Auto Insurance Websites Only Rated Fair for Policy Shopping

Posted on 22 May 2013 by Ken Zino

Auto insurance customers say that using insurance company websites to service an existing policy is generally easier than using them to shop for a policy, according to a new study. Among the 20 auto insurance websites included in the study, Esurance, Progressive and GEICO perform particularly well in the ease of use for both shopping and servicing with their websites. Continue reading →

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Subaru Steering Wheels Disconnecting. Recall Active

Posted on 22 May 2013 by Ken Zino
AutoInformed.com

Subaru is contacting more than 5,000 Outback and Legacy owners potentially affected by the recall.

Subaru is recalling model year 2013 Outback and Legacy models manufactured in Indiana from February 2012, through June 2012 because the inner and outer shafts of the steering column may become disengaged from one another. The result in at least three instances is loss of steering from the defective column supplied by NSK Steering Systems America in Vermont. Continue reading →

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GM to Add 200 Jobs at Lansing Grand River Plant

Posted on 22 May 2013 by Ken Zino
Cadillac now has a competitive product line, but branding and image issues haunt it.

Cadillac now has a competitive product line, but branding and image issues haunt it.

General Motors will add 200 jobs the Lansing Grand River Assembly plant, the result of a $44.5 million investment to build a Logistics Optimization Center. A new 400,000-square-foot building will be built next to plant to sequence and assemble parts to make manufacturing more flexible at the site.

The plant currently builds the Cadillac ATS and the three Cadillac CTS models – sedan, coupe and wagon, as well as high-performance V-Series models of each. A revised CTS is due this fall. The next-generation Chevrolet Camaro due in 2015 will also be assembled at Lansing. Continue reading →

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Marchionne Apologizes for Being Irreverent

Posted on 21 May 2013 by Ken Zino
AutoInformed.com

 Is this a politically incorrect overdose, or a quip taken out of context, or a substantive issue?

Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne has apologized to an organization called One Voice for his quip last January at the North American International Auto Show where he said Alfa Romeo models when re-introduced into North America should have Italian engines. Journalists present laughed it off as being typical of the straight talking executive who uses humor, including self-deprecating humor, to make his points.

The alleged slight in the pressure group’s point of view was how the irreverent Marchionne phrased the product development issue that was holding up Alfa Romeo’s return to the U.S. “I won’t put an American engine into that car. With all due respect to my American friends, it needs to be a wop engine,” Marchionne said. Continue reading →

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Two Denso Executives Plead Guilty to Price Fixing

Posted on 21 May 2013 by Ken Zino

Two Denso Corporation executives pled guilty for their roles in international price fixing conspiracies to rig bids for auto parts installed in U.S. made Toyota cars, the Department of Justice announced today. The executives, Yuji Suzuki and Hiroshi Watanabe, both Japanese nationals, have also agreed to serve time in a U.S. prison.

Suzuki and Watanabe are charged with price fixing in violation of the Sherman Act, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $1 million criminal fine for individuals. The plea bargain entered appears to be just that, a bargain for the criminals. Continue reading →

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