers to open an R&D center in China. The company held a cornerstone-laying ceremony last Saturday in the Southeast Economic Development Zone in Changshu, China. The city is  not far from Shanghai, close to many other manufacturers. (Read More…)

After dogged reporting, ABC’s investigative unit, headed by Brian Ross of dubious Toyota fame, found out the shocking news that Fisker received a $529 million federal, and now the unpatricotic SOB has the Fisker Karmas built in Finland. ABC is shocked, I say shocked: (Read More…)