Reuters reports that battery maker A123 Systems is filing to bankruptcy protection in Delaware.
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Honda stood in a seemingly unassailable position in the American marketplace, with customers willing to pay whatever it took to get a Civic or Accord… until the 1990s dawned. The asset-price bubble burst in 1991, founder Soichiro Honda died the same year, the competition had caught up to the Civic and Accord, the Legend and Integra weren’t smash hits, nobody could figure out the point of the Vigor, and Honda USA was getting sweated over decades of kickbacks and general dealership hanky-panky. Oh, and American Peugeot dealers were having an easier time moving the 404 (even as Peugeot was packing up to leave the continent) than Honda was in selling the fourth-gen Accord wagon. You never saw many of them on the street and just about all of them are gone by now, but I’ve managed to find this 344,000-mile example in a Denver self-service yard. Read More >
TTAC Commentator Morea writes:
Sajeev, hope it’s not too dumb, but it really is a question I have! I wish to someday own a car with a straight eight engine. Read More >
After travelling to Japan, Russia and the USA over the last week, this time I’m taking you to Iran where the automotive industry is experiencing a very eventful year…
The last time we went to Iran with Best Selling Cars Around The Globe was in April 2011 – in other words an eternity because at that time I didn’t have access to official production figures, so it’s time for a thorough update.
Not into 80s Peugeots and Kias (yes that’s what the Iranians buy)? That’s ok, you can discover the best-selling models in 167 additional countries and territories in my blog. Or today I can also offer you the Top 277 best-selling models in the USA over the first 9 months 2012…
Back to Iran.
A few days ago, reader Willman was banned for making rude comments in violation of TTAC’s commenting policy. Willman is back. Read More >
Longtime reader and new contributor Tyler Vandermeulen is a financial analyst by day. He took a deep dive into the EDGAR database to unearth how much of GM’s money flows abroad. Please welcome Tyler with the respect he deserves. Rude comments will not be tolerated.
Before the bailout of General Motors, it was well understood that the world’s largest automaker was losing huge amounts of money in the US and was staying afloat thanks to stronger performance in overseas markets. Since the bailout, however, that dynamic has been turned on its head. Thanks to a leaner manufacturing footprint, debt eliminations and steadily recovering sales, GM’s US operations have generated the lion’s share of the company’s profit since the bailout. And now, as the rest of the world economy slows, GM is spending more and more of its taxpayer-enhanced cash pile to shore up its faltering foreign divisions. In fact, according to an analysis of GM’s SEC filings, the company is likely to incur over $6.5 billion in losses and expenditures overseas in the 2011-2014 period, not counting over $1.6b in foreign potential legal liabilities or several other incalculable expenses that could add up to billions more. Not only are these expenses a challenge to GM’s overall financial health at a time when it also faces billion-dollar expenditures on pensions in the US, it shows the basic problem with national bailouts of global companies. Taxpayers who were told they were saving an American company are now seeing their tax dollars flowing overseas by the billions. Read More >
After a trip to Russia last Wednesday and a thorough look at Japan on Monday, here I am again, annoying you with ever more worldwide car sale figures. This time let’s get back to basics and look at the best-selling hybrid/electric cars in the USA, a category up 75 percent year-on-year…
Can’t get your head around why you would buy cars that run on batteries? That’s ok, you can discover the best-selling models in 168 countries and territories in my blog and you’ll see most of them still are good old gas-guzzlers. Or today I can also offer you the Top 277 best-selling models in the USA over the first 9 months 2012…
The Chinese Army was a great admirer of Benzes, so much that they built their own. Bamin State Automobile Works, or Bamin Automobile for short, was based in Minhou in Fujian Province. The company was owned by the Chinese army, it was also called the ‘PLA 7427 Works’. Bamin Automobile started business in the late 1980′s with a local licensed variant of the Beijing 212; the Bamin BM212A/BM213A. Read More >
The Oldsmobile 98 was available for most of the 20th century, and the average swank level remained quite high throughout. Of course, there was a certain element of Simu-Swank™ as Oldsmobile’s core buyer demographic became older and the Malaise Era ground on. We’ve seen a few Ninety-Eight Regency Junkyard Finds, including this ’84 Regency and this ’94 Regency Elite, and today we’re going to look at a plush mid-70s Regency with Whorehouse Red interior and 210-horsepower 455-cubic-inch engine. Read More >
Do you have a thick skin? Nope! Someone can reduce you to buckets of tears. Welcome to the world of Automotive Design, where talented folks regularly market/defend themselves with beliefs under the scrutiny of (not so) constructive criticism. I was guilty of this ritual at CCS: when I was done, I felt dirty. “Why did I say that? Did it help me, or make me feel better?” It was sorta like the regret following a one night stand.** Read More >
After a thorough look at Japan on Monday, this week you get the privilege (?) of another sales update from Around the Globe, and we’re going to Russia with love.
Last time I took you to Russia was 18 months ago and since then there has been so much change that it’s not funny.
So not funny that it requires a new trip today. Read More >
The Ford Taurus has been among the most numerous of junkyard inmates for nearly 20 years now, and a sprinkling of Yamaha-engined SHO versions show up among the bread-and-butter commuter Taurii. However, the third-gen Taurus SHO, with its 235-horse V8, is much rarer than the earlier V6 SHOs; in fact, this weirdly purple car I found in Denver is the first V8 SHO I’ve seen in the junkyard for at least a few years. Read More >
James writes:
Dear Piston Slap,
My mom wants to get a Land Rover and asked me to do some research for her. Right off the bat, I didn’t think this was a good idea due to reliability issues. I’m not sure if she would want a Range Rover or an LR4, but she would probably get a pre-owned one from Carmax. I get the impression that the LR4 is less reliable than a Range Rover. Read More >
Shaikh Jalal Ahmad wrote a very informative series on car suspensions. Sgeffe called it “an interesting (and timely) series.” Felix Hoennikker could not “wait for the next one.” JuniperBug welcomed the series from “a highly respected suspension tuner/builder.” But it takes only one drunk or rude guest to ruin a whole party. We are about to lose a valuable and knowledgeable contributor, just because commenters forgot their manners. Read More >
Ford did not receive a government bailout. Not directly. It would have gone down the tubes along GM and Chrysler, if they would have been allowed to die, Steve Rattner, the head of the auto task force, told Bloomberg. Read More >
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