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Category Archives: results
Ford Motor U.S. Sales Flat in September
September U.S. vehicle sales at Ford Motor were the same as last year,175,000, as the Dearborn-based automaker continues to lag market growth. A variety of factors – including inventory shortages, the result of deficient forecasting made early in the Great Recession when Ford jettisoned (too) many workers and plants, as well as necessary new model changeovers now underway are clearly hurting results.
Projections put the overall U.S. industry up more than 12% when final numbers are available late today [September came in at +13%], with Japanese makers Toyota, Nissan and Honda expected to post double-digit increases as car segments continue to boom because of $4 a squirt gasoline. Once again, this month Toyota – now fully back in production – challenged Ford for the Number Two U.S. sales position with monthly sales of 171,910 units.
The subcompact, compact and midsize car segments are expected to show retail sales growth of at least 25% percent, compared with September 2011, according to a projection by J.D. Power and Associates. Japanese automakers have strong reputations and residual values in these segments, which result in attractive pricing, buyer loyalty and increasing sales. Continue reading
Posted in auto news, marketing, results, sales
Tagged auto informed, autoinformed.com, automotive news, f-series, Ken Zino, results, small car sales
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Firing of BMW Salesperson for Facebook Photos Upheld
The National Labor Relations Board has found that the firing of a BMW salesperson for photos and comments posted to his Facebook page did not violate federal labor law, because the activity was not protected. Continue reading
Posted in auto news, labor issues, litigation, people, results
Tagged auto informed, autoinformed.com, automotive news, facebook, Ken Zino, knauz bmw, nlrb
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Honda Aircraft Breaks Ground on New Maintenance Hanger
The ~$5 million HondaJet has claims to what could be advances in aircraft design, including a unique over-the-wing engine-mount that is said to improve aircraft performance and fuel efficiency by reducing aerodynamic drag. However, this claim awaits FAA-certified production aircraft powered by two new design GE Honda HF120 turbofan jet engines. The small business jet market has long been dominated by Wichita-based Cessna, of course, which pioneered the idea of turbofan engines and manufacturer-supplied maintenance – and guaranteed costs for owners – in business aviation with its successful Citation line starting in the 1970s. Continue reading
GM Claims Aluminum Spot Welding Innovation
General Motors Research & Development has invented what it claims is an industry-first aluminum welding technology, which it predicts will increase the use of the lightweight metal on future vehicles. The latest fuel economy regulations are forcing automakers to improve efficiency. Simple Newtonian physics explains that the force needed to accelerate a mass decreases with weight reduction, for example, less fuel is needed to move a lighter vehicle – if the weight reduction is not used to increase performance, a traditional industry response. Continue reading
GM CAW Members Overwhelmingly Approve New Contract
CAW members at General Motors have approved a new collective agreement by 73% after voting took place at a series of ratification meetings Wednesday and Thursday in Oshawa, St. Catharines and Woodstock, Ontario. The union did not release the actual number of members who voted but said that 72% of production workers approved the deal, with skilled trades members 79% in favor. The CAW represents 21,000 workers at the Detroit Three auto companies, including more than 8,000 GM workers including 2,500 at CAMI in Ingersoll, Ontario. Continue reading
Posted in auto news, economy, labor issues, manufacturing, milestones, results
Tagged auto informed, auto unions, autoinformed.com, automotive news, caw, GM, ken Lewenza, Ken Zino, two-tier wages
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BP Fined Again, this time for Oil Spill Violations in Maryland
EPA alleged that BP Products violated federal regulations requiring oil storage facilities to conduct drills and exercises to respond to oil spills. The civil penalty is EPA’s highest to date for violations of oil drills and exercises requirements where there was no discharge of oil. BP, of course, was responsible for dumping 5 billion gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico after a blowout on the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig killed 11 men. A former BP worker is under indictment for the disaster in an ongoing investigation that has thus far not reached executive levels. Continue reading
Posted in environment, litigation, news, results, safety, transportation
Tagged auto informed, autoinformed.com, automotive news, big oil, bp, bp curtis bay, deepwater horizon, doj, epa, Ken Zino, oil spills
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Zipcar Expands Car Sharing to Tacoma
