-
Recent Posts
- Trump Tariff Flops – December Goods Trade Deficit Up $15.7B
- Tennessee Triumph – VW Workers Ratify UAW Contract!
- Sting Operations Hit ~550 CDL Training Schools
- Average Gallon Price for Gasoline Drops Slightly, But…
- February 2026 U.S. Vehicle Sales Forecast is Down Again
- Sustainable Energy in America – Mixed Progress in 2025
- GM Canada – C$63M Outlay in Oshawa Assembly
- EV Owner Satisfaction at New High Amid Sales Slump
- Audi Revolut F1 Team and Fanwear Launched
- Toyota bZ Woodland Mid-Size SUV EV Priced at $45,300
- CAFE Regs Intact Post Trump Endangerment Finding Repeal
- First Look – 2027 Volkswagen Atlas Prototype
- Park Outside – More Jaguar I-PACE Battery Fire Recalls
- Magna Posts 2025 EBIT of $2,364 Million
- Trump’s EPA Kills Greenhouse Gas Endangerment Finding
Recent Comments
- Michigan Governor Whitmer on Pew – Confidence in Trump Dips, Fewer Support His Policies
- Porsche Motorsport Daytona Victory on Daytona 24 Hours – Old and New Stars Getting Ready to Run
- UAW Ford Department Director VP Laura Dickerson on Trump's Ford Plant Visit on Whitmer Stands in Stark Contrast to Trump at Detroit Auto Show
- Ken Zino on Ford Fuel Injector Leak Recall Now at ~694,000
- Laverne Oliver on Ford Fuel Injector Leak Recall Now at ~694,000
Archives
Meta
Category Archives: people
Nissan CEO Uchida Ousted
Nissan Motor Company today said that effective 1 April 2025 the Board of Directors has approved titles and areas of responsibility for the representative executive officer and executive officers. Ivan Espinosa, currently the chief planning officer, has been appointed as the representative executive officer, president, and CEO, succeeding Makoto Uchida.
Thus the Nissan soap opera continues going all the way back to the overthrowing of CEO Carlos Ghosn. The move comes as the Honda Nissan merger talks collapsed. Continue reading
Posted in auto news, news analysis, people
Tagged Asako Hoshino, auto industry commentary, autoinformed.com, automotive blog, Automotive news and analysis, carlos ghosn, christian meunier, Eiichi Akashi, Guillaume Cartier, Hideaki Watanabe, Hirito Saikawa, Ivan Espinosa, Jérémie Papin, Ken Zino, Makoto Uchida, Manabu Sakane, Nissan and Honda Integration MOU, Shohei Yamazaki, Stephen Ma, Tatsuzo Tomita, Teiji Hirata, X @KenAutoinformed
Leave a comment
Trump Tariffs – His Next Economic Catastrophe
Shoot from the lip President Trump, aka Calamity Donald, today imposed tariffs of 25% across North America disrupting the North American auto market that has thrived on 30 years of free trade. Any new tariffs in place for any significant length of time will be disruptive. The tariffs at 25% are significantly higher than the profits made by the automakers and their suppliers. It is widely – if not universally – held by economists that this is an economic disaster. Continue reading
Posted in auto news, AutoInformed Editorial, economy, fools 'n frauds, manufacturing, news analysis, prices, sales, transportation, Trump Truth Tests
Tagged auto industry commentary, autoinformed.com, automotive blog, Automotive news and analysis, Calamity Donald, Jim Farley, Jonathan Smoke, Ken Zino, Stephanie Brinley, X @KenAutoinformed
2 Comments
Holy St Pete! Vivid IndyCar 2025 Season Opener
“What an amazing job by everybody,” Palou said. Palou is known for his racing smarts and the ability to adjust to conditions to earn points. “They gave me everything we needed this weekend to win. I told you yesterday we had a really, really fast car. Our strategy changed a lot during that first yellow, but I’m so glad we got that No. 10 in Victory Lane. It’s been 138 days since Nashville (2024 season finale), and I’ve been dreaming about this every single night,” said Palou, a charming and thoughtful Spaniard. Continue reading
Posted in auto news, marketing, news analysis, people, performance, racing, results
Tagged Alex Palou, Andretti Global, auto industry commentary, autoinformed.com, automotive blog, Automotive news and analysis, Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, Firestone Firehawk tires, Josef Newgarden, Ken Zino, Kyle Kirkwood, NTT IndyCar Series, Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske Chevrolet, X @KenAutoinformed
Leave a comment
Trump Chaos – Voters Support Park and Forest Services
As part of recent budget cuts mandated by the Trump Administration’s Department of Government Efficiency, aka Trump Chaos 2.0, the U.S. National Park Service and U.S. Forest Service laid off more than 3000 workers across the country. From park rangers and environmental educators to locksmiths and trail maintenance and wildfire prevention workers, the layoffs impacted a wide-ranging group of workers.
