Category Archives: news analysis

More Significant Stories, Trends of 2017. And 2018?

A real victory starting in 2016 came from the work of the Union of Concerned Scientists. (Trump of course wants to ban the word and work of “science” because of its relentless search for the truth that in personal practice Trump has banned as a guiding principle for the largest democracy in the world.) Continue reading

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2017 US Sales Trickle Down – Reversing Run-up

Unlike the alleged positive – or certainly debatable – effects of the Trump tax cuts for the rich, the 2017 calendar year saw US auto sales trickle slowly down from previous record years. AutoData Corp. says the seasonally adjusted annual … Continue reading

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Violence Against Women at Work – A Trade Union Issue

Violence against women remains one of the most tolerated violations of human rights and trade unions have a responsibility to defend and promote women’s rights. Continue reading

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GAC Motor to Export Trumpchi Vehicles to US in late 2019

One hopes they will be suited better to their purpose than their coincidental namesake, which might not survive the ocean voyage. GAC hopes it will be the first Chinese car brand to succeed in the U.S. market, despite years of promises from other firms. Continue reading

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WEC: Toyota Wins in Bahrain

“I would like to express my deepest gratitude to all those who supported TOYOTA GAZOO Racing in the World Endurance Championship this season,” said Akio Toyoda, President, Toyota Motor Corporation. “Going to Le Mans to be together with our team in our fight there this June resulted in a personally and truly frustrating experience. And I am aware that our performance in that race brought frustration to our fans, as well. Other grueling races followed, and, amid it all, we learned of Porsche’s planned withdrawal from the WEC. After last year’s Le Mans, Porsche recognized us as a rival. By battling it out with such rivals as Porsche, I think we were able to heighten our technical prowess, making us faster and stronger. As we went up against Porsche, all our team members, including me, had the same thought in our hearts: we hate to lose.” Continue reading

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Offshore Brand US Auto Sales Rose During a So-So October

Even though Trump hasn’t implemented his promised offshore tax on imports or took on China for its currency manipulation and trade practices, international brands once again controlled the U.S.  auto market during September by selling 748,614 vehicles, commanding 55.3% of … Continue reading

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Unions Battle Precarious Work, Global Warming at Shell

The meeting highlighted the increasing use of precarious workers and contracts, particularly in countries such as Nigeria, Argentina and the Netherlands. In Nigeria, studies have shown that Shell employs more than 50,000 contract workers compared to only 4,500 permanent employees. Continue reading

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General Motors Sets Q4 2017 Dividend at 38 Cents

GM shares have moved higher since September – about +29.5% for the year. The company claims it is concentrating on ridesharing – the Lyft semi-acquisition looks brilliant – electric vehicles and self-driving cars. GM is also adding Maven Gig to more cities. Continue reading

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Mazda CX-5 Crossover Build Starts at Hofu Plant

The reasons for Mazda’s struggles are many – a bias toward old architectures, single or limited joint ventures, different operating philosophies and systems, no true mergers, lack of trust and inequality. However, the potential savings are just too large to ignore, especially for CEOs, but not necessarily for middle managers and workers. Continue reading

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Consumer Reports: Infotainment, Transmissions Hurt Reliability. Detroit Three Quality Dismal

“These new technologies can add features and improve fuel efficiency, but are more prone to have issues. Often our data suggests it’s prudent for consumers to wait for the technology to mature” said Jake Fisher of CR. Continue reading

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NAFTA Talks Stalled. Doomed?

There are three main options if the NAFTA negotiators do not reach a new agreement: the parties could continue to negotiate, knowing that there would be limited time to get the agreement approved in all three countries; the three countries could agree to continue trading under the existing agreement; or one or more parties could withdraw from NAFTA, effectively terminating the agreement. Continue reading

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BMW Group Sales of EVs Pass 10,000 in September 2017

It bodes badly for the Detroit Three that China the world’s largest vehicle market and India – soon to surpass North America as the world’s second largest market – have both embraced EVs as the future. Continue reading

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Unifor Workers Agree to Weak CAMI Deal from GM

In a clear victory for General Motors the agreement does not get what Unifor said it wanted since workers walked out on Sept. 17 – a pledge from GM that Ingersoll jobs wouldn’t be sent to the carmaker’s two plants in Mexico. Those plants also assemble the company’s strong selling Chevrolet Equinox. Continue reading

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Ford Dropping Car Business – Reallocating $7B in Capital

It’s time for Ford to reorganize yet again. This time around it’s as radical a turnaround plan as ever seen in Dearborn with Ford essentially ceding the car market to other major auto makers and reallocating the $7 billion saved to bets – with wildly uncertain odds – in the connected car and autonomous car areas, as well as the newly emerging interactive road system. Continue reading

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U.S. Sales Drop in September. Domestics Struggle with Cars

September U.S. auto sales dropped notably when compared to September 2016, but were still relatively strong, according to AutoData. It said that the seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) in September was 17.76 million units compared to 18.05 million units a … Continue reading

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