-
Recent Posts
- Ford Recalls Mavericks, Escapes, Mach Es, Transits, Broncos
- Annals of Marketing – Kia and Times Square New Year Partyers
- December U.S. Vehicle Sales Forecast Down. Global Sales Up
- Mazda Axes Advance, Production and Design Modeling Studios
- Detroit Auto Show 2026 – Winners of HS Poster Contest
- Rising EV Sales Deepen Need for Charging Systems
- ACEA – EU November Car Sales Flat. Tesla Wilts
- Honda Aircraft Company Offers Performance Upgrade Package
- November 2025 UK Vehicle Production Plunges
- US New-Vehicle Sales Q4 Forecast Down in 2025. Year Up a Tad
- Toyota to Export U.S. Made Vehicles to Japan
- Nissan Claims to Kill Wireless Phone Charging Bugs
- Electrify America EV Charging Adds WS Development
- Q3 2025 Airline Profits in Trump Slump
- Honda Recalls 2025 CR-V Fuel Cell EVs
Recent Comments
- Magna on its Share Repurchase Plan in reference to on Magna Posts Solid Q3 2025 Earnings Gain
- Daniel Ricciardo Global Ford Racing Ambassador on Ford Performance Rebranded as Ford Racing
- Gen 3 2026 Nissan Leaf Less than $30,000? | AutoInformed on Milestones – Nissan Begins Assembly of 2013 LEAF EV in Tennessee
- ACSI – Customer Satisfaction with Autos Dropping | AutoInformed on New DOGE Scorecard Announced to Track Trump
- Cadillac Off-Roader – Elevated Velocity | AutoInformed on Annals of Marketing – Cadillac Opulent Velocity Concept EV
Archives
Meta
Category Archives: news analysis
Offshore Brands Move Ahead in July. Toyota outsells Ford
GM by slightly outperforming an overall market that was up 14% easily held onto its Number One spot in the U.S. at 234,071 vehicles sold. However, Ford Motor slipped to Number Three as Toyota had a stronger month with sales soaring to 193,394 to Ford’s 190,080. March of 2010 was the last time Toyota topped Ford and with new Corolla compact car and Tundra pickup trucks just entering production, the back half of the year will see a battle royal between the two global automakers. Continue reading
Posted in auto news, news analysis, sales
Tagged aiada, autoinformed, autoinformed.com, import share, july sales, Ken Zino, u.s. market share
1 Comment
DOT Wants to Eliminate Needless Trucking Paperwork
In what has been a largely symbolic act, President Obama launched the Administration’s regulatory initiative in January 2011 by issuing Executive Order 13563. That called for a government-wide review of regulations on the books, with the goal of eliminating or modifying out-of-date, ineffective or overly burdensome regulations. Not much of substance came from the bureaucracy. Continue reading
Posted in auto news, news analysis, transportation
Tagged autoinformed, autoinformed.com, dot, dvirs, fmcsa, Ken Zino, trucking
Leave a comment
Electric Cars and Solar Cells are not so Clean
“Stating that an electric car is clean is like saying that a light bulb is clean. Light bulbs do not produce exhaust, but it doesn’t mean we can use them with zero emissions. The same holds true for electric cars,” said Zehner in an NPR interview Monday. Continue reading
Ford to Pay Record $17.35 Million NHTSA Fine on Recall
This was apparently the second plea bargain by an automaker this year to avoid protracted litigation with NHTSA over a safety defect. Chrysler recently negotiated a deal on Jeep gas tank fires. Neither automaker admitted guilt in the NHTSA deals, an important defense in product liability litigation that always surrounds major recalls. If the document was leaked from the National Highway Traffic Safety Agency, then the agency is in clear violation of SEC regulation FD, for full disclosure, which says in essence that material information should be released to all, not selectively. Continue reading
Posted in auto news, litigation, news analysis, recalls
Tagged autoinformed, autoinformed.com, ford recall fine, Ken Zino, nhts
Leave a comment
Fiat SpA Q2 Profit at $188 Million – all from Chrysler
Fiat SpA [F.MI] posted a Q2 profit of €142 million or ~$188 Million largely because of the contribution of Chrysler Group where it owns a 58.5% stake courtesy of a U.S. taxpayer financed bailout of the Detroit Three automaker. The northern Italian company would have lost €247 million without Chrysler Group because its European sales dropped 5% during the period. Q2 revenues increased 4% to €22 billion. Continue reading
Posted in auto news, financial results, news analysis
Tagged autoinformed, autoinformed.com, fiat group q2, Ken Zino
Leave a comment
$507 Million Chrysler Q2 Profit. New Cherokee Sales on Hold!
