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Mar 22, 2012

AUTOMAKERS NEWS * USA

* DC - Highway bill riles automakers. Industry slams proposed safety rules, recall fine

Washington,DC,USA -Detroit News, by David Shepardson -March 22, 2012: -- Major automakers want significant changes in auto safety reforms that are part of a two-year highway reauthorization bill... Mitch Bainwol, president and CEO of the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, is expected to tell the House Energy and Commerce Committee today that it should make major changes in the $109 billion bill that the Senate approved on a 74-22 vote... The alliance — which represents Detroit's Big Three automakers, Toyota Motor Corp., Volkswagen AG and seven others--  wants the House to reject a provision in the Senate bill that would allow the government to fine them $250 million for failing to recall vehicles properly. That's up from about $17 million now...


* New Jersey - Claim Accuses Ford of Covering Up Defects in F-Series Fuel Tanks

Trenton,NJ,USA -The Detroit Bureau - March 16, 2012: -- Papers filed with the U.S. District Court in New Jersey claim Ford was aware that the linings of F-Series pickups and E-Series vans built between 1999 and 2008 could "separate and flake-off," which could clog the fuel lines and lead to loss of power or stalling. Plaintiffs claim Ford issued a "secret" technical bulletin to dealers advising them of the problems, but customers were not informed. It is not clear if federal regulators are looking into the issue as it could be considered a potential safety hazard...

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Mar 16, 2012

AUTOMAKERS * WORLDWIDE

* Italy - Fiat: Strike caused output to drop by 20,000 units
- A transport strike in Italy has forced automaker Fiat SpA to cut production, prompting the automaker to warn Thursday that it may have to close some plants temporarily. The 20-day old strike by heavy transport drivers against government austerity measures has forced the carmaker to produce 20,000 fewer cars. Heavy transport drivers, including those who move the multi-deckered trailers that transport cars, have been striking against government measures that have increased the price of fuel... Read more

* Marchionne's 2011 compensation from Fiat SpA totaled $19M
- Fiat SpA Chief Executive Officer, Sergio Marchionne, received compensation totaling $19 million (14.5 million euros) in 2011, mostly in stock grants. Marchionne had a salary of 2.45 million euros by the Italian carmaker, according to a filing released Thursday. He also got stock-related remuneration, which had a "fair value" of 12.01 million euros, Fiat said. Marchionne didn't receive any compensation from Chrysler, where he is Chairman and CEO, last year... Read more

* Renault, Peugeot lead biggest Europe auto-sales drop since 2010
- Renault SA, PSA Peugeot Citroen and Fiat SpA led the biggest European sales drop in more than a year among the major car brands on the continent as consumers shied away from major purchases amid a weak economy. Registrations in February fell 9.2 percent from a year earlier to 923,381 million vehicles. Sales in France, Europe's second-biggest market after Germany, plummeted 20 percent, while deliveries in Italy, its third-biggest, plunged 19 percent... Read more

* India Auto Makers Raise Vehicle Prices On Higher Factory Gate Tax
- India's auto makers Friday began raising prices of cars and sport-utility vehicles to pass on an increase in factory gate tax, a move that the industry expects will crimp demand for new vehicles in Asia's third-largest automobile market... Demand for new cars and SUVs has remained tepid this financial year through March due to higher fuel costs, expensive loans and high inflation. Local sales of cars and SUVs grew 2.95% during April 2011 to February 2012 from 30% a year earlier...

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Mar 10, 2012

AUTO & TRUCKMAKERS NEWS * USA

* Michigan - Ford hopes to strike gold with big Platinum trucks. Company aims at lucrative luxury segment

(Photo by Daniel Mears / The Detroit News: Mike White, in town for tonight’s Professional Bull Riders competition, rides around the new 2013 Ford F-450 Platinum on Friday at Ford Field where Ford introduced the 2013 F-Series Super Duty truck models)
Detroit,MICH,USA -The Detroit News, by Doug Guthrie and Jaclyn Trop -March 10, 2012:  ... Ford, which has been the title sponsor of the PBR tour for 10 years and claims to be the builder of America's most popular work trucks, is building on the success of its Platinum F-150 series by adding F-250, F-350 and F-450 versions to the line...  The 2013 F-Series Super Duty features a chrome-detailed exterior and seats upholstered in high quality leather as soft and supple as a glove. The 8-inch dash-mounted, voice-controlled, touch-screen system — SYNC with MyFord Touch for coordinated operation of cellphones, music, navigation and interior environmental control — is so sensitive it can be run by occupants wearing work gloves. The audio and environmental control buttons also are oversize for gloves...  Double-digit profit margins on pickups make the segment especially inviting to automakers in the U.S., where there is a market for larger vehicles...  The profit margins on trucks are much healthier than on compact cars or sedans...

* Pickup Trucks - 2012 NTEA  Work Truck Show: Full of Solutions

* Venco VP6 Dump Truck
- This company's VP6 bed hoist, cost of the install is likely to be under $4,000, and it will turn your long or short bed into a hard-working, max-payload-hungry dump truck. It's worth noting the install will affect towing capacity, and you will have to raise the bed each time you have to fill up with fuel.

