Bailed-out GM might sink $2 to $4 billion into likewise bailed-out Ally Financial to buy some of the lender’s international operations. Ally “ironically wants to use the proceeds to help repay its own federal bailout aid,” says Reuters. That plan does not sit too well with some observers. Says the wire: “Analysts and investors disagree on whether that would be the best use of cash, with some preferring a stock buyback or dividend payment.” (Read More…)
U.S. Senators long have warned of an exodus of American know-how to China. Last year, Michigan Senators Debbie Stabenow and Carl Levin complained to United States Trade Representative Ron Kirk about another attempt by China ”to illegally gain an unfair advantage over the U.S. automobile industry that will cost our country jobs. The United States must respond strongly to stand up for American businesses and working families.”
A year later, the exodus is in full swing, and it starts to hurt. This time, it pains automakers to see how Chinese companies are getting their hands on taxpayer-funded secrets. (Read More…)
17 red light cameras that monitor 15 intersections in the town of Cary, NC, will go dark at 11:59 p.m. Saturday, as the town scraps its red light program.
According to a report by the research triangle TV station WRAL, Cary Town Manager Benjamin Shivar suggested scrapping the program, “citing a WRAL News report that found drivers were being improperly ticketed on left turns, as well as a lawsuit over the cameras, administrative costs and uncertainty about the state legislation authorizing the program.” (Read More…)
To be used as burn packs in Sharia jurisdictions
Yesterday’s anomalies with TTAC’s commenting system were fixed after long hours in short order by our crack technical team, cheered on with robust language undying praise by our editorial team. In Wednesday’s evening hours, the problem was declared as solved. All TTAC correspondents could comment again, unencumbered by announcements that the post is roasting in moderation purgatory. All except DeadWeight. (Read More…)
In what just-auto calls “ a hammer-blow to the proposed takeover,” Scania told Saab-buyer NEVS that it won’t allow the use of Saab’s heraldic animal, the griffin. Scania (owned by Volkswagen) says no because the buyers are Chinese. (Read More…)
The Nikkei’s good contacts to Suzuki (CEO Osamu Suzuki occasionally blogs for The Nikkei) did not fail the Tokyo wire. Yesterday it was reported on a rumor basis, today, it is officially confirmed that Maruti Suzuki will restart production at its Manesar factory on August 21, about a month after a mob killed the firm’s human resources manager and burned down parts of the factory. The factory makes the Swift hatchback. (Read More…)
A Norwegian driver took evasive action to avoid a moose, only to hit a bear, Reuters reports from Olso.
According to the wire report, the driver spotted the moose on a country road near Hanestad, 225 kilometers north of Oslo, went around the animal, not realizing that a bear was following the moose.
GM’s Opel unit is faced with dwindling demand and wants to shorten workers’ hours at its Rüsselsheim plant, media from Reuters to Germany’s Manager Magazin report. Rüsselsheim makes the Opel Insignia, and for that, the rapidly deteriorating southern European markets are especially important, an Opel spokesman said. A shortened work week at Opel’s engine plant in Kaiserslautern is also being negotiated, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung says. However, this is Germany, and it is not as easy as is sounds. (Read More…)
The sink itself is a recycled oil sump
Israeli artist Ronen Wasserman turned recycling into an art form. Literally. For the Ronmen TinMan design studio, Wasserman creates on-off furniture pieces from recycled car parts. Says TinMan in its mission statement: (Read More…)
… most, if not all of them seem to land in the moderation queue at the moment. This appears to be caused by a computer problem of so far unknown nature, and is not due to some baton-wielding police action. (Read More…)
Tycho of Beijing’s Carnewschina is onto a rapidly trending phenomenon among the big boys of China: Heavy trucks with convertible tops. It appears to be an aftermarket mod that is not always strictly voluntary: Trucks sometimes roll. Due to the amazing build quality of Chinese trucks and the help of a few hundred migrant workers, a rolled truck quickly is back on its many wheels. With parts essential for a repair safely secured, the chop-top truck is back on its merry way. (Read More…)
The Wall Street Journal has an extensive report in which Neal Boudette caught BMW cheating with its sales numbers. Boudette unmasked the shocking practice of car makers selling cars to dealers instead to customers: “Hundreds of BMWs counted as sold in July remain in showroom inventories and are still advertised for sale as new cars, according to dealers.” The WSJ dug deeper into the scandal.
Ben Klayman, Reuters’ Detroit-based crack car correspondent, wrote a very good feature on self-driving cars. After interviewing many sources, he comes to the conclusion that “it’s been more than half a century since some of the first concept cars boasting self-driving features were presented to the world” and that this probably will not change anytime soon. Even Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google and the staunchest supporter of the technology cautiously says that “self-driving cars should in our lifetime become the predominant way.” (Read More…)
Maruti Suzuki “ will likely resume partial production at its violence-hit factory in Manesar, in the northern state of Haryana, by Aug. 21,” says The Nikkei [sub]. The plant remains closed since a mob killed the firm’s human resources manager and burned down parts of the factory. Fifty management personnel and 9 police officers were injured during the clashes. Mass arrests were made. Maruti Suzuki declared an indefinite lockout at the plant on July 21. (Read More…)
Europeans: Use instead of Euros. Americans: Use it as a screensaver
Shame, yes, shame on you, Americans, you horrible people. You are the weakest of the globe – when it comes to Porsche’s July numbers. Porsche sales in the U.S. climbed only a miserable one percent. At the same time, people in Europe withdrew their last sinking Euros from faltering banks and moved them to the safety of a new 911 or Cayman. (Read More…)
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