However, new polling from Data for Progress* finds that strong, bipartisan majorities of likely voters hold favorable views of the U.S. National Park Service (75%) and U.S. Forest Service (74%). Continue reading
Posted in customer satisfaction, economy, environment, global warming, labor issues, news analysis, people, Trump Truth Tests
Tagged auto industry commentary, autoinformed.com, automotive blog, Automotive news and analysis, Data for Progress, Ken Zino, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. National Park Service, X @KenAutoinformed
Leave a comment
Musk and Bezos Freeloading on Taxpayer Subsidies
Elon Musk, who is leading efforts to cut spending he alleges is wasteful, has himself benefited from more than $38 billion in government funding, according to a just-published exposé in the Washington Post. The Washington Post used Good Jobs First’s Subsidy Tracker to help tell the story of just how much companies controlled by Musk have received, according to a release today from the respected Good Jobs First (GJF) organization. Continue reading
Posted in AutoInformed Editorial, fools 'n frauds, news, news analysis, people, Trump Truth Tests
Tagged auto industry commentary, autoinformed.com, automotive blog, Automotive news and analysis, Good Jobs First, Good Jobs First Violation Tracker, Ken Zino, Reuters, SpaceX, tax credits, tax grants and reimbursements, tesla, Wahington Post, Wall Street Journal, X @KenAutoinformed
Leave a comment
Porsche AG Changes Its Executive Board
Porsche AG – with an eye aimed at the capital markets – said today that it is making a long-planned change to its Executive Board. Effective tomorrow 26 February 2025, Jochen Breckner (47) will take over responsibility for Finance and IT, with Matthias Becker (54) becoming responsible for Sales and Marketing. They succeed Lutz Meschke (58) and Detlev von Platen (61), who are leaving the company by mutual agreement. Breckner previously headed Porsche’s General Secretariat and Corporate Development. Becker was most recently Head of the Overseas and Emerging Markets region at Porsche AG and has successfully developed it into one of Porsche’s strong sales pillars. Continue reading
Posted in auto news, milestones, mobility company, news analysis, people
Tagged auto industry commentary, autoinformed.com, automotive blog, Automotive news and analysis, Detlev von Platen, Dr Wolfgang Porsche, Jochen Breckner, Ken Zino, Lutz Meschke, Matthias Becker, X @KenAutoinformed
Leave a comment
Society of Automotive Analysts – New Board of Directors
The Society of Automotive Analysts (SAA) today announced its Board of Directors for 2025. Adam Bernard, Founder and Principal of AutoPerspectives, will serve as SAA president, while Jeff Schuster, President of Forecasting, GlobalData, moves into the vice president role. The SAA’s stated goals are to provide automotive professionals exclusive access to industry leaders, early insights and outstanding networking opportunities. “SAA members include every automotive industry professional interested in timely and useful auto industry data, discussion and dissemination of ideas, concepts and solutions,” the SAA said. Continue reading
Posted in auto news, connected vehicles, economy, environment, financial results, fuel economy or emissions, news analysis, people, quality, sales, shows and events
Tagged Adam Bernard, auto industry commentary, autoinformed.com, automotive blog, Automotive news and analysis, AutoPerspectives, general motors, GlobalData, Jeff Schuster, Ken Zino, Magna International, Matt Grecki, Steve Hallman, X @KenAutoinformed
Leave a comment
Trump Tax Cuts for Rich among other things Wildly Unpopular
Data for Progress said today that House Republicans currently debating budget reconciliation are planning to extend and expand President Trump’s 2017 tax cuts for corporations and high-income households, which are expected to cost trillions in the coming years. To pay for this, GOP Congress members have proposed slashing health care, food assistance, education funding, and many tax credits benefiting low-income communities and shifting costs to states and families.
