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AUTOS' WORLD NEWS
* Ontario in crosshairs? Ford is in a delicate position when it comes to job cuts in Canada
Ontario,Canada -The Globe and Mail, by Greg Keenan -Jan 19, 2006: Canadian Auto Workers president Buzz Hargrove is worried about the future of a Ford Motor Co. engine plant in Windsor, Ont., and a car assembly plant in St. Thomas, Ont. that was identified by an analyst yesterday as being "vulnerable" to closing when the auto maker announces a restructuring plan next week... Ford is in a delicate position when it comes to job cuts in Canada... Agreements made with the Ontario and federal governments for $200-million in financial support for a redevelopment of its Oakville, Ont., factories required it maintain employment in Canada at roughly 12,000 people...
* Nigerian deals eyed in DaimlerChrysler bribery probe
FRANKFURT,Germany -Stern magazine/Reuters/Automotive News -Jan 18, 2006: DaimlerChrysler officials have told corruption investigators that the carmaker routinely paid kickbacks in order to sell vehicles to Nigeria at inflated prices for years... .It also said that two DaimlerChrysler managers said slush funds used for foreign bribes were kept off the books, which could imply underpayment of taxes, if untaxed income was channeled in this way...
* DaimlerChrysler supervisory board chief in insider trading probe
FRANKFURT,Germany -Stuttgarter Zeitung/AFP/Channel News Asia -19 Jan 2006: German prosecutors are investigating DaimlerChrysler supervisory board chief Hilmar Kopper on suspicion of possible insider trading. Prosecutors are trying to establish whether Kopper told Deutsche Bank chief Josef Ackermann of the resignation of DaimlerChrysler chief executive Juergen Schrempp before the move was officially made public... The probe was based on investigations by the financial sector watchdog BaFin surrounding the resignation of Schrempp last summer, which led to a sharp rise in DaimlerChrysler's share price...
* Japanese Auto Plants Run Closer to Capacity
L.Angeles,CAL,USA -LATimes -Jan 19, 2006: Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Corp. trailed Japanese rivals in operating North American plants close to capacity in 2005 while giving up additional U.S. market share, an auto industry analyst said Wednesday... Ford, the No. 2 U.S. automaker, was ranked the lowest among six automakers, using 79% of its production capacity, said Ron Harbour, president of Harbour Consulting. GM, the world's largest automaker, was at 87% and DaimlerChrysler's Chrysler unit, 93%. Toyota Motor Corp., Japan's biggest automaker, ran its plants at a 111% rate, followed by Nissan Motor Co. and Honda Motor Co. at 97% each...
* China's easy-money era is over, Magna exec warns
DETROIT,Mich,USA -Automotive News, by Bradford Wernle -Jan 18, 2006: Speaking in the 2006 Automotive News World Congress Keith Lomason, Magna International Inc.'s China's, Executive director said... China is a tough place to do business, and its cost advantage is fast eroding... "Low cost is not what it was, and margins on products are not what they were. Every year it's harder to be profitable"... Lomason has some advice for auto suppliers thinking about entering the Chinese market now: "The easy money is over"... He told that China beyond all the hype "is a difficult market to do business in"...
* Dispute with Israeli supplier could hurt Delphi
TROY,Mich,USA -Associated Press-Jan 18, 2006: A dispute with an Israeli maker of precision machine parts has threatened to hamper financially struggling Delphi Corp.'s ability to supply its No. 1 customer, General Motors Corp... Deutsch Dagan Ltd., a private Ashkelon, Israel-based company with 145 employees, has been in a dispute with Delphi over the suburban Detroit-based auto supplier's payment for components it ordered before filing for bankruptcy...
* Rear Crash Protection In SUVs & Pickups
ARLINGTON, VA,USA -admin -19 Jan 2006: Most Seat/Head Restraints Would Do A Poor Job Of Protecting People's Necks In Rear-End Crashes, According to IIHS -- Only 6 of the seat/head restraint combinations in 44 current model SUVs are rated good for protection against whiplash injuries in rear-end crashes. None of the seat/head restraint designs in 15 pickup truck models earns a good rating. Overall 4 out of 5 SUV and pickup seat/head restraints recently evaluated by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety are rated marginal or poor for whiplash protection. This is the first time the Institute has tested SUV and pickup seats using a dummy that can measure forces on the neck during a simulated rear-end crash...
* Who Dies When Teen Drivers Crash?
