Category Archives: results

General Motors U.S. Sales Up 6% in March, Outpacing Market

Posted on 2 April 2013 by Ken Zino

General Motors sold 245,950 vehicles in the United States in March, up 6% compared with a year ago. Retail sales increased 4%, fleet sales were up 12%, with the fleet mix at 27% of total sales. As a result, GM retained its position as the sales leader in the U.S. ahead of Ford Motor and Toyota Motor, respectively.Sales of GM crossovers were up 31%; trucks, which include pickups, vans and SUVs, were up 2%; and car sales were down 3% as high volume large pickup sales were up 6%. Continue reading →

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Ford Motor Company U.S. Sales Up 6% in March

Posted on 2 April 2013 by Ken Zino

Ford Motor Company March U.S. sales increased by 6% at 236,160 vehicles sold compared to last March in a market projected to grow by 8% overall. It was Ford Motor Company’s best U.S. sales results since May 2007. Cars were even with a year ago, utilities up 14% and trucks up 6%. Continue reading →

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Chrysler Group March Sales Up 5% as Easy Comparisons Cease

Posted on 2 April 2013 by Ken Zino

Chrysler Group today reported U.S. sales of 171,606 units, a 5% increase compared with sales in March 2012 at 163,381 units. While it was the best sales month since 2007, the slower growth rate also means that the easy double-digit increases of the past couple of years heralded in press releases are over. Chrysler Group has now recovered from bankruptcy and the sharply lower sales rates of the Great Recession. The question now is can the company grow at rates greater than the market going forward? Continue reading →

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Horses for Courses – GM’s Small Block V8 Versus Ford and Ram

Posted on 1 April 2013 by Ken Zino

This debatable engineering philosophy gained some credibility today when GM revealed that the 2014 Silverado and Sierra pickups with the 5.3-liter V8 engine – the most popular engine – will be rated at an EPA estimated 23 mpg highway. The trucks also have better fuel economy and higher load capacity at a maximum of 11,500 pounds than the 2013 model Ford EcoBoost V6, an expensive approach that uses two turbochargers and intercooling, among other tweaks. Ram is using a 5.7-liter double overhead camshaft multivalve V8 linked in its best version to an 8-speed automatic, and is rated at 20 mpg. Continue reading →

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2014 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra Pickups Top F-Series and Ram in Fuel Economy with EPA 23 MPG Highway for V8

Posted on 1 April 2013 by Ken Zino

In a one-two punch, Chevrolet and GMC announced the best fuel economy of any V8 pickup for the 2014 Silverado and Sierra models at EPA estimated 23 mpg highway. The trucks also have better fuel economy and higher load capacity at a maximum of 11,500 pounds than the 2013 model Ford EcoBoost V6. Continue reading →

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EPA Proposes Stricter Emissions Standards, Lower Sulfur Fuel. Big Battle between Oil and Auto Industries Coming over Tier 3

Posted on 29 March 2013 by Ken Zino

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today proposed new standards for vehicles and fuels that are the strictest in the history of the agency. EPA said the regulations would reduce both tailpipe and evaporative emissions from passenger cars, light-duty trucks, medium-duty passenger vehicles, and some heavy-duty vehicles. Continue reading →

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Bosch to End Solar Business as Competitiveness is ‘Unattainable’

Posted on 22 March 2013 by Ken Zino

Bosch said today that it would end its solar business operations, including the making of ingots, wafers, cells, and modules at the beginning of 2014. More than 3,000 employees are affected. The German conglomerate, which is the biggest auto parts supplier in the word, said that individual business units would be sold, if possible Continue reading →

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Honda Verifies Congestion Reduction System During Public Road Tests

Posted on 21 March 2013 by Ken Zino

Honda Motor Company conducted public-road testing of its new traffic congestion minimization technology in Indonesia and claims it verified its effectiveness in delaying the development of congestion, and improving fuel efficiency by more than 20%. Continue reading →

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New Regulations for Safety, Emissions Hurt Micro-Cars

Posted on 21 March 2013 by Ken Zino

While there is a clear emerging global trend of rising demand for small and inexpensive cars, regulations are increasing their costs. Since 2010, supply by automakers has been growing as they offer products in the range of €10,000 (~$13,000). Some vehicles in this price range are micro-cars, such as the Piaggio, NT3, Renault Twizy ZE, Tata Nano, and Opel Rak-e, all unheard of in the United States. However, there are two A-segment vehicles playing in this space, the Skoda Citigo and Daimler Smart ForTwo, which is on sale in the U.S. Continue reading →

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March U.S. Auto Sales Forecast Up 8%. Six-Year Loans at Record Levels

Posted on 21 March 2013 by Ken Zino

Part of the reason for increasing sales appears to be the direct result of the U.S Treasury continuing increase in the money supply by running government printing presses non-stop in an attempt to keep the economy expanding. As a result, easy credit has returned to the marketplace. Customers also appear to be ignoring, if not mocking, the dire predictions of crisis, tragedy and collapse by bickering politicians in Washington. Continue reading →

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EU Car Sales Drop 10.5% During February to 795,482

Posted on 19 March 2013 by Ken Zino

Passenger car registrations plummeted in the 27 markets of the EU during February of 2013 to fewer than 800,000 units, a 10.5% drop from the same month last year. In February, the UK was the only country to post growth (+7.9%). All other major markets faced a downturn ranging from -9.8% in Spain to -10.5% in Germany, -12.1% in France and -17.4% in Italy. Continue reading →

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Nissan Recalls Popular 2013 Models for Bad Passenger Airbags

Posted on 18 March 2013 by Ken Zino

Nissan is recalling numerous 2013 model Altima, Leaf, Pathfinder, Sentra, and Infiniti JX35 vehicles because the passenger side airbag is defective. Sensors within the so-called passenger Occupant Detection System may have been manufactured out of specification for several months. This may cause the system to malfunction and permanently suppress the passenger airbag on some of Nissan’s most popular vehicles. Continue reading →

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BMW Group Posts Best Year in History During 2012

Posted on 18 March 2013 by Ken Zino

The BMW Group increased revenues during 2012 by 11.7% to €76.8 billion (~$99.7 billion) based on sales of 1,845,186 of BMW, Mini and Rolls-Royce brand vehicles delivered to customers worldwide, making it the largest maker of luxury automobiles. The Group also sold more than 117,000 motorcycles. Continue reading →

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Volkswagen Group Posts Record Profit of €11.5 Billion in 2012

Posted on 16 March 2013 by Ken Zino

Volkswagen Group’s sales revenue increased by 20.9% to €192.7 billion ($252 billion) in fiscal year 2012 a sizable gain from €159.3 billion in 2011. Operating profit rose to a record €11.5 billion, but this was only a slight increase from €11.3 billion the year before. Continue reading →

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Ford Motor Misses Targets Cuts CEO Pay to ‘Only’ $21 Million

Posted on 15 March 2013 by Ken Zino

In the bizarre world of 0.1-percenters, Ford Motor Company cut CEO Alan Mulally’s compensation by almost 30% because the quality-challenged company missed its 2012 goals. Even so Mulally earned $2,000,000 in salary and $3,950,000 in cash bonus in 2012. His total listed compensation in 2012 – including the grant date value of long-term stock options and other performance-based equity awards – was $20,995,806. This is a drop from his $2 million in salary, $5.46 million in bonus and $22 million in other compensation for 2011. Continue reading →

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