-
Recent Posts
- Happy Clean New Year California Air Resources Board!
- Chicago Auto Show Shrinks
- Porsche – Happy Birthday Hans-Joachim Stuck
- Ford Recalls Mavericks, Escapes, Mach Es, Transits, Broncos
- Annals of Marketing – Kia and Times Square New Year Partyers
- December U.S. Vehicle Sales Forecast Down. Global Sales Up
- Mazda Axes Advance, Production and Design Modeling Studios
- Detroit Auto Show 2026 – Winners of HS Poster Contest
- Rising EV Sales Deepen Need for Charging Systems
- ACEA – EU November Car Sales Flat. Tesla Wilts
- Honda Aircraft Company Offers Performance Upgrade Package
- November 2025 UK Vehicle Production Plunges
- US New-Vehicle Sales Q4 Forecast Down in 2025. Year Up a Tad
- Toyota to Export U.S. Made Vehicles to Japan
- Nissan Claims to Kill Wireless Phone Charging Bugs
Recent Comments
- Magna on its Share Repurchase Plan in reference to on Magna Posts Solid Q3 2025 Earnings Gain
- Daniel Ricciardo Global Ford Racing Ambassador on Ford Performance Rebranded as Ford Racing
- Gen 3 2026 Nissan Leaf Less than $30,000? | AutoInformed on Milestones – Nissan Begins Assembly of 2013 LEAF EV in Tennessee
- ACSI – Customer Satisfaction with Autos Dropping | AutoInformed on New DOGE Scorecard Announced to Track Trump
- Cadillac Off-Roader – Elevated Velocity | AutoInformed on Annals of Marketing – Cadillac Opulent Velocity Concept EV
Archives
Meta
Tag Archives: autoinformed
Editorial: Happy Fourth of July! More Independence Needed
We should celebrate our past today, and honor the men and women of vision – and property – who created this country starting with the War of Independence, continuing through the Articles of Confederation and the U.S. Constitution that is still in place, as fine a document of governance of the people, by the people and for the people that ever existed. Remember well the resounding words of its preamble – WE THE PEOPLE. And we need to toss out of office the people who don’t understand WE, who are in it just for ME. Continue reading
Posted in economy, environment, fools 'n frauds, people
Tagged 1776, auto informed, auto news, auto trade policy, autoinformed, autoinformed.com, automotive news, corrupt politicians, energy policy, independence day, industrial policy, july fourth, Ken Zino, national debt, unemployment, zino
1 Comment
Ford of Europe CEO Stephen O’Dell Calls for a Comprehensive Industrial Policy and Rejection of Korean FTA
Odell also criticized a proposed Korean trade agreement, which in a different form is also controversial in the U.S. However, Ford in the U.S. supports a pending Korean FTA, which is opposed by all major U.S. unions except for the United Autoworkers. A Ford spokesperson was unable to explain the disparity in the conflicting positions. Continue reading
Posted in auto news, economy, labor issues, manufacturing, news analysis
Tagged afl-cio, auto informed, autoinformed, autoinformed.com, cwa, eu industrial policy, eu korean fta, Ford, ford europe korean fta, hyundai, Ken Zino, kia, Korean free trade agreement, Korean fta, odell, richard trumka, trade, trade imbalances, u.s trade deficit, uaw, unemployment, usw, zino
Leave a comment
Toyota Offers New Prius Plus Performance Package for $3,699
The custom body kit was aerodynamically designed to reduce the vehicle’s coefficient of drag, while maintaining fuel efficiency, according to Toyota. Continue reading
Japan Auto Production -31% in May. Export Loses $2.89 Billion
The total value of automobiles exported for May 2011 was $6.76 billion, including $4.49 billion for vehicles and $2.27 billion for parts. This is a decrease of $2.89 billion or -30% compared with $9.65 billion for the same month of the previous year. Continue reading
EPA Finalizes E15 Gasohol Pump Labels as Automakers Again Protest Adding More Ethanol to Gasoline. Lawsuits Pending
The ethanol tariff is comprised of a 54 cent Most Favored Nation duty and a 2.5% ad valorem tax. Critics say the ethanol tariff makes our nation more dependent on foreign oil by increasing the price of imported ethanol. Iowa State University estimates that a one-year extension of the ethanol subsidy and tariff would lead to only 427 additional direct domestic jobs at a cost of almost $6 billion, or roughly $14 million of taxpayer money per job.
Continue reading
Posted in alternative fuels, auto news, economy, energy, environment, news analysis, transportation
Tagged alternative fuels, auto informed, auto news, autoinformed, autoinformed.com, automotive news, budget deficit., e15, ethanol, ethanol subsidy and tariff repeal act, gasohol, Ken Zino, pump labeling, taxpayer subsidies, zino
Leave a comment
Chinese Government Approves Two VW Joint Venture Plants
VW is in the midst of an ambitious expansion designed to make it the world’s largest automaker surpassing General Motors and Toyota by 2018. The new VW JV plants at Foshan and Yizheng in the world’s largest car market are key to this expansion strategy. Continue reading
Toyota Recalls 80,000 Highlander Hybrid and RX 400h Vehicles
Toyota Motor Sales, USA (TMS) today said that it will recall about 45,500 Highlander Hybrid and 36,700 Lexus RX 400h vehicles sold in the U.S in what appears to be the first recalls for its hybrid drive system.
