Back in loony desperation of pre-bailout Cerberus-era Chrysler, plans were floated for Chrysler to build a Ram-based Nissan Titan in exchange for a ChryCo-branded version of the Nissan Versa (and possibly the Altima). Now that Fiat is running things in Auburn Hills though, Chrysler has access to modern compact and mid-sized platforms. And Fiat doesn’t want Chrysler paying Nissan to help it compete in South America, one of Fiat’s most important markets. According to Automotive News [sub], the break “leaves Nissan with a bigger problem than any facing Chrysler.” Namely, the Titan question. Wait, seriously? Nissan recently killed off the Quest and Infiniti QX56 to make more room in its Canton plant for diesel-powered light commercial vehicle production. If/when the economy does start coming back, that market could be a better place to be than the crowded, cutthroat full-size pickup market. Alternatively, Toyota is drowning in Tundra capacity. If Nissan wants to be in the pickup market so badly that it’s willing to beg for a rebadge, that seems like the place to start. Release after the jump.

Read More >

For those of us who are pistonheads and think that the 21st century is going to be a clone of the 20th, this ought to be a wake-up call (along with the bankruptcy of General Motors and Chrysler, as well as the current inability of Toyota to make money in North America). Hyundai Group (which includes 50 percent owned Kia) is now the fourth largest automaker in the land. As in, all of the land/world. It just passed Ford Motor Company this month. With the upcoming major offensive by Hyundai and the ongoing downward spiral of General Messup, the only question remains: how long before Hyundai becomes number three in the world?

Read More >

The Detroit News can’t seem to decide. On the one hand, they say, “the White House next month will name its top auto adviser to oversee an effort to boost the sagging manufacturing sector.” On the other hand, they quote White House spokesfolks as saying, “Ron Bloom is doing a great job on the auto task force. There are no plans to shut down or repurpose the auto task force, and we expect Ron to continue to do a great job.” So what happened to rumors that the Presidential Task Force On Autos (PTFOA) will be gone by September? The DetN is too worked up about the bright future of US “manufacturing policy” to care. And with GM and Chrysler out of bankruptcy court, one has to assume that the focus will be shifting away from the auto industry. At least until the next bailout.

The board of GM convened on Friday to finally decide Opel’s fate. The board did as expected: It did nothing. They left everybody hanging. The board decided to not decide anything.

According to Reuters, the GM board desperately needs critical information from the German government. To wit: What state financing would be available if GM would sell Opel to their darling RHJ International, and not to Magna, which is favored by Germany.

Excuse us?

Do we have a serious case of highly contagious ADD, which has befallen the complete GM board?  We thought it had been made perfectly clear:
Read More >

After months of “deeper, harder, faster” cuts, GM is increasing its production numbers again. “We want to run lean, but we’re way too lean right now and we’re going to miss sales unless we put some production in,” explains GM sales honcho Mark LaNeve. He tells Automotive News [sub] that output will increase 35 percent in the third quarter to 535k units, and “at least” a further 20 percent in the fourth. “And it’ll probably go up from there,” says LaNeve. “Our dealers are clamoring for more vehicles in every segment.” Camaro, Equinox, SRX and Buick LaCrosse are said to be in especially short supply as GM’s nationwide inventory hit 360k units. Though much of the inventory shortfall is the result of Cash for Clunkers, GM’s cup-o-optimism runneth over.

Read More >

While Automotive News [sub] trumpets the fact that “Cadillac Joins Lexus atop Study of Customer Satisfaction,” our experience with all manner of stat house slickery behooves us to dig a little deeper into the subject. [“league table” here.] While we eagerly await Mr. Karesh’s analytical evisceration, I’d like to share some relevant facts. First, although the “see there IS a perception gap” study is called the American Customer Satisfaction Index™, it hails from the University of Michigan. Second, it’s a racket. The academics behind the index charge companies a $35K “corporate subscription price.” If you don’t work in automotive, no problem! The ACSI covers 44 industries! Oh, and the US government. Third, methodology (as above) . . .

Read More >

I’m glad Mr. Rosenbusch, of Chrysler Group LLC, found my article on Chrysler archives interesting. It’s always nice to be read. And I’m sure Rosenbusch agreed with the article when I said “America’s automakers have gone to great lengths and expense to preserve and protect the historical documents which chronicle and define their existence.” I’m also reasonably sure that Mr. Rosenbusch doesn’t dispute the fact of the closing of Chrysler’s engineering library. “One of a series of necessary steps to cut costs,” as he puts it. And I’m glad Mr. Rosenbusch saved all of the important documents resulting from that change of fortune. But I stand by my report that people on site experienced a sudden and chaotic end to a resource someone thought was valuable enough to create and fund. That Chrysler has tuned its back on its history.

