Category Archives: news analysis

Chevrolet Sells 1.1 Million Vehicles in Record 2011 Q1

The latest Chevrolet expansion bodes ill for the future of Opel/Vauxhall. These old world brands, steeped in history and baggage, will increasingly be relegated to regional European labels – until they can be rationalized – someday – under the Chevrolet Bow Tie. Continue reading

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Lousy Economy Lowers U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Emissions in 2009 represent the lowest total U.S. annual GHG emissions since 1995. These numbers reflect the most up to date data at the time of publication. Continue reading

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Global Share of Emerging Auto Markets Exceeds Matures

The marketshare of global light-vehicle sales coming from so-called “emerging” markets has surpassed share from economically mature regions, led largely by growth in China, according to J.D. Power and Associates. “Mature markets like the United States, Western Europe and Japan … Continue reading

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Great Leap Forward! GM China Announces Five Year Plan to Double Sales by Introducing 60 New and Upgraded Models

In fact, due to a job creating industrial policy dictated by the Communist Chinese government, China is actually benefitting from leverage as all western automakers must establish joint ventures with local Chinese companies – some of them former munitions makers and military suppliers – in order to gain access to the lucrative market. Continue reading

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Volkswagen Debuts Most Fuel-Efficient VW Beetle Ever

In 1998 the “New Beetle” returned, successfully riding a wave of nostalgia that was triggering automotive retro designs – including the Ford Thunderbird, BMW Mini, Chrysler PT – creating another generation of Beetle owners, most of whom thought WW2 was a history class. In yet another irony, the new Beetle was a mere sales footnote in Germany, where buyers thought the design too frivolous – no Love Bugs for them. All told about 500,000 New Beetles were sold in the U.S. – 10% of the original Beetle’s U.S. volume, as the competition in small cars had heightened considerably, notably by the Japanese Big Three – Toyota, Nissan and Honda. Continue reading

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Ford to Double White Collar Workers in China by 2015

Ford Motor Company will double the number of white collar workers in China by 2015, the company said ahead of a recruiting effort to take place next week at the Shanghai Motor Show. All told some 1,200 new jobs will … Continue reading

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Survey Finds Most Buyers Won’t Downsize With Next Vehicle Purchase. Trouble for Automakers facing 35.5 mpg CAFE?

Offsetting the downsizing trend are 19% of respondents who said they plan to buy a larger vehicle. How this all sorts out in the marketplace is a complicated issue for automakers, who need to average 35.5 mpg by 2016, with cars needing to average 42 mpg. Continue reading

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Revised 2012 Chevrolet Camaro Debuts this Summer Led by 45th Anniversary Edition and Ultra Performance ZL1 model

Here comes yet another Camaro anniversary edition – the 45th birthday model, which arrives this summer as a special package building on numerous 2012 Camaro improvements, including a more powerful 3.6-liter V6 engine and a new FE4 suspension package for SS coupes. Continue reading

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Fiat Increases Ownership of Chrysler Group to 30%

This newly enlarged Fiat position in the Michigan based automaker is the result of Chrysler’s achievement of the second of three performance-related goals dictated by the U.S. Treasury Department when it financed a Chrysler bankruptcy and reorganization in 2009. Continue reading

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Three Common Teen Driver Mistakes Lead to Fatal Crashes

Researchers analyzed a nationally-representative federal database of more than 800 crashes involving teen drivers and identified a few common “critical errors,” often one of the last in a chain of events leading up to a crash. Seventy-five percent of these crashes were due a critical teen driver error, with three common errors accounting for nearly half of all serious crashes. Continue reading

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Japan Earthquake Aftershocks – U.S. Car Prices Could Rise 9%

None of this is good news for beleaguered consumers who are now facing the highest gasoline prices in almost three years, as automakers such as Ford quietly raise prices because of increased commodity and energy costs. Continue reading

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New 2013 Chevrolet Malibu to be Built in Hamtramck, MI

Starting in 2012 in the U.S., Malibu will be built at GM’s assembly plant in Hamtramck, Michigan, which is currently producing the Chevrolet Volt and will soon start making the Opel Ampera. This leads us to speculate that a hybrid version of the Malibu is in the works. What happens to the Fairfax, Virginia plant that currently builds the Malibu remains to be seen. Continue reading

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Heads Roll at Renault over Industrial Espionage Case that Embarrassed French Government. Pélata, Ghosn Survive

As a result what it deemed of failures and dysfunctions within the company, the Board of Directors of Renault today erected the corporate equivalent of a guillotine outside of Paris that saw the firings of Remy Pagnie, Director of Group … Continue reading

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Department of Energy, Qatar Sign Agreement on Clean Energy

Qatar, an ally of the United States in the ongoing Libya war, has enormous reserves of both oil and natural gas, and as a result is an extremely wealthy nation. Qatar has agreed to market Libyan oil from sites controlled by the Libyan rebels and has sent troops to fight. Qatar also sponsors the Al-Jazeera television news network, the most influential media outlet in the Arab world. Continue reading

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BMW Brilliance Automotive to Show Plug-in Hybrid at Shanghai

BMW Brilliance Automotive will show a prototype plug-in hybrid sedan at Auto Shanghai 2011 later this month. The plug-in hybrid, based on a long wheelbase 5-series sedan is significant because it was developed exclusively for the Chinese automobile market and produced at the Shenyang joint venture site. Continue reading

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