Category Archives: auto news

GM to Federal and Ontario Governments – Oshawa Doomed

Posted on 15 January 2019 by Ken Zino

GM said it does not have a viable business case for production at Oshawa Assembly past the end of this year because of rapid changes in the North American car market, the cancellation of Oshawa products and persistent low utilization at the plant. Continue reading →

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Volkswagen and Ford Announce Alliance Without Cross Equity

Posted on 15 January 2019 by Ken Zino

The history of such industry collaborations is difficult and littered with road kill. The problem is whether the two global giants and hundreds of thousands of workers can walk in step together or stumble over each other. Continue reading →

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Japanese Pony Car – 2020 Toyota Supra NAIAS World Debut

Posted on 14 January 2019 by Ken Zino

Toyota President Akio Toyoda tested the Supra on the Nürburgring and other racing venues to give his personal feedback, but Toyota didn’t reveal his lap times. Continue reading →

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Chattanooga to Build US VW Electric Vehicles

Posted on 14 January 2019 by Ken Zino

Globally, Volkswagen Group plans to commit almost $50 billion (44 billion euros) through 2023 toward the development and production of electric vehicles and digital services. The Volkswagen brand alone has fore-cast selling 150,000 EVs by 2020 worldwide, increasing that number to 1 million by 2025. Continue reading →

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Cadillac EV Teased in Detroit. First of BEV 3 Platform Variants

Posted on 14 January 2019 by Ken Zino

GM announced Cadillac – after being taught a hard lesson by Tesla in 2014 when Cadillac spectacularly failed with a $75,000 version of the Chevy Volt – will be at the forefront of GM’s electrification Continue reading →

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GM Projects Strong Earnings, Improved Cash Flow in 2019

Posted on 12 January 2019 by Ken Zino

In 2019, despite a diminishing car market, GM expects the overall U.S. market to remain strong, projecting total industry sales in the low 17-million range. The company will benefit from a full year of volume from GM’s all-new Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra light-duty full-size pickups. The trucks have contributed to retail market share growth in the light- duty pickup segment every month since August, with average transaction prices that have surpassed those of key competitors. Continue reading →

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Ford to Restructure European Business Once Again

Posted on 11 January 2019 by Ken Zino

Near term, Ford is cutting costs by a reduction of surplus labor across all functions – salaried and hourly. A change in management structure, announced in December, already is underway through Ford’s hoeing and weeding its global salaried workforce. Continue reading →

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California, Federal Fines and extended Warranties and Fixes Cost Fiat Chrysler at Least $800m for Diesel Cheating

Posted on 11 January 2019 by Ken Zino

Companies and their board of directors may not believe in global warming, but regulators backed by ruinous fines along with alarmed shareholders and customers are making them act as if they do. Continue reading →

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First Look – 2020 Explorer Adds More Driver-Assist Systems

Posted on 9 January 2019 by Ken Zino

Traditional virtues for a rear-wheel drive vehicle introduction might be overshadowed by added new smart technology that foreshadows Ford’s quest to produce and sell autonomous vehicles. Continue reading →

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GM to Work with Evgo, ChargePoint, Greenlots on EV Charging

Posted on 9 January 2019 by Ken Zino

GM plans to aggregate dynamic data from each of the EV charging networks “so owners of the all-electric Chevrolet Bolt EV can have a more seamless charging experience with their GM vehicles.” No mention of the data use and identification which could include unknowing invasion of privacy for owners using the stations. Continue reading →

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GM Rejects Unifor Proposals for Oshawa Plant Closing

Posted on 9 January 2019 by Ken Zino

The study shows there would be an immediate fallout in 2020, with Ontario’s GDP expected to fall by $5 billion and a decline in Ontario government revenues of $330 million. In the long-term, Ontario’s economy would shrink by an average of $4 billion each year to 2030, leading to a reduction in Ontario government revenues of nearly a half billion and federal government revenues of just over half a billion a year. Continue reading →

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Almost Showtime for the Last Winter Weather NAIAS

Posted on 7 January 2019 by AutoCrat

Next year the 2020 NAIAS moves to June, starting the week of the 8th. Continue reading →

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Ford Police Interceptor Claws Back the Profitable Business that Dearborn Abandoned by Killing the Crown Victoria in 2011

Posted on 6 January 2019 by Ken Zino

As of last year, The Explorer based Police Interceptor accounted for nearly two-thirds of police vehicle sales in the United States. The limousine business also abandoned when Ford Killed the Lincoln Town car is another losing matter. Continue reading →

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Non-Representative Government? Religions of the 116th Congress

Posted on 5 January 2019 by Ken Zino

By a wide margin, the largest difference between the U.S. public and Congress is in the share who are unaffiliated with a religious group. In the general public, 23% say they are atheist, agnostic or “nothing in particular.” In Congress, just one person – Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., who was recently elected to the Senate after three terms in the House – says she is religiously unaffiliated, making the share of “nones” in Congress 0.2%. Continue reading →

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Ford Again Expands Takata Air Bag Recall to 1,000,000 Vehicles

Posted on 5 January 2019 by Ken Zino

This safety recall represents the addition of previously recalled vehicles to include more model years within the geographic zones defined earlier by National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Continue reading →

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