Tag Archives: auto informed

Highway Deaths at Lowest Level in 60 years

Posted on 6 January 2013 by Ken Zino

“Even as we celebrate the progress we’ve made in recent years, we must remain focused on addressing the safety issues that are continuing to claim more than 30,000 lives each year,” said NHTSA Administrator David Strickland, whose agency apparently did not eliminate any regulations during 2012 is spite of plunging highway deaths. Continue reading →

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Ford Sells off Former Lincoln Assembly Plant in Wixom, Michigan

Posted on 5 January 2013 by Ken Zino

The Wixom plant opened in 1957 and produced numerous vehicles over the years, including the Lincoln Continental, Town Car, LS, Mark VI, VII and VIII, as well as the Ford Thunderbird (an LS underneath and with the same interior) and Ford GT. Ford stopped production at the Wixom Assembly Plant in 2007 as sales of Lincoln vehicles, by then rebadged Ford models, plummeted. Continue reading →

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Subaru Recalls 634,000 Legacy, Outback and Tribeca Models for Fires

Posted on 5 January 2013 by Ken Zino

Subaru is recalling 634,000 Legacy, Outback and Tribeca models because the “puddle lights” in the running boards of the crossover SUVs can short, melt and possibly start a fire. Continue reading →

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Offshore Brands Led by the Japanese Capture 55.5% of the U.S. Auto Market in 2012 as the Detroit Three Lose Market Share Gained in 2011

Posted on 4 January 2013 by Ken Zino

In what turned out to be the best auto sales year since pre-Great Depression 2007, offshore brands captured 55.5% of the U.S. auto market, while the Detroit Three brand lost ground and held only 44.5% of the market. Continue reading →

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Ford Motor December and 2012 U.S. Vehicle Sales Outpaced by Overall Market Growth. F-Series Remains an All-Star Player

Posted on 4 January 2013 by Ken Zino

Joining General Motors in discovering just how hard it is to hang on to marketshare now that the Japanese are back to full production, Ford Motor Company’s U.S. sales in December and for all of 2012 were below the overall rate improvement in the slowly recovering U.S. auto market. During December when the market expanded 9%, Ford Motor posted sales of 214,000, an increase of 2%. For the calendar year of 2012, Ford Motor sold 2.25 million vehicles up 5% ,as the market grew by 13%. Continue reading →

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General Motors U.S. Sales Slow in December. Market Up

Posted on 4 January 2013 by Ken Zino

General Motors posted the company’s highest December sales in five years, as well as its best retail month during all 2012, with deliveries up 5% to 245,733 vehicles year-over-year. Nevertheless, it wasn’t enough to keep up with the rate of growth in the overall market of 9% as big months from Toyota (+9%) and Honda (+26%) skewed the data a bit. Some of the Japanese gains were explained by the recovery from the tsunami and earthquake disasters and ensuing production disruptions more than a year ago, but not all. “Not all” is the question that should be much on the minds of GM executive this year, which will see an ongoing jobless recovery and a battle royal in the marketplace. Continue reading →

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Transocean Pleads Guilty in Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. Criminal and Civil Fines Set at a Record $1.4 Billion by Department of Justice

Posted on 3 January 2013 by Ken Zino

Transocean Deepwater, the operator of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico, will plead guilty to violating the Clean Water Act and pay a total of $1.4 billion in civil and criminal fines for its conduct during the largest oil spill in U.S. history. Continue reading →

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Chrysler Group U.S. Auto Sales up 21% in 2012, Outpacing Overall Market Growth

Posted on 3 January 2013 by Ken Zino

Chrysler Group today reported U.S. sales of 152,367 units, a 10% increase compared with sales in December 2011 of 138,019 units. It was the group’s best December sales since 2007 before the Great Recession. The Chrysler, Dodge, Ram Truck and Fiat brands each posted year-over-year sales gains in December compared with the same month last year. December was Chrysler Group’s 33rd-consecutive month of year-over-year sales gains. Continue reading →

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2012 Used Vehicle Sales at 40.5 Million Highest Since 2007

Posted on 3 January 2013 by Ken Zino

Used car sales during 2012 in the United States topped more than 40.5 million cars and light trucks, according the consultancy CNW. This is the best year since 2007, and represents an increase of 4.5% when compared to 2011’s 38.8 million. Continue reading →

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Ford Minivan Rebirth as European Galaxy Tests Stateside?

Posted on 2 January 2013 by Ken Zino

While the minivan market is shrinking, Ford Motor in Dearborn is apparently testing a European Galaxy minivan for possible U.S. consumption as these Jim Dunne spy shots reveal. Ford has been out of the minivan market since the Freestar, previously Windstar, lapsed into well deserved oblivion in 2007 as the Chrysler Town & Country and Dodge Caravan, as well as the Toyota Sienna and Honda Odyssey mom-mobiles made it a mere footnote in sales results. Continue reading →

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U.S. Auto Sales to Increase in 2013 to 15.3 Million as Recovery Slows

Posted on 2 January 2013 by Ken Zino

Prognostications are now well underway among consulting firms to predict 2013 U.S. auto sales. On the eve of the final results for 2012 U.S. auto sales, one firm has new light vehicle registrations in the U.S. in 2013 increasing 6.6% from 2012 levels to 15.3 million vehicles. Continue reading →

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GM Recalls Colorado and Canyon Pickups for Missing Hood Latch

Posted on 2 January 2013 by Ken Zino

GM is recalling more than 118,000 model year 2010-2012 Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon pickup trucks because they may be missing the secondary hood latch. As a result, the hood can open unexpectedly during driving and block the driver’s view of the road. Continue reading →

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Alaskan Contractor to Serve Time for Dumping Hazardous Waste

Posted on 2 January 2013 by Ken Zino

The former owner of a road and parking lot painting and striping business in Anchorage, Alaska will serve time in prison for dumping hazardous waste. William Duran Vizzerra, Jr., 43, was sentenced by Chief Judge Ralph R. Beistline to 15 months in prison. The court also ordered Vizzerra to pay $395,319 in restitution to two victims. Continue reading →

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Toyota Settles Lawsuits for $1.1 Billion and Will Modify Millions of Vehicles with Electronically Controlled Gas Pedals to Stop Runaways

Posted on 27 December 2012 by Ken Zino

In an engineering lapse of monumental consequences that included several deaths, the computer programming on affected vehicles when confronted with both brake and accelerator inputs did not favor the brake input for its electronic engine controls. Such over-ride software is in widespread use at other automakers. Continue reading →

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Bosch follows Automakers into Russia as Market Booms

Posted on 26 December 2012 by Ken Zino

The irony here is that Bosch opened it first sales office in Russia during 1904 under the Kaiser and the Czar. Certain political disputes resulted in devastating wars and revolutions during the next decade that changed the ruling orders in both Germany and Russia, among other places with future dire consequences. That is history. We are now talking about the wealth creation of that the automobile industry makes possible. Continue reading →

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