That’s not us making the prediction. Stockholm News says  that  “Saab’s fate could be decided on Tuesday.” On Monday, the Court of Appeals will meet and will deliberate whether Saab will be allowed to appeal the District Court’s denial of  a reconstruction.

Stockholm News does not expect a decision until Tuesday. But it predicts: (Read More…)

One of the reasons why Volkswagen is hitting on all cylinders (don’t be U.S. myopic – always measure a car company by global success) is that they did not stop investing in the wake of the 2008 crash. They did not have to: Sales in the U.S. were low, and where you don’t have a lot, you can’t lose a lot. At the same time, VW had the big luck of being a major player in China. While  U.S. and Japanese car companies stopped or severely dialed back their investments into R&D and capacities, Volkswagen kept on spending. This has a delayed effect of 3 to 5 years, and what we are seeing now is just the beginning of this effect. It is also the beginning of an even greater spending spree. (Read More…)

Say what you want about (or against) the latest Ford  “Press Conference” ads. But they achieve the holy grail in the ad business: They get talked about. From TTAC to Fox News, the ads are making waves – especially the anti-bailout ad.

Fox likes it especially well. „It’s almost like a tea party ideology,“ praised anchor woman Megyn Kelly the ad that had originally be made for internal consumption at Ford and only recently hit the airwaves. (Read More…)

Around two thirds of the oil used in the United States is imported. Now, something is done to offset this energy trade imbalance ever so slightly: Ethanol, the stuff that is supposed to save the U.S. from foreign oil dependency is shipped out of the country.

Who buys it? Brazil, the land where cars drink alcohol to drive. (Read More…)

After a 2 percent decline in July, registrations of new passenger cars were up a solid 7.7 percent in August. This according to data provided by Europe’s manufacturer association ACEA. Eight months into the year, 8,888,793 new cars were registered in the EU, or 1.3 percent less than in the same period a year ago. (Read More…)

Both Honda and Toyota have consistently lost market share in China, which is even more embarrassing given the fact that Japanese brands in total still command the largest market share in the Middle Kingdom. This is helped by Nissan, which now holds a bigger share of the Chinese market than Toyota and Honda. Honda does not want to take it any more and is planning a counter-attack at the hearts, minds and wallets of the Chinese customer. Honda will even go as far as giving the Chinese cars that are custom-made for China. (Read More…)

It is a regular occurrence. Every few months, the Lansing Senator Debbie Stabenow rushes to the aid of GM and Ford and defends them against the nasty Chinese. The problem is: GM and Ford don’t want or need her help. (Read More…)

Despite saber-rattling, legal threats and affirmations that Volkswagen does not intend to give up its share in Suzuki, Volkswagen started its climbdown. Ferdinand Piech himself signaled that Volkswagen can go it alone. At the Frankfurt Auto Show, Piech said that Volkswagen is “big enough.”  His man Winterkorn quickly fell in step and told Reuters today: “”Suzuki was one option. But we can do it on our own.”

That should be signals enough for everybody at Volkswagen to put the Suzuki saga behind themselves and to concentrate on other pressing business, such as the messy Porsche merger.

Back in Tokyo, The Nikkei [sub] wrote what seems to be Suzuki’s version of the story. (Read More…)

Dieter Zetsche and Carlos Ghosn had their intimate luncheon with selected members of the Fourth Estate today. It took place in the not so fancy, but highly convenient Maritim Hotel, which has a prized asset: A private entrance to the Frankfurt Motor Show. It, and the Marriott across the street, are the hottest properties in Frankfurt during Motor Show days. The TTAC-dispatched fly-on-the-wall reports from the luncheon: (Read More…)

Daimler and Nissan may announce some serious platform sharing, t.b.a. either today or tomorrow on the sidelines of the Frankfurt Motor Show. Bloomberg has heard that Daimler “is considering sharing its small-car platform with Nissan Motor Co.’s Infiniti brand.” (Read More…)

Now that Carl-Peter Forster has given notice, another German executive of Jaguar takes center stage: Ralf Speth, chief executive officer of Jaguar Land Rover Plc.  Being born in the U.K. as a son of a German diplomat, Forster speaks flawless English with those Teutonic undertones that fit a car CEO well. (Read More…)

Volkswagen may show the car for lonesome commuter – Audi won’t have that. They have a concept for a single that has a girlfriend. They call it the “1+1-seat, ultra-light car for congested urban spaces.” I don’t know how a car that barely seats two will alleviate urban congestion, but I’m sure Audi will have an answer. For now, “the Audi urban concept combines elements of a racing car, a fun car and an urban car into one radical new concept.” There are two: A Sportback model, and a Spyder. (Read More…)

I once had a Phaeton with a W12 engine – that was fun! Thank God I didn’t have to pay for it. Think of a W12 engine like two VR6 engines engaged in a hot mating ritual. In a Kamasutra-busting position, the two imaginary VR6 engines are mated together at an angle that looks like a W. V – W, get it? (Read More…)

Some car companies would kill if they would have as many new cars in one year as Volkswagen shows concept cars at the Frankfurt International Auto show.  Here is a quick overview. Most of them are offshoots of the new Volkswagen up!, which seems to be Volkswagen’s carmeleon. (Read More…)

The white-collar unions Unionen and Ledarna filed bankruptcy petitions today against Saab, everybody from Associated Press  to inside.saab reports.  On the same day, Saab announced that it had licensed its PhoeniX architecture to China’s Youngman at firesale prices – a move that could possibly buy another month or two. But first things first: (Read More…)