Category Archives: news analysis

UK – Majority HORRIFIED by Idea of Driverless Cars

The latest findings might worry policy makers, safety advocates and politicians who are doggedly insisting that driverless cars be introduced onto not only the UK’s roads, but in other western economies. Continue reading

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EU Antitrust Allegations to Hurt BMW Earnings – €1 Billion!

The BMW Group provision will likely exceed €1 billion. The EBIT margin in the BMW Automotive Segment for the current financial year is expected to be 1-1.5 percentage points below the previous target range of 6-8%. Continue reading

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If Trump Closes the Mexican Border, the Entire U.S. Auto Industry Shuts Down in Days

There are few vehicles assembled in the United States that do not rely on Mexico for at least some parts content. Vehicle assembly is the quintessential “complete set” — an assembly plant cannot build a partial vehicle. Even if a few relatively minor parts are missing, automakers do not make a practice of storing the vehicles and then repairing them when the parts are ready. This repair work alone creates the potential for quality issues. Since it is impossible to do a partial build, the assembly plant and many of its associated supplier plants will be idle until the automaker can obtain sufficient stock to relaunch production. Continue reading

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More and/or Less – What Americans Know about Science

There are striking differences in levels of science knowledge by education as well as by racial and ethnic group. Men tend to score higher than women on the science knowledge scale, but gender differences are not consistent across questions in the scale. And political party groups are roughly similar in their overall levels of science knowledge, although conservative Republicans and liberal Democrats tend to score higher on the scale than do their more moderate counterparts. Continue reading

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Brexit Bloody Hell! Now Stock Exchange Issues

Well, it seems that there are risks posed by jurisdictional share trading obligations, which “could increase market fragmentation and impose unnecessary costs on investors,” the SEC said in a whistling past the graveyard observation. Hell, it’s not even clear that the UK can continue to be a key market for funds and fund managers in the United States. Continue reading

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Ghosn Fallout – Nissan Board Changes

Nissan claims that building the best possible corporate governance structure as an urgent task and is working on swift implementation of a new organization. The company is now preparing an internal system to enable transition by the end of June, in expectation of receiving shareholder approval at the scheduled Annual General Meeting of Shareholders. Continue reading

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BMW i Ventures Announces Investment in Zūm

BMW i Ventures is the venture capital arm of BMW Group. It invests money and resources in startups in the fields of autonomous driving, digital car and automotive cloud, e-mobility, artificial Intelligence and data, industry 4.0, shared and on-demand mobility, customer digital life, and energy services. Continue reading

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Ford Shakes up European and International Markets as CFO Shanks Retires. Restructuring Continues as Stock Languishes

The more significant news, perhaps, is happening at Ford’s European money pit and its struggling International Markets Group. Peter Fleet, president of IMG, has announced his intention to retire. Fleet, 51, held leading in Ford marketing, sales and service, and business operations globally for nearly 30 years. Prior to the establishment of the International Markets Group, Fleet served as president of Asia Pacific, leading all of Ford’s operations and partnerships across the region. Previously, he was president of Ford ASEAN and vice president, Sales, Ford of Europe. Continue reading

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Michigan to Make First AVs, but Loses Ford Transit to Mexico

In a transparent attempt at spin – in AutoCrat’s view laughable and tragic – Ford is re-adding a second shift at Flat Rock. The plant will become the production home to vehicles from the company’s next-generation battery electric flexible architecture. These vehicles will follow, ahem, the all-electric performance SUV coming in 2020 from Ford’s Cuautitlan, Mexico plant. Continue reading

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CAR: Automated Driving Technologies Can Contribute to Healthcare Industry? Great…

The healthcare industry, in CAR’s view is one of the industries that could benefit. “The human factor in the automated vehicle system—either as a driver in the very early stages of the technology or as passengers in the fully automated vehicles—creates a critical opportunity for the healthcare industry to become active in the discussions around CAVs,” claims Zahra Bahrani Fard, Transportation Systems Analyst at CAR. Continue reading

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Gen 12 Corolla Rolls Off the Line at Toyota Mississippi

More than 2,000 people come together each day in Blue Springs to build the world’s most popular compact sedan – 46 million vehicles sold globally since its introduction in 1966 – for customers across the Americas and the Caribbean. Continue reading

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Damning SEC Charges on Volkswagen ‘Clean Diesel’ Fraud

2. Winterkorn and other VW executives were made aware of the defeat device as early as November 2007, during a meeting with VW engineers, to discuss the emissions problems with VW’s “clean diesel” vehicles. Continue reading

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SEC Charges Volkswagen, Ex CEO Winterkorn of Defrauding Bond Investors During “Clean Diesel” Emissions Scam!

It’s a wide-ranging indictment that could lead to complicated litigation, ruinous fines and settlements,  while prompting similar charges and litigation from other countries. As such it’s the latest nail in the diesel coffin. Volkswagen did not immediately respond to AutoInformed. Continue reading

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Fiat-Chrysler Recalls More Than 850,000 Passenger Vehicles

In most of the country the real news is that this is a voluntary recall. But in California, drivers who fail to get the necessary repairs will not be able to register their vehicles. NOx emissions in California are the most important contributor to ambient ozone and a key contributor to fine particulate matter pollution (PM 2.5) which is associated with premature death, asthma emergency room visits, increased hospitalizations due to exacerbation of chronic heart and lung diseases, and other serious negative health problems. There is also a corporate health problem in that the cost of the health defect will likely be material to financial results, thereby requiring an SEC filing. Continue reading

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JAXA and Toyota Agree on Future Mobility – a Lunar Rover

Mobility is necessary for human exploration activities on the lunar surface. Even with the limited amount of energy that can be transported to the moon, the pressurized rover would have a total lunar-surface cruising range of more than 10,000 km. Continue reading

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