Tag Archives: auto informed

GM, Ford and Chrysler Post Strong August Sales but Lag Market Growth as Japanese Production Recovers and Car Sales Soar

Posted on 4 September 2012 by Ken Zino

Coming at the opening of the Democratic Presidential convention, the ongoing recovery of job and wealth creating Detroit companies will be political fodder for the Administration in the face of Mitt Romney’s well established “let ‘em die stance” even though his firm Bain capital accepted a federal bailout as Rolling Stone magazine has just revealed. Continue reading →

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NEVS Completes Saab Asset Buy including the Brand Name

Posted on 4 September 2012 by Ken Zino

National Electric Vehicle Sweden or NEVS announced today that it completed the purchase of the main assets of bankrupt Saab Automobile, Saab Automobile Powertrain and Saab Automobile Tools. This includes the Phoenix platform, tools and the manufacturing plant in Trollhättan as well as test and laboratory facilities. NEVS has also signed a licensing agreement to use the Saab name on its future vehicles. Continue reading →

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Gulf Oil Opens Another E85 Station on Massachusetts Turnpike

Posted on 31 August 2012 by Ken Zino

It’s estimated that Massachusetts drivers own more than 100,000 FFVs that were produced because automakers receive generous CAFE credits whether or not the alternative fuel is actually used. It’s unknown how many drivers use the alternative fuel, but national consumption statistics suggest it’s slight. Worse, since ethanol does not have the energy density of good old gasoline, E85 needs to be roughly 25% cheaper for it to make economic sense for drivers. So far the fuel is about as successful as the Boston Red Sox this year. As a result, there are only 2,400 E85 ethanol fueling stations in the U.S. Continue reading →

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New Thermaltake Mouse Designed by BMW as E-Sports Thrive

Posted on 30 August 2012 by Ken Zino

Forget Formula One, the future of motorsports might be in the hands of gamers. BMW DesignworksUSA has created the latest mouse for Thermaltake, a Taiwanese based company well known for gaming. The so-called Thermaltake Level 10 M mouse that just went on sale is a high-tech extension of a gamer’s hand in computerized sports competition.

Traditionalist sports fans, as in occupiers of stadium or race track or couch potato seats, might be surprised to learn that that e-sports have evolved from simple Nintendo or Playstation set-ups at home to professional competition at the annual World Cyber Games with millions of dollars in prize money. So much money is floating around from sponsorships that professional gamers can now earn hundreds of thousand of dollars a year. At peak times, 15 million gamers could be online – and football and auto racing are the top games, err sports. Continue reading →

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Steep Gas Prices Have Little Effect on Used Auto Sales

Posted on 29 August 2012 by Ken Zino

Steeply rising gasoline prices have had little effect on the used car market since most people are sticking with the current vehicle, according to the National Automobile Dealers Association. This is the opposite of what happened when gas prices rose as recently as last year. Continue reading →

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U.S. Airline Employment Rises Slightly in June

Posted on 29 August 2012 by Ken Zino

U.S. scheduled passenger airlines employed 1.4% more workers in June 2012 than they did in June 2011 but still remain below pre-Great Recession levels, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) reported today. Continue reading →

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Navy Week Comes to Detroit Commemorating War of 1812

Posted on 29 August 2012 by Ken Zino

Five days of activities will take place in downtown Detroit next week commemorating the War of 1812, which gave us a burnt White House, the Star Spangled Banner and finally convinced the British that we were no longer colonies, among other things. Continue reading →

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Ex Cop Gets Prison Sentence for Robbing I-65 Motorists

Posted on 29 August 2012 by Ken Zino

A former Alabama police officer has been sentenced to prison for stealing money and property from motorists. The latter day highwayman, Jessie Alan Fuller, 25, of Pensacola, Florida was sentenced to 37 months in prison and two years supervised release. Continue reading →

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Lincoln to be Sold in China by Late 2014

Posted on 29 August 2012 by Ken Zino

The announcement means that Ford will have to pump a lot of money into the almost dead U.S. brand, which has virtually no global presence. In July, Lincoln sales dropped to just 7,000, off -11% year-over-year in a U.S. market that grew by 9%. Last year Lincoln sold 85,643 re-badged Fords, a flat performance in a market that’s up ~10% from 2010.Year-to-date Lincoln is at 50,000 vehicles, a 1.8% decline y-o-y in a total market up 14%, or 18% in the passenger car segment. Continue reading →

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DOT and EPA Issue Record 54.5 MPG Fuel Economy Standards

Posted on 28 August 2012 by Ken Zino

Realistically, the fuel economy average will likely be in the 38-40 mpg range. Therefore, your mileage not only can vary but will vary from big numbers being touted in a closely contested Presidential election year. This, by the way, is where European fuel economy is right now, so if you want to know what the roads will look like a decade hence, travel to Spain or Italy whose governments desperately need tourist revenues to cover their massive deficits. Continue reading →

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Nippon Seiki to Plead Guilt of Price Fixing on Instrument Panels

Posted on 28 August 2012 by Ken Zino

Nagoka, Japan-based Nippon Seiki Company has agreed to plead guilty and to pay a $1 million criminal fine for its role in a conspiracy to fix prices of instrument panel clusters installed in cars sold in the United States and elsewhere, the Department of Justice announced today. Including Nippon Seiki, eight companies and 11 executives – most of them Japanese – have been charged in the department’s ongoing investigation into price fixing and bid rigging in the auto parts industry. Continue reading →

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NAFTA Trade Up in June to $83 Billion. Vehicles Post Big Gains

Posted on 28 August 2012 by Ken Zino

Trade between the United States and its North American Free Trade Agreement or NAFTA partners, Canada and Mexico, increased 6.6% in June 2012 compared to the year earlier period as measured by surface transportation. This means that $82.6 billion worth of goods traversed the NAFTA zone. Adjusted for inflation and exchange rates, the June 2012 total was $61.0 billion in 2004 dollars, up 11% from June 2011 according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics of the U.S. Department of Transportation. Continue reading →

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Changan Ford Mazda Automobile Breaks Ground for Chongqing 3

Posted on 27 August 2012 by Ken Zino

The $600 million expansion will make Chongqing the largest Ford production site in the world by far – a latter day Rouge for communist customers. Chongqing 3 includes a new assembly line, body and paint shop. The first vehicle is expected to come off the flexible assembly line in late 2014. CFMA already operates two assembly plants and an engine plant in Chongqing, with another engine plant and a transmission plant currently under construction. Continue reading →

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CODA Recalls 2012 EVs for Defective Airbags

Posted on 27 August 2012 by Ken Zino

CODA Automotive is recalling 78 of its 2012 model year EVs because a manufacturing error incorrectly installed the side curtain airbags. Because of the defect, the airbag may not deploy properly in its four-door sedan, which only recently went on sale. In a statement the small, privately-held California company said it knows of no injuries. Continue reading →

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Fisker Recalls 2012 Model Karma Cars because of Fires

Posted on 27 August 2012 by Ken Zino

Fisker Automotive is recalling 1,377 Finnish-built Karma passenger cars because of a defect in a low temperature cooling fan may result in a short circuit. The short can ignite the fan housing, shroud and surrounding components, causing a vehicle fire. At least one Karma fire has been reported and one cooling fan has burnt, according to Fisker in the required defect filing with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Continue reading →

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