Category Archives: news analysis

Customer Satisfaction Up at U.S. Dealer Service Departments

Posted on 13 March 2013 by Ken Zino

The CSI rankings are based on dealer service performance during the first three years of new-vehicle ownership, which typically represents the majority of the vehicle warranty period. After the warranty expires, dealerships traditionally have little chance of getting maintenance work as more than two thirds of customers then resort to independent repair shops and mass merchandiser tire, transmission, brake and muffler chains. Continue reading →

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Volkswagen to use CO2 as Air Conditioning Refrigerant

Posted on 12 March 2013 by Ken Zino

The Volkswagen Group is developing air conditioning systems that use CO2 as the refrigerant. Currently automotive air conditioners, depending on age, use R12, which is banned because of global warming effects, R134a, a replacement for R12, which is also now being phased out for its role in global warming, and its replacement R1234yf, which apparently poses safety threats. Continue reading →

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Volkswagen Group to Cut CO2 emissions to 95 g/km by 2020

Posted on 12 March 2013 by Ken Zino

In the ongoing battle of the green press releases, Volkswagen Group has restated its strategic goal of becoming the world’s most “environmentally sustainable” automaker by 2018. The announcement was originally made a year ago when VW Group undertook an ecologically oriented restructuring designed to coordinate responses to increasingly tough global regulations covering vehicles and how they are made and recycled. Continue reading →

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Peugeot-Citroen Hybrid Air Most Significant Intro at Geneva?

Posted on 8 March 2013 by Ken Zino

Struggling PSA Peugeot Citroën showed a light duty version of so-called hybrid-air technology that will be in production by 2016 using the group’s new EMP2 platform that will make its debut on the new Citroen Picasso. It potentially a breakthrough that will help PSA sell more cars globally, reviving its sagging reputation in the process. Continue reading →

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Toyota Promotes an American Executive to key Job in Nagoya Headquarters

Posted on 7 March 2013 by Ken Zino

A significant move is promoting Mark S. Templin, from group vice president and general manager – Lexus Division in the U.S. to managing officer and executive vice president of Lexus International, where he will lead Lexus global operations from Toyota City, Japan. Templin is the first non-Japanese executive to oversee a Toyota division within the company’s global headquarters in Japan. Continue reading →

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Rising Truck Sales Cause Offshore Brands to Lose Share in February

Posted on 4 March 2013 by Ken Zino

Five of the Top Ten selling vehicles in February were offshore nameplates. These leading vehicles experienced an average sales improvement of 11.1%. The Ford F-Series and Chevrolet Silverado pickups maintained their first and second positions. In third and fourth place, respectively, the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord continue to be the most preferred cars in the U.S. The Nissan Altima moved into the sixth position, up from number eight last month. The Toyota Corolla/Matrix, in number seven, Ford Escape in eight, Ram pickup in ninth and Honda Civic, number ten, completed the Top Ten Seller list. Continue reading →

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Cadillac XTS Now in Production in China, World’s Largest Market

Posted on 26 February 2013 by Ken Zino

Criticisms that auto companies are making vehicles in China or transferring jobs there are at best ignorant of, or deliberately ignore, Chinese industrial policy, which requires local partners and production for access to the market. There are also high Chinese tariffs on imports that effectively restrict volume exports of the kind that are now coming out of, say, South Korea under the U.S. Korean FTA. (I can only imagine the outcry if Mercedes-Benz was required to partner with the city of Detroit to build cars there – the ruling party in Detroit controlling the jobs – as a condition of access to the U.S., one of the world’s most lucrative luxury car markets. This is required in China.) Continue reading →

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60-Day Auto Loan Delinquencies Rise for First Time since 2009

Posted on 22 February 2013 by Ken Zino

It was the first time since the end of 2009 that either 30- or 60-day loan delinquencies increased year-over-year. In what could be an early warning sign that sub-prime loans from finance companies are becoming too speculative, the total balance of 60-day delinquent loans grew from $3.48 billion in Q4 2011 to $3.93 billion in Q4 2012. Continue reading →

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VW Group Ties GM for Largest Automaker in China in January

Posted on 19 February 2013 by Ken Zino

The VW Group began the year with a 15% increase in sales for January, totaling 749,900 compared to January of 2012 at 652,400. A huge portion of the gain was the later date for the Chinese New Year, which means a decline in China is coming in February for all automakers when the holiday is celebrated. Nevertheless, The VW Group delivered 298,300 (208,200; +43.3%) vehicles in China, the region’s largest single market, in the first month of the year. This compares to China market leader GM, which sold 300,000 during the same period – a dead heat in the Chinese sales race. Continue reading →

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January EU Car Registrations Plummet. Eurozone Crisis Deepens

Posted on 19 February 2013 by Ken Zino

Passenger car registrations plummeted in the 27 markets of the EU during January of 2013 to 885,159 units, reaching a historic low ever recorded for the month of January, since the start of record keeping began in 1990 by ACEA. Continue reading →

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Milestones – 50 Years of the Porsche 911

Posted on 11 February 2013 by Ken Zino

More than 820,000 Porsche 911 models have been built, making it, arguably, the most successful sports car in the world since it was first shown in 1963. For each of its seven generations the engineers in Zuffenhausen and Weissach have revised it, while retaining its identifiable and now classic lines and proportions, as well as its famous but often quirky performance. Continue reading →

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Corvette Stingray Convertible Debuts next Month in Geneva

Posted on 11 February 2013 by Ken Zino

Given the well-publicized success of the Stingray debut at the NAIAS in Detroit last month, the move appears designed to bolster GM’s battered image in Europe that is the result of years of losses at Opel Vauxhall. It is also a counter thrust in Europe against the most successful global sports car of all time, the 911 of Porsche, which celebrates 50 years during 2013. This and the fact that 820,000 911s have been built since 1963, will no doubt be emphasized at the Geneva Show. Continue reading →

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Energy Secretary Steven Chu Resigns after a Distinguished Four Years

Posted on 7 February 2013 by Ken Zino

The Department of Energy, oft mocked by right wing Republicans, in Chu’s mind actually serves U.S. taxpayers as a Department of Science, a Department of Innovation, and a Department of Nuclear Security. Continue reading →

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Karl-Thomas Neumann formerly of VW Now GM Europe Head

Posted on 31 January 2013 by Ken Zino

The Opel Supervisory Board today named Karl-Thomas Neumann, 51, chairman of the Management Board of Adam Opel AG, effective March 2013. General Motors also appointed Neumann president of its loss making GM Europe subsidiary and a GM vice president. Neumann will be in charge of a plan to return Europe to breakeven by 2015. Continue reading →

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Shoppers Don’t Worry about Reliability as Cross Consideration Grows

Posted on 25 January 2013 by Ken Zino

As perceptions of both reliability and actual vehicle dependability improve, new-vehicle shoppers are considering more models before making their purchase decision, according to a new study. As vehicle quality improves across the industry, new-vehicle shoppers now consider an average of 3.3 vehicles in 2013, compared with 3.1 in 2012 and 2.9 in 2010. Continue reading →

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