Together with the Student Borrower Protection Center and Groundwork Collaborative, Data for Progress conducted a survey from 31 January – 2 February measuring voter sentiment toward cuts to federal funding and tax breaks for the wealthy. The poll shows that many government programs are very popular with likely voters: Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, and SNAP each have support from more than 3 in 4 respondents. Continue reading
Posted in connected vehicles, customer satisfaction, economy, fools 'n frauds, news, news analysis, people, public health, shows and events, Trump Truth Tests
Tagged auto industry commentary, autoinformed.com, automotive blog, Automotive news and analysis, Data for Progress, Groundwork Collaborative, House Republicans, Ken Zino, Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security, Student Borrower Protection Center, X @KenAutoinformed
Leave a comment
Ford Motor Shuffles Leadership Amid Trump Chaos
Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F)* today announced key executive changes as the chaos of the Trump administration continues to cause as yet unknown damages to the economy and the auto industry. Two positions, John Lawler to vice chair to look after strategy, partnerships and alliances; and Sam Wu,President Ford China adding Ford’s International Markets Group, will require insight, and frankly lucky hunches given Trump’s random, variable and reversible assaults on trade, tariff’s and vital international organizations to return Ford Motor to a reliably profitable path. Continue reading
Posted in auto news, connected vehicles, economy, environment, global warming, mobility company, news analysis, people, sales
Tagged Andrew Frick, auto industry commentary, autoinformed.com, automotive blog, Automotive news and analysis, Daniel Justo, Jim Farley, John Lawler, Kay Hart, Ken Zino, Marin Gjaja, Sam Wu, Sherry House, X @KenAutoinformed
Leave a comment
More Stellantis Executive Changes as Stock Drops
“Through targeted organizational adjustments, the regions now have enhanced local decision-making and execution capabilities in respect of product planning, product development, industrial and commercial activities, while maintaining coordination with the Company’s global functions to best serve their customers,” Stellantis said. However, there still is no new permanent Chief Executive Officer from the Special Committee of the Board of Directors at a time when Trump’s executive orders – viz tariff’s – are wreaking havoc in the auto industry. Stellantis shares are down ~8% this morning. Continue reading
Posted in auto news, car sharing, connected vehicles, economy, environment, financial results, manufacturing, mobility company, news analysis, people
Tagged Alain Favey, Anne Abboud, Antonio Filosa, auto industry commentary, autoinformed.com, automotive blog, Automotive news and analysis, Bob Broderdorf, Clara Ingen-Housz, Ken Zino, Ned Curic, Olivier François, Stellantis, X @KenAutoinformed, Xavier Peugeot
Leave a comment
State Privacy Laws Failing to Protect Your Data
The more data companies collect about us, the more our data is at risk. When companies hold your data, the greater the odds it will be exposed in a breach or a hack and end up in the hands of identity thieves, scammers, or shadowy companies known as data brokers that buy and sell a huge amount of data about Americans “Many of these ‘privacy laws’ protect privacy in name only,” said Caitriona Fitzgerald, deputy director of EPIC. “In effect, they allow companies to continue hoarding our personal data and using it for whatever purposes they want. Big Tech should not be allowed to write the rules.” Continue reading
Posted in customer satisfaction, electronics, marketing, news, people, Privacy, shows and events
Tagged auto industry commentary, autoinformed.com, automotive blog, Automotive news and analysis, Caitriona Fitzgerald, EPIC, Kara Williams, Ken Zino, R.J. Cross, the Electronic Privacy Information Center, U.S. PIRG Education Fund, X @KenAutoinformed
Leave a comment
Ford to Return to Le Mans in 2027
“We are entering a new era for performance and racing at Ford. You can see it from what we’re doing on-road and off-road. When we race, we race to win. And there is no track or race that means more to our history than Le Mans. It is where we took on Ferrari and won in the 1960s. It is where we returned 50 years later and shocked the world and beat Ferrari again” said Bill Ford, Ford Motor Company Executive Chair I am thrilled that we’re going back to Le Mans and competing at the highest level of endurance racing. We are ready to once again challenge the world, and ‘go like hell!’” The Ford announcement didn’t mention Carrol Shelby who not only coined the “go like hell” phrase on a pit board message to a driver, but was instrumental in Ford’s first LeMans victory. Carroll Shelby is the only man to have won the 24 Hours of Le Mans race as a driver, team owner and automotive manufacturer.*
Posted in auto news, marketing, milestones, news analysis, people, performance, racing
Tagged auto industry commentary, autoinformed.com, Automobile Club de l’Ouest, automotive blog, Automotive news and analysis, bill ford, Ford WEC LMDh, Frédéric Lequien, Ken Zino, Lewis Hamilton, Martin Brundle, Richard Mille, world endurance cup, X @KenAutoinformed
Leave a comment
Pre-Trump US Q3 EV Sales Set All Time Record
During Q3 of 2024, automakers sold 408,688 electric vehicles (EVs include battery, plug-in hybrid, and fuel cell electric vehicles) in the United States, meaning 10.6% of overall light-duty vehicle sales. This represents a 0.6 percentage point (pp) market share increase compared to the second quarter of 2024 amounting to an increase of ~22,000 vehicle sales. Simply put this makes EV Sales volume in Q3 the highest on record according to data released today by the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, a trade and lobbying group for automakers. Continue reading
Posted in electric vehicles, environment, global warming, milestones, news analysis, people, public health, sales
Tagged Alliance for Automotive Innovation, auto industry commentary, autoinformed.com, automotive blog, Automotive news and analysis, battery, electric vehicles, EV plug-in hybrid EVs, EVs, fuel cell EVs, Ken Zino, X @KenAutoinformed
Leave a comment
Electrify America Invests Millions in ZEV Workers
Electrify America announced today a $7.4+ million investment in organizations across the U.S. to support zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) access programs, education, and STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) workforce development. The funding builds on Electrify America’s previous investments in organizations to advance equitable access to electric vehicle (EV) transportation in low-income and disadvantaged communities and building a skilled EV workforce. Continue reading →