Tag Archives: auto informed

GM Moves Performance Build Center to Corvette Plant

GM is moving its Performance Build Center from Michigan to the Bowling Green Assembly Plant where the Chevrolet Corvette is assembled. The center allows customers to build their own specialty engines for installation in GM vehicles. Continue reading

Posted in auto news, manufacturing, marketing, people, performance | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Karl-Thomas Neumann formerly of VW Now GM Europe Head

The Opel Supervisory Board today named Karl-Thomas Neumann, 51, chairman of the Management Board of Adam Opel AG, effective March 2013. General Motors also appointed Neumann president of its loss making GM Europe subsidiary and a GM vice president. Neumann will be in charge of a plan to return Europe to breakeven by 2015. Continue reading

Posted in auto news, news analysis, people | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

GM Cuts Powertrain Locations in Efficiency Move

General Motors will close three leased facilities in Wixom, Michigan; Castleton, Indiana, and Torrance, California and consolidate their powertrain engineering activities into a Global Powertrain Engineering center in Pontiac, Michigan. GM R&D’s Propulsion Systems Research lab in Warren, Michigan will also relocate to the Pontiac campus, including its electric motor engineering . Continue reading

Posted in auto news, engineering, fuel economy or emissions, labor issues | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

EPA Banning D-Con Mouse and Rat Poisons Because of Children

About 10,000 children a year are accidentally exposed to mouse and rat baits, and EPA has worked with companies to ensure that products are both safe to use around children and effective for consumers, EPA said in a statement. Reckitt Benckiser, the British maker of D-Con brand products, is the only producer of poisons that has refused to adopt EPA’s safety standards for all of its consumer use products. Continue reading

Posted in environment, news, safety | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Chrysler Group Posts 2012 Net Income of $1.7 Billion

Marchionne says he will merge the two groups by 2015. However, he surprised analysts by changing his business plan forecast for Chrysler, slashing free cash flow from $3 billion to only $1 billion for 2014, with 2013 at about half of the $2.2 billion 2012 generated. He needs the cash to develop new products for both Groups while shoring up Fiat’s foundation. Continue reading

Posted in auto news, financial results | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Toyota Recalls More than 1 Million Corolla and Lexus IS Cars

Bad airbags and windshield wipers are forcing the recalls of 752,000 Corolla and Corolla Matrix models and 270,000 Lexus IS cars by Toyota Motor Sales, U.S. The two separate safety recalls are the result of a defective airbag control module … Continue reading

Posted in auto news, engineering, quality, recalls, safety | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

BP Sentenced to Pay $4 Billion for Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Crimes

Nevertheless, the penalty remains a small fraction of the actual damage caused by pumping at least 5 billion gallons of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico. This means that BP is paying less than $1 a gallon for the criminal spill and destruction of the environment. Continue reading

Posted in fools 'n frauds, litigation, news | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Ford Makes $8 Billion in 2012 – Almost all in North America

Ford remains heavily dependent on the slowly recovering North American auto market, where it earned $8.3 billion, with an operating margin of 10% on sales of 2.8 million vehicles during 2012. Because of Ford’s 2012 financial performance, the company will make profit sharing payments to 45,800 U.S. hourly employees of $8,300 each. Ford expects similar North American results in 2013, with perhaps a profit increase if the pickup truck – where it is the sales leader – market continues to recover. Continue reading

Posted in auto news, economy, financial results, results | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

DOT Secretary Ray LaHood Resigns

Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood announced to the employees of the DOT that after serving for four years in President Obama’s Cabinet, he is leaving. LaHood’s successor is thus far unknown. People who have been rumored as replacements for LaHood include Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, chair of last year’s Democratic National Convention; Debbie Hersman, chair of the National Transportation Safety Board; ex congressman Jim Oberstar of Minnesota, once head of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. Continue reading

Posted in auto news, news, transportation | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

GM to Invest $600 Million in Fairfax Plant and Keep 4,000 Jobs

Sadly in the current language of multinational corporations operating in the ailing U.S. economy and its largely jobless recovery, the investment will not create any new jobs but keep 4,000. For this taxpayers of Kansas, according to The Kansas City Star approved $120 million in revenue bonds last September to subsidize the new paint shop. Continue reading

Posted in auto news, economy, manufacturing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Court of Appeals Throws Out EPA Cellulosic Mandate for Refiners

While the enabling legislation was noble at least in its publicly stated intent – the U.S. sends over $1,000,000 a minute to oil exporting nations, many of whom are hostile to us – it was in the end a sordid tale of special interests feeding at the public trough. Worse, the legislation dictated the types and amounts of fuel to be used to gain energy independence – in effect a dreaded and ineffective design standard – instead of a performance standard that sets broad goals and lets industry and the marketplace work out the issues. Continue reading

Posted in alternative fuels, auto news, litigation, news | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

GMAC-SAIC Finance More than One Million Car buyers in China

GMAC-SAIC Automotive Finance Company says its customer base has now surpassed one- million car buyers in China. The first and largest auto finance company in China since its founding in 2004 also has a continuous record of profits. In August 2012, GMAC-SAIC reached 880,000 customers when it celebrated the company’s eighth anniversary. Continue reading

Posted in auto news, milestones, news analysis | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

BMW and Toyota Sign Deal for Joint Fuel Cell and Battery Programs

BMW Group and Toyota Motor Corporation today in Japan signed a contract for the joint development of a fuel cell system, a new architecture and components for a sports vehicle, and research in lightweight technologies. Continue reading

Posted in alternative fuels, auto news, electric vehicles, transportation | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Volkswagen Now Operating Largest Solar Power “Park” in Tennessee

Volkswagen today turned on the largest single solar installation at an automotive manufacturing facility in the United States and the biggest solar installation in the state of Tennessee. At a dedication in Chattanooga, a giant light switch was used to note the opening of the 9.5-megawatt solar system. All of the output will be used by VW to make cars. Continue reading

Posted in alternative fuels, auto news, energy, manufacturing, news | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Driving the New “Cute-Ute” 2013 Buick Encore SUV

It’s hard to think of Buick on the cutting edge of anything, but its new Encore SUV seems poised to catch the wave of the growing cute-ute market in the U.S. Test drives of the mini SUV reveal a decent handling, refined version of GM’s Gamma II platform that is sold elsewhere in the world as Opel Mokka and Chevrolet Trax models. Continue reading

Posted in auto news, new vehicle, news analysis, road test | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment