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Category Archives: news analysis
Tom Stephens GM Vice Chair and Chief Technology Officer to Retire
The retirement is major development at a recovering GM since Stephens was an extremely knowledgeable, no nonsense ‘car guy.’ Stephens started in 1969 as an hourly employee at the Chevrolet Engineering Center in Warren, Mich., under a University of Michigan Student Co-op Program. The affable Stephens – with some hearing loss from years of working in engine dynamometer test cells – got things done, and done well in the face of GM’s huge and largely inert bureaucracy. Stephens always pushed for the best product possible, according to GM insiders, even when he didn’t have the clout needed to effect change. Continue reading
Posted in auto news, milestones, news analysis, people
Tagged auto informed, autoinformed.com, automotive news, chevrolet volt, GM, Ken Zino, northstar, small block v8, tom stephens
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BMW Delivers First All-Electric Active E in the US
The fully electric Active E with its lithium-ion batteries have a claimed a driving range of up to 100 miles on a full charge. With an output of 170 horsepower, maximum torque of 184 lb-ft from a standstill, BMW said Active E accelerates from 0–60 mph in under nine seconds. If the driver is a lead-foot – or is that now lithium foot? and/or the weather is cold – the Bimmer won’t go that far, of course. All such mileage claims await independent verification. Continue reading
Posted in alternative fuels, auto news, electric vehicles, fuel economy or emissions, news, news analysis
Tagged active e, auto informed, auto news, autoinformed, autoinformed.com, automotive news, bmw active e, bmw ev study, electric vehicles, EVs, i3, Ken Zino, mini e, u.c. davis plug-in hybrid & electric vehicle research center
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Dodge Dart Debuts Using First Fiat Architecture. More on Way
The U.S. Dart is in many ways similar to the original Ford Focus (C170) that was derived from a European Ford design a decade ago. And Dart faces the same challenges as well. Though bigger than that Focus – a decided plus in North America, and with much more content – it remains to be seen if Dart’s U.S. suppliers can rise to the quality challenge posed by competing small Japanese and Korean cars. Continue reading
Chinese Maker to Pay EPA $680,000 Fine for Dirty ATVs
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today announced a $680,000 settlement with recreational vehicle manufacturers, Loncin (USA), Inc., Longting USA LLC, and Chongqing Longting Power Equipment Co., Ltd., to resolve violations of the Clean Air Act (CAA) caused by the import of 7,115 uncertified recreational vehicles into the United States. It was the latest in a series of actions against the Chinese company and its agents. Continue reading
Posted in auto news, customer satisfaction, environment, fools 'n frauds, fuel economy or emissions, litigation, news, news analysis, results
Tagged atv emissions, auto informed, autoinformed.com, automotive news, caa, caa violations, chinese atvs, chongqing longting power equipment, clean air act, emissions, epa fines, Ken Zino, loncin, longting usa, motorscience, pep boys, uncertified vehicles
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Honda Accord Coupe Concept – Its 2013 Comeback Car?
Given the competitiveness of the segment – accounting for ~20% of the cars sold in the U.S., Honda is currently behind in technology. This is an unexpected lag for what normally is a company that resides at the top of the innovation column of the scorecard is puzzling. Continue reading
First Lifetime Hybrid Battery Warranty On Hyundai Sonata
The announcement appears to be an opportunistic and pre-emptive use of public relations, given current Chevrolet Volt battery fire concerns. The Chevrolet Volt uses the same supplier – LG Chem – as the 2011 model Sonata Hybrid. Model year 2012 Sonata hybrid versions are just about to go on sale since Hyundai is still clearing out inventories of its 2011 Sonata Hybrid. This is a rare sales setback for Hyundai, which also captured the North American Car of the Car of the Year award for its Elantra compact car at NAIAS, and reflects a larger hybrid sales problem that most automakers have. Continue reading
Lincoln MKZ Concept Derived off Ford Fusion Debuts at NAIAS
Lincoln needs some sales successes and in the U.S – virtually its only outlet for this fading regional brand – where luxury car sales range from ~10-13% of the market annually. There’s an enormous opportunity now posed by Generation Y types, 80% of whom say they would consider a luxury car in the $30,000 range, which hasn’t escaped impending product actions at Lexus, Acura, BMW and Mercedes-Benz, among others. Continue reading
