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Features
A soar spot: Pump prices up 40 cents since April
Gasoline prices have jumped more than 40 cents a gallon from a month ago as crude oil futures jumped to as high as $126 a barrel today. Regular unleaded gasoline averaged $3.67 a gallon across the country, up 39 cents since April. Mid-grade rose 42 cents to $3.90 a gallon. Prices for premium soared to $4.04 a gallon, up 44 cents from April. [REG] 2:41 pm U.S. ET | May 9
Sonic sues Mercedes-Benz
Sonic Automotive Inc. is suing Mercedes-Benz USA to compel the automaker to allow the public dealership group to complete its purchase of a Mercedes dealership in Charlotte, N.C. Sonic President Scott Smith says Mercedes-Benz is “holding hostage” his company's purchase of Beck Imports in an effort to force Sonic to spend tens of millions of dollars to upgrade four of its nine other Mercedes-Benz dealerships. [REG] 3:26 pm U.S. ET | May 9
Delphi's tab for failed investment plan: $79 million
Troubled supplier Delphi Corp. said today that it lost $589 million in the first quarter on revenue of $5.25 billion. That compares with a net loss of $533 million on revenue of $5.68 billion during the same period a year ago. In a statement, Delphi said it took a charge of $79 million for writing off expenses stemming from the failed plan to bring the company out of bankruptcy with investor Appaloosa Management LP. [REG] 2:31 pm U.S. ET | May 9
Fiat eyes Mexico to serve North and South America
TURIN -- Fiat is eyeing Mexico as the location for a plant that would supply vehicles to both North and South America, people familiar to the matter told Automotive News Europe this week. To cope with the weak dollar, Fiat needs production in North America after its Alfa Romeo brand returns in the U.S. in late 2009. [REG] 12:01 am U.S. ET | May 9
Metaldyne closes 2 factories and an office
DETROIT -- Automotive supplier Metaldyne Corp. said today that it closed two U.S. manufacturing plants and an office in suburban Detroit. The supplier of metal-formed engine, chassis and transmission components and assemblies said it completed the closing of its plants in Greenville, N.C., and the Detroit suburb of Farmington Hills, Mich. Both were part of Metaldyne's North American Chassis Group, which machines metal suspension components. [REG] 2:18 pm U.S. ET | May 9
GM offers American Axle $200 million to end strikeDETROIT -- General Motors has agreed to pay $200 million to help with employee buyouts and “buy-downs” to help resolve a crippling strike at American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc. In a regulatory filing today, GM said the agreement is “predicated upon an expedited resolution to the ongoing strike called by the International UAW against American Axle.” About 3,650 workers at five American Axle plants have been on strike since Feb. 26. [REG] 3:15 pm U.S. ET | May 8 | UPDATED: 5/8/08 4:12 p.m. EDT |
Mulally: Ford's 2007 'accomplishments validate our plan'WILMINGTON, Del. -- Even though Ford Motor Co.'s newest big investor is known for meddling in the auto industry, company leaders reassured shareholders today that they are sticking with their turnaround plan. That plan is working and producing measurable improvements despite the fragile U.S. economy and challenging industry outlook, Executive Chairman Bill Ford and CEO Alan Mulally said at Ford Motor's annual meeting. [REG] 1:46 pm U.S. ET | May 8 |
Toyota feels bite of U.S. downturnToyota Motor Corp. racked up record results for the just-ended fiscal year. But the good news ends there. Now the world's biggest, most profitable car company is warning that earnings for the current year are poised to fall for the first time in nearly a decade. What's more, Toyota backed off its optimistic outlook for a 2008 sales increase in North America. CEO Katsuaki Watanabe said today his company's volume is likely to decline instead. [REG] 2:10 am U.S. ET | May 8 | UPDATED: 5/8/08 8:10 a.m. EDT |
Change of plan: No Kia or Hyundai pickup for U.S.
