It is one of those strange twists of fate that Toyota’s arch-nemesis, GM, would be one of the first overseas automakers to experience shutdowns caused by a lack of supplies from tsunami-devastated Japan. (Read More…)

Last year, GM’s German patient, Opel, hemorrhaged $1.6 billion. It could easily have been twice than that, if Nick Reilly had fired the more than 8,000 workers that are on Opel’s endangered species list. Letting people go can get very expensive in Europe if you are a going concern. The only factory that was closed was Antwerp, to the tune of $532 million. That came to a little bit over $200,000 per worker. Reilly didn’t want to rain on the IPO roadshow, and moved the mass firings to this year. GM’s thank you: Reilly was fired. (Read More…)

Opel and Renault are next in what probably will be an increasing number of casualties after Japan’s earthquake last week led to shutdowns of car parts factories.

According to Automotive News [sub], Opel will stop the lines at its plant Zaragoza, Spain, for 24 hours this coming Monday. The reason: an electronic item has not arrived from Japan. More stoppages are possible.

Closer to Japan, Renault will cut output at its factory in Busan, South Korea, by 15 to 20 percent. Problems with parts supplies from Japan have an impact on the SM7. A Renault spokesman hopes “a solution will be found rapidly.”

Apart from donating 1,000 portable generators, Honda delivers something really useful: Precise information about road conditions in the disaster areas. Together with Google Maps and Honda’s traffic data suppliers Internavi and Smartloop, Honda provides real time road conditions for the disaster stricken areas. (Read More…)

We had predicted early on that “the disaster in Japan could have a major impact” not just on the Japanese auto industry, but on the auto industry worldwide. If anyone had silently hoped (you can’t say these things aloud) that the disaster over there would provide breathing room for the car industry over here, then get ready for a disappointment. First automaker to be affected over here by the Japan syndrome is GM. (Read More…)

When you get bad service from a dealer, you either suck it in. Or you start a NameOfDealerHereSucks.com. At worst, you picket the dealer.

What do people in China do? They call in a bunch of guys with sledgehammers. To smash a $750,000 Lamborghini. (Read More…)

Once Japanese automakers have dug out from under the rubble, cleared the ports and start shipping again, they will face a possibly bigger problem: A killer yen that has accumulated strength in an absolutely abnormal fashion over the last few days. (Read More…)

Chrysler brought suit against Detroit company Moda. According to Chrysler’s complaint in U.S. District Court of Eastern Michigan,  Moda engages in “blatant misrepresentation of Chrysler’s IMPORTED FROM DETROIT™ tagline, introduced by Chrysler to tremendous public acclaim during Super Bowl XLV.”  Chrysler sues the company for “trademark infringement, false designation of origin, false descriptions, unfair competition, false and deceptive trade practices and unjust enrichment.” (Read More…)

Reforma, a local newspaper Mexico’s Jalisco state, writes today (via Reuters) that Honda may idle 1,100 employees at its factory there. Ruben Resendiz, spokesman fro Honda Mexico told the paper that closed airports and ports are affecting inventories. This stoppage would affect half of Honda’s employees at the plant. (Read More…)

European sales of new cars rose a tiny 0.9 percent in February, the European manufacturer association ACEA reports. Two months into the year, new car registrations are down slightly by 0.3 percent. (Read More…)

On Thursday, Toyota will restart seven parts plants in central Japan to supply replacement parts for the domestic market, The Nikkei [sub] reports. Production of parts for overseas markets will start Monday. (Read More…)

How do you goose fuel economy? Lower the cubic inches. Then add a little blow. Honeywell hopes that usage of turbochargers will double in new U.S. automobiles by 2015, “as tighter fuel economy standards foster an emerging market,” writes Bloomberg. The U.S. has among the lowest turbo use in the world, making it an “emerging region from a turbo standpoint,” Alex Ismail, head of Honeywell’s transportation systems division, said. (Read More…)

“The ripple effect of the stoppages to supply and production in Japan will be felt in many parts of the world, including the United States, China, and Europe, as many key parts and technology are exported to global operations from Japan, writes IHS Global Insight in a research report. “Disruption to production of parts that are unique and cannot be easily shifted has the potential to hit output badly at several automakers in the near term.”

First to be hit will be Japanese production sites overseas which often import 20 percent or more of their parts from back home.

However, plants owned by U.S. or European companies are not immune. (Read More…)

For days, Toyota had no word from its plants in the northern Japan quake zone. Many communities in the region are still cut off. Over the weekend, Toyota sent two truck convoys up north. On Sunday, a convoy of six water tankers, two fuel tankers and nine cargo trucks reached the area which now suffers wet weather and below freezing temperatures. A second convoy arrived on Monday. (Read More…)

Reuters found another problem for Japanese car makers: They will miss out on China’s luxury car market. Other than the German competition, the top Japanese manufacturers export all their luxury cars to China. “With Toyota, Honda and Nissan having shut all of plants in Japan after the earthquake and tsunami, exports to China will suffer,” says Reuters. That comes at a very inconvenient time. (Read More…)