Ask a non gearhead on the street (or pub, restaurant, clubs, etc) “who builds the most reliable cars?” and names like “Toyota”, “Hyundai”, “Ford” and “Honda” will crop up. Ask who builds the safest cars on the road and almost certainly, the name “Volvo” will be said.
The thing is Volvo lost their safety crown a long time ago to those 35 hour a week working, industrial action initiating, part government owned Frenchies. Renault. Renault consistently set new standards in safety and crash tests, lapping up praise from Euro NCAP. Some of this technical know-how has even trickled into Renault’s partner, Nissan. The Nissan Qashqai (thankfully renamed Rogue in the U.S., although it wasn’t a big improvement) achieved the highest ever Euro NCAP score. But now, it seems, Volvo is fighting back to regain the coveted safety title. (Read More…)
Brazil and some in the U.S are firmly backing ethanol as the fuel of the future. The UK thinks that electricity is the way forward, and they’re putting our money where their mouth is. The Independent UK reports that 11,000 charging points for electric cars are to be built in London, Milton Keynes and the North East. This project is being part supported by the UK government to the tune of £30 million. Coincidentally, the North East is where Nissan’s UK plant is. Is the government trying to butter someone up to produce a certain type of vehicle there? If successful, (or the government wants to force it on the public) then a second wave of charging points will roll out.
This shouldn’t really come as a, well, shock as the government is solidly pro-electric cars. In the pre-budget reports, Chancellor Alistair Darling announced tax rebates for electric cars. But there is another little problem: (Read More…)
Last November, Suzuki received a fuel leakage complaint on three cars in Europe and one in India. Suzuki did what Suzuki was required to do: Send owners of the “A-Star” (A.K.A, Suzuki Alto, Nissan Pixo) an invitation to go to their dealer and have the fuel pump fixed. As usual, this story received next to no media attention. In the years BT (before Toyota,) who cared about a yet another recall?
That was then, this is AT. Today, someone said “Suzuki has a recall” on the floor of the New Delhi stock exchange. Holy cow! (Read More…)
As a car company, closing out 2009 with a profit is a commendable feat. Generally, you count yourself amongst the blessed if you are still alive (or bailed-out by friendly governments.) Let’s look at two companies that made money in 2009. At least, at some time in 2009. (Read More…)
The unions have reasons for heightened annoyance. Insideline reports that Avtotor may buy the closed down Izhavto plant (Izhavto filed for bankruptcy in August 2009) in Izhevsk, Udmurt Republic, to build Hyundai and Kia vehicles. Avtotor is one of Russia’s largest assemblers of cars that come as kits. And why would that be of concern to Korea’s metal workers? (Read More…)
Growing recalls, loss of customers’ confidence, questions about their management, falling stock price and congressional hearings. 2010 hasn’t been kind to Toyota, so any good news now would be welcome. Consumer Reports is here to help. Yes, Consumer Reports. (Read More…)
If you were a company at time of recession, belt-tightening and countries on the verge of bankruptcy, you’d think that registering record profits and growing global market share at times like these would keep everyone at your company happy, right? Wrong. Members of Hyundai Motor’s union are angry. Livid. Up in arms. And as students of Asian cultures will confirm, Koreans can get, shall we say, a bit hot and bothered about causes close to their hearts.
Koreatimes reports that despite pleas from management for peaceful resolutions, their union has demanded that Hyundai stop expanding overseas and guarantee job security at home – or else. (Read More…)
In these times of bailouts, stimuli and protectionism, it’s probably a good time to remind ourselves of the basic tenets of capitalism. In short, let the free market run free and things will adjust themselves. Or so they say. If factory costs are too high, you either cut costs or move to a place that has lower costs. This is why Eastern Europe is so popular for European manufacturing companies. Cheap labor, low overheads and no tariffs due to EU membership. However, as I said earlier, when a free market is allowed to be free, things will adjust. And adjust, they have. (Read More…)
We at TTAC pride ourselves as “equal snarkiness journalists”. We don’t care if you’re GM, Toyota, Honda, Hyundai, Fiat or anyone else. You try to pull the wool over our eyes, we’ll strike back with the truth you’re trying to hide. Likewise, not only are we journalists, we are also humans and as such we have our own brands and marques which we are partial to. Anyone who’s ever read my posts and articles (and not just to comment on my regional grammar and spelling) will know that I like, very much, Toyota and Jaguar cars. But that matters not a jot today. I am a blogger and an impartial one at that, so when I say this next article pains to me write, trust me, it PAINS me!
Nissan’s alleged premium brand Infiniti is going to the dark side…well, the less refined side. The Auto Channel reports that Infiniti are going to put a newly developed diesel power train (produced in grand alliance with Renault) into their vehicles for the European market. They are aiming to put this oil burner into the EX and FX CUV’s, and later into the M saloon. (Which is not a new watering hole. It’s what the Americans would call a sedan. Which is a town in France. Or in Australia. Or in Indiana, Kansas, Minnesota and West Virginia. You figure it out. ED)
Infiniti has been in Europe for less than a year. Jim Wright, Vice President of Infiniti Europe, compensates lack of experience with lack of shame, and with a PR-writer prone to flowery prose (always a dead give-away for wannabe-luxury:) “The sales success enjoyed by Infiniti in Europe against a backdrop of financial uncertainty proves the cars’ appeal to a discerning audience. We have established Infiniti as the luxury performance brand thanks in part to the remarkable multi-award winning VQ petrol engine that powers most of the models in the range.” (And he didn’t refer to a kitchen stove. ED) (Read More…)
For those of you who’ve read my work, you’ll know I’m no stranger to controversy. So, this next piece, will be a little, well, dark, shall we say? In the above picture, what do you see? It’s a classic VW Beetle. Nothing bad there. But this particular Beetle has caused a huge amount of grief stateside, followed by controversy. It was hidden under a black cloth and when it came off what people saw at the National Museum of Crime and Punishment was a 1968 VW Beetle, exactly like what you’re seeing. But it wasn’t so much what it was as WHO it was. (Read More…)
Imagine you’re a Belgian worker at GM’s plant in Antwerp. You’ve had to endure jokes about being the “sick man” of GM Europe’s family and had the sword of Damocles hanging over you. You then get told that you’re being shut down at a time when the economy is fragile, at best. How would you feel? Bad? Angry? Helpless? Well, GM’s just about you kick you while you’re down. The BBC reports that GM Europe are going to create an extra 700 jobs at their plant at Gilwice, Poland. But wait! There’s more! The reason these new jobs have come about is because they want to increase production of GM’s new Astra model, the very car which GM Antwerp made. The Gilwice plant will now operate 24 hours a day over three shifts. Ulrich Weber, Opel Spokesperson, told the BBC that “This has been planned for a long time, and will be in operation by the middle of the year,”. I’m sure that’ll come as some comfort for the Belgian employees. However, these new jobs in Poland don’t represent a change of heart from Vauxhall/Opel. They re-iterated their plans to cut 8,300 jobs across Europe. And by “across Europe” they mean those jobs in those expensive countries like Germany, Spain and The U.K.
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