* Via Motors VREV VTRUX Test Drive
- We had the chance to drive one of the newest powertrain supplies around. Via Motors sells Volt-like powertrains to those interested in buying GM pickups, full-size vans or SUVs...  The VTRUX has great off-the-line feel because the system effectively works like a one-speed electric-motor transmission. Expect a heavy-duty version to come out with a stronger two-speed model.

* Fuel Tank Capless Ram HD
- With the introduction of Ram Truck's first factory-installed 2500 HD long-bed crew-cab pickups that can run on compressed natural gas, we noticed this is Ram's first use of a capless fuel tank. We're told Ram had to move to that option to allow the CNG and gasoline filler locations to sit under the same fuel door. (To date, Ford is the only truck maker to use a capless fuel tank.) It was unclear whether all Ram vehicles are getting ready to switch to the "capless" strategy, but all the CNG units will require it.

* ProPickup's Contractor's Giveaway
- ProPickup Magazine spent the year building this contractor's special Super Duty truck, called Project Super Crew, and the magazine is ready to give away the truck by the first week of April. The truck has a 75-gallon refueling tank, a Vanair 150 compressor and arc welder, 35-inch Mickey Thompson tires, a Transfer Flow 50-gallon fuel tank and many other accessories.



Briefing News

* Retiring Ford workers to get payout option
- Beginning in July, retiring Ford Motor Co. U.S. salaried workers will be eligible to receive a lump sum payout of their pensions instead of the traditional annuity option, the automaker said Friday. Read more

* Mazda offers buyouts to salaried employees
- Mazda Motor Corp. is offering voluntary buyouts to its 701 salaried U.S. employees, including about 30 who work at a Flat Rock assembly plant, a Mazda spokesperson said Friday. Read more

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Mar 9, 2012

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 more

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Mar 7, 2012

AUTOMAKERS NEWS * WORLDWIDE

Briefing News

(Photo by Fabrice Coffrini /AFP /Getty Images: An Opel Ampera is displayed at the German carmaker's booth at the Geneva Motor Show. Chevrolet Volt / Opel Ampera has been awarded "Car of the year 2012" during a ceremony on the eve of the Car show press day)

* Stake in Peugeot to cost GM $423M. Alliance expects $2B in eventual annual savings, filing states
- General Motors Co. plans to spend about $423 million to acquire 7 percent of PSA Peugeot Citroen, according to a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing Monday from the automaker... Read more

* European carmaker Peugeot to sell shares at 42% discount
- PSA Peugeot Citroen, Europe's second-biggest carmaker, plans to sell shares in a 1 billion-euro ($1.32 billion) capital increase at a 42 percent discount. Shareholders, who will have the right to buy 16 shares for every 31 they already own, will pay 8.27 euros per share, the Paris-based carmaker said in an e-mailed statement Tuesday... Read more

* Ford chief Alan Mulally awarded $58.3M in company stock- Ford Motor Co. President and CEO Alan Mulally received $58.3 million in company stock this week as part of a 2009 long-term incentive pay package, the automaker disclosed Tuesday... Read more

* Automakers prepare for deeper European decline
- Ford, which is predicting a $600M loss, is stopping production on some days. Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, Toyota Motor Corp. and their competitors are preparing for a deeper slump in European sales after deliveries at the beginning of the year were at the low end of their expectations... Read More

* There was some good news for GM Europe
- The Opel-Vauxhall Ampera, Europe's version of the Chevrolet Volt extended-range electric vehicle, was named European Car of the Year in Geneva, the day before... Read more

* GM to suspend Volt production. More inventory than customers reason for five-week shutdown
- General Motors Co. will halt production of its plug-in Chevrolet Volt — which was to be the symbol of the cutting-edge, post-bankruptcy automaker — for five weeks starting March 19... Read more

* Sergio Marchionne doesn't mince words: "Fiat needs to take a cue from Chrysler"
- Fed up with Europe's problems, Marchionne moves more toward U.S. The deepening economic crisis across Europe, along with Fiat SpA's push to revive its eponymous and Alfa Romeo brands in the United States, could prove a boon to Chrysler Group LLC... Read more... and more

* Fiat may change Dodge Dart launch date to avoid April Fool's 'jinx'
- Fiat and Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne says he may shift the date of the Dodge Dart's production launch off of April 1 to "to avoid being jinxed" by an April Fool's Day launch. The Dodge Dart is the first Chrysler model to use Fiat architecture under the nearly three-year-old alliance... Read more

* GM reports strong sales for brands in China
- General Motors Co. said Tuesday that February was its third highest month ever for sales in China, where it sold 240,554 cars and trucks last month... The automaker said the February figure was a record for that month and was up 30.4 percent from February 2011... Read more

* China to curb auto production capacity, promote new-energy cars
- China will control the increase in auto manufacturing capacity and encourage mergers and reorganizations in the industry, according to a work report that Premier Wen Jiabao delivered at the nation's legislature. The government will promote new-energy vehicles and encourage the scrapping of old vehicles to reduce pollution, according to a separate report today by the National Development and Reform Commission, the country's top economic planner... Read more