In a filing with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the Japanese company said that the so called Intelligent Power Module (IPM) located inside the Hybrid System Inverter contains a control board with defective transistors. Transistors on the control boards in some of 2006-2007 model year Highlander Hybrid and Lexus RX 400h SUVs were inadequately soldered and could be damaged from heat caused by a large current flow during high-load driving. Continue reading
Posted in auto news, customer satisfaction, electric vehicles, news analysis, quality, recalls, safety
Tagged auto informed, auto news, auto recalls, autoinformed, autoinformed.com, automotive news, highlander hybrid recall, hybrid recall, Ken Zino, lexus rx 400h recall, recall, safety recall, toyota recall, zino
Leave a comment
Camaro Bumblebee Returns in New Transformers Flick
The fifth-generation Camaro previously played Bumblebee in the 2007 film Transformers and in the 2009 film Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. The films generated $1.5 billion in global box-office sales, and helped reintroduce the Camaro to consumers after a seven-year hiatus from dealerships. The Camaro has basically been outselling the Ford Mustang ever since production ramped up. Continue reading
Kia Loses $40 Million for Death Caused by Defective Seatbelt
At the trial evidence was introduced by the law firm Cunningham Bounds that said in 2002, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration inquired about the buckle problem, and in late December 2002 Kia issued a safety defect recall, but only for model years 1995 through 1998 vehicles.
Kia in response to the verdict said, “We maintain that the evidence at trial clearly demonstrated that the vehicle’s occupants were not wearing seat belts at the time of the accident. We will petition the court to set aside the verdict and if necessary, file an appeal with the Alabama Supreme Court.” Continue reading
Honda Overseas and Japan Production Down Again in May
Honda Motor Company in Japan today announced that vehicle production declined by more than 50% for the month of May 2011. It was the third straight month that production dropped due to the ongoing negative effects of the Japan earthquake and tsunami in March. Continue reading
Posted in auto news, economy, financial results, manufacturing, results, sales
Tagged auto informed, auto news, autoinformed, autoinformed.com, automotive news, economy, financial results, japan, japan auto industry, japan earthquake, Ken Zino, news analysis, sales and tagged 2012 honda forecast, tmc profits, toyota forecast, yen value
Leave a comment
Nissan Announces Ambitious Global Growth Plan
Things are going to get better during the next five years for Nissan Motor Company, the Yokohama based automaker announced this morning. In unveiling what is an ambitious six year business plan, Japan’s number two automaker said that it will deliver on average an all-new vehicle every six weeks for six years. As a result, the company’s global portfolio will have 66 vehicles and will cover 92% of all markets and segments, Nissan claimed. Continue reading
Toyota Outlines Legal Woes in SEC Filing and Says Amounts Accrued for Defense, Thus Far, Will Not Have a Material Effect
However, Toyota also said that it cannot currently estimate its potential liability, damages or range of potential loss, if any, beyond the amounts accrued. This means that the resolution of the lawsuits could have an adverse effect on Toyota’s financial position, results of operations and cash flows.
Ford Motor Company’s attempt to improve its credit rating was recently impeded when a class action suit previously considered by Ford as not material resulted in a $2 billion judgement against it. Continue reading
June New Vehicle Sales to Improve Slightly from a Weak May
Nonetheless, Power has reduced its 2011 retail sales forecast to a meager 10.5 million units from 10.6 million units. The forecast for total sales has been revised to 12.9 million units from 13 million units. Continue reading
Posted in auto news, results, sales
Tagged auto informed, auto news, auto sales, autoinformed, autoinformed.com, automotive news, june 2011 sales, june auto sales, Ken Zino, results, sales
Leave a comment
BMW Recalls X5 SUVs for a Bad Belt Tensioner
BMW is recalling 2012 model X5 SUVs in North America because the belt tensioner can fail as part of a larger global service action. Diesel engine models have a Czech Republic built tensioner with defective welds that can suddenly fail. If the belt tensioner fails a loss of power steering results, thereby increasing the possibility of a crash. Continue reading
Quality Drops Drastically as Automakers Introduce New Models
After a four year run of improving quality, the trend has reversed itself as the initial quality of 2011 new vehicle launches has declined considerably in the latest study. Overall initial quality improved to an average of 107 problems per 100 vehicles (PP100) in 2011 from 109 PP100 in 2010. However, launch models – vehicles that are all-new or have had major redesigns – saw ratings drop by 10% to an average of 122 PP100 in 2011 from 111 PP100 in 2010. Continue reading
