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GM Daewoo Auto and Technology Co. said Friday it had started shipping new mini cars to Europe as the South Korean unit of US auto giant General Motors Co. seeks to expand global sales. GM Daewoo, acting as General Motors' global mini car development centre, said it will ship the "Matiz Creative", the fourth generation of GM Daewoo's popular "Matiz" mini car series, under the name "Chevrolet Spark". The South Korean unit will export 20,000 units to Europe by the end of the year and begin selling the car early next year. It did not say what the vehicles would...

It's an economic contradiction to order the industry to build small cars but not encourage people to buy them. The government is trying to push us into smaller, fuel-stingy vehicles. The plan is not working. Motorists don't seem excited by the small cars out there. They'll sit on their hands rather than buy. The end result is not so much fuel efficiency as depressed sales of new cars. The top seller in the American market is still the big Ford f-150 pickup. Then comes the family-size car, the Toyota ( TM - news - people ) Camry, then the big...

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DEARBORN, Mich. (AP) -- Ford Motor Co. says it plans to sell a new police cruiser vehicle to replace the Crown Victoria once the sedan is phased out of production in 2011.

SPRING HILL, Tenn. - General Motors will shut down its' production of the Chevy Traverse at the Spring Hill plant on Wednesday, November 24; the day before Thanksgiving.About 1,000 of the remaining 1,800 GM workers will lose their job. "A lot of them was hoping that they was going to get their time out, you know, here and be able to retire and it hasn't happened," said Spring Hill barber Diane Colley. Colley said some of her clients have chosen the option to transfer to another GM plant. "They really didn't want to leave it, but they've got to work,"...

The people want an empire, apparently, with that unassuming little black VW bug at the head of it. The U.K.’s Guardian explains, "Volkswagen-Porsche has overtaken Toyota to become the world's largest car manufacturer as the German group benefits from state-backed stimulus packages around the globe." VW has "produced 4.4 million vehicles so far this year, outstripping its Japanese rival which has seen four million cars roll off production lines since January." Ironically, VW reached the milestone in part by taking over Porsche – which it was forced to do after Porsche failed in an attempt to take over VW earlier...

Volkswagen Group has displaced Toyota for the first time as the world's largest car manufacturer in terms of production. The German carmaker produced 4.4 million vehicles in the first nine months of the year, overtaking its Japanese rival by 400,000 units, consulting firm IHS Global Insight said on Wednesday. Volkswagen Group owns a variety of models such as Skoda and Seat and high-end lines Audi, Bentley, Bugatti and Lamborghini. In July it expanded its stable by acquiring Porsche. HIS Global Insight said Volkswagen was able to beat Toyota thanks to increased sales in China, Germany and the U.K. even amid...

Ford Learns The Price Of Solvency Logan Robinson, 11.07.09, 12:00 PM EST But what has the UAW learned? In plant-by-plant voting over the last few weeks a large majority of the 41,000 United Auto Workers (UAW) workers employed by the Ford Motor Company voted to reject modifications to their collective bargaining agreement negotiated by their own national union. The modifications were designed to bring the Ford-UAW agreement into parity with concessions the UAW gave to GM and Chrysler as part of their government-brokered bankruptcies. They included a wage freeze for entry-level workers until the 2015 contract, a commitment to binding...

Barack Obama has stepped into the row about the future of Vauxhall and Opel as anger about General Motors’ decision to keep its European operations threatens to harm transatlantic relationships. President Obama is believed to have secured an agreement with Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, that she would “co-ordinate” with the US leader on the future of GM Europe during a phone call. The American government is the majority shareholder in GM but a spokesman for Ms Merkel said President Obama told Ms Merkel he had not been involved in the car maker’s decision to scrap the sale of Vauxhall...

Fiat's grand plan for Chrysler's revival sounds awfully familiar. Possible, but still a dream. Chrysler's five-year recovery plan announced Wednesday reveals some good news but a lot of dreams and promises of great improvements. The good news was how its cash had grown by $1.7 billion, to $5.7 billion at the end of September, plus $200 million in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. Of course, Chrysler got $12 billion in help from the government. The dreams involved about everything else: new products to come, new engines, new quality, new manufacturing processes, a doubling of sales per dealer, $3...

General Motors last night staged a dramatic U-turn by choosing to hold on to its European Opel and Vauxhall subsidiaries in a major snub to Magna International and the German government. The surprise decision by GM places a further question mark over the future of the company’s van plant at Luton, which employs around 1,500 workers, but is likely to safeguard the future of its Ellesmere Port facility, where it employs about 2,000 workers. The 11th-hour volte-face, made during a GM board meeting in Detroit, is understood to have come as a result of the potential threat to the Magna...

