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AUTOS' WORLDWIDE
* USA - Retail sales surge 1.4% in July - Excluding cars and gas, sales are strongest in six months
WASHINGTON,DC,USA -MarketWatch, by Rex Nutting -11 Aug 2006: -- U.S. retail sales increased at the fastest pace in six months in July, rising 1.4% on higher auto and gasoline sales, the Commerce Department reported Friday... Auto sales surged 3.1% in July, also the biggest gain since January. Automakers restored sales incentives to move vehicles off the lots...
* UK - GM recalls SUVs and trucks
London,UK -Channel 4 News -10 Aug 2006: -- General Motors is recalling over 38,000 SUVs and trucks for a potential fuel leak and fire hazard in the engine compartment... Chevrolet Avalanche (2004) and Avalanche 1500 (2004-06), Chevrolet Kodiak (2006), Chevrolet Silverado (2004-06), Chevrolet Suburban (2004-05) and Suburban 1500 (2006), GMC Sierra (2004-06), GMC Topkick 6500 (2006) and GMC Yukon XK (2004-06) models with the 8.1-litre V8 are affected...
* USA - GM's fuel cell drivable
Detroit,Mi,USA -The Detroit News -11 Aug 206: -- General Motors Corp. has achieved a milestone in alternative powertrains. It now has a drivable version of its Sequel concept car, which is powered by a hydrogen-powered fuel cell. The Sequel, which looks like a shrunken minivan and has a range of 300 miles, will be shown to reporters next month...
* USA & Germany - $1B goes to hybrid
Detroit,Mi,USA -The Detroit News -11 Aug 206: -- General Motors Corp., DaimlerChrysler AG and Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, are investing more than $1 billion combined on a shared gasoline-electric system for autos that will compete with hybrid segment leader Toyota Motor Corp. The first models using the technology will be versions of GM's Yukon and Tahoe sport-utility vehicles, due in 2007... Chrysler, DaimlerChrysler's U.S. unit, will sell a hybrid Durango SUV in 2008, followed by BMW models within three to five years, the companies said...
* USA - Is Ford, Mich. pact the real deal?
TRAVERSE CITY,Mich,USA -The Detroit News, by Bryce G. Hoffman -10 Aug 2006: -- Gov. Jennifer Granholm and Mark Fields, president of Ford Motor Co.'s Americas group, took the stage Wednesday to announce a tax incentive deal Granholm says could save more than 56,000 Michigan jobs...
* USA - Is Ford Family Control on the Block?
USA - The Car Connection, by Jim Burt -10 Aug 2006: -- When Ford Motor Co. hired investment banker Kenneth Leet this month to explore sales of assets and possible alliances with other automakers, speculation turned to whether the Ford family, which controls 40 percent of the voting shares of the company, might consider lessening their grip if advisors told them it might help restore the company's profitability and competitiveness... Does CEO Bill Ford's comment that "everything is on the table" include a change of control that has been widely viewed as an impediment to other companies investing in Ford and recruiting top executive talent from the outside?... David Cole, chairman of Center for Automotive Research, Ann Arbor, posited that he would be surprised if the review process taking place now by the family and the board didn't result in a move to lessen control...
* Brazil - Ford recalls flex-fuel cars made in
SAO PAULO, Brazil -Reuters -August 10, 2006: -- Ford Motor Co. on Wednesday recalled 102,000 vehicles made in Brazil, saying the auxiliary gas tanks that help their popular flex-fuel cars start in cold weather were prone to cracking and leaking... The recall includes the Fiesta subcompact and EcoSport mini-SUV. Flex-fuel cars have tiny gas tanks near their engine for use in cold weather, when ethanol can falter during ignition...
* USA - Here's a new twist: Cars without gas caps
TRAVERSE CITY,Mich,USA -The Detroit News, by Bryce G. Hoffman and David Shepardson -August 10, 2006: -- The hot technology topic at this year's auto industry confab in Traverse City is not a cool innovation like adaptive cruise control or iPod integration... No, it's gas caps... General Motors Corp. and DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler Group plan to add bright yellow ones to cars and trucks that can run on E85 -- a blend of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline -- to build consumer awareness of the alternative fuel...
* Japan - Suzuki Plots Expansion
Tokyo,Japan -The Car Connection (USA), by Joe Szczesny -10 Aug 2006: -- Suzuki Motor Corp. is planning to build a new $500 million factory in Japan and expand production in places such as Hungary and India to cash in on the rising demand for fuel-efficient, small cars created by soaring global gasoline prices... The new plant, the first the company has built in Japan in 25 years, is expected to start operations in late 2008 with a capacity of about 240,000 vehicles a year... Suzuki also said it is planning to increase production in Hungary, India and Pakistan. Output at the Hungary plant will rise to 300,000 units a year by 2008, from 160,000 now, while production in India is seen climbing to 960,000 vehicles by 2009, from 630,000. In Pakistan, Suzuki plans to raise output to 170,000 units by 2009, from 110,000 now...
* China - Hyundai being sued in
BEIJING,China -UPI -Aug. 10, 2006: -- South Korea's Hyundai Motor Co. is being sued in Beijing by owners of its Accent subcompact model... Plaintiffs are accusing Beijing Hyundai Co., a joint venture of Hyundai and Beijing Automotive Industry Corp., of price fraud, JoongAng Ilbo reported Thursday... Plaintiffs claim Beijing Hyundai, whose leader reportedly vowed not to cut prices for several years, slashed prices after an initial batch of Accents were sold... A court will decide before the end of the month whether or not to dismiss the case...
* USA - Toyota adds sales, shipments
USA -BLOOMBERG -August 11, 2006: -- Toyota Motor Corp. is setting U.S. sales records and building North American factories faster than any other automaker. The Japanese company soon could be importing a record number of vehicles from its home country... Toyota's shipments to the United States are rising for the 10th straight year. At the current pace, they could top the previous high of 1.02 million units in 1986, surpassing a million for the first time since Toyota made its first Corolla in the United States late that year...
posted by Unknown @ 9:52 AM
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