Category Archives: news analysis

US Government Spying Changes Citizen Behavior

Posted on 16 March 2015 by Ken Zino

American taxpayers are changing their behavior and use of technology to avoid government surveillance in a new damaging report that in its background results from flagrant violations of Constitutional rights in AutoInformed’s view. Continue reading →

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Telematics Enable Usage Based Insurance and Privacy Risks

Posted on 12 March 2015 by Ken Zino

A Celant report on insurance developments also includes results of a survey on how receptive customers would be to real time feedback on their driving. How would you like to receive this message while driving: Your current driving style suggests that you have a one in three chance of having a fatal or very serious accident during the next year. Continue reading →

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China World’s Biggest Auto Market by Units, Not Revenue

Posted on 9 March 2015 by Ken Zino

Total value for new vehicles sold in China, the world’s largest market by volume, lagged the U.S. by as much as $161 billion last year, based on a comparison of pricing data. Continue reading →

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General Motors Will Distribute Cash as Wilson Drops Board Bid

Posted on 9 March 2015 by Ken Zino

The deal is a major victory for the investors while giving relief to GM of what could have evolved into a fight with major shareholders. However, GM slashed its previously announced cash target that it claimed was key to keeping a ‘fortress balance sheet.” How the ratings agencies react remains to be seen. Continue reading →

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China Auto Sales Slowdown means Trouble in Detroit

Posted on 6 March 2015 by Ken Zino

If growth rates in the Chinese auto economy keep slowing, it means trouble for Ford Motor and General Motors, given their large investments in China and reliance on profits from the world’s largest auto market. U.S. automakers typically book revenue when vehicles are shipped, not sold. Continue reading →

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US Population to Grow More Slowly In Future

Posted on 3 March 2015 by Ken Zino

U.S. population is projected to grow more slowly in future decades than it did in the previous century. A total population of 319 million in 2014 is projected to reach the 400 million in 2051 and 417 million in 2060. Continue reading →

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GM Sales up Slightly in February as Trucks Soar

Posted on 3 March 2015 by Ken Zino

According to J.D. Power PIN data, the Chevrolet Silverado’s retail market share in the full-size pickup segment was 27.2% in February, up 1.5 percentage points from a year ago, at the expense of Ford’s F-Series and FCA’s Ram brand. Continue reading →

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Cyber Insecurity – Your Car and You as Targets

Posted on 19 February 2015 by Ken Zino

The connected car is linking you to criminals with virtually no safeguards in place to protect your personal data or even to prevent the bad guys from taking over control of the car. That is the summary from a recent series and studies and forums in the U.S. and Europe.

The good news, if there is any for connected car, Bluetooth, OnStar and Smartphone aficionados is that you are likely not the primary target. Instead, hackers want to get to the treasure trove of car company databases and private networks that contain millions of bits of confidential data. Other privacy problems arise from the use of navigation computers that record and send location or driving history information to third party providers who resell it without your knowledge, let alone consent. Continue reading →

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Volvo Delivers Autonomous Driving XC90 in 2017

Posted on 19 February 2015 by Ken Zino

Volvo’s web presentation of the project this morning had technical problems with an invalid embed code, thereby demonstrating how complex the computer programing is for even relatively well-known technologies. Cyber security issues also will need to be resolved. Continue reading →

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Cheap Oil Good for Automakers?

Posted on 18 February 2015 by Ken Zino

Spurred by reduced pump prices, U.S. consumer confidence is expected to continue to rise, resulting in a potential shift to larger, more profitable vehicles in the U.S. and Canada since these vehicles will be more affordable to own and the value of fuel economy becomes less important to consumers. Continue reading →

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Proxy Fight Looming at General Motors by Hedge Fund Sharks?

Posted on 11 February 2015 by Ken Zino

The ploy is clearly threat to GM’s “fortress balance sheet” strategy that looks to clean up underfunded pension liabilities and preserve enough cash to weather another global recession. GM has now posted 20 consecutive quarters of profits. Continue reading →

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GM in Process of Dumping Ally, Formerly GMAC

Posted on 8 February 2015 by Ken Zino

General Motors is in the midst of rebuilding its long gone GMAC financial empire due to bankruptcy, is replacing it with General Motors Financial, which appears to be an exact duplicate of the auto-lending arm of Ally, formally known as GMAC without the housing lending risks that sunk the company. Continue reading →

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Shell Fined for Selling Bogus Fuels

Posted on 20 January 2015 by Ken Zino

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, today announced a settlement with three companies affiliated with Shell Oil Company to resolve Clean Air Act violations. The illegal acts included selling gasoline and diesel fuel that did not conform to federal standards. Continue reading →

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Nissan and NASA to Develop Autonomous Drive Vehicles

Posted on 8 January 2015 by Ken Zino

NASA did not press release the deal, leaving it to French and Japanese owned Nissan to crow about the research in an attempt to downplay what is sure to be controversial – U.S. taxpayer resources supporting – yet again – offshore corporations. Continue reading →

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Honda Pays Largest NHTSA Fine in History for Takata and other Safety Cover Ups

Posted on 8 January 2015 by Ken Zino

In responding to the Special Order, Honda admitted to under-reporting of written claims or notices of injuries or deaths over the past decade “due to errors related to data entry, computer coding, regulatory interpretation, and other errors in warranty and property damage claims reporting.” Translation: Honda got caught flagrantly violating U.S. regulations. Continue reading →

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