Whereas other Japanese carmakers struggle a bit in keeping up with the still quite hot Chinese market, Nissan finds itself way ahead. Nissan’s China sales rose 51.4 percent in the first half to 503,077 vehicles, says The Nikkei [sub]. Reason given: strong demand from middle-class buyers.  The Chinese market as a whole rose some 30 percent in the first six months. Read More >

It’s a little known fact, but Toyota’s first factory abroad was in Brazil. Toyota started producing their Bandeirante (known elsewhere as Land Cruiser, full history here) locally in CKD mode in 1958. In 1962, the factory in São Bernardo do Campo, São Paulo state was inaugurated. There, Toyota do Brasil produced the 4WD, almost unchanged, until the year 2000. The site is still productive, but now only makes parts. In the 90s, they inaugurated another factory in Indaiatuba, SP state, too, to produce the Corolla. In September, construction of the third Toyota factory in Brazil will begin in Sorocaba, São Paulo state. Read More >

There seems to be no end for the good news for German (and assorted Asian) companies. Paulo Kakinoff, president of Audi do Brasil, declared to Brazilian car enthusiast site Webmotors that “logistics for importing motor vehicles is overburdened and factories abroad cannot serve all markets”. José Luiz Gandini, president of Kia do Brasil and Abeiva (Association of Car Importing Companies) said to said site: “It’s common for the customer to wait 60 days for a car.” Read More >

Wisconsin’s highest court yesterday approved police use of Global Positioning System (GPS) devices to track motorists, as long as a valid search warrant is obtained. In 2003, Madison Police Detective Mary Ricksecker attached a tracking device to the 1980 Chevy Beretta as it sat on the private driveway belonging to Michael A. Sveum, then age 35. Sveum was suspected of stalking his ex-girlfriend, Jamie Johnson based on nine hang-up calls that were placed at payphones around the city. The tracking device was eventually used to connect Sveum to the time and place of other calls.

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When you think Volkswagen and alternative powertrains, only one kind of springs to mind, and it’s no very alternative. Diesel. They are pretty good at it in Wolfsburg. But these days it isn’t enough. Nowadays, we have E85, fuel cells, hybrids, more efficient petrol engines and many more. Volkswagen can’t afford to bet their future on Diesel. So where do they go from here? I hear California is quite nice…? Read More >

15 years ago, these six cars were Nissan. Sure, they sold a few Zs back in ’95 (4,176, actually), and the 240SX was in its last year of five-digit sales, but the Altima, Maxima, Sentra, Frontier, Quest and Pathfinder were the bread and butter. Needless to say, things change over 15 years, and though Nissan still sells all of these vehicles (excepting the Quest’s 2010 model-year hiatus), they’re no longer the reliable core they once were. Yes, the Altima sells like hotcakes, but Nissan’s other core nameplates are on steady steady glidepaths downwards, and the brand’s volume is largely being maintained by the introduction of new models. And as is so often the case in business, this shift away from core strengths is being rewarded by some thorough housecleaning. Having spent quite a bit of today talking with Nissan consultant Sharyn Bovat, yesterday’s rhetorical question What The Foxtrot Is Going On At Nissan is starting to come into sharper focus. Expect full reporting shortly, but in the mean time know this: things are changing at Nissan. My question now: does this chart help explain why?

Hybrid drivers rejoice! You are in the process of being replaced as the trolls of the automotive world by EV drivers like this one. What this Tesla pilot clearly doesn’t understand is that his/her license plate is every bit as self-satisfied and obnoxious as this one. And nowhere near as clever or inventive as this one.

It is not at all clear that the greatly accelerated pace of the dealership closings during one of the most severe economic downturns in our nation’s history was either necessary for the sake of the companies’ economic survival or prudent for the sake of the nation’s economic recovery

Whoops! Who could have thought that the biggest political fight of the bailout era was picked over something never really needed to happen. At least, not according to the SIGTARP, the Special Inspector General for TARP, Neil Barovsky. In his latest report on the GM and Chrysler dealer cull [full document in PDF here], Barovsky explodes a lot of the myths surrounding the move to accelerate dealer closings, and even goes so far as to assign real blame… and not to GM or Chrysler either.

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We don’t know for sure, but Dr. Sanjay Mehta (TTAC commentator doctorv8, awesome brother) did the deal on a 2010 Corvette ZR1 for 0% while the autoblogosphere still had it in editing. Not that the Internet is slow, he’s just that damn fast.The dude’s been keeping tabs on the inventory nightmare, calling out for GMAC’s corrective action on the Corvette Forum…almost a month ago.  It’s so nice to see the two brothers speak The Truth About Cars, via different media.
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If GM wants to pull off a smashing IPO, they need smashing numbers. There are people they can learn from: Their friends and joint venture partners at China’s SAIC. China’s largest automaker (they have joint ventures with both GM and Volkswagen, can’t get any bigger), said first-half profit may have more than quadrupled from a year earlier, reports Bloomberg. And the secret to their success? Read More >

With President Obama set to sign a new financial oversight bill into law on Wednesday, the New York Times has dug into the bill looking for key oversights. Because auto dealers were exempted from the bill (thanks at least in part to their mobilization by the GM/Chrysler dealer cull), auto dealer finance tactics ended up square in the NYT’s crosshairs, and paper’s Your Money blog has a rundown of three of the most heinous of these tactics: the Yo-Yo, the Markup and the Add-On.

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The Wisconsin Court of Appeals on Wednesday overturned the conviction of a woman arrested for driving under the influence (DUI) because she smelled of alcohol. Brittany A. Meye, 22, stopped for gas at a Kwik Trip gas station on January 22, 2009 just before 3:30am. A Pewaukee police officer claims that he caught the scent of intoxicating beverages as Meye and her passenger walked past him into the store. After a few minutes inside, the pair returned to their vehicle, and the officer arrested Meye as she got behind the wheel. The appellate court found the officer’s response inappropriate.

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Ok, so we heard that BYD is moving onto the home appliance market. Now, BYD takes  development to a whole new level We hear that they will build whole homes! No drywall comments, please, these are environmentally friendly homes. China’s electric car manufacturer BYD Auto teamed up with California’s KB Home to build new energy homes in Lancaster, California. The first-phase construction of the project has recently been completed, Gasgoo says. Read More >

Honda is moving closer to the grid. Honda is working on on a plug-in hybrid, and an all-electric car. It will take a while until they are ready, if you want one, you need to wait until 2013. Toyota is a step and a year ahead: ToMoCo will begin mass production of plug-in hybrids and electric cars in 2012. Read More >