Neither Hyundai nor Kia will sell a pickup in the United States in the near future. Hyundai Motor Co. CEO Kim Dong-Jin said the board in “a recent decision” scrapped plans for a unibody pickup in the United States. Kim said the original plan was to build a mid-sized truck for Kia and Hyundai at Kia's new plant in West Point, Ga. “But we are forced to give up production of the pickup at the North America plant,” he said. [REG] 9:49 am U.S. ET | May 8
Autobytel posts $2 million loss in Q1
Internet marketing services company Autobytel Inc. today reported a first-quarter net loss of $2.0 million compared with net income of $7.7 million in the first quarter last year after an expected drop in revenue. Revenue fell slightly to $20.7 million in the first quarter of 2008, compared with $21.9 million in the same period last year. [REG] 12:44 pm U.S. ET | May 8
Nader on NHTSA: 'Shut it down and start over'WASHINGTON -- Consumer advocate Ralph Nader says that cozy ties between automakers and the Bush administration reflect the “corporate fascism” his presidential candidacy seeks to overturn. Nader blasted the industry and its regulators during a brief protest here today outside the U.S. Department of Transportation. [REG] 4:24 pm U.S. ET | May 8 |
Hundreds of BMW staff take buyoutsBMW, the world's largest premium carmaker, said several hundred permanent staff had agreed to buyout packages as it seeks to cut thousands of jobs to improve profitability. BMW also reaffirmed its forecasts for the full year, which include record sales volumes for all three brands. [REG] 7:21 am U.S. ET | May 8 |
Daimler CFO: No hostile takeoverDaimler does not need a white knight to protect itself from any hostile takeovers, CFO Bodo Uebber said in a prerelease of his interview with Die Welt newspaper. "Daimler does not need a shareholder who will protect us," he said. [REG] 2:49 am U.S. ET | May 8 |
Bosch worries about 2009 after U.S. consumer slump
U.S. consumers worried about a recession will take a painful toll this year on Bosch Group, a German manufacturer of a wide range of items from car parts to washing machines and power tools. "The absolute slump in the consumer climate indicates that the second quarter in the U.S. will indeed be very weak," CEO Franz Fehrenbach told its annual news conference on Thursday. [REG] 9:45 am U.S. ET | May 8
SAE to move to D.C. auto show
WASHINGTON -- SAE International will move its annual government-and-industry meeting to February next year so that it coincides with the Washington Auto Show, Automotive News has learned. The move is viewed as another step in ongoing efforts to upgrade the Washington show and also could be a boost for the engineering society's event. [REG] 4:30 pm U.S. ET | May 8
Delphi board member Brust resigns
Delphi Corp. said late Wednesday that Robert Brust resigned from the company's board of directors on May 2. Brust's resignation from the board was not the result of a disagreement with Delphi, the company wrote in a document filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Wednesday. [REG] 12:01 am U.S. ET | May 8
Noble nearly doubles Q1 revenue, still has net loss
Automotive supplier Noble International Inc. nearly doubled its first-quarter revenue compared to the same period last year, but it still chalked up a net loss. Noble had a net loss of $2 million on revenue of $314 million, compared with a loss of $186,000 on revenue of $160 million in the first quarter of 2007. [REG] 12:52 pm U.S. ET | May 8
Manufacturing technology group names new president
Robert K. Simpson, a longtime manufacturing executive, was named president of the Association for Manufacturing Technology. Simpson, 48, is taking over from John B. Byrd III, who will retire after five years with the group. AMT represents American suppliers of manufacturing machinery and equipment. AMT coordinates the International Manufacturing Technology Show, held this year from Sept. 8-13 in Chicago. [REG] 11:16 am U.S. ET | May 8
Ford progress, control in focus at annual meetingFord Motor Co. investors a year ago were questioning whether the No. 2 U.S. automaker had the right idea in its turnaround plan under relative newcomer CEO Alan Mulally. But after an 18-percent gain in Ford stock since then and a surprise first-quarter profit, Mulally enters Thursday's annual meeting in Delaware with new momentum and the unsolicited endorsement of billionaire investor Kirk Kerkorian. [REG] 3:00 pm U.S. ET | May 7 |
Rachor launches dealer venture with Michael DellJeffrey Rachor, the former president of dealer group Sonic Automotive Inc., is joining with computer mogul Michael Dell to form a privately held dealership group. Rachor and Dell's MSD Capital LP, a New York investment firm, today announced the formation of MSD Automotive Partners LLC. The size and scope of the firm's investment pool is unknown. [REG] 10:22 am U.S. ET | May 7 | UPDATED: 5/7/08 10:34 p.m. EDT |
Retired N.J. judge named Chamco trustee
MORRISTOWN, N.J. -- A retired New Jersey judge has been appointed trustee of Chamco Auto with subpoena power and authority to run the company. The state's Superior Court action follows Chamco being shut down last month by a judge who ruled that the trustee would examine records and determine who will control the company. [REG] 4:36 pm U.S. ET | May 7
Fitch says GM, Ford face heavy cash drains
General Motors and Ford Motor Co. will continue to face heavy cash drains in 2008 and are expected to burn cash through 2009 unless industry sales rebound, Fitch Ratings said on Wednesday. GM, which lost a combined $51 billion over the past three years, faces the risk of another ratings downgrade this year, Fitch said in a report. [REG] 3:10 pm U.S. ET | May 7
Complaint will delay UAW revote at JCI plant
Johnson Controls Inc. has agreed to toss out the results of a March election in which workers at its Alabama factory voted down the UAW. But a separate charge of unfair labor practices against the supplier could delay a new election for several months -- and buy the union some much-needed campaign time. [REG] 3:00 pm U.S. ET | May 7
Audi CEO signals plans to build U.S. plantVolkswagen's premium brand Audi stands to benefit "tremendously" from a U.S. production plant as the carmaker struggles to cope with stiffer external headwinds including the strong euro. "There are no signs right now of this situation letting up," CEO Rupert Stadler said in remarks to be delivered to shareholders at Audi's annual general meeting today. [REG] 4:15 am U.S. ET | May 7 | UPDATED: 05/07/2008 10:54 CET |
