The Wall Street Journal has an extensive report in which Neal Boudette caught BMW cheating with its sales numbers. Boudette unmasked the shocking practice of car makers selling cars to dealers instead to customers: “Hundreds of BMWs counted as sold in July remain in showroom inventories and are still advertised for sale as new cars, according to dealers.” The WSJ dug deeper into the scandal.

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Ben Klayman, Reuters’ Detroit-based crack car correspondent, wrote a very good feature on self-driving cars.  After interviewing many sources, he comes to the conclusion that “it’s been more than half a century since some of the first concept cars boasting self-driving features were presented to the world”  and that this probably will not change anytime soon. Even Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google and the staunchest supporter of the technology cautiously says that “self-driving cars should in our lifetime become the predominant way.” (Read More…)

Maruti Suzuki “ will likely resume partial production at its violence-hit factory in Manesar, in the northern state of Haryana, by Aug. 21,” says The Nikkei [sub]. The plant remains closed since a mob killed the firm’s human resources manager and burned down parts of the factory. Fifty management personnel and 9 police officers were injured during the clashes. Mass arrests were made. Maruti Suzuki declared an indefinite lockout at the plant on July 21. (Read More…)

Europeans: Use instead of Euros. Americans: Use it as a screensaver

Shame, yes, shame on you, Americans, you horrible people. You are the weakest of the globe – when it comes to Porsche’s July numbers.  Porsche sales in the U.S. climbed only a miserable one percent. At the same time, people in Europe withdrew their last sinking Euros from faltering banks and moved them to the safety of a new 911 or Cayman. (Read More…)

Here is the perfect way to fight a brewing PR disaster from boiling over: Fire your CEO! Fisker Automotive named the former head of the Chevy Volt, Tony Posawatz, as CEO today, “marking the second time the green car start-up has replaced its top executive this year,” as Reuters can’t help to remark. (Read More…)

GM Korea reached a tentative wage agreement with its union, Reuters says. Workers receive a little more money, and a major concession that could have far-reaching consequences for GM’s recovery if it sets a precedence in the rest of GM’s world. (Read More…)

The Japanese car industry found a way to soften the impact of the crushingly high yen on its books. It does what U.S. and European automakers have practiced for a long time: Import low-cost parts from abroad. It is a stop-gap measure while large parts of the Japanese car industry is packing. (Read More…)

Two weeks ago, we had a rash of annoying ads. We are talking about autoplay video with autoplay audio. Not good. Especially in a work setting. Our technical crew worked quickly to have them turned off. And they did. Now we hear reports that they are back. (Read More…)

A month after the deadly riots at Suzuki’s Manesar factory in India, Maoist extremists are being blamed for the insurrection. Maruti Suzuki Chairman R.C. Bhargava told The Nikkei [sub] that “left-wing extremists pushed the factory workers to riot.” (Read More…)

One of our readers (he is a true reader, he never comments, doesn’t have a handle, just reads …) sent us this picture of a car dressed up in a tight corsage. Actually, he sent two. (Read More…)

Tesla’s 10 minutes test drives have received a lot of flak in the press. The Fourth Estate (at least parts of it) is trying to get to the core of that car, and that is its stellar battery performance. What is wrong with the tried and true practice of having the car for the day? A weekend?  This would give a tester time to find out when the battery runs out.  300 miles as per Tesla? 265 miles as per EPA? How much as per reality? Until journalists drive the Model S more than just a few times around the block, we have to go the unorthodox route of asking an inferential statistician. (Read More…)

While in Detroit the leaking remains limited to gossip and innuendo, Opel in Germany sprung a Deepwater Horizon–sized  leak that could pollute the political landscape for years. The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung says it is in possession of something that is regarded as part of the crown jewels of a car company: The long-term production plan through the next decade.  It’s bad enough that a paper publishes closely guarded secrets – their publication could blow-up the plan. (Read More…)

Nissan hired forty of the world’s most notorious slimeballs to flog its new Serena minivan.  Nissan “will promote its Serena minivan through a tie-in with the “Dragon Quest” video game series, part of a bid to boost sales to families,” says The Nikkei [sub]. (Read More…)

This morning, our man in India, Faisal, showed you renderings of the fourth generation Range Rover. TTAC reader Penaloza looked up from his (free) coffee at the  Embassy Suites in Corpus Christi, TX, and there it was: (Read More…)

Channel stuffing is taking its toll on China. Customers fight back against “increased sales pressure and an insufficient supply of experienced staff, driven by a disconnect between the dealership network expansion and the market slowdown, “ and punish car manufacturers where it hurts second most: On the J.D.Power Sales Satisfaction Survey. The survey, published today, notices “a notable deterioration in overall sales satisfaction among new-vehicle owners in China.” (Read More…)