Tag Archives: automotive news

Works of Artist Hanns Lohrer Coming to Porsche Museum

Posted on 16 August 2012 by Ken Zino

Starting in early September the Porsche Museum will display the works the Stuttgart painter and commercial graphic designer Hanns Lohrer (1912-1995) with an exhibit that goes beyond his automotive oeuvre. During the 1950s and ’60s, Lohrer played a vital role in the visual appearance of the Porsche brand in promotional pieces. Lohrer’s works helped create a positive image for what was then an upstart sports car manufacturer. Continue reading →

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Yazaki Exec Guilty of Price Fixing Sentenced to 14 Months

Posted on 16 August 2012 by Ken Zino

An executive of Tokyo-based Yazaki Corporation pled guilty for his role in a conspiracy to fix prices of instrument panel clusters today in a U.S. District court in Detroit. Toshio Sudo from Japan is the 11th executive to be charged in the government’s ongoing investigation into price fixing and bid rigging in the auto parts industry. The sweeping investigation, which is ongoing, has implicated some of the auto industry’s largest suppliers, most of them Japanese. Yazaki manufactures and sells a variety of automotive parts, and is a major supplier to Japanese automakers, among other firms. Continue reading →

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Ford EU July Sales off 12%, Lowest Since 1995. Lags Industry

Posted on 16 August 2012 by Ken Zino

Ford Motor Company sales in its traditional 19 European markets decreased in July to 83,100 vehicles, -12.3% lower than July 2011 in an industry with heavy discounting that was off 7.6% overall. Year-to-date, Ford sales were 700,200 units, down 11% during the same period last year compared to an industry decline of 7%. Both results were the lowest sales for Ford in the EU since 1995 as the Eurozone crisis continues unabated. Continue reading →

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Bosch Moves into eScooter Business with Ningbo Polaris

Posted on 16 August 2012 by Ken Zino

The Bosch Group is forming a joint venture with Ningbo Polaris Technology, a Chinese provider of motors for electrically driven scooters or eScooters, with Bosch holding the majority. Ningbo makes and sells eScooter motors in China under the POLTM brand, more than one million in 2011 the output of 450 workers. The global output of eScooters in 2011 was about 27 million units with China making 98% of the production volume. “With a growth rate of 6% annually the market will reach up to 46 million units in 2020”, said Udo Wolz, president of the Bosch Electrical Drives division. Continue reading →

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First Look – 2013 Range Rover SUV

Posted on 16 August 2012 by Ken Zino

Land Rover has released the first photos of what it says is an all-new 2013 Range Rover. The fourth generation version drops its steel body for an all-aluminum monocoque design that is somewhat lighter. The upshot is total vehicle weight savings of about 700 pounds on what will remain about a 5,000 pound (or more) SUV in its two V8-powered U.S. versions. Currently the $80,000-$100,000 sport ute is rated by the EPA a 12 mpg city, 18 highway and 14 mpg combined, which is at the lower end of the class and requires a 28-gallon tank of premium fuel to provide a decent range. Continue reading →

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U.S. Treasury Appoints Well-Known Ex Auto Finance Execs Gerald Greenwald and Henry Miller to Ally Board of Directors

Posted on 15 August 2012 by Ken Zino

Ally Financial said today that Gerald Greenwald and Henry S. Miller have been elected to its board of directors joining nine others. The U.S. Treasury directed appointments – it holds a majority interest in Ally- of the two well-known former auto executives, as well as the re-election of the current members of the board, occurred earlier at a meeting of Ally’s stockholders. Ally reported a net loss of $898 million for the second quarter of 2012, because of the bankruptcy of its home mortgage subsidiary, ResCap. Continue reading →

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Digital Politics – Obama Ahead of Romney in Web, Social Media

