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Nov 1, 2007

AUTOS' NEWS * WORLDWIDE - Fuel-Efficient Cars Dominate Auto Shows From Tokyo to Detroit

Stricter emissions standards in Europe, US, Japan highlight fuel needs at Tokyo show

USA -Automotive Digest -31 Oct 2007: -- But auto industry has not yet moved in unison toward reaching standards. Research ongoing for hybrids, fuel-cell, diesel technology at major automakers... Daimler, pioneer in fuel-cell, may be ready to launch technology on market soon... Daimler may have lease fuel-cell B-Class car in 2010, Honda FCX could launch 2008 Hybrids, diesels, fuel-cell driven cars dot auto shows as governments crack down... Europe hit hardest, emissions reductions may not be enough; ban on cars may come... A variety of technologies being tested, but automaker strategies not yet in place... Tokyo show highlights Toyota Hi-CT plug-in hybrid, Nissan Pivo2 electric concepts... Daimler CEO says electric cars emit too much CO2, looks to fuel-cell efficiency...


* Alcohol Interlocks Still Too Intrusive for General Driving Population
USA -Automotive Digest -31 Oct 2007: -- Alcohol interlock systems could save 1000s of lives each year... If technological, privacy impediments can be overcome... Most current interlocks require driver to blow into unit when starting, driving car... Saab, Volvo, Nissan, Toyota developing less intrusive systems... NHTSA administrator, Nicole Nason, says agency financing interlock research. But acknowledges that "we are years and years away from this technology"... IIHS estimates 9K lives/year could be saved, if drivers w/ blood alcohol of 0.08 stopped from driving... NHTSA: 40% of traffic deaths alcohol related, over 17,500 deaths in 2006 involving alcohol... MADD pushing to get courts to require interlocks for 1st offenders... ACLU, industry groups concerned about impact on sober drivers, triggering false alarms... NHTSA says won't recommend general use on new vehicles until technology more reliable...

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posted by Unknown @ 5:58 PM  0 comments

Feb 21, 2007

AUTOMAKERS' NEWS

* USA - Most-Recalled Cars -
USA -Forbes, by Dan Lienert -19 Feb 2007: -- ... This is an example of a recall at its most serious: a grave problem affecting a large number of vehicles, prompting the automaker to spring to action and immediately contact owners... Other recalls, on the other hand, are not so grim... Indeed, while some recalls can affect tens of thousands of cars, many can affect a small number of models. One of the Sonata's 2006 recalls--a problem with the headlights--potentially affected only 500 vehicles... Small and minor recalls are just two things that make them imperfect indicators of vehicle safety, even though recalls can teach us a lot about major trouble spots...

Some, though, say the number of recalls issued each year is too high...

* Germany - Volkswagen doubles profit in 2006
Wolfsburg,Germany -The Detroit News (USA)/Bloomberg News -Feb 20, 2007: -- Volkswagen AG, Europe's largest carmaker, said 2006 profit more than doubled after new Audi and Skoda models attracted buyers and a tax gain added to earnings, reported today... The auto maker's shares rose to an 8 1/2-year high... Net income increased to 2.75 billion euros ($3.61 billion), or 7.07 euros a share, from 1.12 billion euros, or 2.90 euros, a year earlier, the Wolfsburg, Germany-based carmaker said. Sales rose 12 percent to 104.9 billion euros...

* USA - Toyota Tundra Triumphs over Chevrolet and Nissan in Edmunds’ Inside Line Half-Ton Truck Comparison Test
Santa Monica,CAL,USA -BUSINESS WIRE -Feb 20, 2007: -- Edmunds’ high-speed online car magazine and the most-read automotive enthusiast Web site, today announced that the 2007 Toyota Tundra squeaked by the 2007 Chevrolet Silverado to win the 2007 Half-Ton Pickup Truck Comparison Test...

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posted by Unknown @ 11:20 AM  0 comments

AUTOS' DANCE * USA - Chrysler Talk Revs Up

No smoke without a fire?
London,UK -Forbes (USA), by Parmy Olson -19 Feb 2007: -- From General Motors to Nissan to Hyundai to private equity groups -- the number of parties that are reportedly interested in buying Chrysler Group is growing every day, making the picture of suitors sniffing around the struggling unit of DaimlerChrysler all the more plausible... Any sale or spin off could take several months, though according to Germany's Handelsblatt business newspaper, DaimlerChrysler will make a clear decision about what to do with the unit before the end of 2007. The paper added that Daimler's management was leaning towards an outright sale...

