US District Court Judge James B. Zagel on Wednesday unsealed documents filed in the case against former Illinois Governor Rod R. Blagojevich (D). The 91-page document lays out in greater detail the evidence in the prosecution’s corruption case against a man charged with using his office to line his own pockets. One of the central money-making schemes alleged is a multi-billion deal to install High Occupancy Toll (HOT) lanes inside an existing toll road. Blagojevich announced the program in 2008.
When people get married, they normally follow it up with a honeymoon and (at least traditionally) the consummation of said marriage. So, when Daimler and Renault-Nissan got hitched, how do you think they’d celebrate their first year of marriage? Build a car a together? Announce a joint venture factory? Start sharing dealerships? No. They had an argument. Just like your old polyamorous married couple. Read More >
A day after Ford’s attempt to abscond with Volkswagen’s thunder, the boys in Wolfsburg delivered just the right antidote: Forget the single brand modern math. Stop moving countries around the map. Volkswagen Group’s worldwide deliveries grew 24.6 percent in the first quarter of 2010, says Europe’s (still) largest auto maker in a press release. The positive trend that lifted global automotive markets by 19.4 percent should not remain unnoted. Volkswagen is outperforming the market, and that means gaining market share.
And where does that first quarter growth come from? You guessed it: Read More >
It seems like the Chinese government is getting worried a bit about what Greenspan would have called „irrational exuberance“ in the Chinese auto market. If Greenspan would have worked for the Chinese. Would have been interesting. Anyway … Read More >
The European Car Manufacturers Association has released its March numbers for Europe. At first glance, they are promising: New car registrations in the EU (as defined in Brussels) were 10.8 percent higher than in the same month of 2009. In the EU27 plus EFTA (including Iceland, Norway and Switzerland) registrations rose 11.1 percent. From here on, we will use the EU27 plus EFTA definition, just like the industry usually does.
Are there two sadder words in the world of car design than “design intent”? Translated, the term actually means “the inevitable letdown after months (or years) of hype based on a buffed-and-polished prototype.” And for upstart California EV outfit Aptera, a slick, otherworldly prototype was a key to being taken even remotely seriously. Unfortunately, yesterday’s unveiling of the “design intent” Aptera 2e revealed a cheaper, droopier version of the vehicle Aptera had been collecting deposits on the strength of. Don’t believe us? Check out a gallery of prototypes after the jump, and compare for yourself. Besides, the vehicle wasn’t the only ugly part of Aptera’s presentation…
TTAC commentator VanillaDude asks: “So? What would a 2011 Checker look like?” If VPG has their way, it’ll be this, their MV-1, supposedly going into production in October of this year. Well, it may, or not, be a legitimate Checker successor, but its still a hell of a lot easier on eyes compared to what they were planning to build before they touched it up a bit and rounded off the edges. Here comes, so be ready: Read More >
We’re right on the verge of having 12 million in vehicle sales
UAW boss Ron Gettelfinger waxes optimistic in a recent speech at Wayne State University [via The Freep]. “Not so fast,” says Automotive News [sub]’s delightfully cranky senior editor, John K. Teahen Jr., in a piece appropriately titled 12 million sales this year? Don’t hold your breath.
It’s a line of attack that Ford has been careful to avoid in the US, but Ford Europe is lashing out at GM’s request that European governments help finance the restructuring of its Opel division. Businessweek reports that Ford of Europe’s vice president of government affairs Wolfgang Schneider laid into GM’s request for $2b, saying:
Restructuring your business is your own job and you should pay for it yourself and you should not use taxpayer money. We are definitely against any support for Opel. The Europeans have made the choice that they would use their tax money to sustain companies and business and to sustain capacity levels that from an economical point of view are not sustainable. We do not believe that governments will be able to continue that policy forever. Governments run out of money, as well.
Smackdown! Now, why hasn’t Mulally been saying the same thing for the last two years?
Someone has posted a treasure trove of Checker photos at Flickr, and I’ve pulled a few of the ads to share (thanks, whoever you are!) because they’re irresistible. Checker obviously couldn’t afford the big agencies and ad campaigns, but their quaint and home-baked ads are as compelling in telling the Checker story as the cars themselves. Read More >
After much back-and-forth, it seems that the Camaro convertible is a sure thing after all, as this picture has surfaced at the Camaro’s Facebook page. Would you friend it?
Sajeev and Steve, I have a good one for you guys. I currently own a 2007 VW Rabbit 2dr Automatic. On average I put about 23,000+ miles on my car a year due to my commute to work. This car has given me no problems at all, however my commute often includes a lot of stop and go traffic and shotty road conditions, which I fear has aged some of the components. I drive ~25 miles to JFK and back everyday. I have exceeded the manufacturers warranty (50k) and extending my warranty is out of the question for me. The VW warranty will only extend it another 28,000 miles which will be a little over a years worth of driving for me. And people I know have had bad experiences with third party warranties, and I’m not sure I want to get myself stuck in something like that. I financed the VW for 72 months, I owe around $8000 on it but it is definitely worth around $10000 (craigslist and Autotrader).
University of Tokyo professor, author, and Toyota Production System expert Takahiro Fujimoto sits down with Wharton Business School professor John Paul MacDuffie to analyze Toyota’s staggering fall from grace [via Strada Blog]. Fujimoto largely skates over the “fat product” phenomenon, but acknowledges that high quality and increasing complexity led to debilitating arrogance at Toyota. As he says, Hyundai has been growing just as quickly (if not more so) in recent years, and yet has managed to avoid Toyota-esque quality scandals. The problem, he says, isn’t on the production side. Design quality problems stemming from arrogant middle-management at company headquarters, he says, are the fundamental deviations from the Toyota Way.
My Dad worked with the same company for sixty years. His first days were spent making coffee, learning English, and finding any opportunities for him and the company. It wasn’t easy. Back then America was in a recession with unfathomable debt and a dollar that could seemingly buy all the remnants of a battle scarred Europe. Today we have all the elements of the past. Except America is still fighting the wars, the dollar is weak, and the only thing that our country can seemingly buy is more debt… and time. With such lighthearted thoughts in my head this afternoon, I decided to go for a long walk.
As my revered colleagues at China Car Times rightly remark, “March is the first full month of car sales after the Chinese New Year where the majority of dealerships are closed for around two weeks, thus stunting growth of that month, but March is always a very busy month with many customers flush with cash after the New Year.” That’s why everybody who knows the Chinese car industry has a sharp eye on the March numbers. And that’s why everybody gasped when total vehicle sales in China climbed 55.79 percent from March a year earlier. Something else happened. A revolution. Read More >
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