Category Archives: results

Ford Motor Posts $1.6 Billion Profit in Q3. Europe Loses $468 Million

Posted on 30 October 2012 by Ken Zino

Ford Motor Company said today that Q3 profits were $1.6 billion based on revenues of $32.1 billion. Q3 pre-tax profit was $2.2 billion, or 40 cents per share, an increase of $200 million from Q3 2011. Ford Credit reported a pre-tax profit of $393 million, a decrease of $188 million from third quarter 2011. The positive results, as they have for years now, came almost entirely from North America, which achieved its highest quarterly profit, pre-tax $2.3 billion and operating margin 12%, since 2000 when the Ford Motor started reporting the region as a separate business unit. Continue reading →

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Chrysler Group Posts Q3 Profit of $381 Million

Posted on 29 October 2012 by Ken Zino

Chrysler Group today reported a Q3 profit of $381 million, an increase of an increase of 80% from Q3 a year ago, based on revenue of $15.5 billion, up 18% from $13.1 billion. For the first nine months of the year, Chrysler Group (1) posted net revenue of $48.6 billion, up 22% from the same period a year ago, as its recovery from bankruptcy continues. Cash at quarter-end was $11.9 billion compared with $9.5 billion a year ago and $12.1 billion on 30 June 2012. Cash flow for the quarter was a -$65 million compared with -$699 million a year ago. For the first nine months of 2012, Free Cash Flow was $2.5 billion. Continue reading →

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Honda Motor Makes ¥82 Billion in Japanese Q2, Cuts Forecast 20%

Posted on 29 October 2012 by Ken Zino

Honda Motor Company’s net profit rose 36% to ¥82 billion or ~$1 billion in the Japanese fiscal year Q2 that ended 30 September the company said in Tokyo. An average ¥79:$1 was attained during the quarter. Honda sold 3.9 million motorcycles, 1 million automobiles, and 1.3 million power products during Q2. Promotional and startup costs for the new Accord, which just went on sale in the U.S., and a government prodded Chinese boycott of Japanese cars because of a territorial dispute over some islands, cut the results. Continue reading →

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Japanese Top CR Reliability Survey Again. Ford, Lincoln Plummet

Posted on 29 October 2012 by Ken Zino

Toyota Motor Corporation’s three brands – Scion, Toyota, and Lexus took the highest places in the latest reliability survey released today at the Automotive Press Association in Detroit. The Toyota brands were followed by four other Japanese makes: Mazda, Subaru, Honda, and Acura, respectively. All of the models produced by the top seven Japanese brands had average or better reliability according to Consumer Reports, based on a survey of 800,000 owners who reported on 1.2 million vehicles up to ten years old. Of the 90 Japanese models reflected in the Consumer Reports brand comparison, 86 were average or better, with 35 earning the highest rating. Continue reading →

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October U.S. Sales Forecast Sunny at more than 12 million SAAR

Posted on 26 October 2012 by Ken Zino

New-vehicle retail sales in October are forecast at 943,200 units, a 13% increase in volume compared with October 2011. This works out to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate or SAAR of 12 million new cars and light trucks. If true, October will be the second consecutive month above 12 million units, the first time since April and May 2008 before the Great Recession set in. Continue reading →

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Daimler Posts Q3 Profit of €1.2 Million, a €155 Million Drop

Posted on 26 October 2012 by Ken Zino

The Eurozone crisis expanded into Germany in Q3 as Daimler AG (DAI) posted Group earnings of €1,921 million, off from Q3 in 2011at €1,968 million. Net profits for the period were €1,205 million (Q3 2011: €1,360 million), leading to declining earnings per share of €1.03 (Q3 2011: €1.21). Daimler sold 528,600 cars and commercial vehicles worldwide in Q3, surpassing the prior-year total by 1%. Revenue of €28.6 billion was 8% above the prior-year level. Adjusted for changes in currency exchange rates, the increase amounted to only 3%. As a result, of the weakened results and prospects for the future, Daimler said that it will not match 2011’s earnings. Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler AG and Head of Mercedes-Benz Cars tried to be optimistic in a statement: “Considering the significantly more difficult market conditions, Daimler achieved good earnings in the third quarter.” The earnings release was sent out ahead of schedule because of the accidental issuing of an e-mail. Continue reading →

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2014 Corvette Sticks with A Revised LT1 V8 Engine