* Report: GM-Chrysler deal a 50/50 chance, analyst says
Detroit,Mich,USA -The Detroit News /Bloomberg -Feb 20, 2007: -- General Motors Corp., the world's largest automaker, stands a 50 percent chance of buying DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler unit and may seek the purchase as a "defensive maneuver," Merrill Lynch analyst John Murphy said today... "Given the transformation the U.S. industry is beginning, we would not rule out a tie-up," Murphy, who is based in New York, said in a note to investors today. "GM may view the acquisition as a defensive maneuver to box out new competition"...

* Opinion - Chrysler's White Knight Against Foreign Invaders?
London,UK -Edmund's Auto Observers, by Michelle Krebs -21 Feb 2007: -- Last week's rumors that General Motors was in discussions to buy the Chrysler Group were immediately dismissed from Wall Street to Main Street as nonsense to sheer lunacy... But may be the idea isn't so crazy after all for GM. Maybe GM is playing defense, not offense... If a foreign automaker – particularly one from China or Korea – were to make a bid for Chrysler, GM could sweep in like a knight in shining armor and save the damsel in distress – not Chrysler, but itself... GM faces significant risk if a Chinese or Korean automaker buys Chrysler and gains instant access to its coast-to-coast dealership network to widely distribute vehicles that can be priced below the competition because they come from low-cost production sources... Ford would be hurt as well, but it's broke, so it can't put up a solid defense. GM, however, is in reasonably good health to put the brakes on such a foreign invasion...

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posted by Unknown @ 11:04 AM  0 comments

Feb 20, 2007

AUTOS' NEWS

Tentative Agreement * USA - Honda settles suit over defective odometers - Plan includes Acura; customers will be reimbursed for repairs, warranties will be extended

Washington,DC,USA -The Detroit News, by David Shepardson -Feb 20, 2007: -- About 6 million Honda and Acura owners will get extensions of leases or warranties, or in some cases refunds, as part of a $16 million-plus settlement stemming from faulty odometers, which chalked up miles too quickly... Because of the defective odometers, warranties expired earlier than they should have... As part of a tentative class-action settlement, American Honda Motor Co. will: * Extend by 5 percent the mileage-based coverage period of its warranties. * Extend mileage allowed in leases by 5 percent. * Reimburse customers for repairs made just after their warranties expired. * Refund $6.1 million in fees for exceeding mileage limits to about 25,000 former leaseholders -- who will receive $265 each...

* South Korea - Hyundai Motor plans to assemble vehicles in
Seoul,South Korea -Associated Press /The Detroit News, by Kelly Olsen -Feb 20, 2007 -- Hyundai Motor Co., the world's sixth-largest automaker, said Tuesday it plans to export vehicle parts and components to be assembled at a locally owned plant in Brazil... Hyundai will cooperate with Sao Paulo-based Caoa Montadora SA, which distributes Hyundai vehicles as well those of Ford Motor Co. in the South American country, said Hyundai spokesman Jake Jang...

* USA - Volkswagen’s US SOS
USA -The Truth About Cars, by Justin Berkowitz -Feb 20, 2007: -- The automotive media have their hands full chronicling the slow motion train wreck known as The Big 2.5... But there's another pile-up in progress. Here in the States, Volkswagen of America (VWoA) has transformed itself from a highly profitable purveyor of mesmerizing motors to a struggling brand with an ugly, overpriced and unpopular lineup. To properly parse this fall from automotive grace, let's start with the Phaeton...

* North Korea - Bans Japanese cars
N. Korea -edmunds.com (USA), by Bob -Feb 20, 2007: -- This is just too goofy. Is there a full moon out, or what? First news of the possible Chrysler auction, and now this...North Korean leader Kim Jong-il has ordered the seizure of all Japanese-made cars in the communist country after he spotted a broken-down model blocking a road... The funny thing most cars in North Korea—are Japanese! This should be fun to watch...

* USA - Hyundai - Chrysler?
USA -edmunds.com (USA), by Bob -Feb 20, 2007: -- With the news that the Chrysler Group could be up for sale, there are bound to be a bunch of rumors flying around of possible suitors... The latest is a story coming out of the UK is that Hyundai may be interested in buying Chrysler. The TimesOnline is reporting that Hyundai is very interested in having access to Chrysler's dealer network. The report goes on to say that besides Hyundai there were several other potential buyers, including Chinese groups and private-equity firms...

