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AUTOMAKERS NEWS * WORLDWIDE
OPINION * Europe puts off inevitable
(Photo from Centigrade via Bloomberg: Lamborghini Aventador all-wheel-drive cars are driven on an ice track outside of Cortina, Italy, to teach people how to drive on icy roads. The car sells for $400,000)
Wiesbaden, Germany -The Detroit News (USA), by Daniel Howes -March 9, 2012: -- The lessons of Detroit's comparatively swift reckoning have their limits, and they begin at the shores of the Atlantic Ocean... As much as Europe's sovereign debt-turned-budget crisis is dampening consumer sales and increasing pressure on volume automakers here to respond swiftly, expectations of an "inevitable" industry restructuring among investors and the news media fail to account for three things: speed, a sense of entitlement to rival Detroit's own, and the highly charged politics of plant closings... Executives publicly concede they have too many people building too few cars in too many plants and something needs to be done about it. Like the guy who says he needs to lose 50 pounds, they'll get started later... As long as the automakers who know they have problems that cannot be wished away wait for someone else to make the first move, things will only get worse. We've seen this movie before in Detroit, folks, and we know how it ends. The only question is whether the remake will be dubbed in French, Italian or German...Briefing News
* Toyota issue major recalls
- Toyota Motor Corp. said Wednesday it is recalling almost 700,000 vehicles in the United States to fix potentially faulty air bags and replace a faulty brake light switch... Read more* Chrysler paid CEO nothing for 2011
- Chrysler Group LLC CEO, Sergio Marchionne, received no compensation from the Auburn Hills automaker last year, according to the company's annual report. But Marchionne, who also is chairman and CEO of Chrysler's parent company, Fiat SpA. Fiat has not yet released his compensation for 2011... Read more* Volvo offers performance, power upgrades
- Automaker's racing partner helps provide enchancements for nonracing vehicles. Polestar has showcased its potential to become to Volvo what AMG is to Mercedes-Benz or M is to BMW with the Volvo C30 Polestar concept car. That car features a Volvo all-wheel-drive setup, Brembo brakes, Ohlins shocks and 19-inch wheels, as well as a racing-style interior and exterior, and some engine hardware upgrades that help the Polestar software produce more than 450 horsepower. Read more* BMW says profit up 50 percent in 2011
- Germany luxury automaker BMW says its profits jumped by 51 percent last year to (euro) 4.9 billion ($6.43 billion). The result compares to (euro) 3.24 billion from the year before. Sales rose 14 percent to (euro) 68.82 billion. Read more* Ford to give senior workers temporary layoffs to train new ones
- Ford Motor Co. is offering temporary layoffs at its Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne to allow newer workers to train. The move will allow new workers to train on the line for several weeks before the plant adds a third shift in May. Read moreLabels: automakers' news
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