Category Archives: results

US Government Spying Changes Citizen Behavior

Posted on 16 March 2015 by Ken Zino

American taxpayers are changing their behavior and use of technology to avoid government surveillance in a new damaging report that in its background results from flagrant violations of Constitutional rights in AutoInformed’s view. Continue reading →

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China World’s Biggest Auto Market by Units, Not Revenue

Posted on 9 March 2015 by Ken Zino

Total value for new vehicles sold in China, the world’s largest market by volume, lagged the U.S. by as much as $161 billion last year, based on a comparison of pricing data. Continue reading →

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General Motors Will Distribute Cash as Wilson Drops Board Bid

Posted on 9 March 2015 by Ken Zino

The deal is a major victory for the investors while giving relief to GM of what could have evolved into a fight with major shareholders. However, GM slashed its previously announced cash target that it claimed was key to keeping a ‘fortress balance sheet.” How the ratings agencies react remains to be seen. Continue reading →

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China Auto Sales Slowdown means Trouble in Detroit

Posted on 6 March 2015 by Ken Zino

If growth rates in the Chinese auto economy keep slowing, it means trouble for Ford Motor and General Motors, given their large investments in China and reliance on profits from the world’s largest auto market. U.S. automakers typically book revenue when vehicles are shipped, not sold. Continue reading →

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February US Sales Gains mostly from Trucks

Posted on 4 March 2015 by Ken Zino

Slumping car sales and rising truck, SUV and crossover sales in February saw auto sales at 1.26 million units as trucks rose 12% and passenger cars dropped 1.4%. The seasonally adjusted annual selling rate came in at 16.23 million compared to February 2014 at 15.41 million. Continue reading →

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GM Sales up Slightly in February as Trucks Soar

Posted on 3 March 2015 by Ken Zino

According to J.D. Power PIN data, the Chevrolet Silverado’s retail market share in the full-size pickup segment was 27.2% in February, up 1.5 percentage points from a year ago, at the expense of Ford’s F-Series and FCA’s Ram brand. Continue reading →

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Frigid February Hot for US Auto Sales

Posted on 26 February 2015 by Ken Zino

The U.S. auto sales expansion is continuing despite a frigid February according to the latest forecast that show a large 8.5% increase for the industry. New light vehicle sales, including fleet, should reach 1,295,600 units for the month. Continue reading →

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Cyber Insecurity – Your Car and You as Targets

Posted on 19 February 2015 by Ken Zino

The connected car is linking you to criminals with virtually no safeguards in place to protect your personal data or even to prevent the bad guys from taking over control of the car. That is the summary from a recent series and studies and forums in the U.S. and Europe.

The good news, if there is any for connected car, Bluetooth, OnStar and Smartphone aficionados is that you are likely not the primary target. Instead, hackers want to get to the treasure trove of car company databases and private networks that contain millions of bits of confidential data. Other privacy problems arise from the use of navigation computers that record and send location or driving history information to third party providers who resell it without your knowledge, let alone consent. Continue reading →

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Tesla Posts Loss Yet Again

Posted on 16 February 2015 by Ken Zino

Chief booster Elon Musk said in a letter to shareholders – not without billions in self interest – that the company expected to begin deliveries of the Model X in Q3 during this year – a long delay from original promises. Continue reading →

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Wolfsburg Woes as Volkswagen Passenger Car Sales Drop

Posted on 12 February 2015 by Ken Zino

In a damage control statement that is clearly intended to shape expectations, VW said earlier this week “Deliveries by the Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand show we are facing a challenging year. Volkswagen was not immune to the uncertainties in some regions that have continued into the current year.” Continue reading →

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Proxy Fight Looming at General Motors by Hedge Fund Sharks?

Posted on 11 February 2015 by Ken Zino

The ploy is clearly threat to GM’s “fortress balance sheet” strategy that looks to clean up underfunded pension liabilities and preserve enough cash to weather another global recession. GM has now posted 20 consecutive quarters of profits. Continue reading →

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2014 Profits All Drop at FCA, Ford, GM

Posted on 10 February 2015 by Ken Zino

The Detroit Three all posted 2014 profits that were down from a year earlier in a booming global auto market, but each had different reasons for the declines, in stark contrast to other global automakers, notably Volkswagen Group, and Toyota Motor Corporation, Whig had record breaking results. Continue reading →

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GM in Process of Dumping Ally, Formerly GMAC

Posted on 8 February 2015 by Ken Zino

General Motors is in the midst of rebuilding its long gone GMAC financial empire due to bankruptcy, is replacing it with General Motors Financial, which appears to be an exact duplicate of the auto-lending arm of Ally, formally known as GMAC without the housing lending risks that sunk the company. Continue reading →

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January U.S. Sales Gains Driven by Trucks

Posted on 5 February 2015 by Ken Zino

If you look at the strong January sales results in the U.S., the Top Ten selling vehicles moved around a bit, but there were no surprises. Trucks dominated the market with the Ford F-Series, Chevrolet Silverado, and Ram pickups firmly in place in the top three spots. Continue reading →

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January 2015 FCA U.S. Sales up 14%

Posted on 3 February 2015 by Ken Zino

FCA US today reported U.S. sales of 145,007 units, a 14% gain compared with sales in January 2014 of 127,183 units. It was the group’s best January sales result since 2007. Continue reading →

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