![[Valid Atom 1.0]](valid-atom.png "Validate my Atom 1.0 feed")
AUTOS' WORLD NEWS
* Report: SUVs No Safer for Kids
USA -Pediatrics (Medical Journal)/AP -6 Jan 2006: Children are no safer in sport-utility vehicles than in passenger cars, reports a new study... The journal released the findings of a study on Tuesday that finds that the increased risk of a rollover accident negates the potential safety of riding in a larger, heavier sport-ute. The study, compiled by State Farm Insurance and a Philadelphia children's hospital, studied accidents involving about 4000 children... An industry representative told the Associated Press that rollover rates are improving due to new technology and the migration of buyers from truck-based SUVs to car-based crossovers...
* U.K. car registrations rise in December
LONDON,UK -Reuters/Automotive News -Jan 6, 2006: New car registrations in Britain posted their first year-on-year rise of 2005 in December, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders said on Friday, but it cautioned carmakers and sellers were set for a tough year... SMMT said new car registrations rose 8.7 percent from the same month a year before to 156,866 units, due to a 40.6 jump in diesel registrations as company car drivers took advantage of a tax break that expired at the end of 2005...
* Federal-Mogul to cut plants, jobs in restructuring
CHICAGO,Ill,USA -Reuters/Automotive News -Jan 6, 2006: Bankrupt auto parts maker Federal Mogul Corp. on Friday announced a three-year restructuring plan that could affect 25 facilities and reduce the company's work force by about 10 percent...
* China will build 2.9 million cars. Exports will account for less than one percent
USA -The Car Connection, by Michael J. Dunne -2 Jan 2006: Passenger-car exports from China will surpass 25,000 units this year, up from 10,114 in 2004. In percentage terms, this marks a dramatic leap in overseas shipments. In absolute numbers, China's car-export industry remains a pipsqueak... What are Chinese companies doing to find their way around the impediments?... The foremost issue is quality. The shortfall in quality means that Chinese companies are not ready to invade Europe, America, or Japan, home to most of the world's most discerning consumers... Instead, Geely, Chery, and Great Wall export to Egypt, Syria, the Ukraine, and Columbia, where the unique selling point is price - and price alone. Syria, the top importer of Chinese cars, purchased 6100 units through the first ten months of 2005...
* Toyota Will be the new king of the hill in 2006?
USA -The Car Connection, by Paul A. Eisenstein -2 Jan 2006: The Japanese giant aims to boost global production to 9.08 million cars, trucks, and crossovers, an eleven-percent increase. GM barely built nine million vehicles in 2005 and isn't revealing its 2005 target. The increasingly cautious GM has lately been loathe to make forecasts, and for good reason, repeatedly falling short on everything from sales to share to the depth of its bottom-line losses. Toyota , on the other hand, consistently delivers what it promises...
* COMMENTS: by Joann Muller, On The Automotive Industry
USA -Forbes, by -31 Dec 2005: No surprise here. It’s the continuous decline of the U.S. automakers. General Motors and Ford Motor will struggle to regain their footing in the market after huge cutbacks and plant closures. Although both companies have attractive new vehicles in dealer showrooms--GM’s redesigned sport utilities and Ford’s new passenger cars--they’re fighting an uphill battle. The public has come to view Detroit carmakers as losers, and it’s tough to change impressions. Look for Ford and GM to continue their market-share slide in 2006...
* COMMENTS: by Dan Lienert On Autos - The Big Trend
USA -Forbes -29 Dec 2005: 2006 will be the year American automakers break their social contract with unionized workers. In order for the American auto industry to survive, manufacturers will have to cripple their unions, just as Northwest Airlines did. Delphi Chairman Steve Miller has already demoralized his unionized workers; in 2006 he will force the UAW to abandon a decades-old tradition of gold-plated wages and benefits for its workers. Following suit, General Motors, Ford Motor and Chrysler will begin to chip away at the power of their union workers, too...
* Tofas says two Fiat models to be assembled in Russia
ISTANBUL,Turkey -Reuters/Automotive News -Jan 3, 2006: Turkish vehicle maker Tofas said on Tuesday that Fiat car models Palio and Albea, currently produced in Turkey, will also be assembled in Russia from 2007...
* Chrysler group will build minivans for VW
DETROIT,Mich,USA -Automotive News, by Dale Jewett -Jan 5, 2006: The Chrysler group will build minivans for Volkswagen beginning in 2008, the automakers confirmed Thursday... The Chrysler group is expected to introduce a generation of minivans in 2007 for the 2008 model year... The VW vans will be based on those redesigned models...
* Some 5,000 Mercedes staff accept buyout
FRANKFURT,Germany -Reuters/Automotive News -Jan 5, 2006: Roughly 5,000 German employees at Mercedes Car Group have accepted a voluntary redundancy package offered by parent DaimlerChrysler.. Mercedes is looking to cut a total of 8,500 German jobs by the end of 2006 as part of its goal to double its operating margin to 7 percent by the following year... The job cuts are expected to cost DaimlerChrysler $1.15 billion (950 million euros)...
* Ford pickup concept burns hydrogen
DETROIT,Mich,USA -Automotive News, by Richard Truett -Jan 8, 2006: The F-250 Super Chief concept provides a peek at where Ford Division wants to take its next generation of heavy-duty pickups.... The Super Chief's most interesting feature is its powertrain. The supercharged V-10 engine has what Ford calls a tri-flex fueling system that enables the engine to run on hydrogen, E85 ethanol or gasoline. Cruising range between fill-ups is 500 miles...
* S&P cuts Ford, Ford Credit deeper into junk status
NEW YORK,NY,USA -Reuters/Automotive News -Jan 5, 2006: Standard & Poor's on Thursday cut its ratings on Ford Motor Co. deeper into junk territory, citing a slide in market share and doubts about the automaker's ability to turn around its North American auto operations... S&P also cut its ratings on Ford's finance arm, Ford Motor Credit, deeper into speculative grade...
* GM jumps on E85 bandwagon
LOS ANGELES, Cal,USA -Automotive News, by Kathy Jackson -Jan 6, 2006: General Motors has joined a team to study ethanol as an alternative fuel source. The team will investigate consumer acceptance of E85, a blend of 85 percent ethyl alcohol and 15 percent gasoline... GM already has about 1.5 million vehicles on the road that can burn E85...
* Big 3 decide to play the ponies
Detroit,Mich,USA -Automotive News, by Edward Lapham -Jan 6, 2006: There will be plenty of cute little crossover vehicles and politically correct sedans at the Detroit auto show, but the smart money says modern-day pony cars will kick up the most interest.The success of Ford's retro-look Mustang has prompted crosstown rivals General Motors and Chrysler to consider building their own high-horsepower coupes, just as the original Mustang did 40 years ago...
posted by Unknown @ 11:08 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home