Despite rising gasoline prices, January shapes up to be a very strong month for car sales. Edmunds.com Chief Executive Jeremy Anwyl told Dow Jones Newswire that the seasonally adjusted annualized rate (SAAR) for the month was looking “very strong” at 12.8 million vehicles as of last week, and was higher than December. That is a surprise: January sales typically are lower than December sales. (Read More…)

China’s Chongqing Changan is entering the lion’s den. The Chinese joint venture partner of Ford, Suzuki, and PSA will open a research center in Detroit and draw from the rich talent pool. Changan will become the first Chinese automobile company to establish such a center in the US, Gasgoo says. (Read More…)

Fuji Heavy will delight its Subaru clientele with a full redesign of its Subaru Impreza. After four years, the car got a bit long in the sprockets. Launch is scheduled for this year, says The Nikkei [sub]. (Read More…)

If you want to get ahead in the car business, this is required reading. If you just like cars and don’t give a hoot about who makes them where and why, then you may skip this. (Read More…)

My friend Ash Sutcliffe of China Car Times reports that Chrysler will be bringing the Dodge Caliber to China, for production at the Guangzhou Auto / Fiat joint venture. (Read More…)

Audi might show its SUV for Lilliputians, the Q3, at the Frankfurt Auto Show in September for a launch later in the year. At least that’s what the buzz in Europe is. (Read More…)

After a less than enthusiastic welcome, Nissan is pulling its Made in Japan Cube from the European market, less than a year after its introduction. Journalists loved the car. But customers hated its shape and high price. (Read More…)

Sergio Marchionne, CEO of Fiat SpA and Chrysler Group, announced plans to bring the hecho en Mexico Fiat 500 to China. According to Gasgoo, Marchionne told reporters during the Detroit Auto Show that half of the 120,000 units built in the Toluca factory is destined for North America. The other half will be exported to China and Brazil. (Read More…)

All Chinese drive bicycles, make that cheap QQs. No, all Chinese drive big Buicks, I mean, all Chinese are chauffeured around in A6s and Mercedes S-Class.

All wrong. So, what do Chinese really drive? (Read More…)

One of the few automakers that are not manufacturing in China yet is Porsche. This could change. Porsche will decide this year whether they will build the new Cajun in China, Porsche CEO Matthias Müller told Focus Magazine. (Read More…)

And here another BYD first: BYD is the first Chinese company to perform a massive dealer cull.  “BYD has admitted its sales network grew too fast and has cut the number of dealerships by 100,” reports People’s Daily. (Read More…)

„The naming of the Chevrolet Volt as the North American Car of the Year at the Detroit Auto Show last week is sparking some controversy,” reports the Chosun Ilbo from Korea. “The main reason for the skepticism is that the Volt has sold only some 300 units since its launch a month ago. It is the first time that a car with such limited sales has won the award.”

The real sales could be less. “A GM source at the motor show admitted that the Volt’s sales were refigured at the last minute for the award,” writes the paper. What really bothers them: (Read More…)

Toyota’s minicar subsidiary Daihatsu is leaving Europe. Daihatsu will end auto sales in Europe on Jan. 31, 2013, The Nikkei [sub] reports. Reason given: “The yen’s strength has made exporting vehicles from Japan next to impossible.” (Read More…)

Here is some good news for all of those who are afraid that China’s ravenous appetite for cars will drive the cost of gasoline to obscene levels. The Chinese government is seriously attacking the infrastructure conundrum that plagues EVs: By 2020, China wants to have at least 10 million car parking spots for electric vehicles. (Read More…)

If you like your appliance-style Toyota (there is statistical proof that you are not alone) then better run and buy it now. The Nikkei [sub] rattles its readers this morning with the news that Toyota “plans to build vehicles that are more eye-catching to counter criticism its cars are too bland,” (Read More…)