In what “could herald a new era in auto insurance” (if the Wall Street Journal is right), Progressive “introduced a new type of car insurance that offers a discount to policyholders based on real-time information about how and when they drive.”

And how will Progressive obtain all that info? (Read More…)

There are gallant, yet disturbing news coming from Japan’s automaker front. Japanese automakers unite to cope with the disaster. “Automakers have set up a joint headquarters for support measures and are sharing damage reports and other information,” reports  The Nikkei [sub]. “They have a plan that aims to provide more effective support by dividing their forces by region and building teams on the fly. Staff from, say, Toyota may end up lending a hand to a parts maker that does business with, say, Nissan.” According to the Nikkei, Japan’s automakers also have come to a “silent understanding” to not to compete for who might be first to restart production.  What is causing the sudden unity amongst former bitter rivals? (Read More…)

The French government has its hands full pounding Gadaffi’s tanks and artillery pieces into pulp. At the same time, the French government decided not to destabilize carmaker Renault. French Industry Minister Eric Besson said the latter part when he was asked whether he’s calling for Carlos Ghosn’s head after the espionage scandal had turned into a farce.

“As industry minister, I hear the voice of the people asking for punishment, but the industry minister’s greater concern at this time is not to destabilize Renault any further,” Besson told RFI radio ( via Reuters) in an interview. (Read More…)

“After Fukushima, I am not sure how any politician in any modestly democratic republic is going to sell a new nuclear power plant to any general population.”

“Would you like the job of trying to sell a new nuclear plant to your electorate?”

“There is one terrible casualty in all of this: The electric car. When they make part 2 of Who Killed the Electric Car? the answer is going to be plain and clear: Fukushima killed the electric car.”

From the LogicalOptimizer blog, just one of many that currently say the same. (Read More…)

On Monday, Nissan plans to reopen six factories in Japan. They will make badly needed replacement parts for the domestic market and parts needed for its overseas plants, The Nikkei [sub] says. On Thursday this week, Nissan will start assembling vehicles at five of the six factories from Thursday using the parts procured by then.

Nissan’s problem plant is an engine plant in Iwaki city in Fukushima, close to the crippled nuclear power plant. Nissan is “trying to restore operations” there. The plant makes V6 engines. Bringing it on-line could take longer.

In the U.S., Nissan battles another enemy: Fear. (Read More…)

General Motors Co. has halted all nonessential spending and travel companywide while it gets a better handle on the potential impact of Japan’s crisis on the company, the Wall Street Journal reports.

When the CEO of a large multinational sends out a companywide memo to hold off on any expenses that aren’t critical, things are dire. GM CEO Dan Akerson did just that, the Wall Street Journal says. (Read More…)

This driver had the bad luck of being on a coastal road in Japan when the tsunami hit. He had the good luck to make it through alive. And he had the amazing luck to have a video camera going while it happened, capturing the tsunami crashing into road and car. (Read More…)

It is one of those strange twists of fate that Toyota’s arch-nemesis, GM, would be one of the first overseas automakers to experience shutdowns caused by a lack of supplies from tsunami-devastated Japan. (Read More…)

Last year, GM’s German patient, Opel, hemorrhaged $1.6 billion. It could easily have been twice than that, if Nick Reilly had fired the more than 8,000 workers that are on Opel’s endangered species list. Letting people go can get very expensive in Europe if you are a going concern. The only factory that was closed was Antwerp, to the tune of $532 million. That came to a little bit over $200,000 per worker. Reilly didn’t want to rain on the IPO roadshow, and moved the mass firings to this year. GM’s thank you: Reilly was fired. (Read More…)

Apart from donating 1,000 portable generators, Honda delivers something really useful: Precise information about road conditions in the disaster areas. Together with Google Maps and Honda’s traffic data suppliers Internavi and Smartloop, Honda provides real time road conditions for the disaster stricken areas. (Read More…)

We had predicted early on that “the disaster in Japan could have a major impact” not just on the Japanese auto industry, but on the auto industry worldwide. If anyone had silently hoped (you can’t say these things aloud) that the disaster over there would provide breathing room for the car industry over here, then get ready for a disappointment. First automaker to be affected over here by the Japan syndrome is GM. (Read More…)

When you get bad service from a dealer, you either suck it in. Or you start a NameOfDealerHereSucks.com. At worst, you picket the dealer.

What do people in China do? They call in a bunch of guys with sledgehammers. To smash a $750,000 Lamborghini. (Read More…)

Once Japanese automakers have dug out from under the rubble, cleared the ports and start shipping again, they will face a possibly bigger problem: A killer yen that has accumulated strength in an absolutely abnormal fashion over the last few days. (Read More…)

Chrysler brought suit against Detroit company Moda. According to Chrysler’s complaint in U.S. District Court of Eastern Michigan,  Moda engages in “blatant misrepresentation of Chrysler’s IMPORTED FROM DETROIT™ tagline, introduced by Chrysler to tremendous public acclaim during Super Bowl XLV.”  Chrysler sues the company for “trademark infringement, false designation of origin, false descriptions, unfair competition, false and deceptive trade practices and unjust enrichment.” (Read More…)

Reforma, a local newspaper Mexico’s Jalisco state, writes today (via Reuters) that Honda may idle 1,100 employees at its factory there. Ruben Resendiz, spokesman fro Honda Mexico told the paper that closed airports and ports are affecting inventories. This stoppage would affect half of Honda’s employees at the plant. (Read More…)