Man on a mission: Tycho at the Beijing Auto Show

Yesterday, we reported about Carbuzz purloining content from Carnewschina, and that it is continuing to do so despite vows of repentance. This morning, Carnewschina proprietor Tycho de Feyter opened his laptop in Beijing in order to visit vengeance on the presumptive “leader in car news and industry information.” He keyed in the Carbuzz URL and looked at an empty screen.

“Carbuzz.com is completely down since this morning (Chinese time),” de Feyter telegraphed from Beijing.  “Maybe the owners got word of the mess?  I hope they stay down, but sadly I can’t do my other articles on these bastards anymore…”

It turns out that Tycho was mistaken. Instead of taking the site down, Carbuzz erected a firewall that keeps out China. (Read More…)

Italy’s Fiat, late to the Chinese party, finally opened its first plant in China today. Reuters reports that “the plant, based in Hunan province, is the latest development in a 5 billion yuan ($786.73 million) joint-venture between Fiat and GAC, China’s sixth largest auto manufacturer.” The plant also should help improving China’s dismal car export statistics. (Read More…)

If the year would have ended on May 31^st, Toyota would be the world’s largest automaker by a wide margin, followed by GM, and a distant third, Volkswagen. The year is not over until it’s over, but 5 months are a good indicator for the rest of the year. Let’s have a look. (Read More…)

Popular wisdom says that China is a bunch of thieves with utter disregard for intellectual property. Any good, or even half good idea gets immediately stolen in China. In a man bites dog twist on the story, an American website is being accused of serial thievery of made-in-China intellectual property.  According to Beijing-based Carnewschina, the Rockville, MD, site Carbuzz.com “systematically steals my content for their China-tag. CarBuzz.com steals my pictures, my information, but does not link back to me.” (Read More…)

Toyota and BMW will announce a closer alliance as early as Friday, The Nikkei [sub] and Tokyo scuttlebutt say.  According to the Nikkei, the two will share Toyota’s hybrid and fuel cell technology. BMW will try seeking scale effects for its CFRP technology. TTAC will feature a closer look into Toyota’s carbon fiber capabilities once we have finished our own research. (Read More…)

Tomorrow, Thursday, the management of Opel will present an allegedly comprehensive turnaround plan to its supervisory board, Reuters reports. If GM stockholders expect a big bang to lift their holdings, they will most likely be disappointed. The plan is expected to deliver less and that later. However, it looks like Opel might share pain and plants with PSA Peugeot Citroen. (Read More…)

Ford expects June new car and truck sales to come in at the same rate as in May, and sees a cloudy rest of the year as the outlook for the economy remains mixed. (Read More…)

Consulting firm Alix Partners predicts a slowdown of U.S. auto sales. The study, reported at Reuters, cites the usual suspects, such as lingering high unemployment, increased costs and more people driving less. It then touches on something that is very basic, but often overlooked: Sales are driven by the number of potential buyers.  If there are fewer buyers, there will be fewer buys. New cars are bought in certain age groups, usually somewhere at around 35 and up. As the boomers are going out to pasture, there simply will be fewer potential buyers. (Read More…)

While other carmakers are treading water or worse, BMW’s global sales were up 9.1 percent for the first five months of the year, mostly on strong gains in China. That party is about to end, claims Citi Investment Research and downgraded BMW AG  from “buy” to “neutral,” Reuters reports.

In the euphemistic world of stock analysts, a “neutral” usually means a sell. (Read More…)

Judging from their writings, many TTAC commenters are prime candidates for a job as CEO at one of the world’s largest automakers. However, be careful who you work for. Executive pay is all over the map. It ranges from a charitable contribution of $1.71 million given to Toyota’s CEO, to nearly $29 million a year on Ford’s Alan Mulally’s paystub.

This according to a table circulated among reporters who, perched precariously in the 6^th floor balcony of the National Convention Hall at the Pacifico in Yokohama, observed Nissan’s 113^th ordinary general shareholders meeting today. (Read More…)

Over the last 12 years, GM lost $16 billion in Europe, more than a billion each year. Ford is doing a bit better, but it sits on excess capacity of 300,000 units in Europe and expects a loss of $500 million to $600 million. Automotive News [sub] recommends to both: Pack up and leave. Says Luca Ciferri in AN: (Read More…)

Some people say Obama saved GM from the abyss. Some people say GM sold its soul to the Chinese devil to cheat death. In truth, the future of General Motors rests on the shoulders of a 5-foot-2 woman by the name of Diana Tremblay. Writes Ben Klayman at Reuters:

“Global manufacturing chief Diana Tremblay is one of the highest-ranking women in the automotive industry. Throughout her 35-year career at GM, she has made her mark in what were regarded as male domains, from directing foundry workers to staring down union labor negotiators.

Now she faces an even more critical task for the world’s largest automaker – ensuring the smooth 2013 introduction of the remodeled full-size pickup trucks and SUVs, GM’s high-profile equivalent of a new Apple iPhone. (Read More…)

Five years ago, former and now disgraced Porsche chief Wendelin Wiedeking started the Porsche SE. It was a holding company, destined to hold the shares of Volkswagen after a successful takeover. Porsche cars are made by Porsche AG.  The takeover never happened. Volkswagen bought nearly 50 percent of Porsche AG, and wants the rest ASAP.  What will become of Porsche SE?

If the shareholders agree – and the shareholder meeting is today –  Porsche SE will become a trading house, selling rare earths, building solar farms, and offering car sharing services, Germany’s ARD says. (Read More…)

Today, Germany’s Spiegel Magazin reports what we suspected since last December: “BMW and Toyota edge closer.”  Both, says the magazine, will “enter a close partnership that transcends the projects that were agreed in the past.” (Read More…)

The folks at Toyota have been complaining about the low euro and the strong yen long enough. Now, they are putting the low Euro to work. Starting in May 2013, Toyota will ship its Toyota Yaris from Toyota’s Onnaing-Valenciennes plant in France to the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. (Read More…)