Posted on 25 October 2012 by Ken Zino

When Chevrolet Corvette arrives late next year, most of the sports car will be all new, but not the 6.2L V8 engine. The latest Corvette LT1 engine, the first of the so-called Gen 5 family of Small Block engines, combines several advanced technologies, including direct injection for the first time, cylinder fuel shut off and continuously variable valve timing to support an advanced combustion system. Zero-to-60 mph times of less than four seconds are predicted for the base car. The new LT1 is the third engine in the Corvette’s history to be so-named, with previous versions introduced in 1970 (Gen 1) and 1992 (Gen 2). Continue reading →

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French Government Backs €7B in PSA Peugeot Citroën Debt

Posted on 24 October 2012 by Ken Zino

The French State will provide up to €7 billion in refinancing guarantees for new bond issues during the 2013-2015 period. It is the latest example of a taxpayer bailout of an ailing auto company facing increasingly limited credit options in the private capital markets, if they now exist at all. The subsidy is subject to EU approval by the Competition Commission in Brussels, and is vehemently opposed by the German state of Lower Saxony, the second largest owner of VW, the largest automaker in Europe by far. Continue reading →

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Honda Hybrid Sales Top 1 Million. 3M More to Catch Toyota

Posted on 23 October 2012 by Ken Zino

Honda Motor Company said today that worldwide sales of hybrid vehicles have now surpassed 1 million units. This milestone was reached at the end of September after the start of sales of the first generation Insight in Japan during November 1999. At the time, Insight fuel economy was rated at 35km/liter, then the world’s highest fuel efficiency among all mass-production gasoline-powered vehicles. Continue reading →

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NADA Chairman Says Automakers Use Unfair Business Practices

Posted on 23 October 2012 by Ken Zino

The new chairman of the National Automobile Dealers Association, Bill Underriner, said today that automakers need to stop intruding into dealerships. After noting the Tigers are back in the World Series at the Automotive Press Association in Detroit, he said there’s “good energy here. The auto industry is doing its part to lead the economic recovery. But we still have a long way to go – not just here but all around the country. Auto sales are up, but financial pressures are too…especially on dealerships.” Continue reading →

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Ally Financial Sells Its Canadian Auto Financing Business

Posted on 23 October 2012 by Ken Zino

Notably absent as buyers were Ford Credit and General Motors. Ally has other international operations in Europe and Latin America on the block, and GM has submitted a bid for the business. Ally expects to announce the buyer after the U.S. Presidential election next month. Continue reading →

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Next Generation Chevrolet Silverado Pickup to Debut in December

Posted on 22 October 2012 by Ken Zino

Chevrolet will unveil what is calling the all-new Silverado 1500 full-size pickup on 13 December at a special event in the Detroit area. In a release, Chevy claimed, “bold exterior design of the new Silverado reflects the enhanced capabilities of the truck while features such as jewel-like, projector beam headlamps showcase the careful attention given to every detail.” Presumably, this also means a “bold new grille.” Continue reading →

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Stefan Jacoby Out at Volvo Car. Håkan Samuelsson new CEO

Posted on 19 October 2012 by Ken Zino

The Board of Directors of Volvo Car Group has appointed Håkan Samuelsson as its new President & CEO effective immediately, the Chinese owned company said today. Stefan Jacoby will leave Volvo Car Group and the board. Continue reading →

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Ally Financial to Sell Mexican Insurance Business

Posted on 18 October 2012 by Ken Zino

Ally Financial today announced that it has reached an agreement to sell its Mexican insurance business, ABA Seguros, to the ACE Group, one of the world’s largest multi-line property and casualty insurers. ABA Seguros is the fourth largest insurer in the Mexican auto insurance market, and the transaction has a purchase price of $865 million in cash.

The latest move to fix the balance sheet of the former finance arm of General Motors comes a week after the announcement that Ally will make a payment of approximately $134 million, or $1.125 per share, to the U.S. Treasury next month. U.S. taxpayers have invested $17.2 billion in keeping Ally in business as a bank holding company after improvident home mortgages made it bankrupt under the Bush market crash. Continue reading →

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Milestones: 25 years of Volvo Airbags

Posted on 18 October 2012 by Ken Zino

The airbag has been a standard feature in all cars for several years now, but in the early days both the technology and its reliability created intense debate with safety advocates and government regulators ignoring the very real problems earlier designs had. The problem in the U.S. was largely caused by Joan Claybrook and other advocates and legislators who sold the idea of the airbag as eliminating the need for unpopular safety belts and belt interlock system.

In spite of extensive crash test data from Ford and General Motors, among others, showing that the regulation proposed in 1984 and effective in 1987 required a too powerful explosion to protect an unbelted 170-pound male without hurting smaller stature people the law went ahead. Regulators and politicians simply ignored the engineers. Dead drivers and passengers, some of them decapitated, were the grisly result until the regulations were rewritten as field results came in – dead on arrival so to speak. Continue reading →

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