Archives: August 2009

A Motown headache for Cerberus

Posted by: David Welch on August 31

If there’s any lesson from the downfall of Detroit’s carmakers over the past several years, it’s that it’s that the smart money can’t find an easy solution to Motown’s...

Cash For Clunkers Pushes August Sales And Stirs Debate

Posted by: David Kiley on August 28

Helped by Cash for Clunkers, which ended Monday, the annualized selling rate for the auto industry in August is expected to be about 15.5 million, according to Wall Street firm...

NUMMI to close as Toyota reins in expectations

Posted by: David Welch on August 28

Toyota Motor Corp. said that it will shutter its New United Motor Manufacturing Inc. plant in Fremont, Calif, in 2010. The move came almost two months after General Motors...

Cash for Clunkers success pales next to its hype

Posted by: David Welch on August 26

The government’s Cash for Clunkers program is over and still the spiff is getting more post-event coverage than any Super Bowl I can remember. The Transportation Department, not surprisingly,...

GM's high-stakes standoff over Opel

Posted by: David Welch on August 25

At a media event on Aug. 11, I asked General Motors CEO Fritz Henderson if there was a chance that GM would keep Opel. “Not likely,” he said. “The...

Cash For Clunkers Need Not Come To An End

Posted by: David Kiley on August 24

As the Cash For Clunkers program comes to an end tonight, I heard a pretty good idea mentioned for some automaker to take advantage of in the coming days and...

Will hybrids and a weaker yen propel Toyota back into profit?

Posted by: Ian Rowley on August 19

According to a report in today’s Yomiuri newspaper, Toyota plans to raise its annual production forecast. The Yomiuri reckons the Japanese automaker will now make 6.67 million vehicles this...

Fiat 500 will go to Mexico

Posted by: David Welch on August 17

Critics of Detroit’s carmakers could play a real game of gotcha with Chrysler. News reports today say the company will build the Fiat 500 subcompact at Chrysler’s plant in...

Porsche Loses Independence to VW: Launches Panamera Sedan.

Posted by: David Kiley on August 14

Volkswagen AG reached terms with Porsche SE to acquire a controlling stake in the iconic sports carmaker. The Persian Gulf State of Qatar is also part of the deal...

Cash for Clunker Interest Slows

Posted by: David Welch on August 14

What started with a bang could end with a fizzle. The government’s cash for clunkers program was a smash out of the gate. People stampeded showrooms after its late-July...

Cash For Clunkers Boosts Ford Production: "Eye-Popping" Sales in August

Posted by: David Kiley on August 13

Ford Motor Co. is upping its production of fuel efficient vehicles in the third quarter to meet demand, the company, says for vehicles being purchased under the extended Cash for...

Chevrolet Volt gets 230 mpg in the city, and only in the city.

Posted by: David Welch on August 11

General Motors made some big headlines this morning with word that its Chevrolet Volt electric car will get 230 miles per gallon in the city. That’s an impressive feat...

GM Talking New BMW-Fighter for Cadillac

Posted by: David Kiley on August 10

General Motors is not losing any time telling its story and trying to show “green shoots” coming out of the New GM. Tomorrow morning at 8:00 AM EST, GM CEO...

Fiat Deal With Bertone Could Benefit Chrysler

Posted by: David Kiley on August 07

Fiat’s acquisition of historic car styling/coach-building Italian company Bertone this week fits in with an ongoing discussion at the automaker about whether to keep the Chrysler brand going. Fiat...

Senate approves more clunker cash

Posted by: David Welch on August 07

The Senate approved another $2 billion for the “cash for clunkers” program by a vote of 60 to 37, but don’t expect the same mad rush of sales that...

Ford Accelerates Product Plan Toward Recovery

Posted by: David Kiley on August 06

TRAVERSE CITY, MI--Ford Motor Co. Thursday gave new guidance to analysts and the media about its intentions to restructure its product lineup and costs in order to make a profit....

Buick To Get GM Plug-In SUV

Posted by: David Kiley on August 06

TRAVERSE CITY, MI--General Motors said Thursday that it will deploy the plug-in technology it has been touting for the Chevy Volt across its other three brands well, starting with the...

Cash for Clunkers has been an equal opportunity incentive

Posted by: David Welch on August 05

When the government’s cash for clunkers program kicked off in late July, the early word was that it was helping foreign carmakers more than giving a sales boost to...

Obama's $2.4 billion electric car bet

Posted by: David Welch on August 05

At a time when the public is growing increasingly tired of government handouts, bailouts and rescues, the Obama Administration goes and hands out $2.4 billion for electric car and...

Is Subaru Recession Proof?

Posted by: David Kiley on August 05

We all know by now that the federal Cash for Clunkers program, along with the usual mid-summer discounting, helped to boost July sales. But one company’s sales results really...

GM Chairman Whitacre: The culture doesn't need changing

Posted by: David Welch on August 05

New General Motors Chairman Edward Whitacre is every bit a Detroit outsider. He’s a lanky Texan who ran a phone company. He speaks plainly in a drawl. He went...

White House: GM IPO Likely for 2010, But Not Chrysler.

Posted by: David Kiley on August 05

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich.--The White House’s senior advisor to the Task Force on the Auto Industry said Wednesday that he believed it was likely that General Motors would have an initial...

Toyota To Develop New Affordable Sports Car

Posted by: David Kiley on August 05

TRAVERSE CITY, MI--Toyota Motor Corp. President Akio Toyoda said at an industry conference this morning that the automaker will bring an exciting, fun-to-drive affordable sports car" to market within the...

Key Senators Back Off Cash for Clunkers Objections

Posted by: David Kiley on August 04

Senators Diane Feinstein (D-CA) and Olympia Snow (R-Me) have backed off objections they had over the Cash for Clunkers bill. The two Senators had pushed for a rewrite of...

Cash For Clunkers Helps Ford To July Gain

Posted by: David Kiley on August 02

Ford Motor Co. on Monday will post a single-digit sales gain over the same month a year ago, the first monthly sales gain the automaker has posted since 2007. Company...

Introducing the Nissan Leaf Electric Vehicle

Posted by: Ian Rowley on August 02

Amid much fanfare, Nissan finally showed off the first of several new electric vehicles this morning at the opening of its new global headquarters in Yokohama. Nissan chief Carlos...