Toyota has quit Formula One motor racing, in a move that leaves the scandal-hit sport without any participation by Japanese automakers in the coming season. Jarno Trulli could soon be looking for another team The decision, which was announced in Tokyo this morning, is part of Toyota’s wider efforts to slash costs after an extraordinary board meeting held at the company’s headquarters. Toyota is already rumoured to be looking for an Asian buyer for the team. Toyota’s pullout follows a similar decision from Bridgestone, which announced three days ago that it would stop providing tyres after the 2010 season. That,...

Ford, the least public of all U.S. auto firms, has increased its market share in 12 of the past 13 months.

Ford, the only Detroit automaker to dodge direct government aid and bankruptcy court, surprised investors with net income of nearly $1 billion in the third quarter and forecast a "solidly profitable" 2011. The automaker said Monday earnings were fueled by U.S. market share gains, cost cuts and the Cash for Clunkers program, which drew flocks of buyers to showrooms this summer. Ford's shares rose 58 cents, or 8.3 percent, to $7.58 in pre-market trading. The latest results signal that Ford's turnaround is on more solid ground. The company lost more than $14.6 billion last year and hasn't posted a full-year...

C4C Since “Cash For Clunkers” applied to Ford, GM and Chrysler. Why did Ford Motor Company post a ONE BILLION DOLLAR 3rd quarter PROFIT and GM and Chrysler post losses? It couldn’t be the autos since all models are about the same size, design and price. I believe it was the consumer buying more Fords as a REWARD for not taking TARP money and remaining a private company. The more units sold, the more profit. Consumer votes have been cast. Ford, GM and Chrysler have gone their separate ways. Now when GM and Chrysler look up they see the gutter...

Do I detect a bit of payback in this story? The UAW rank-and-file rejected a renegotiated contract from Ford intended to bring themselves into parity with GM and Chrysler, as has long been the practice for the Detroit automakers. In doing so, the workers also rejected the counsel of their own union, which had endorsed the new contract. Ford will have to operate at a disadvantage for the next two years in terms of compensation as a result:

DETROIT -- Ford Motor Co.'s rank-and-file union members rejected a concessions agreement, leaving the auto maker at risk to higher costs compared with competitors Chrysler Group LLC and General Motors Co. Although some locals are still voting through Sunday, the United Auto Workers national leadership has accepted the defeat, said three union sources who asked not to be identified since they don't officially speak for the UAW. The leadership is now reviewing other options, these people said. UAW President Ron Gettelfinger told Dow Jones Newswires on Friday he will not continue bargaining or conduct a re-vote. Ford will now have...

Doubts are growing about whether the Ford pact with the United Auto Workers will be approved after the rank and file at two more plants overwhelmingly rejected it. Workers at a parts-making plant in Saline, Mich., voted 75 percent against the deal. Research and engineering employees in Dearborn, Mich., were even more negative, with roughly 90 percent voting against the deal. Ford’s biggest assembly plant, at Claycomo, has already voted 92 percent against the concessions, which Ford says it needs to stay competitive. Chrysler and General Motors got the conessions from the UAW, but they were going through bankruptcy, which...

General Motors (GM) closed its Wilmington, Delaware plant in July, leaving 550 active employees out of work, and another 500 laid-off hourly workers without the hope of being called back to work. Vehicle manufacturing used to be Delaware’s second largest private employer. Perhaps it will be again. Fisker Automotive announced on October 27 it signed a letter of intent to buy the plant for $18 million after a routine four-month evaluation period. Built by GM in 1947, the Wilmington plant produced 8.5 million cars, and has a production capacity of 300,000 cars a year. The Wilmington plant will support the...

Super Gaff-O-Matic! Biden Reveals Entire Fisker LineupBy Marty Padgett October 27th, 2009 Auto Show picture of concept Fisker Karma S Vice President Joe Biden, known for repeated instances of foot-in-mouth disease, unwittingly spilled the beans on Fisker Automotive's plan for a Delaware-built, three-vehicle family of plug-in hybrids. Fox News reports that Biden told press gathered in Wilmington, Del., that Fisker would eventually build 100,000 plug-in hybrid sedans, coupes and crossovers "every single year." In a follow-up interview, founder Henrik Fisker told Fox that Biden "definitely told what our product plans are." Fisker's gambit in the government's full-court press for electrified...

The Ford Fusion was rated higher in reliability this year than its counterparts- Honda Accord and Toyota Camry. The only car in the family sedan category with better ratings compared to Fusion was the Toyota Prius, the magazine said yesterday. “It’s rare for Consumer Reports to see family sedans from domestic carmakers continue to beat the reliability scores of such highly regarded Japanese models,” David Champion, senior director of the Yonkers, New York based magazine’s Automotive Test Center, said in a statement. World class production Ford’s reliability will translate into future gains as it will help the company capture a...