Washington, D.C.,USA -admin -19 Jan 2006: The majority of people killed in teen driver crashes are people other than the teen driver themselves, according to a recent analysis of ten years of crash data by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety... The new analysis shows that young novice drivers comprise slightly more than one-third of all the fatalities in crashes in which they are involved; whereas nearly two-thirds of those killed are other vehicle users and pedestrians. AAA says these statistics provide new urgency to its advocacy efforts to strengthen graduated licensing laws (GDL)...
* BMW Owners Allege Flaw in BMW Z8’s Aluminum Chassis
DETROIT.Mich,USA -Global Auto Systems -Jan 17, 2006: The Z8 Club in Europe reportedly has identified a flaw in the BMW Z8’s aluminum chassis that makes the car vulnerable to distortion and damage... A BMW owners’ group in Europe and now BMW owner Internet discussion boards are alleging that the BMW Z8 has a weakness in the aluminum chassis that leaves it vulnerable to damage... One U.S. blog even names a law firm for owners to contact if they are interested in exploring their ”legal rights.” BMW did not immediately respond to requests for comment...
* BMW AG sales in China more than doubled in 2005
FRANKFURT, Germany -Det News (USA) -Jan 18, 2006: The company sold 23,595 vehicles in China during 2005. That beat the company's estimates last year that sales would rise 40 percent from 2004. The figures include sales from BMW Brilliance Automobile Ltd., its joint-venture with Brilliance China Automotive Holding Ltd...
* Foreign car sales seen moving up a gear in Russia
MOSCOW,Russia -Reuters -19 Jan 2006: Foreign carmakers' sales of new cars will continue to boom in Russia in the next few years although the market share of used foreign models will decline steadily, research showed on Thursday...
* Isuzu Motors sees '06 global sales up 7 percent
TOKYO,Japan -Reuters -19 Jan 2006: Isuzu Motors Ltd. said on Thursday it expected its global vehicle sales to rise 7 percent this year to 672,500 units, supported by robust growth at home and overseas. That would follow a 12 percent climb in sales in 2005 to 629,540 units...
* Mazda seeks minimum 10 percent rise in '06 China sales
TOKYO,Japan -Reuters -19 Jan 2006: Mazda Motor Corp. said on Thursday it aimed to boost sales in China by at least 10 percent this year after an industry-beating 51 percent surge in 2005...
* DaimlerChrysler's Northeast Asia car sales rise 15 percent in 2005
SHANGHAI,China -Reuters -19 Jan 2006: DaimlerChrysler AG said on Thursday it had sold 15 percent more cars in Northeast Asia last year than in 2004, led by strong gains for its luxury Mercedes brand in China and South Korea...
* Audi sales up 18 percent so far in January,
MUNICH,Germany -Reuters 19 Jan 2006: Volkswagen's premium brand Audi has increased car sales by 18 percent so far in January from the same period last year, CEO Martin Winterkorn told Reuters on Thursday...
* Ford's China sales up 46 percent
BEIJING,China -AP -Jan 17. 2006: Carmaker expects more growth this year... Ford Motor Co. brand sales in China rose 46 percent last year to 82,225 vehicles, and the U.S. carmaker forecast further growth in the year ahead... That growth beat the local car industry, whose sales expanded about 14 percent last year, according to data provided by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers...
* Toyota and GM top annual customer loyalty survey
USA -Autoblog, by Stuart Waterman -Jan 19 2006: The results of the annual R.L. Polk & Co. Loyalty Excelerator Report are out, and Toyota scored highest in brand loyalty to an automotive division, knocking Ford out of the top spot for the first time in nine years. GM scored highest in manufacturer loyalty... Polk defines loyalty in terms of new car customer retention: a new car buyer returning to buy another new vehicle of the same make or model... For the 2005 model year, Toyota enjoyed a 54.6 percent loyalty rating, while 63.1 percent of GM new car buyers bought another new GM car...
* Brazilian Innovation Prize Awarded for Bosch Alternative Fuel Concept
Brasilia,Brazil -admin (USA) -19 Jan 2006: Prize For The Flex Fuel Engine Management SystemBosch has been awarded the Brazilian Ministry for Science and Technology's product innovation prize for the "Flex Fuel" engine management system. The "Technological Innovation Finep Award" winning Flex Fuel technology developed by Bosch permits vehicles to be fueled by gasoline, by alcohol, or by any mixture of the two fuels...
posted by Unknown @ 9:25 PM
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