However, the positive trend is threatened in the second half of the year by the admission by Sergio Marchionne – he had to since it’s material to results under SEC regulations – that the new Jeep Cherokee was not shipping as planned starting in June even though it is in production in Ohio due to an unspecified calibration problem on its 9-speed ZF supplied transmission. Continue reading
Posted in financial results, news analysis
Tagged autoinformed, autoinformed.com, Chrysler group q2, fiat Chrysler, Ken Zino
Leave a comment
Cuts to 2014 EPA Budget Threatens Auto Emissions Rules
Not surprisingly since the chairman is Hal Rogers, a Republican from Kentucky, the legislation reflects significant efforts to cripple the EPA – “an agency that has been rife with governmental overreach, overspending on ineffective and unnecessary programs, and costly and questionable regulations.” The bill funds the EPA at $5.5 billion, a reduction of $2.8 billion – or -34% – below the fiscal year 2013 enacted level. Continue reading
Toyota and Ford Trash Truck Hybrid JV
In a separate release earlier in the day, which likely caused the Toyota statement and also likely caught the reticent Japanese by surprise, Ford said “We know what it takes to build world-class hybrids, and we now will build and leverage that expertise in-house. Continue reading
Posted in auto news, electric vehicles, news analysis
Tagged autoinformed, autoinformed.com, f-series, Ken Zino, ram, Toyota ford hybrid, tundra
Leave a comment
July U.S. Sales Projected as Hot – up 12%
Not all this is good news for automakers in general, and specifically the Detroit Three. Drastic capacity cuts during the Great Recession have caught them out with the market recovery volumes approaching 16 million now running at least a year ahead of earlier forecasts. Mandatory overtime and cancelled vacations are the rule of the day, which ultimately will wear down UAW and workers at Japanese companies and inevitably lead to quality declines. Continue reading
Posted in auto news, news analysis, sales
Tagged autoinformed, autoinformed.com, j.d power, Ken Zino, lmc
Leave a comment
2015 Mustang Goes Global with RHD models. Confirmation Coming in August at Jim Farley Australian Press Bash
Ford Motor, reeling from the negative backlash on plans to shut down all its manufacturing operations in Australia, will counter with what it hopes will be good news by confirming the next generation Mustang due in 2015 will go global and offer right-hand-drive models. Continue reading
Posted in auto news, new vehicle, news analysis
Tagged 2015 mustang, Australia, autoinformed, autoinformed.com, camaro, Ken Zino, lincoln 2015
Leave a comment
Consumer Electronics Association Denies Distracted Driving
In a cynical, profit-motivated move, the head of the Consumer Electronics Association today said he would support a campaign to end texting and driving. “I have made a personal commitment not to text and drive, and to use my devices ‘responsibly’ while operating my car,” claimed Gary Shapiro the head of the pressure group for the $209 billion U.S. consumer electronics industry. Continue reading
Class Action Suit Filed Against MyFord Touch System
A well-know, or infamous, national law firm has filed a class-action lawsuit alleging that Ford Motor Company’s MyFord Touch, MyLincoln Touch and MyMercury Touch touchscreen systems are defective. The firm of Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro claims that the system often freezes, fails to respond to voice and touch commands and will not connect to mobile phones. Continue reading
Posted in auto news, litigation, news analysis
Tagged autoinformed, autoinformed.com, cell phones, distracted driving, ford mytouch, infotainment, Ken Zino, telematics
Leave a comment
Auto Thefts Rise in the Summer Months
Every 44 seconds a motor vehicle is stolen in the United States, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. NHTSA data also show that only 52% of stolen vehicles are recovered. Continue reading
Posted in auto news, insurance, news analysis, transportation
Tagged auto theft, autoinformed, autoinformed.com, Ken Zino, nhtsa, stolen cars
Leave a comment
Renault-Nissan Cut 2012 Costs by €2.69 billion
Only new savings – not cumulative ones – are taken into account every year. As a result, the Alliance that was established in 1999 when Nissan was facing bankruptcy, arguably now has the longest-lasting cross-cultural partnership in the auto industry. Paris-based Renault and Yokohama, Japan-based Nissan, which together sell one in 10 cars worldwide sold 8.1 million cars in nearly 200 countries in 2012. Continue reading
Posted in auto news, financial results, news analysis
Tagged autoinformed, autoinformed.com, Ken Zino, nissan, Renault
Leave a comment
Light Duty Diesel Ram Ups Fuel Economy Ante in 2014
The comeback automaker, Chrysler Group, ups the ante in the ongoing pickup truck fuel economy wars by offering the first light duty diesel engine pared with an 8-speed automatic transmission, both exclusives in the segment. Just bring money – this is going to be a +$45,000 (or more) set of wheels, AutoInformed predicts. Continue reading
