Honda, along with other Japanese carmakers, recovered within weeks from a devastating earthquake , tsunami and nuclear meltdown. Nevertheless, Monday morning production strategists pestered the Japanese why they had not relocated to safer grounds. It took Honda half a year to recover from a killer flood that had inundated those safer grounds. Read More >
After a round of psychological warfare with targeted leaks, GM seems to be ready to attack the overcapacity at lossmaking Opel in earnest – eventually. The German government reportedly has been informed that Opel wants to close Bochum. Jobs will be exported to low cost countries such as Poland, Russia, China, India, Mexico and Brazil. Cars will be imported even from China. Read More >
Last month the Dept. of Transportation, through NHTSA, issued proposed guidelines on drivers’ use of electronic devices that could distract them from driving. Wayne Cunningham, an automotive writer for CNet, has been mining the 177 page document and he’s uncovered regulations that would effectively cripple navigation systems as we know them and also reduce the amount of information a car’s systems can display to a driver at any one time.
The BMW X1’s launch in the United States was “postponed indefinitely” due to high demand in Europe, but now, BMW has inadvertently confirmed a launch date for the United States.
In the nice problem to have department, Shell is doing its very best (or so they say) to settle a $1 billion bill for about four large tanker loads of Iranian crude. The problem: Sanctions make payments to Iran hard if not impossible. Read More >
Daimler’s R&D chief Thomas Weber told Germany’s Wirtschaftswoche a big secret: Daimler will show an electric car at the Beijing auto show that opens in the last week of April. Of course, TTAC readers already knew the secret. But it is always nice to have independent verification. Read More >
The electric car is in deep trouble. Why is that? The New York Times just pulled the plug.
Yes, the New York Times. I know, until a few weeks ago, there was hardly an EV the Times did not like.The Times even drove a pre-not-production BYD F3DM plug-in hybrid, and liked it. Never mind the “wobbly storage compartment between the front seats, subpar floor mats, squishy handling.” If it had a plug and four wheels, an adoring review in the NYT was pretty much guaranteed. No more. Read More >
The AHoF today honors automotive notables from around the world so seeing displays devoted to Armand Peugeot and Eiji Toyoda wasn’t that surprising. The AHoF, though, didn’t always have such an international flavor. It was only in 1989 that the Hall inducted its first Japanese auto executive, Soichiro Honda. Racing was near to Soichiro’s heart so currently on display in the exhibit dedicated to him is the 1968 Honda S800 RSC race car that won its class in the 1968 12 Hours of Suzuka endurance race.
A decade ago, MINI launched in the United States, at a time when gas was cheap and small cars were decidedly not in vogue. The original Cooper has given birth to the Clubman, Countryman, Coupe and Roadster, in a brilliant display of making many lengths of sausage from one pile of meat.
Unions in the U.S. are happy with Chrysler’s resurgence. Meanwhile in Italy, unions are being blamed for the woes of Chrysler’s parent. Read More >
After Joey and I sat down and tallied up all of the costs of our proposed Monte Carlo G-Body project; crate motor, upgraded cooling system, differential, engine accessories, transmission not to mention bodywork, interior refurbishing, brakes, suspension and all the other fun expensive stuff, we decided to abandon the project. Instead, Joey’s getting a Grand National.
A strange deal is in the works in California. Between 2000 and 2001, utility companies in California overcharged nearly $9 billion, withheld energy, dove up rates and caused rolling blackouts, California officials claim. The utility company will get away with a $120 million slap on the wrist. What’s more, the money will be invested into selling more electric power. Read More >
Mazda is not doing too well. Stuck with most of its production in high-yen Japan, woefully underrepresented in emerging markets and without the scale necessary for long term success, Mazda is expected to announce a 100 billion yen ($1.2 billion) loss for the fiscal year that ends this March. Mazda has three options for survival: Pray, bet on Skyactiv, and save wherever you can. In the save wherever you can department, Mazda says sayonara to commercial vehicles. Read More >
PSA and GM look at expanding their alliance. Unions are not sitting still either. Workers of PSA and GM look at forming their own strategic alliance. Read More >
Real Chinese brands are losing market share to joint ventures. The Chinese government wants to keep up appearances, and strongly suggests to joint ventures with foreigners that they should start a separate “Chinese” brand. Latest to say “hao” (yes, ok, jawohl) is Daimler. Its joint venture with BYD to make electric cars in China will dispense with making electric Mercedes first and will instead immediately head to second base and launch a Chinese brand. Read More >
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