Monthly Archives: April 2011

GM India Hires Scabs to Break Chevrolet Cruze Plant Strike

Posted on 15 April 2011 by Ken Zino

The General Motors India strike by the Gujurat Kamdar Mandal union is reminiscent of UAW sit down strikes during 1936-37 in Michigan, which led to recognition of the Union and the right to collective bargaining by the world’s largest automaker. Thus far Solidarity House, the UAW’s international headquarters in Detroit has remained silent on the GKM strike, and refused multiple requests for comment. General Motors in the U.S. simply says it is working with local groups in India. Continue reading →

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Survey Finds Most Buyers Won’t Downsize With Next Vehicle Purchase. Trouble for Automakers facing 35.5 mpg CAFE?

Posted on 15 April 2011 by Ken Zino

Offsetting the downsizing trend are 19% of respondents who said they plan to buy a larger vehicle. How this all sorts out in the marketplace is a complicated issue for automakers, who need to average 35.5 mpg by 2016, with cars needing to average 42 mpg. Continue reading →

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Toyota Bucks EU Vehicle Sales Woes with 13% Q1 Increase

Posted on 14 April 2011 by Ken Zino

Toyota Motor Europe reported sales of 233,336 Toyota and Lexus vehicles in the first quarter of 2011 as Toyota’s overall monthly sales in March surpassed the 100,000 mark for the first time since March 2009. It is counter the downward sales trend in the European Union or EU. Continue reading →

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New MG in Production at Longbridge – It’s Chinese

Posted on 14 April 2011 by Ken Zino

The new four-door hatchback, priced from £15,495 – £18,995, is a far cry from the two-seat TC, TD and TF models that were loved – and bought – by repatriated U.S. soldiers in the post WW2 years. Continue reading →

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Kia Rio Hatchback Will Debut at New York Auto Show

Posted on 14 April 2011 by Ken Zino

Thus far with sales of about 2,000 units a month in the U.S., the Kia Rio has been an insignificant factor in the hard fought sub-compact sales wars led by Honda Fit, Nissan Versa and Toyota Yaris. Continue reading →

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Revised 2012 Chevrolet Camaro Debuts this Summer Led by 45th Anniversary Edition and Ultra Performance ZL1 model

Posted on 14 April 2011 by Ken Zino

Here comes yet another Camaro anniversary edition – the 45th birthday model, which arrives this summer as a special package building on numerous 2012 Camaro improvements, including a more powerful 3.6-liter V6 engine and a new FE4 suspension package for SS coupes. Continue reading →

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Grede Buys Two Mexican Foundries to Boost Casting Capacity

Posted on 13 April 2011 by Ken Zino

Capacity or lack thereof at auto suppliers who drastically downsized by closing facilities and jettisoning workers in 2008 and 2009 as the Great Recession took hold, is an emerging problem as auto and truck makers slowly recover and increase production. Continue reading →

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Hartford Adds EV Charging Stations to Home Insurance

Posted on 13 April 2011 by Ken Zino

The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE: HIG) today announced it is adding coverage for home-based electric vehicle charging stations. The insurance company estimates that there will be 27,000 electric cars on the roads in 2011. Continue reading →

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Mopar Charger at $39,970 With 5.7-Liter Hemi V8 Confirmed

Posted on 13 April 2011 by Ken Zino

Chrysler Group’s Mopar Division today confirmed it will launch a limited-edition Dodge Charger with high-performance parts and appearance items from the Mopar parts catalog. As AutoInformed reported earlier, the Mopar Charger builds on the success of last year’s Mopar Challenger. Continue reading →

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Earthquake Aftershocks – Toyota to Shut 5 European Plants

Posted on 13 April 2011 by Ken Zino

Toyota said in a statement that the decision is “necessary as a result of forecasted parts supply difficulties.” Continue reading →

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Fiat Increases Ownership of Chrysler Group to 30%

Posted on 12 April 2011 by Ken Zino

This newly enlarged Fiat position in the Michigan based automaker is the result of Chrysler’s achievement of the second of three performance-related goals dictated by the U.S. Treasury Department when it financed a Chrysler bankruptcy and reorganization in 2009. Continue reading →

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Three Common Teen Driver Mistakes Lead to Fatal Crashes

Posted on 12 April 2011 by Ken Zino

Researchers analyzed a nationally-representative federal database of more than 800 crashes involving teen drivers and identified a few common “critical errors,” often one of the last in a chain of events leading up to a crash. Seventy-five percent of these crashes were due a critical teen driver error, with three common errors accounting for nearly half of all serious crashes. Continue reading →

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Japan Earthquake Aftershocks – U.S. Car Prices Could Rise 9%

Posted on 12 April 2011 by Ken Zino

None of this is good news for beleaguered consumers who are now facing the highest gasoline prices in almost three years, as automakers such as Ford quietly raise prices because of increased commodity and energy costs. Continue reading →

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Los Angeles Motorists Rate Number One as Good Samaritans

Posted on 12 April 2011 by Ken Zino

Drivers in Los Angeles made more “Good Samaritan” calls last year to report other motorists in trouble, according to OnStar, the telematics arm of General Motors said today.
Using anonymous subscriber interaction data, OnStar found that of the 10 largest U.S. Metropolitan Statistical Areas, Los Angeles had the most Good Samaritan calls in 2010 by a wide margin, with nearly 900 more calls than Chicago, which came in second.
Continue reading →

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General Motors Announces EcoCar2 at SAE World Congress

Posted on 12 April 2011 by Ken Zino

In a sign of how the U.S. no longer occupies the predominate position it once held in automotive engineering, LG Chem ,a Korean company that supplies the lithium-ion cells used in the Chevrolet Volt, will be event’s tier one strategic partner. Continue reading →

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