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Category Archives: news analysis
More U.S. Companies Working on Sustainability and CO2 Reduction
The Carbon Disclosure Project released today an analysis showing that S&P 500 companies are making progress towards reducing carbon emission when compared to the so-called Global 500. CDP claims its results show a “tipping point” has now been reached in American C-suites and boardrooms to integrate a sustainability agenda into overall business strategy. This apparent acknowledgement of the growing spending and voting power of the green movement is occurring without comprehensive regulatory requirements in the U.S. to reduce CO2, and despite the goal – sometimes actually stated this election season – of Republican party candidates to abolish the Environmental Protection Agency and ignore climate change and possible remedial actions. Continue reading
AIG Bailout of $182 Billion Paid Back. Taxpayers make at least $12B
The U.S. Department of the Treasury announced it is selling 553,846,153 shares of its American International Group (AIG) common stock at $32.50 per in a public offering. The proceeds to Treasury from the common stock sales are expected to be ~$18.0 billion. This means that the transaction locks in at least a $12.4 billion positive return on the $182 billion in Treasury and Federal Reserve loans and commitments to AIG. The bailout loan will be fully paid off in what remains an unpopular (but extremely effective) example of government intervention in a failed marketplace. Ideologues still refuse to admit that the TARP and associated government actions saved the U.S. and perhaps the global economy. It certainly – without question – saved the U.S. auto industry and this includes companies that received no loans. Continue reading
Posted in economy, fools 'n frauds, news, news analysis, people
Tagged aig, auto informed, autoinformed.com, automotive news, bailouts, Ken Zino, treasury
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Ford outlines its latest European Turnaround Plan to Dealers, Workers
At a meeting with 2,500 dealers and employees in Amsterdam last night, senior Ford Motor executives outlined the latest European turnaround plan for its loss-making Western European operations. Continue reading
Toyota Says 2013 Avalon Lightest in Class. But Where’s the MPGs?
Toyota claims its new 2013 Avalon is 110 lbs. lighter than the 2012 model, at 3,461 lbs. compared to 3,571 for the 2012 model. When Avalon arrives at dealerships later this fall, it will be the lightest-weight vehicle in the premium mid-size segment, according to the world’s largest automaker.
This is a claim without a real distinction, though. The V6 powered Avalon is EPA-rated at 25 mpg combined and 21 city, 31 highway – not exactly world beating. For comparison consider the Buick La Crosse, which comes standard with a mild hybrid or so-called e-assist system, is rated at 29 combined, 25 city and 36 highway. Continue reading
Posted in auto news, fuel economy or emissions, new vehicle, news analysis
Tagged auto informed, autoinformed.com, automotive news, Avalon, impala, Ken Zino, la crosse, lexus 300h, taurus
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First Look – 2014 Honda Accord Plug-In Hybrid Sedan
Since electric driving depends on a tiny 6.7 kilowatt-hour (kWh) lithium-ion battery, this means the Accord plug-in will be hard pressed to stay on electricity for more than 10 or 15 miles, although it will look good on the window sticker with a projected EPA rating of greater than 100 MPG-e. The electric motors are rated at 124-kilowatt (kW). Thank goodness there is also power dense gasoline on board, so the projected range of the plug-in is almost 500 miles. Continue reading
GM, Ford and Chrysler Post Strong August Sales but Lag Market Growth as Japanese Production Recovers and Car Sales Soar
Coming at the opening of the Democratic Presidential convention, the ongoing recovery of job and wealth creating Detroit companies will be political fodder for the Administration in the face of Mitt Romney’s well established “let ‘em die stance” even though his firm Bain capital accepted a federal bailout as Rolling Stone magazine has just revealed. Continue reading
Posted in auto news, news, news analysis, results, sales
Tagged august auto sales, auto informed, autoinformed.com, automotive news, bain capital, Ken Zino, rolling stone, u.s. august sales
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NEVS Completes Saab Asset Buy including the Brand Name
National Electric Vehicle Sweden or NEVS announced today that it completed the purchase of the main assets of bankrupt Saab Automobile, Saab Automobile Powertrain and Saab Automobile Tools. This includes the Phoenix platform, tools and the manufacturing plant in Trollhättan as well as test and laboratory facilities. NEVS has also signed a licensing agreement to use the Saab name on its future vehicles. Continue reading