This a from the Tennessean, the Pravda of the South. They don't like conservatives so you need to copy and paste the link. VW is opening a plant in Chattanooga and will be hiring 1,200 for production. They started taking applications on line today and have received over 5,000 and the application period runs through November 15th. http://www.tennessean.com/article/20091027/BUSINESS01/910270331/5+000+seek+VW+jobs+on+Day+1

Four months after exiting a U.S.-funded bankruptcy reorganization, Chrysler Group LLC is about to unveil a product roadmap that relies heavily on vehicles from Italian partner Fiat SpA while abandoning many of the U.S. car maker's own models. The plan, due to be revealed Nov. 4, involves the return of Fiat's premium, sporty Alfa Romeo brand to the U.S. starting in 2012, according to people briefed on the plans. Chrysler also will introduce to Americans the 500, Fiat's tiny car that is popular in Europe. The company meantime is preparing to phase out many of the company's current models, particularly...

Only half-joking, Jody Kerzman said she's thinking of putting a sign in the window of the '49 Lincoln. "Will never be for sale," it would say. Her father, Jack Franken, loved this car. Turned it into a street rod. Drove it everywhere, especially car shows. Scored cool grandpa points with his grandchildren who saw the world zip past from its sofa-like back seat. For Jody, the car is a powerful connection to her dad, a south side Milwaukee truck driver who died in 1997. So you can understand her distress when the car got away from their family - not...

As part of the Fiat - Chrysler alliance, the Italian carmaker will bring several new models in the United States but the 500 mini car will be the only one to be sold under the Fiat badge. The car is going to be produced by Chrysler in Mexico and, according to people close to the matter, the US-based former bankrupt automaker has already required suppliers to make sure that their parts are enough for around 100,000 Fiat 500. The Fiat 500 produced in Mexico will be sold in the US, Canada and South America, Bloomberg reported, with initial production goals...

A PSA Peugeot Citroen employee killed himself on Friday at his workplace, the carmaker said, adding to a spate of suicides at some of France's top companies. A Peugeot spokesman said on Saturday that the worker was a married man aged around 40 who had a job at a Peugeot site just outside Paris. The company has begun an inquiry into the event. France Telecom has come under scrutiny over 25 suicides at the company since the start of 2008, while an employee of car maker Renault committed suicide earlier this month.

Oracle CEO Larry Ellison commissioned the fabricators at Kirkham Motorsports to build the ultimate, cost-is-no-object roadster. After years of labor, they've completed the all-billet aluminum Cobra. Click "more" to see them build one of the most spectacular custom cars ever.

Well GM and Chrysler begged to be bailed out...... I really don’t like this guy. I didn’t like him when he was appointed and I like him less now. But … GM and Chrysler begged for the money, they got it, and now … well … The Obama administration will soon order the nation’s biggest bailed-out companies to drastically cut pay packages for their top executives, according to several reports published Wednesday.

Saab Automobile has received permission to borrow 4 billion kronor from the European Investment Bank, the bank’s board revealed on Wednesday. Prior to Wednesday’s meeting, most indications were that the EIB board, which includes representatives from all 27 European Union members states, would approve Saab’s request. The EIB leadership group had recommended to the board that the bank agree to lend the Swedish car company up to €400 million, or roughly 4.1 billion kronor ($590 million), having concluded that Saab’s application was sufficiently strong. The loan is a critical lifeline for Saab, and was a key element for the planned...

DETROIT—General Motors Corp. will replace its traditional health care plan for salaried retirees younger than 65 with a consumer-driven health plan linked to health savings accounts effective Jan. 1, 2010.Under the new arrangement, posted on a GM retiree Web site, the annual deductible will be $2,500 for individual coverage and $5,000 for family coverage. The maximum annual out-of-pocket expense will be $3,500 for individuals and $7,000 for families. A GM spokesman was not available for comment. After deductibles are met, GM will pay 80% of the cost of medical services and prescription drugs delivered through in-network providers and 60% of...

PDATED (October 2, 2009): Volkswagen has now officially released details on the 2010 Golf TDI. The new model is rated at 30/41 mpg (city/hwy) for the manual transmission and 32/42 mpg with VW’s advanced DSG automatic transmission. The car is priced from $21,990. Noticeably absent from the North American market since 2006, the Volkswagen Golf TDI will return for 2010. The new model was showcased today at the New York Auto Show, along with the high performance GTI (see our review here). There weren’t any standard Golfs on the floor, but we do have info on that model too....

