Ford is betting real money on India.  Not wanting to be as late to the party as Ford has been in China, Ford “plans to invest $1 billion to build a factory in western India to gain a greater share of one of the fastest-growing car markets,” reports Reuters from Bangalore. (Read More…)

Checking in on Saab, which becomes as cheerful as visiting a relative in a hospice, we hear that Saab can’t make payroll again. Says The Local: “Saab informed white-collar staff on Tuesday that they would not receive their salaries on time this month. According to a report in the Dagens Industri (DI) business daily, the money will be delayed due to the non-payment of a installment from Bahamas-registered fund Gemini.”  The natives are getting restless: A local politician demands Victor Muller’s head. (Read More…)

Better late than never: After refusing for months to comment on rumors that Opel might be up for sale, and after having been lambasted from his own workers up to Germany’s government, GM CEO Dan Akerson said the magic words: “We don’t comment on speculation — and there has been a lot of speculation — but I will say this: Opel is not for sale.”

Akerson made the remarks at a GM plant while celebrating the official launch of labor talks with the UAW, Reuters reports. (Read More…)

What TTAC readers have known for a while already, Germany’s Financial Times has realized: The UAW is trying to get its foot into the door of Volkswagen’s Chattanooga plant. Apparently, the UAW is banking on the fact that the plant is new, that Volkswagen is used to working with the unions, and most of all, that wages in Chattanooga are lower than at Daimler, BMW, Toyota and Honda. Financial Times Deutschland reports that a worker makes $14.50 an hour in Chattanooga, $19.50 after three years. Now the German Metal Workers Union IG Metall wants to help the UAW – by establishing a works council in Chattanooga. (Read More…)

Who says an automaker needs at least 5 million units per year to survive? Daimler in Germany made $6.7 billion EBIT on sales of just 989,386 units in the first half year. Unlike other car companies who are sitting on such a big pile of accrued losses that no taxes will be due in the foreseeable future, Daimler made a healthy contribution to the government’s finances. Even after tax, the company is left with $4.2 billion for the first half year. This according to emailed statements by Daimler. (Read More…)

After a lot of prototypes presented at Chinese car shows with hoods closed and long cables going to mock charging stations, EV development appears to get serious in China. Yesterday, Nissan announced that it is developing an EV for the Chinese market that will be sold under the Venucia brand by 2015. Daimler of all people could be further ahead. (Read More…)

In a race to get a more solid foothold in India, Toyota is nearly doubling its production capacity on the subcontinent.  Much to the chagrin of some Indians, the country is called the “next China.”  Currently, the market is dominated by Suzuki, which owns nearly half. Hyundai  and  Mahindra  hold sizable shares – all of which bugs the world’s largest carmakers to no end. (Read More…)

In fulfillment of my paparazzo duties, I stalked Nissan’s and Renault’s CEO all the way to China today. Easy for me to do: I could walk from where I live in Beijing. The walk was worth it. In the Grand Ballroom of the China World Tower 3, Ghosn and his Chinese joint venture partners announced an aggressive five year plan. Nissan and Dongfeng want to nearly double Nissan sales in China from 1.3 million in 2010 to 2.3 million in 2015. (Read More…)

At a press conference in Beijing’s tallest building, Nissan’s CEO Carlos Ghosn announced today that the Nissan-Dongfeng joint venture will build an EV in China, and that it will be ready by 2015. No, it will not be the Nissan Leaf. It will be a plug-in that will sail under Nissan-Dongfeng’s “Chinese” brand, Venucia. Said Ghosn: (Read More…)

Good morning! Two years after GM reneged on the Opel sale to Magna and Sperbank, the Times of London has the big scoop. GM cancelled the sale of Opel because the buyers wanted the right to sell its factories to a Russian state-owned car maker, says the Times, citing U.S. diplomatic cables revealed in Wikileaks. Really? You don’t say! We are shocked! (Read More…)

Today is the day when the Japanese majors announce domestic and global data for June and the half year. A little more than three months ago, a massive earthquake, followed by a devastating tsunami, paralyzed much of Japan’s infrastructure. It could not have come at a more inopportune time. The Japanese auto industry was already suffering from weak markets at home and abroad, paired with a rising yen that destroyed profits from exports.  Three months later, how big was the hit? (Read More…)

This handy pocket chart (print out and laminate), brought to you courtesy of the Freep, shows you the good and bad parts of the Detroit Metro when it comes to driving under the influence. We supply it in extra large, because- well, you know.

As you can see, in Detroit proper, the consequences of getting caught over the limit are pretty benign.

North of 8 Mile Road, matters get dicey. And the map tells only half of the story. (Read More…)

Alex Dykes will may have another chance to review  a Mercedes-Benz C 63 AMG Coupé, the 2012 model this time. Although after the last review of a “halfhearted approach to a hotly contested and prestige-generating segment,” it wouldn’t surprise me if there would be a sudden shortage of the car when Alex shows up. (Read More…)

14 millions Americans are out of work. The government is facing default. U.S. home prices are at their lowest level since 2003, and Robert Shiller, the economist who co- founded the S&P/Case-Shiller index of U.S. home prices, said a decline in property values up to 25 percent in the next five years “wouldn’t surprise me at all.” From Bernanke on down, everybody is scaling back the rhetoric that economic growth is just around the corner.  Suddenly, automakers aren’t so sure anymore about all that pent-up demand that will bring back U.S. car sales back to their old glory. Reuters asked around and didn’t come back with good news. (Read More…)

Porsche and Volkswagen are the typical German couple: Not married, with children. Formally, the two want to say “Ja” once the pending lawsuits are taken care of. In the meantime, the couple cohabitates happily. CEO Matthias Müller is made from Audi-DNA. He is a confidant of Martin Winterkorn, who is Piech’s man. Müller runs Porsche like a full-fledged Volkswagen division, down to doing his share to fulfilling Winterkorn’s grand “Strategie 2018,” the plan for world domination by Volkswagen. Under Müller, Porsche doesn’t chase Nordschleife lap times. Porsche chases volume. (Read More…)