Infiniti’s often discussed future premium compact model will not be built at Magna-Steyr, but “in-house in a European production facility,” Infiniti says in an emailed statement. The car will still “share a platform developed with Mercedes.” (Read More…)
Toyota may be cutting back its global group production by 200,000 units in the 2012 calendar year, writes Reuters, as a reaction to sharply reduced sales in China after the island row. Toyota’s China sales were down 49 percent in September. (Read More…)
When we reported that battery maker A123 had filed for bankruptcy, a lot of people thought that Johnson Controls is in control, and that Chinese Wanxiang is out. No and no, writes Reuters star car reporter Norihiko Shirouzu. Wanxiang still wants A123, and Johnson Controls is just one bidder in a Chapter 11 process, says Reuters. (Read More…)
I am sitting next to a man in a Nissan Leaf. The man tries to run over pedestrians. If you think that’s mean, then the three black clad guys who are hiding behind a row of parked cars will disgust you. Their job is to push a pedestrian in front of an oncoming car. (Read More…)
The European new passenger car market accelerated its downward trend in September. According to data release by the European manufacturer body ACEA, Registrations were down 10.8 percent YoY to 1,099,264 units in the EU. Nine months into the year, the market contracted 7.6 percent to 9,368,327 units registered January through September 2012. (Read More…)
Space Shuttle Endeavour was hitched to a silver Toyota Tundra CrewMax half-ton pickup to cross the 405 Freeway on its two day trip from LAX airport to the California Science Center (CSC). (Read More…)
Yesterday, La Tribune in Paris had it on good authority that moribund Opel and the carmaking arm of PSA Peugeot Citroen would be merged into a joint venture.Reuters started digging a bit deeper and can say with conviction that “General Motors and PSA Peugeot Citroen are exploring ways to combine European operations in a second phase of the carmaking alliance they forged to save costs earlier this year.” They just don’t know yet how.
A few days ago, reader Willman was banned for making rude comments in violation of TTAC’s commenting policy. Willman is back. (Read More…)
Think of it as a merger of the equally sick: PSA’s automotive division (Peugeot Citroen) and Opel could be put into one company, a joint venture between GM and PSA, La Tribune reports with Reuters providing the translation. (Read More…)
Volkswagen wants to go back to its “People’s Car” roots, and plans to launch a new low-cost brand by about 2015, Reuters says. With a a price range of between 5,000 and 10,000 euros ($6,500-$12,900), Volkswagen wants to emulate the success of Renault’s Dacia. Nissan resurrected Datsun as a low-cost brand to help gain market share in lucrative emerging markets. (Read More…)
German unions know that “end of October” means more for GM than October 31. German unions now demand a final deal with Opel by October 26. If there is no deal, it will cost Opel: Opel can defer paying a 4.3 percent industry-wide wage rise until October 31, if there is no deal, Opel has to pay. Also on October 31, GM will publish its third-quarter earnings. (Read More…)
Strong demand is spurring Chevrolet to import more Chevrolet Spark minicars from Korea – though Chevrolet won’t release their initial projections or how many Sparks will be imported in the next round.
Volkswagen published group totals for September. They are not quite the 6.8 million rumored a few days ago, but close enough. According to Volkswagen data, groupwide sales reached 6.71 million for the first three quarters of 2012, up 9.7 percent. In September, sales were up 6.5 percent to 801,000. In China, Volkswagen pierced the 2 million barrier. (Read More…)
There is a GOD: With Europe paying a lot of penance for its sins, we might be spared hell in form of a Lamborghini and Bentley SUV. In order to save cash for Volkswagen, the company may put the Lamborghini Urus and the Bentley SUV, codenamed EXP9F, on ice, Reuters says. (Read More…)
Reuters has a great story about a car company you probably never heard about. It is in Malaysia and makes cars that look like out of an antique car catalog. The company can’t keep up with the demand. (Read More…)
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