Mercedes-Benz is hoping to increase its presence in the lucrative Middle-Eastern market by establishing a pair of financial firms that are fully compliant with the specific regulations of Islamic law, or Sharia. Islamic law prohibits its followers from charging or collecting interest fees when money is lent or accepted, or investing in businesses, goods or services that are contrary to its religious principles. To get around this, Mercedes-Benz has launched Mercedes-Benz Finance Middle East and Mercedes-Benz Leasing Middle East. The new companies are headquartered in Dubai and offer loans and leasing to private and business customers for new and pre-owned...

Unions Bend the Curve! I knew they'd find a way to punish Ford: The new UAW contract with Ford apparently does not give America's surviving non-bankrupt automaker parity with GM and Chrysler, reports Bloomberg: "The plan doesn’t include cuts to retiree benefits, such as vision coverage, that were granted to GM and Chrysler." Rather, the pain seems even more concentrated on future hires (if there are any) than with the GM/Chrysler deals. ... TTAC wonders whether the UAW had an extra incentive to resist giving concessions that might make Ford more successful now that the union owns a large chunk of its main domestic competitors.  ... P.S.: The argument that "the...

Japan's auto giant Nissan unveils the new concept vehicle "Land Glider", a tandem-ride ultra light weight electric vehicle with a narrow body at the company's design center at Atsugi city in Kanagawa prefecture, suburban Tokyo on September 25, 2009 for a preview of the Tokyo Motor Show. The Land Glider can shift the center of gravity by leaning its body like a motorcycle. The Tokyo Motor Show starts October 23.

It may not give you 'The Drive of Your Life', as its makers Peugeot may try to claim, but the latest micro electric car is creating huge excitement in the automotive industry. The Peugeot BB1, a cross between a scooter and a car, is powered by two electric motors which are mounted in the rear wheels. Inspired by Peugeot’s electric VLV from the 1940s, the new all-electric BB1 represents the car firm’s view for the future of electrical-based urban mobility. The Peugeot BB1, a cross between a scooter and a car, is powered by two electric motors which are mounted...

[Full title was edited to comply with space requirements, here's unedited version:] "Well-Kept Media Secret: UAW Conceded No Base Pay, Health, or Pension Benefits in GM, Chrysler Bankruptcy Run-ups" A New York Times article by Nick Bunkley on Friday targeted for print on Saturday about the status of contract talks between Ford Motor Company and the United Auto Workers piqued my interest in a previously neglected but important matter. Ford and the UAW are apparently close to an agreement. In describing what Ford workers are being asked to give up, Bunkley wrote the following (bolds are mine throughout this post):...

American car maker agreed to sell a majority stake in GM Europe to Canadian automotive group Magna after filing for bankruptcy protection in June. In a sign that the deal could still collapse, GM has said it wants to see progress on talks with European governments about funding and job cuts by the end of the week, according to sources close to the talks. Although they insist GM is confident a deal can be done, the company is keeping on the table the alternative plans it drew up for Opel and Vauxhall before agreeing to the Magna deal, such as...

Hummer, the off-road vehicle that once epitomized America's love for hulking trucks, is now in the hands of a Chinese heavy equipment maker. General Motors Co. and Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Corp. finally signed the much-anticipated deal for GM to sell the brand on Friday. Tengzhong will get an 80 percent stake in the company, while Hong Kong investor Suolang Duoji, who indirectly owns a big stake in Tengzhong through an investment company, will get 20 percent. The investors will also get Hummer's nationwide dealer network. Financial terms were not disclosed, although a person briefed on the deal said...

Green Car of the Year Finalists Announced Posted: Oct. 08, 2009 10:10 a.m. Steady gas prices have made Kermit's words come true: It's not easy being green. Still, despite American car buyers not exactly being red-hot for green cars, automakers are rolling them out, determined to meet government deadlines for fuel economy standards and emissions -- as well as being prepared for the next time gas prices spike and car shoppers start clamoring for the latest in alternative fuel and ultra-efficient cars. The L.A.Times says "diesels and hybrids dominate the roster of finalists for the 2010 Green Car of the...

Could the Prius and other Toyota hybrids be banned from the U.S.? It seems unthinkable, but that's one possible ending to a patent investigation launched this week. This case centers around Paice, a tiny Florida company that has patented a way to apply force to a car's wheels from the electric motor or the internal combustion engine.