Posted in auto news, concept, design and styling, news, news analysis, sales
Tagged auto informed, autoinformed.com, automotive news, Ken Zino, lincoln, luxury cars, mks, mkz, naias, u.s. luxury cars
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General Motors Sets Sales Record in China. Ford Up too
Both General Motors and Ford Motor finished 2011 with strong performances in China, the world’s largest automarket for the past three years. GM and its joint ventures sold a record 2,547,171 vehicles up 8.3% from the previous high of 2,351,610 … Continue reading
Posted in auto news, news, news analysis, results, sales
Tagged auto informed, autoinformed.com, automotive news, china, china auto sales, currency value, ford china, gm china, Ken Zino, results, rmb, wto
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Ford Shows Fiesta Derived EcoSport at New Delhi Auto Expo
India is projected to become the world’s third largest light vehicle market by the end of the decade behind China and the U.S. Ford lags badly behind competitors in Asia, and is playing catch-up while losing money. Continue reading
Posted in auto news, manufacturing, marketing, new vehicle, news, news analysis
Tagged auto informed, autoinformed.com, automotive news, ecosport, Ford, ford india, india, Ken Zino
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NHTSA Keeps Chevrolet Volt Battery Fire Probe Open
GM said this morning that it was “optimistic” that no recall would be required, a politically sensitive issue since the federal government, which NHTSA is part of, still holds a large 27% stake in GM. For GM’s part, a safety recall is arguably more damaging to the reputation of the Volt than the proposed customer service action. Last year Chevrolet sold 7,671 Volt models , which cost more than $40,000 without taxpayer subsidies to its mostly rich buyers, another political controversy in itself. Continue reading
GM Changes Chevrolet Volt to Protect Battery to Stop Fires
It was not immediately clear whether NHTSA would require that Chevrolet Volt EVs be recalled or whether the modifications can be done as a customer satisfaction procedure. There remains at this moment an ongoing NHTSA engineering analysis, which could lead to a recall. GM said it was “optimistic” that no recall would be required, a politically sensitive issue since the federal government still holds a large stake in GM. Continue reading
Ford Motor December Sales Up 10% Tracking Market Growth
How Ford’s sales performance is interpreted depends on whether the Number 2 U.S. automaker in sales should have picked up more than the 3.7% increase in passenger car sales (industry +9%) with all the major Japanese automakers virtually out of the market for months – May to September or later – because of natural disasters. Ford car sales were actually down 16% in December. Lavishly publicized Fiesta sub-compact and Focus compact launches were not strong successes as sticker price resistance appeared to overcome their relatively good fuel efficiency in a year when U.S. gasoline prices stayed well above $3 a gallon. Continue reading
Posted in auto news, marketing, news, news analysis, results, sales
Tagged auto informed, autoinformed.com, automotive news, camry sales, ford motor sales, ford results, Ken Zino
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GM U.S. Sales Up 5% in December, +14% 2011. Share Increases
GM expects full-year 2012 light vehicle sales to be in a range of 13.5 million to 14.0 million units. In previous years, GM’s forecasts were based on total vehicle sales, which included medium- and heavy-duty vehicles, or about 300,000 additional units. Continue reading
Posted in auto news, marketing, news, news analysis, results, sales
Tagged 2011 results, auto informed, autoinformed.com, automotive news, gm results, Ken Zino, results, sales results
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Chrysler Group December 2011 U.S. Sales Up 37%; Year +26%
Nevertheless, the sales gains were not large enough to hold off resurging Toyota Motor Sales, which displaced Chrysler from the Number Three U.S. sales spot when Toyota inventories rebuilt this fall after the Japan earthquake and tsunami tragedy in March that removed Toyota and other Japanese automakers from the market. In October and November Toyota picked up 2 market share percentage points, with December results due later today. Continue reading
Car Spy Jim Dunne Catches Revised Lincoln MKS or MKZ?
Following the Ford Jaguar debacle, success is also not a word that can be applied to Ford’s management of Lincoln, which is a poseur in the world of luxury cars dominated by the German Brands and Toyota’s Lexus, which even though it was out of the U.S. market for five months this year because of the Japan earthquake, still managed to outsell Lincoln by a better than 2:1. Continue reading