Gulf Oil Opens Another E85 Station on Massachusetts Turnpike
It’s estimated that Massachusetts drivers own more than 100,000 FFVs that were produced because automakers receive generous CAFE credits whether or not the alternative fuel is actually used. It’s unknown how many drivers use the alternative fuel, but national consumption statistics suggest it’s slight. Worse, since ethanol does not have the energy density of good old gasoline, E85 needs to be roughly 25% cheaper for it to make economic sense for drivers. So far the fuel is about as successful as the Boston Red Sox this year. As a result, there are only 2,400 E85 ethanol fueling stations in the U.S. Continue reading
Posted in alternative fuels, auto news, energy, environment, news, news analysis
Tagged auto informed, autoinformed.com, automotive news, e15, e85, ethanol, ffvs, flex fuel, gulf oil, Ken Zino
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Lincoln to be Sold in China by Late 2014
The announcement means that Ford will have to pump a lot of money into the almost dead U.S. brand, which has virtually no global presence. In July, Lincoln sales dropped to just 7,000, off -11% year-over-year in a U.S. market that grew by 9%. Last year Lincoln sold 85,643 re-badged Fords, a flat performance in a market that’s up ~10% from 2010.Year-to-date Lincoln is at 50,000 vehicles, a 1.8% decline y-o-y in a total market up 14%, or 18% in the passenger car segment. Continue reading
Posted in auto news, marketing, news analysis, people
Tagged auto informed, autoinformed.com, automotive news, cfma, china, ford hangzhou, joanne kao, Ken Zino, lincoln, pei-wen hsu, richard baker
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DOT and EPA Issue Record 54.5 MPG Fuel Economy Standards
Realistically, the fuel economy average will likely be in the 38-40 mpg range. Therefore, your mileage not only can vary but will vary from big numbers being touted in a closely contested Presidential election year. This, by the way, is where European fuel economy is right now, so if you want to know what the roads will look like a decade hence, travel to Spain or Italy whose governments desperately need tourist revenues to cover their massive deficits. Continue reading
Changan Ford Mazda Automobile Breaks Ground for Chongqing 3
The $600 million expansion will make Chongqing the largest Ford production site in the world by far – a latter day Rouge for communist customers. Chongqing 3 includes a new assembly line, body and paint shop. The first vehicle is expected to come off the flexible assembly line in late 2014. CFMA already operates two assembly plants and an engine plant in Chongqing, with another engine plant and a transmission plant currently under construction. Continue reading
Chinese Automaker Zhejiang Youngman to Buy 29.9% of Spyker
Chinese automaker Zhejiang Youngman will invest Euro €10 million in Spyker and take 29.9% holding of the company. A series of transactions starting next week will involve the purchase of 6.7 million Class A shares of Spyker at €0.05 per, as well as a loan of roughly €3.3 million to the Dutch company. Two new joint ventures to develop and manufacture Saab based vehicles will also being formed. In a statement issued this morning, Youngman said it will not increase its position further and has no intention of taking over Spyker – but that depends on which company you are looking at. Continue reading
Milestones – 40 Years of Toyota Auto Body – Thanks to a so-called “Chicken Tax”
In one of the ironies of history, Ford Motor, one of the then dominant Detroit Three companies that lobbied the Johnson Administration for protection against imported light trucks, now uses the same tax dodge by performing minor work on its Turkish-built Transit Connect van outside the incoming port of Baltimore to lower its tax rate to 2.5%. Continue reading
Largest Road Test of Connected Vehicle Crash Avoidance Started
The U.S. Department of Transportation is starting the largest road test or vehicles with crash avoidance technology today in Ann Arbor, Michigan. About 3,000 cars, trucks and buses equipped with “connected” Wi-Fi technology that allows vehicles and infrastructure devices to “talk” to each other. The goal is to see if crashes could be avoided and traffic flow improved during the next year. In Europe, such technologies are also under study. Continue reading
Posted in auto news, news, news analysis, safety, transportation
Tagged auto informed, autoinformed.com, automotive news, crash avoidance, Ken Zino, nhtsa, telematics, v2i, v2v
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