Read More >

KTVU.com reports that an unspecified Japanese newspaper reports that Toyota has decided to shut down its Fremont, California, plant as of next March. New GM has already announced its decision to pull the plug on its share of the plant’s production, which last consisted of the Pontiac Vibe version of the Toyota Matrix. Speaking off the record, a U.S. Toyota spokesman told TTAC the writing’s been on the wall for some time. “NUMMI (New United Motor Manufacturing) was only profitable for a single year.” If this story pans out, production of the Tacoma pickup and Corolla sedan will move to ToMoCo’s mothballed—but brand spanking new—Mississippi factory. Which is, unlike NUMMI, a non-union shop. [Thanks to jmhm2003 for the link.]

Guess the cars (full images tomorrow). All photos courtesy David Holzman. Thanks to Marc Feinstein, German Performance Service, Cambridge, MA and Robert Fitzgerald, Robert’s Porsche-Mercedes Service, Wellfleet MA for access to the vehicles.

Toyota President has renounced his firm’s 2002 goal of attaining 15 percent global market share by around 2010. “Our president doesn’t feel comfortable upholding figures as our vision,” an anonymous Toyota source tells Automotive News [sub]. “It is not the Toyota way to aim for 15 percent or 10 percent.” Which makes sense, considering Toyota is predicting a nearly 13 percent drop in global sales in the fiscal year ending March 31. Indeed, AN’s source blames the market share goal for Toyota’s current overcapacity struggles. Which indicates that the big T may have recognized the role of number-chasing in GM’s demise. If nothing else, its executives certainly understand the importance of emerging markets in driving sales. Perhaps because Volkswagen is creeping up on Toyota’s market share on the back of its Chinese and Brazilian business. You gotta dance when the floor keeps getting hotter.

As General Motors prepares to ignore its own history, it also appears that the company is set on repeating it. Two decades ago, the star-crossed Fiero finally found redemption in the form of the 1988 GT V6, only to be canceled immediately after that revised car received positive reviews from consumers and the press. Yesterday, a halt was called to production of the Pontiac Solstice and Saturn Sky, just as the introduction of the GXP Coupe offered a glimmer of the decent sports car the Skystice could eventually have become. Like the man said, it’s deja vu all over again.

Read More >

Regular readers know that TTAC leans a little towards the “Inside Baseball” side of the auto industry. In this case, if we leaned any further, we’d fall down. But hey, many of us have come a long way together, shaking our heads in wonder as The General’s aide de camps stayed-up all night listening to Mohammed’s radio. Or something like that. Anyway, here’s a GM-related picture from Clubsnap.com’s Singapore snappers, taken during last year’s BBK International Motor Show. Make the jump for your New GM New Scorecard.

Read More >

Earlier today, I spoke with Jim Dollinger (a.k.a. Buickman). The TTAC commentator was deeply rattled. Jimbo reported that GM had put the squeeze on the dealer for which he sells. “They’re clever,” he said. “But they made it clear to the dealer that their franchise was in danger if I didn’t shut down GeneralWatch.com.” I told Dollinger to let it go. In fact, I called him back and recommended that he let GM go. Give up his quixotic quest to save GM and find some more lucrative, less splenetic line of work, or at least another carmaker to represent. Nope. Ten minutes ago, I received one of his e-mail alerts. “Today General Motors threatened my dealer. Now I have to decide between keeping my job and running GeneralWatch.com.” I e-mailed him back, “Are you sure you want to go public with this?” Suffice it to say, Dollinger’s terse reply signified his assent. So there you have it: same old GM. In other words, knowing both Buickman and GM, I believe him. Your tax money hard at work.

Bloomberg is quoting “two people familiar with the plan” (now it’s three) that Toyota’s pulling the plug on their joint venture with Old GM. “The company will negotiate the timing of the closing with Motors Liquidation Co., an entity responsible for the disposal of the assets GM shed in bankruptcy, said the people yesterday. They declined to be identified because the information wasn’t public.” But but but . . . it IS public. You know; now. Anyway, three days ago, ToMoCo was angling for government “assistance” and union “flexibility,” telling the world that it hadn’t made a decision on whether or not to terminate the project once and for all. Toyota’s North American chief executive  Yoshimi Inaba said the decision “depended on possible aid from California lawmakers, labor contracts for the factory’s union workers that expire in August and NUMMI’s financial viability.” As Toyota is not known for, uh, lying, I reckon the jury is still out.