
After a century of motoring, and with several factors rapidly changing the landscape, analysts are forecasting the peak of global automotive growth to come sometime in the 2020s.

After a century of motoring, and with several factors rapidly changing the landscape, analysts are forecasting the peak of global automotive growth to come sometime in the 2020s.

Just as J.D. Power ranks Hyundai fifth from dead last over quality issues regarding the 2011 Sonata, the automaker’s research and development president, Kwon Moon-sik, returns to the fold three months after quitting over a number of quality issues within the product line.
Tesla’s shares roared to over $250 on Tuesday February 5th, amid release of financial results. Tesla’s 8-K regulatory filing highlights a record 6,892 Model S’s sold, non-GAAP earnings of $46M ($0.33 on a per share basis), and projected vehicle delivery growth of 55% among others. The shares are currently trading just above the $260 during after-hours trading.

Five workers at Volkswagen’s Chattanooga, Tenn. plant have filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board against the United Auto Workers’ challenge to invalidate the outcome from this month’s three-day election, which saw the union fail to win the right to represent the plant’s workers in a close fight.
You could make a case for Mini’s Clubman being an ideal small-business/delivery vehicle. It’s large enough to carry bulky office items, small enough to park, stylish enough to be seen in, and gets decent fuel economy. One of the biggest criticisms of the Clubman, though, has nothing to do with its practicality- it’s that the bigger Mini doesn’t quite live up to the brand’s hard-earned performance heritage. That’s going to change, however, with the launch of the 2015 Mini Hybrid Clubman.
Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) took to the House floor last night to speak on behalf of her recently-introduced resolution, House Resolution 488, a resolution “supporting the people of Venezuela as they protest peacefully for democratic change and calling to end the violence”.
Following her was Representative Steve King, a Republican from Iowa. In his monologue to democracy the congressman brought up a (legal) trip he took to Cuba where he got to ride in one of Cuba’s finest taxis – a 1954 Chevrolet powered by “a Russian diesel engine”, the driver of which who also happend to be a doctor. Such communism. Very Russian. Much oppressed. Below is a clip from his speech compliments of CSPAN’s awesome Create Clip Option.
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Though quality and performance have improved as of late for products made by the Detroit Three, they still have a ways to go to beat the Japanese brands dominating Consumer Reports‘ current rankings.
Sales of the slow-selling Honda Insight will end, with Bloomberg reporting that production will end this month. Despite being released before the Toyota Prius, the Insight has lagged far behind it in sales.

In the wake of Tesla shares hitting an all-time high of $259.20 after Morgan Stanley raised its target price to $320/share, battery maker Panasonic is gathering a few partners to go all in on a $1 billion investment in the automaker’s Gigafactory battery production plant.

Originally affecting 780,000 2005 – 2007 Chevrolet Cobalts and Pontiac G5s, General Motors has now added another 588,000 vehicle in a recall to fix ignition switches that can lead to the engine being shut off. So far, 31 crashes and 13 front-seat deaths have been linked to the issue.

With declining membership and fees paired with a defeat in a close election recently held at Volkswagen’s plant in Chattanooga, Tenn., the Detroit Three fear the United Auto Workers not only have no future, but their replacement would bring back the days of turmoil settled over a decade before.
What happens when the subsidy is over?
This is a question that I tried to study in depth about a month ago when one of my friends had a 10 year old Toyota Prius that had seemingly lost it’s battery.
It turned out that he didn’t need a new car, or a new battery. A stray rodent had inflicted minimal harm to the wiring and his temporary search for a new ride quickly came and went.
However, I did some deep drilling for him one evening since his question was one with more unknowns than the typical car purchase. He wanted a LEAF, new our used, as his next car.
What shocked the hell out of me is that the numbers may indeed work… new or used.
The word may is a key operative term here…

Brief warming spells between polar vortices and Presidents Day sales boosted sales in February, though rising inventories and incentives raise questions about sales momentum heading into the oncoming spring selling season.

A 10 percent drop in sales experienced by Acura in 2013 has led parent company Honda to form a new business planning and development group with the long-term goal of overhauling the brand’s identity.
Courtesy of TTAC reader Bryan comes these photos from the 1989, 1990 and 1991 Chicago Auto Shows. A truly glorious era of cigarette advertising in motorsports, interesting concepts from Mitsubishis, plastic paneled import fighters and a body-on-frame small block sedan crowned as Car of the Year. Cars may get 5-stars in a crash test, 30 mpg on a highway and put down low 14 second quarter mile times for $25,000, but that doesn’t mean we can’t lament how much more soulful they used to be.
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