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posted by Unknown @ 1:34 PM  0 comments

Feb 17, 2007

"DANCING IN THE TITANIC" ?? * USA

DaimlerChrysler shares surge on report of GM talks
San Francisco,CAL,USA -MarketWatch, by Gabriel Madway -Feb 16, 2007: -- DaimlerChrysler Ag shares surged more than 5% to $73.85, while shares of General Motors Corp. slipped around 1% to $36.12 after a news report surfaced that GM is in talks to buy Chrysler Group... According to a report in the industry trade publication Automotive News, which cited unnamed sources in Germany and the U.S., high-level talks are taking place between GM and DaimlerChrysler executives. DaimlerChrysler said Wednesday that all options are on the table as it restructures its U.S. unit...


* COMMENT: 1- An Independent Chrysler? No, But A Smaller One
New York,NY,USA -Forbes, by Jerry Flint -6 Feb 2007: -- Despite denials from headquarters in Germany, rumors keep popping up in Europe that DaimlerChrysler is about to sell or spin off its American Chrysler operations. This talk helped move its DCX stock past $63 recently... What is going on? Well, American Chrysler is losing money--$1.5 billion in the third quarter--and it is clear that some Germans, maybe even some on the key management and supervisory boards, would like to dump Chrysler. They consider the American cars lowbrow money losers compared with their ritzy Mercedes models wearing the three-pointed star... Of course, there are precedents for such a move. Daimler had control of Japanese Mitsubishi and gave it up. The Germans had a chunk of Korean Hyundai, too, and gave that up. BMW dumped Rover, and General Motors unloaded its pieces of Fiat, Suzuki, Subaru and Isuzu. Ford seems poised to sell Aston Martin. And for those of you with long memories, in 1964 Volkswagen bought a majority stake in Audi from Mercedes... History aside, I do not think that Mercedes will get rid of Chrysler anytime soon. The main reason is that the boss does not want to sell. Dieter Zetsche, chief executive of DaimlerChrysler, has said to more than one person that “Chrysler is not for sale.” I doubt there could be any breakup as long as he runs the parent company... There is history here too. Zetsche personally took over American Chrysler in 2000 and led a turnaround at the America company. His heroic performance here helped him win the top post at the parent firm... Still, you have to ask, could Chrysler and Daimler separate? The American company is using Mercedes technology in a number of models, even a diesel engine in its Jeep Grand Cherokee. I do not see this as a deal-breaker... An independent Chrysler, particularly if privately held, probably would be fast and aggressive with new models and global ambition. At least for now, Chrysler is likely to stay part of Mercedes, but it is interesting to speculate about the future...

* COMMENT: 2 - Will GM really buy Chrysler ?
Detroit,Mich,USA - The Detroit News, by Josee Valcourt & Sharon Terlep -17 Feb 2007: -- ... The question is whether GM has the appetite for a wholesale acquisition of Chrysler, which has an estimated $18 billion in health care liabilities and won't be profitable until 2008 at the earliest... One key labor leader at GM's Adam Opel AG subsidiary in Germany said a Chrysler acquisition is the last thing GM needs... "These are rumors and I hope, by God, GM wouldn't do anything like this," said Klaus Franz, who serves as deputy chairman of Opel's supervisory board. "We are on the right way to come back on track with the right products."...


* COMMENTS : 3- DaimlerChrysler shares rally on reports of GM talks
San Francisco,CAL,USA -MarketWatch, by Shawn Langlois -Feb 16, 2007: -- The speculation follows a busy day at the rumor mill Wednesday after DaimlerChrysler Chairman Dieter Zetsche said "all options are on the table."... "Nothing's changed," said GM spokesman Tom Wilkinson. "It's just speculation and we're not going to comment." Chrysler didn't immediately return calls... To Austin Ligon, former president and CEO of used-car seller CarMax, Inc., the whole idea makes no sense... "One always hesitates to underestimate GM's ability to shoot itself in the foot, but it seems inconceivable to me," he said. "What they need is fewer dealers, fewer models, and more sales per model and per dealer, and this does nothing to help that."... Wall Street Strategies analyst David Silver, who pointed to GM as a potential suitor a day earlier, said he'd be surprised if it happened this fast. "I thought this would wait at least until after the UAW talks," he said. "[GM CEO] Rick Wagoner worked too hard to free the company from debt and to bring back profitability, it just doesn't make sense to take on Chrysler right now."... Chrysler and GM have been mulling a possible alliance relating to large SUVs for six months, a discussion that probably evolved into something much more, according to Silver. "They were probably talking about an SUV deal and then figured 'let's just go all the way,'" he said. "DaimlerChrysler will get rid of Chrysler, I'm just not sure GM will be the buyer."... Burnham Securities analyst David Healy said that it makes more sense for the two rivals to work together on a single product than it does for them to combine... "I think that GM has a very full plate at the moment, and it's unlikely they'll even want to take on Chrysler," he said...

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posted by Unknown @ 12:15 PM  0 comments