Zipcar today announced the expansion of its car sharing program to the city of Tacoma, Washington. Ten vehicles will be available, including Honda Insight Hybrid, Mazda 3, Volkswagen Golf and Ford Focus models. Six Zipcars will be located in downtown … Continue reading
Honda Says New Steel and Aluminum Welding Process Cuts Weight
Honda Motor Company says it has a newly developed technology for the continuous welding of the dissimilar metals of steel and aluminum. Continue reading
Milestones: GM Tonawanda Builds 4.2 Million Ecotec Fours
The General Motors Tonawanda Engine Plant has built its final 2.4-liter Ecotec four-cylinder engine, 13 years after production began in 1999. Since the New York State GM plant opened in 1938, more than 70 million engines have been assembled there. Continue reading
Posted in auto news, manufacturing, milestones
Tagged auto informed, autoinformed.com, automotive news, engine plants, gm bankruptcy, gm ecotec, Ken Zino
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GM and SAIC Open the Largest Proving Grounds in China
General Motors and its Chinese communist government dictated partners – SAIC, Shanghai GM and the Pan Asia Technical Automotive Center – have opened China’s largest proving grounds with 37 miles or 60 kilometers of test roads. The 5.67-square-kilometer (2.18 square miles) Guangde Proving Ground in Guangde County, Anhui, represents an investment of RMB 1.6 billion ($253 million). Shanghai GM and PATAC are managing the proving ground’s operation, which includes support facilities to test 67 different driving conditions
It is the latest transfer of white-collar professional salaried jobs from the U.S. taxpayer controlled company to the businesses operating in the world’s largest auto market, which is strictly regulated by the Chinese Central government in a successful jobs creation program that requires local partners and onshore investment as the price of doing business. Continue reading
Ford CAW Approves First Four-Year Two-Tier Wage Contract
Now for the first time at Ford Canada under a “New Hire Grow-In program” fledgling union workers start at C$20.40, equal to 60% of the current highest member $34 base rate, and only get full compensation after ten years. The Obama Administration broke the power of the UAW in the U.S. as required terms for financing bankruptcy reorganizations at Chrysler and General Motors. As a result, unionized costs in the U.S. are now lower than in Canada and at some Japanese North American plants. Continue reading
Posted in auto news, economy, labor issues, milestones, news, results
Tagged auto informed, autoinformed.com, automotive news, canada, canadian auto workers, caw, ken Lewenza, Ken Zino, two-tier wages
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U.S. September Vehicle Sales Projected Up. SAAR at 14.5 Million
September new-vehicle retail sales are projected to come in at 952,200 units, which represent a seasonally adjusted annualized rate (SAAR) of 11.8 million units. The forecast in September is more than 1 million units higher than September 2011. Total light-vehicle sales in September are expected to increase 11% from September 2011, with volume at 1,152,700 units for a SAAR of 14.5 million. Continue reading
Posted in auto news, marketing, results, sales
Tagged auto informed, autoinformed.com, automotive news, j.d power, Ken Zino, lmc automotive, saar, september sales, u.s. light vehicle sales
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Chrysler Moves Forward on Eliminating Printed Owner Manuals
Chrysler Group, the first automaker to eliminate the conventional owner manuals from its vehicles and offer industry-first vehicle-information apps in a cost cutting move, will now apparently be the first in the auto industry to offer vehicle-information kits in Spanish for the U.S. market. Continue reading
Ford Fusion Hybrid Sedan Said to Top EPA Fuel Economy Ratings
Many brands now have a claim of some sort to use in fuel economy marketing, which likely means all of them will advertise fuel efficiency this fall, making the issue so confusing that it might no longer be effective for selling cars. Buyers will assume that fuel economy is a given in the entire class of vehicles and forgo the nuances. A similar situation has occurred in the marketing of auto safety during the past decade, with it increasingly difficult for companies to draw a competitive advantage in a continually improving field of what is now demonstrably the safest fleet of new vehicles ever sold in the U.S. Continue reading
EU Cars Sales Drop 9% in August as Eurozone Crisis Continues
The crisis in the Eurozone continued unabated as new car sales dropped 9% in August year-over-year after declining by 7.8% in July. As a result, in the 27 countries that comprise the EU, sales dropped to 688,000 vehicles. Year-to-date sales are down to 8.3 million units, the lowest in decades and the fifth straight year of sales declines. Continue reading
Posted in auto news, marketing, news analysis, results, sales
Tagged august car sales, auto informed, autoinformed.com, automotive news, chrysler, eu car sales, eurozone crisis, Fiat, ford Europe, gm europe, Ken Zino, opel
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