* Nissan recalling 30,000 vehicles for engine, air bag problems
- Nissan Motor Co. is recalling nearly 30,000 vehicles in two separate campaigns to address air bag faults and engine stalls. One of the two recalls came under U.S. government pressure... Read more

* California bill would set rules for self-driving cars
- California lawmakers are getting ready for a new automotive erawhen the first self-driving cars hit the roads. Tech giant Google Inc., Caltech and other organizations have been working to develop such vehicles, which use radar, video cameras and lasers to navigate roads and stay safe in traffic without human assistance... Read more

* Chrysler vote set on shift rotation. Trenton workers will weigh fixed schedules based on seniority
- Workers at Chrysler Group LLC's Trenton Engine Plant are voting on whether they want to keep a controversial rotating shift schedule that the new national agreement Chrysler negotiated with the United Auto Workers last fall... Some workers say has put them in the hospital... Read more

 * Mexico's 'Vocho' bids adios
- Capital to retire the last of iconic but outdated Volkswagen Beetle taxis from streets. Today, there are only 3,500 "Vocho" taxis left, and officials said the cabs will be retired at the end of the year... Read more


* Switzerland - The Geneva Car Show: And now ... some pure fun from Rinspeed !!!

(Photo: Rinspeed is displaying its versatile Dock + Go system for electric cars in Geneva)
Geneve,Switzerland -The Detroit News, by Christine Tierney -Mar 2, 2012: -- One of the most popular attractions each year at the Geneva car show is the Rinspeed stand. Rinspeed, founded in 1979 by Swiss visionary Frank Rinderknecht, has turned out fantastic contraptions such as the underwater sQuba car and the amphibious Splash... This year’s concept is just as innovative, but much more practical. Called the Dock+Go, it addresses key concerns about electric cars: the range anxiety surrounding battery-powered vehicles, and their limited utility... Rinspeed’s display in Geneva is based on a Smart two-seater, but any electric-powered car could be adapted to the Dock+Go system. It provides attachments or extensions on a third axle to offer more storage space, for instance, or more battery power... One of the system’s most intriguing innovations is an extension that can be fitted with a supplemental battery pack, fuel cell stack or even a small internal combustion range-extender engine. It uses the third axle to drive the electric car’s rear axle and deliver a recharge to its primary on-board battery pack...

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Sep 23, 2008

BIG 3 GOV's HELP * USA - $25B fed auto aid in sight

By week's end Congress expected to OK low-cost loans for struggling domestic industry, officials say

Washington,DC,USA -The Detroit News, by David Shepardson -September 23, 2008: -- Congress is likely to approve by the end of the week funding for $25 billion in low-cost government loans to aid the struggling domestic auto industry after more than a year of debate, congressional and auto officials said Monday... The money is included in a House bill drafted by Democrats to fund the ongoing operation of the federal government; a copy of the draft bill was obtained by The Detroit News on Monday. The bill could be introduced in the House as early as today and voted on by Wednesday. The Senate is expected to vote by Friday... The 30-page draft bill would be used to fund the federal government, perhaps until March, because Congress and the White House haven't agreed on a fiscal 2009 budget. It must be approved or the government would be forced to shut down. Congressional aides said Monday they thought the auto industry loans would most likely be attached to that bill... The Congressional Budget Office said last week that Congress had to set aside $7.5 billion to cover the risk of automakers defaulting on their obligations. The draft measure allocates the full amount plus $10 million to the U.S. Energy Department to administer the loans for the Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Program. Detroit's Big Three CEOs held meetings last week with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other key members of both parties...

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Oct 31, 2007

AUTOMAKERS' NEWS * USA - Chrysler to cut deeper: 1,000 managers targeted

Factory shifts, contract workers to be reduced

Detroit,Mich,USA -The Detroit News, by Bill Vlasic -31 Oct 2007: -- Chrysler LLC is expected to slash at least 1,000 salaried workers, cut contract employees and trim manufacturing jobs in an effort to downsize payroll and production to match its shrinking U.S. market share... People close to the company said Chrysler's board Tuesday approved the job cuts and possible factory shift reductions in addition to dropping four vehicles from its product lineup... The cuts are expected to be announced as soon as today as the newly independent automaker revamps its operations under the ownership of the private-equity firm Cerberus Capital Management...


* Criminal probe into Delphi ends
Washington,DC,USA -The Detroit News (Detroit,Mich), by David Shepardson -October 31, 2007: -- The Justice Department is expected to drop a 2 1/2 -year criminal probe of several former executives of bankrupt auto supplier Delphi Corp., including former president and CEO JT Battenberg III... At least seven former Delphi managers were investigated as part of a criminal probe after Delphi admitted to accounting irregularities from 2000 to 2004 that made the failing parts supplier appear profitable. The Troy-based operation was spun off by General Motors Corp. in 1999, and slid into bankruptcy in 2005...

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