Category Archives: results

Bentley Mulsanne Diamond Jubilee Debuts in Beijing

Posted on 21 April 2012 by Ken Zino

Bentley unveiled the first example of its new Mulsanne Diamond Jubilee Edition, which will be limited to 60 cars – one per year of the Queen’s reign. The car for one-per centers – or even 0.01-percenters – is expected to sell for more than $960,000. Continue reading →

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Toyota Russia to Add Second Shift at St. Petersburg Plant

Posted on 20 April 2012 by Ken Zino

Production of the new Toyota Camry began at TMMR in November 2011. Camry sales increased 66% year-on-year in Q1 of 2012, while sales of Toyota vehicles in the Russian market increased by 22% to 32,859 units during the same period. Continue reading →

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Acura 2013 ILX Compact Starts at $26,795 this May

Posted on 20 April 2012 by Ken Zino

The hot selling Civic costs several thousand dollars less, but if you think this car is cool then you will fork over the extra money for what Acura hopes will be perceived as “smart luxury.” Continue reading →

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Volkswagen Shareholders Approve Dividend Increase

Posted on 20 April 2012 by Ken Zino

The shareholders at the 52nd Annual General Meeting of Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft voted by a majority of 99.96% to pay a dividend of €3.00 (previous year: €2.20) per ordinary share and €3.06 (€2.26) per preferred share as recommended by the Board … Continue reading →

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Spring Auto Selling Season Sags as April Sales Rate Slows

Posted on 19 April 2012 by Ken Zino

Even rich people are apparently now concerned about the large depreciation rates of their luxury vehicles, which drives up the cost of ownership as trade-in values or lease residuals droop. The improved content and features in recent non-luxury vehicles offer a better value for consumers returning to the marketplace, especially if their needs are not ego driven. The problem for automakers is compounded by market forces, which are prompting free maintenance on non-luxury cars, once the sole province of expensive vehicles. Continue reading →

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Changan Ford Mazda to Build a New Plant in Hangzhou China

Posted on 19 April 2012 by Ken Zino

Ford Motor Company today announced it would build a new assembly plant in Hangzhou, China, adding 250,000 units of capacity. This latest $760 million investment by Ford and its communist-government required joint venture – Changan Ford Mazda Automobile – will … Continue reading →

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DOE Gives EV Supplier UQM More Time on ARRAS Grant

Posted on 18 April 2012 by Ken Zino

The politically contentious American Recovery and Reinvestment Act contained billions upon billions in taxpayer funding to businesses though a number of Recovery Act and related programs, including loans, loan guarantees, grants, contracts and tax incentives, in partnership with the Department of Treasury. In total, CBO estimates that the legislation will increase budget deficits by about $831 billion over the 2009–2019 period. Continue reading →

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Ford China Sales Drop Again in Q1 as March Continues Slump

Posted on 17 April 2012 by Ken Zino

This is the third straight monthly decline for Ford in China, and it comes at a time when Ford is aggressively expanding its capacity there, an unfortunate development for shareholders and the Ford balance sheet, which needs the cash flow from increasing sales to build new plants. All major automakers have announced ambitious expansion plans in China, the world’s largest auto market. However, in 2011 the Chinese auto market only grew by 5%, by far the lowest growth rate of the 21st century, as the communist central government deliberately slowed the economy in an attempt to fight inflation. Continue reading →

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March, Q1 EU Sales Drop Again. Eurozone Crisis Continues

Posted on 17 April 2012 by Ken Zino

If this trend keeps up, and given contractionist policies of the EU governments, there is no reason to predict any economic stimulus, 2012 might see an even greater drop in auto sales than those incurred during the Great Recession in 2008-2009. Continue reading →

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EPA Releases 2010 U.S. Greenhouse Gas Inventory

Posted on 16 April 2012 by Ken Zino

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released today the 17th annual U.S. greenhouse gas inventory. The final report shows overall emissions in 2010 increased by 3.2% from the previous year because the economy expanded slightly. In addition, a factor was an … Continue reading →

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Taxpayers to Turn Profit from Controversial TARP Bailouts

Posted on 14 April 2012 by Ken Zino

TARP, arguably the most contentious of the Federal government’s attempts to stop the U.S. and global economies from sliding into another Great Depression or worse, prevented the collapse of the financial system by bailing out profligate and reckless Wall Street firms. To date not one person has been successfully prosecuted for the rampant financial fraud that caused the housing and stock markets to collapse. Continue reading →

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Global Auto Sales Forecast to Top 79 Million in 2012

Posted on 13 April 2012 by Ken Zino

The positive trend in auto sales is pointing to the best year since 2007, before the reckless practices of Wall Street sent economies into the Great Recession, and caused large unemployment rates and deficits in most countries. Continue reading →

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State Tax Collections Increase $62 Billion in 2011

Posted on 12 April 2012 by Ken Zino

Politicians will have more money to spend – or squander – depending on your viewpoint, according to a new U.S. Census Bureau report released today. State government tax collections increased $62.1 billion to $763.7 billion in fiscal year 2011. Continue reading →

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Commercial Freight Shipments Rise Slightly in February

Posted on 11 April 2012 by Ken Zino

Shipments in February 2012 were at the second highest level since the early recession month of April 2008 despite the 3.0% decline from December 2011 (113.7 on the index), which was the highest level in the 22-year history of the series. Whether this constitutes a recovery is unclear. Continue reading →

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BMW Group Sales Set All-Time Global Record in March, Q1

Posted on 11 April 2012 by Ken Zino

During Q1 BMW also achieved a new high for the first three months. Retail volumes for the year to the end of March increased by more than 40,000 vehicles to 425,528 units (Q1 2011 – 382,763 units), which represents a growth of 11.2% compared with the first quarter of 2011. Continue reading →

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