Category Archives: news

Ford – EVs Present Environmental, Human Rights Issues

Posted on 15 February 2021 by Ken Zino

Ford said this is another step Towards its desire to responsibly source all raw materials used within vehicles globally. Continue reading →

Posted in electric vehicles, environment, manufacturing | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Porsche SE Profit For Fiscal Year 2020 Forecast at €2.6 Billion

Posted on 12 February 2021 by Ken Zino

The group result after tax of Porsche SE is influenced significantly by its equity result from the capital stake in Volkswagen AG of currently about 31.4%, and thus by the group result after tax of Volkswagen AG. Continue reading →

Posted in economy, financial results | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Census – 35% of Households Say it is Difficult to Pay Expenses

Posted on 12 February 2021 by Ken Zino

Better late than never. But for the suffering it’s small compensation for enduring a seditious President for four years who – based on his actions in office was unemployed all the while being pampered, housed, fed and subsidized – aka welfare for the rich –  by taxpayers he disdains. Continue reading →

Posted in economy, people | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

BMW Largest US Automotive Exporter for 7th Consecutive Year

Posted on 12 February 2021 by Ken Zino

Spartanburg experienced a production interruption due to the coronavirus pandemic. After a five-week non-production period, associates returned for one shift on May 4. With new health guidelines and procedures in place, production slowly ramped up as the supply chain stabilized and customers returned in the summer. During the last six months of the year, Plant Spartanburg produced nearly 218,000 BMWs, a record for any six-month period in the factory’s history.  The plant produced 361,365 vehicles for the entire year 2020. Continue reading →

Posted in manufacturing, milestones | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Pandemic Negative Impact on Global Auto Industry Is Permanent. Debate is over How Bad and Who Gets Hurt

Posted on 11 February 2021 by Ken Zino

LMC says globally the Pandemic recovery is a K-shaped curve. There are winners and losers. Continue reading →

Posted in economy, electric vehicles, environment, financial results, news analysis | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

General Motors Posts 2020 Earnings of $6.4 Billion. Q4 at $2.8B

Posted on 10 February 2021 by Ken Zino

GM Financial reported record full-year EBT-adjusted of $2.7 billion. GM North America posted full-year EBIT-adjusted of $9.1 billion, and EBIT-adjusted margin of 9.4%. GM International lost money at a full-year EBIT-adjusted of $(0.5) billion with China Equity Income of $0.5 billion. Cruise struggled with a full-year EBIT-adjusted loss of $(0.9) billion. Continue reading →

Posted in economy, financial results, mobility company | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Nissan Losses ¥37.8 Billion in Q3. Alliance Still Shaky

Posted on 9 February 2021 by Ken Zino

As for the unstable Alliance post-Ghosn, “Nissan’s results during the Q3 of fiscal year 2020/2021 (October 1st to December 31st 2020), after IFRS restatements, will have a negative contribution to Renault’s Q4 2020 net income estimated at – €123 million,” Renault said in a separate release. Continue reading →

Posted in economy, financial results, results | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

FAA Expands Weather Camera Program to Hawaii

Posted on 8 February 2021 by Ken Zino

“For private pilots in single-engine aircraft, helicopter pilots, and crews with major airlines, the benefit of weather camera programs is hard to miss. Before the program began, weather-related CFIT accidents in Alaska were, sadly, very common,” said Walter Combs, Manager of the FAA Weather Camera Program. Continue reading →

Posted in aviation, milestones, people, safety | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Tesla Recalls 135,000 S and X Models for Display Blackouts

Posted on 8 February 2021 by Ken Zino

NHTSA prompted the recall when it started an investigation of last June*. The Office of Defects Investigations (ODI) opened Preliminary Evaluation PE20-010 to investigate incidents of media control unit (MCU) failures resulting in loss of rearview camera in model year (MY) 2012-2015 Tesla Model S vehicles equipped with the NVIDIA Tegra 3 processor with an integrated 8GB eMMC NAND flash memory device. The eMMC NAND flash devices have a finite lifespan based upon the number of program/erase (P/E) cycles. Continue reading →

Posted in customer satisfaction, electronics, quality, recalls, safety | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Second Chattanooga Motorcar Festival Now in October 2021

Posted on 7 February 2021 by Ken Zino

Born in Athens, Tenn., Coker worked for his father Harold, who opened the Coker Tire Company in Chattanooga in 1958, sweeping floors and cleaning wide whitewalls. Having grown up on the family farm, Coker originally planned to become a veterinarian but soon discovered that he actually enjoyed working at the tire store. “I suddenly realized that selling hot-rod and Model A tires to these guys made them very happy,” he said. “I really got my head into it and started developing some ideas and goals of my own.” Continue reading →

Posted in design and styling, people | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Ford Motor 2020 Loss $1.3 Billion. Microchip Shortage Looms

Posted on 5 February 2021 by Ken Zino

Chasing General Motors, Ford said it would increase its planned investments in electric and autonomous vehicles to more than $22 billion and $7 billion in turn through 2025. GM caught the industry by surprise when it said it would have 30 new EVs globally during roughly that period. It was the latest Ford attempt to appease the capital markets which remain skeptical about the lackluster performance of the Dearborn based automaker. Continue reading →

Posted in electric vehicles, financial results, news analysis | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Subsidized Mercedes-Benz Compact EQA EV Available to Order

Posted on 5 February 2021 by Ken Zino

As confusing as this all sounds, Mercedes actually has reduced the complexity of its EQA models. Instead of having to decide between more than 100 individual options, customers have a choice of three pre-configured packages. Continue reading →

Posted in alternative fuels, electric vehicles, environment, marketing | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Electrify America Adds Solar EV Charging in Rural California

Posted on 4 February 2021 by Ken Zino

Electrify America’s EV charging infrastructure plans in California include a commitment to increasing access to EV charging infrastructure in rural areas of the state, to both facilitate regional travel and drive adoption of EVs in rural communities. With complimentary charging, the new solar units help remove two barriers to EV adoption in these locations – access to public charging and affordability. The network said it ensured that more than half of these chargers were located in disadvantaged and low-income communities, demonstrating the company’s ongoing commitment to serve these populations. Continue reading →

Posted in alternative fuels, electric vehicles | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Toyota R&D Patent Leader Among US Automakers Again

Posted on 4 February 2021 by Ken Zino

“Toyota continues to invest heavily in its robust research and development pipeline and has received more than 1,400 patents related to autonomous vehicle technology since 2003. Every hour, Toyota invests over $1 million in emerging technology globally, and has invested over $1 billion in R&D related to automated vehicles and robotics since 2017,” Toyota said. Continue reading →

Posted in autonomous vehicles, awards, engineering | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Good and Bad? January US Light Vehicle Sales Down -3%

Posted on 4 February 2021 by Ken Zino

Projections for 2020 Global Light Vehicle sales ended at 77.7 million units, down -14% from 2019 and with a stronger recovery than expected initially. LMC maintains that 2021 is poised to continue the recovery, with volume projected at 86.5 million units, up 11% from 2020. AI thinks while the past isn’t a 100% sure predictor of the future, the new – perhaps more virulent strains of the Covid virus, the nationalistic fights over vaccines, the emergence of fascism and sedition in the US,  and stricter and ongoing social controls in most major market are huge risks. Continue reading →

Posted in news analysis, results, sales | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment