Tag Archives: auto informed

Distracted Driving is a Growing Business Liability

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration estimate on-the-job crashes cost employers more than $24,500 per property damage crash. The cost rises to $150,000 per injury and to as much as $3.6 million per fatality. Continue reading

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AutoNation, Penske Report Strong Q1 Earnings from Dealers

The two largest auto dealer groups operating in the United States reported large increases in Q1 earnings and profits today. It was the latest sign that a slow recovery is well underway in the auto industry. However, the new luxury vehicle business, where broken out, had relatively weak results compared to other segments. Luxury cars, of course, were once thought to be recession proof and discount proof, but that is no longer the case as discounts are increasing along with competition from non-luxury autos with high levels of equipment. Continue reading

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Hess Fined $850,000 for Refinery Air Pollution Violations

With today’s settlement, 108 refineries operating in 32 states and territories – more than 90% of the total refining capacity in the United States – are now under judicially enforceable agreements to reduce emissions of pollutants. Because of the settlement agreements, refiners have agreed to invest more than $6 billion in new pollution controls designed to reduce emissions of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and other pollutants by more than 360,000 tons per year. Continue reading

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Honda Global Production Declines for 2012 Fiscal Year

Honda Motor Company today announced that global automobile production declined to 12% to 3.1 million vehicles for the Japanese fiscal year ended March 31, 2012. The setback induced by natural disasters in Japan and Thailand stopped the recovery Honda experienced in 2011, after a decline in 2010. Continue reading

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Delphi Reports Q1 Profits are Up 9% to $578 Million

In the first quarter of 2012, Delphi’s corporate credit ratings were raised to ‘BB+’ from ‘BB’ by Standard and Poor’s and to Ba1 from Ba2 by Moody’s Investor Services, both junk ratings with a stable outlook. Delphi’s stated goal is to achieve an investment grade credit rating. Continue reading

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Volvo signs MoU with China Development Bank. Plant Next?

In 2011, Volvo sold 449,000 vehicles globally, not enough to finance internally new platforms and or plants, both of which it needs to survive in the global auto business. Continue reading

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Fitch says Ford Motor Company Debt is No Longer Junk

Fitch Ratings has upgraded the Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs) for Ford Motor Company (Ford) and its Ford Motor Credit Company LLC (Ford Credit) captive finance subsidiary to BBB- from BB+. This means that Ford Motor and Ford Credit debt is investment grade for the first time since 2005 when Ford Motor was losing billions of dollars. Continue reading

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Cadillac ELR Coupe Coming Using Chevrolet Volt Technology

General Motors Chairman and CEO Dan Akerson announced plans today the new Cadillac ELR luxury electric coupe to China. The announcement of the first extended range electric vehicle from Cadillac in China shows just how significant the world’s largest auto market has become to all automakers. The question now is where the ELR will debut first – the U.S. where it was developed and Cadillac’s home market or China? Continue reading

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Cadillac to Build New XTS in China at Shanghai GM

Cadillac will build the new XTS luxury sedan in China in conjunction with its mandated joint-venture partner Shanghai General Motors (SGM) starting this fall. Cadillac sold a record 30,000 vehicles in China in 2011, compared with 17,000 in 2010 even … Continue reading

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Rebadged BMW i8 Concept Plug in Appears in Beijing

Back in February BWM introduced the new “BMW i sub-brand” of electric and hybrid cars that will debut in 2013 with the production of BMW i3 and BMW i8. BMW also established a holding company called BMW i Ventures capitalized at $100 million. Let’s see – i before e except after… Continue reading

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Tokyo Based Fujikura Guilty of Auto Parts Price Fixing

To date, including Fujikura, eight executives and five companies have been charged and have pled guilty in the department’s ongoing antitrust investigation into the auto parts industry. Three of the companies have pleaded guilty and have been sentenced to pay criminal fines totaling more than $748 million. Seven of the executives have pleaded guilty and have been sentenced to serve a total of more than 122 months in jail. Continue reading

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SAE 2012 World Congress Opens in Detroit Tomorrow

Engineers who are developing the next generation of vehicle technologies, will make sober assessments of where they actually are in increasing fuel economy, decreasing emissions and combating global warming, as opposed to the sometimes farcical claims in gushing press releases from politicians and automaker p.r. departments. Continue reading

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Guangqi Honda to Build a Third Automobile Production Line

During 2011 Honda sold 618,000 cars in China last year, dwarfed by market leader General Motor’s 2.55 million and Volkswagen Group’s 2.26 million. Among the Japanese Big Three, Nissan in China is twice as big as Honda and Toyota is 40% larger in terms of vehicle sales. Continue reading

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Former BP Engineer Arrested for Obstruction of Justice in Ongoing Deepwater Horizon Criminal Investigation

It was the first of what could become many criminal charges to be filed because of the environmental destruction caused by a huge oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. BP said “We will not comment on the Government’s case against former BP employee Kurt Mix and we will continue cooperating in the Department of Justice’s investigation.” Continue reading

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Volkswagen Group To Build New Plant in Urumqi China

The Volkswagen Group and China First Automobile Group Corp (FAW) also agreed on plans to extend the FAW-Volkswagen joint venture originally set up in 1991 by another 25 years. In 2011, market leader General Motor’s China sales were at 2.55 million and Volkswagen Group was second at 2.26 million. Continue reading

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