Posted on 15 August 2012 by Ken Zino

The Obama campaign is using digital tools to talk directly with voters at almost four times the rate of the Romney campaign, according to a new study by the Pew Research Center. The tools, now also in widespread use at automakers, bypass the filters and biases of traditional media coverage. However, the latest electronic communications techniques are also largely a one-way street as campaigns (and automakers) talk at but rarely share or forward responses, long a complaint of traditional media critics. Continue reading →

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IIHS Slams Luxury Cars over Frontal Crash Protection Results

Posted on 14 August 2012 by Ken Zino

Only three of 11 midsize luxury and near-luxury cars evaluated earn good or acceptable ratings in the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s new small overlap frontal crash test, the latest addition to a series of tests designed to force automakers to continue to develop safer vehicles that perform well beyond government mandated regulations. Continue reading →

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Mercedes-Benz Recalls ML Class Floor Mats for Pedal Interference

Posted on 14 August 2012 by Ken Zino

Unlike the infamous floor mat recalls on Toyota and Lexus models starting in 2010, which had associated deaths, Mercedes-Benz uses an electronic brake-override that is standard equipment across the line. Drivers can bring any Mercedes to a stop by depressing the brake pedal, even if the gas pedal is fully depressed or jammed at the floor. When both the brake pedal and gas pedal are depressed at the same time, vehicle electronics override the gas pedal signal and bring the engine to idle as long as the driver keeps the brake pedal depressed. Continue reading →

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Fisker Appoints New CEO – Tony Posawatz from GM’s Volt Program

Posted on 14 August 2012 by Ken Zino

Fisker Automotive today named Tony Posawatz, the former head of the Volt program at General Motors as its new Chief Executive Officer, its third CEO this year. The current CEO Tom LaSorda will stay with the company in an “advisory” role. LaSorda was only appointed CEO in February 2012 after joining Fisker two months previously. Continue reading →

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GM Bids on Ally’s International Auto Lending Business

Posted on 14 August 2012 by Ken Zino

The GM bid carries some potential risks for U.S. taxpayers, which still own a large part of the company. If GM buys the international Ally businesses, it could expand lending overseas, but not without potentially hurting liquidity. GM Financial’s consolidated assets could more than double, and it could incur substantial amounts of indebtedness, including secured debt. GM Financial’s ratio of adjusted assets to adjusted equity could more than double as well. It all depends on how much GM acquires, and then its ability to successfully run the new operations while integrating them into the larger company. Continue reading →

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Jaguar Land Rover Begins 24 Hour Shifts at Halewood

Posted on 14 August 2012 by Ken Zino

Jaguar Land Rover at its Halewood plant is now running around the clock production, the first time the factory has run flat out in its 50-year history. The new night shift, which began at 21.30 last evening required the hiring of 1,000 production workers. Continue reading →

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Goodyear Drops World of Outlaws Racing Series After 2012

Posted on 14 August 2012 by Ken Zino

The surprise announcement ends Goodyear’s three-year sponsorship of sprint car racing in what is arguably the most competitive racing series run on dirt. Goodyear, of course, has been racing for more than 100 years going back to Henry Ford in 1901. Supplying tires for the Outlaw series is complicated with one tire with four different compounds on the right rear. The left rear comes in four sizes and compounds. The front tires have three different compounds. Continue reading →

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Ford Stops Sale on Transit Connect Due to Defective Wipers

Posted on 13 August 2012 by Ken Zino

Ford Motor has told U.S. dealers to stop deliveries of Transit Connect models because the Turkish built vehicle has defective windshield wipers that are now subject to a safety recall. More than 16,000 of the delivery vans from the 2011 and 1012 model years are affected. Continue reading →

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Chevrolet Recalls Impala Police Cars for Suspension Failures

Posted on 13 August 2012 by Ken Zino

When General Motors changed suppliers in the 2008 model year for front lower control arms, the critical suspension piece from Iroquois Industries did not meet specifications and is now the cause of a recall on all Chevrolet Impala police cars built during the last four years. Continue reading →

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