I am getting tired writing about Saab. According to the clicks on Saab-stories, you are getting tired as well. Empty promises, missed deadlines, endless wait. There is even dissension in the ranks of Saabsunited, where more and more people are getting tired of waiting. So, let’s make this short. (Read More…)

Usually, we don’t report on recalls. If we would, we would be reporting on recalls all day. Sometimes, we make an exception, if the matter has wider ranging implications. This is one of those times.

The recall: BMW recalls “approximately 50” BMW X3. They have electric power steering. There is nothing wrong with the power steering. But there is everything wrong with the computer that runs the power steering. The steering has a position sensor, and the sensor’s calibration data pertaining to temperature balancing was mistakenly overwritten.” At some point, the computer finds out that something is wrong, and shuts off the electric power steering (EPS).

The wider ranging implications:DARPA challenges colleges to build autonomous vehicles. Google already has “look, ma, no hands” cars drive autonomously through the city, now they want some that read your mind. Cars drove autonomously from Italy to China. Nevada paves the legislative roads for driverless vehicles. What do they all have in common? (Read More…)

According to The Nikkei [sub] “Toyota Motor Corp. said Wednesday it will start offering on Thursday a free application for smartphones that sounds an alarm if the user’s home electricity use reaches a preset level.” Don’t believe it. The Nikkei made it up. (Read More…)

It has been around the net since yesterday that “trucks are piling up on auto lots” and that this could spell “trouble for GM.”

Bloomberg reports that GM did bet on a strong recovery and built more trucks to fill the imaginary demand. “The strategy is backfiring.”

The National Legal and Policy Center has more sinister suspicions. It states that “it looks like General Motors is up to its old tricks as it stuffs inventory channels with higher profit trucks.” The center is accusing GM and the Obama administration of “fudging earnings.” (Read More…)

Our patent-pending China sales oracle has spoken, and it says. The only bubbles in China are in the heads of some self-styled experts.

Looking at the June and half year results of GM China, one can only conclude that all is well in the Middle Kingdom. What’s good for GM China is good for America: China is GM’s largest market. GM’s sales in China are up 9.9 percent in June and 5.3 percent for the half year. But there is a much more important lesson: (Read More…)

Today, I went on a very early morning Shinkansen to Nagoya. The idea was to have me kind of certified as a Toyota-accredited journalist. I don’t know whether I qualified. I flunked the required rattling-off of the 12 Toyota plants in Japan. However, I was invited into Toyoda’s house. (Read More…)

When I used to go to Cannes for the Cannes Lions International Festival, it was more to hang out with friends at the bar of the Carlton or the Martinez, and to boo at the choices of the jury, after the more interesting topless attractions at the beach had gotten dressed. Volkswagen had a serious reason to go. They went home with a whole safari park of the coveted “Lions.” Volkswagen received a total of 34 Gold, Silver and Bronze Lions. (Read More…)

Germans bought 288,382 new cars in June, that’s pretty much the same (-0.3 percent) as in June 2010. A month does not a year make: In the first half of 2011, 1.62 million cars changed hands in Deutschland, that’s 10.5 percent more than 2010, say data released today by the Kraftfahrtbundesamt. (Read More…)

Porsche wants to do what every car maker wants. Sell more cars. So what would you do if you would have to move more Porsches? Tout their speed? Their horsepower? Call up Jack Baruth and offer him “Buy 10, get one free?” No, Siree. Porsche positions their cars as schoolbuses. (Read More…)

End of the year, Europeans can delight in the Made in America Opel Ampera, which is a rebadged and slightly reskinned (see picture) Volt. But don’t rush to your friendly Opel dealer to put in your pre-order: The Ampera is already sold out. (Read More…)

Japanese automakers will move their production elsewhere if the yen keeps rising. This is what Toshiyuki Shiga, chairman of the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association, told The Nikkei [sub] in a very blunt interview.  Shiga, who is also the COO of Nissan, said that power shortfalls and the strong yen are the biggest impediment to Japan’s most important industry. (Read More…)

Each month, we follow the ups and downs of the car business.

Cars.com has a different hit-parade: Which models sell best? Here are the American Top 10 of June. Uncommented. The numbers speak for themselves. (Read More…)

To celebrate the nuptials of the Princess and the Prince of Monaco, here one of the Top Gear classics: Aston Martin DB9 against public transport.  London to Monte Carlo.  Who gets there first? Car or train? (Read More…)

If you are stuck in traffic and no legal way to turn around, what do you do? Ignore the “no U-turn” sign? Say “hey, I have an SUV” and take the median? A driver in China’s Kumming, a city famous for  ake Lamborghinis and illicit substances, took another route: A pedestrian bridge. (Read More…)

This is the Maxximum G-Force. It holds all kinds of world records. And it runs on all-American natural gas! Something had to be natural in this video …