Monthly Archives: May 2012

Now it’s Football, Bangers, Mince Pie and Chevrolet

Chevrolet is entering into a five-year deal with Barclays Premier League member Manchester United to become the club’s Official Automotive Partner. Chevrolet’s five-year agreement includes the creation of the Chevrolet China Cup in July, with matches against Shanghai Shenhua FC and team in “another” Chinese city, which will be announced later. This is Chevrolet’s first global football sponsorship in the brand’s 101-year history. Continue reading

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BMW Zagato Coupe: Concept or a Small Production Run?

The Concorso on the shores of Lake Como began as a get-together of coachbuilders presenting one-off hand-built creations, but some of the press photos supplied by BMW were taken at its test track in Germany, a sign that more than one copy of the coupe will appear for wealthy buyers. Continue reading

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U.S. DOT Closes 26 Bus Operations in Its Largest Crackdown

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration announced today that it has shut down 26 bus operations, declaring them “imminent hazards” to public safety, the largest single safety crackdown in DOT’s history. Continue reading

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April Japanese Automaking Surges with $13 Billion in Exports

The strong recovery is bad news for the Detroit Three since many of the vehicles will be shipped to North America, by far the largest export market for Japanese automakers. More than 157,000 vehicles were shipped to North America, with 140,000 of those sent the United States, where the new vehicle market is slowly growing once again. Continue reading

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Ford Motor to Sell Former Visteon Lighting Plant in Ohio

After this sale, ACH or Automotive Components Holdings will have only one remaining operation – the climate control business at its Sheldon Road plant in Plymouth Township, Mich. ACH was formed by Ford in 2005 to sell or close 23 former Visteon plants. Continue reading

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Last Dodge Charger R/T Hemi Restoration Underway

The last hemi engine car to roll off any Chrysler production line during the sixties and seventies muscle car era – a 1971 Dodge Charger R/T – is undergoing a complete frame-off restoration at RK Motors in Mentor, Ohio. Continue reading

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Ford, State Farm Offer Auto Insurance Based on Miles Driven

Ford Motor Company and State Farm Insurance have announced that drivers who allow their Sync equipped vehicle to report actual in use mileage could have their auto insurance premiums reduced by as much as 40%. Continue reading

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EU Commercial Vehicle Sales Drop 12% in April

Unlike the car market in Europe, which is in its fifth straight year of declining sales year-over-year, the commercial vehicle market was posting small gains until about a year ago. The declines since then are an ominous sign that EU economic problems are deepening as voters are turning out existing governments and demanding economic stimulus packages from new or surviving ruling elites. Expanding debt ridden national economies has thus far have been resisted mostly by the German government, which has a relatively stronger economy keeping it in power for the moment. Continue reading

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Republican NLRB Member Terence Flynn Resigns Over Ethical Violations. Romney Adviser under Criticism for Links

Flynn’s resignation as a temporary Board member is effective 24 July 2012, a laughably long time given the seriousness of the findings by the Inspector General of many instances of misconduct. In the view of many critics, Flynn should resign immediately and the Department of Justice should pursue criminal charges. For the moment, Flynn has recused himself from all agency business and has asked that the President withdraw his pending permanent nomination for Board Member of the NLRB. Continue reading

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Mid-America Pipeline and Enterprise Products Fined for Spills

As part of a consent decree recorded today in the U.S. District Court in Omaha, Nebraska, in addition to paying a $1,042,000 civil penalty, the companies have agreed to undertake various measures aimed at reducing external threats to their pipeline, enhance their reporting of spills, and spend at least $200,000 to identify and prevent external threats to the pipeline involved in the spills. Continue reading

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GM, Toyota Computer Problems Cause Latest Safety Recalls

The ongoing computerization of vehicle systems has caused safety recalls at GM and Toyota. In the latest round of software malfunctions, brand new 2013 model Chevrolet Malibu cars can blow up the roof rail airbag for no reason or prevent the air bags from going off in a severe accident. Toyota’s Lexus luxury division is recalling its 2013 model GS performance sedans because a sensor can cause the steering wheel to be wildly out of place to where the front wheels are actually pointed. Continue reading

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Owner of Hawaii Car Dealerships Pleads Guilty to Tax Crimes

Alan Pflueger, the owner of multiple car dealerships and one of Hawaii’s wealthiest people, was at the head of a tax crimes fraud that paid his personal expenses, which were deducted as business expenses by Pflueger Inc, the Justice Department said. Continue reading

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Honda Auto Production Sets April Record – Tsunami Now Beat

The Honda comeback from the effects of natural disasters last year – the Japan earthquake and tsunami in March and the later floods in Thailand – included all-time monthly records for April production in North America (137,067), United States (97,497), Asia (102,195), and China (61,330). Continue reading

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Ecotality Sues California Regulators over Dynegy Price Gouging Deal and Alleged EV Charging Station Monopoly

In March, Governor Jerry Brown announced a controversial agreement between the PUC and NRG Energy as part of a legal settlement that goes back to California’s 2001 energy crisis. NRG is the successor entity to Dynegy Power Marketing, the firm blamed by PUC for $940 million in price gouging, widespread blackouts and the bankruptcy of PSEG. Continue reading

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GM CFO’s Wife Disclosed in $600,000 Related Party Deal

In an amended proxy filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission made public today, General Motors said that it recently learned about a related party transaction in 2011 not included in the original proxy statement. Pernilla Ammann, the wife of GM’s Chief Financial Officer Dan Ammann, is an officer and partner in an advertising agency that received approximately $600,000 for services provided to a GM subsidiary in 2011. Continue reading

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