Will another bidder for General Motors‘ Saturn brand come out of the woodwork after a deal to sell the division to Penske Automotive fell through? Not likely, industry observers tell The Detroit Free Press. General Motors said Wednesday that it planned to close its Saturn brand after Penske abruptly called off an agreement to buy the division. Penske said Wednesday in a statement that it could not proceed with the deal because another manufacturer, which it did not identify, rejected plans to build vehicles that would be distributed under the Saturn brand name. The Detroit Free Press, however, said the...

Until last week I had been one of General Motors' most reliable customers for more than 15 years. But my relationship with GM ended the very day the company announced that it was closing its Saturn operation

BANGKOK, Oct 5 (Reuters) - Hundreds of striking workers forced U.S. auto maker General Motors Co [GM.UL] to shut its Thai assembly plant on Monday, company and union officials said, raising the stakes in a pay dispute with management. About 200 of 800 unionized workers at the plant in southeast Rayong province joined the strike, a GM spokeswoman said. The rest were asked to take paid holidays pending negotiations with union leaders, she added. But GM union leader Suriya Pochairuak put the number of striking workers at about 700. The GM plant, which has about 1,700 employees on its payroll,...

DETROIT – In a stunning shake-up, Chrysler Group LLC appointed new chief executives for its Chrysler and Dodge brands as the heads of each line resigned. Peter Fong, chief of the Chrysler brand, resigned for personal reasons and Michael Accavitti, head of the Dodge brand, left for personal reasons, the Auburn Hills, Mich., auto maker said Monday. Mr. Fong will be succeeded by Fiat SpA veteran Olivier Francois. The changes mean the introduction of another Fiat executive into the Chrysler ranks. Mr. Francois serves as head of the Lancia brand for Fiat Group Automobiles, a position he will retain. He...

DETROIT -- Chrysler Group LLC will suspend production of its popular Jeep Wrangler and Wrangler Unlimited vehicles due to a shortage in parts from an unidentified supplier. Chrysler will idle its Toledo Supplier Park facility in Ohio for one week starting Monday, the company said Friday without disclosing more details. The Wrangler has been one of Chrysler's best-performing vehicles in terms of sales for the year. This is the second time Chrysler has changed its production schedule because of a parts issue. The auto maker also delayed adding a second shift to an Illinois plant by more than a month...

GEORGE SWEEPER, who has nurtured his 1968 Jaguar E-Type for nearly 40 years, has come up with a new defense of the British brand’s reputation for poor reliability. “There may have been many bad ones made,” he concedes. “I got one of the good ones.” Mr. Sweeper recalled a road trip that he and a friend made from New York to California in 1981. “We drove 58 hours to Oakland,” he said. “We drove and drove and drove. We saw the sun come up. We saw the sun go down. We went to the bathroom at the same stops. We...

Logic Takes a Back Seat -- and Windows, as Auto Maker Plays Tariff Games BALTIMORE -- Several times a month, Transit Connect vans from a Ford Motor Co. factory in Turkey roll off a ship here shiny and new, rear side windows gleaming, back seats firmly bolted to the floor. Their first stop in America is a low-slung, brick warehouse where those same windows, never squeegeed at a gas station, and seats, never touched by human backsides, are promptly ripped out. The fabric is shredded, the steel parts are broken down, and everything is sent off along with the glass...

The crew cut, the workingman's clothes, the blunt manner - no one embodied the popular image of a union leader better than Rudy Kuzel. But that was the surface. Underneath was a smart, well-respected and complicated man tough enough to battle auto company executives and pragmatic enough to cooperate with them if it helped workers. Kuzel, who led United Auto Workers Local 72 in Kenosha for 12 tumultuous years in the 1980s and '90s, died Thursday. He was 73. "He was always two steps ahead of everybody else in the room," said John Drew, who was vice president of Local...

Reviewing September's detailed sales results in the car business carried at the Wall Street Journal, three things stick out immediately: The awful performance at General Motors -- down 45% from September 2008. Chrysler's even worse performance -- down "only" 42% from September 2008, but a mind-boggling 61% from September 2007 (62,197 in 2009, 156,799 in 2007) Ford's tiny decline of only 6% from a year ago, despite the end of the Cash For Clunkers program in August. No other major maker had a year-over-year September decline that was even half of that seen at GM or Chrysler. Yet the...

What goes up must fall just as hard. Case in point: cash for clunkers: "The dramatic decline in sales reported Thursday by the Big Three automakers suggested the extent to which the stimulus act has propped up the economy. The government’s wildly popular “Cash for Clunkers” program drove consumer spending to its highest level in eight years in August. But after it ended, so did the growth in auto sales. General Motors’ sales plunged 36 percent in September compared with August. Ford plummeted 37 percent. Chrysler dove 33 percent. Cash for clunkers “was a one-time boost of sales followed by...