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GM reaches new contract at crossover plant in Mich.General Motors reached an agreement with one local union Thursday and avoided a threatened strike from another. GM spokesman Dan Flores confirmed a deal was reached at about 3 a.m. Thursday with UAW Local 602, which represents 3,300 workers at the Delta Township assembly plant near Lansing, Mich. The workers there have been on strike since April 17. [REG] 10:13 am U.S. ET | May 15 | UPDATED: 5/15/08 11:50 a.m. EDT |
Prius sales pass 1 million unit markCumulative sales of the Toyota Prius hybrid car just passed the 1 million unit mark. But growth is on course to be slowest in the car's biggest market, North America. Dealers there moved 66,100 of the vehicles from January through April. At that pace, Toyota will have sold some 198,300 by year end, up 7.9 percent from 2007. [REG] 10:19 am U.S. ET | May 15 |
CAW says Chrysler pledges production
Chrysler LLC has pledged to bring a new generation of passenger sedans to an Ontario assembly plant and keep open a casting plant near Toronto as part of a new contract agreement with the Canadian Auto Workers, union president Buzz Hargrove said on Thursday. [REG] 1:05 pm U.S. ET | May 15
The twisted logic of the Yukon HybridI am the lone occupant of an elephantine GMC Yukon full-sized SUV, a $56,045 festival of body roll, leather seats and satellite radio roaring down the 405 Freeway at 80 mph-plus. Saudi oil sheiks are dancing jigs at my conspicuous consumption of their dinosaur juice Mark Rechtin is Los Angeles bureau chief for Automotive News. [SUB] 1:57 pm U.S. ET | May 15 |
VW labor boss sees need for U.S. plantVolkswagen's senior labor leader gave his blessing to management plans for a possible new engine and transmission factory in North America to supply the carmaker's upcoming U.S. assembly plant. [REG] May 14 10:00 CET |
10-millionth Opel Astra produced todayThe ten-millionth Opel/Vauxhall Astra lower-medium car rolled off an assembly line in Germany today. The landmark model was a Silver Lightning Astra station wagon 1.7 CDTI. [REG] May 14 15:43 CET |
CAW nearing talks deadline with GM, Chrysler
The Canadian Auto Workers could abandon trying to get early contract deals with General Motors and Chrysler LLC if progress is not made in negotiations by this evening. The union set the deadline on Monday, saying that if headway on new three-year deals is not made, negotiations would be suspended until later in the summer, when the union will be in a position to set a strike deadline. [REG] 3:30 pm U.S. ET | May 14
Mexican parts suppliers expect record 2008 sales
Mexico-based suppliers will increase their sales 4 percent this year despite a slowdown in the U.S. new-vehicle market, the country's national auto parts association, INA, predicts. Last year's sales total was an industry record. Suppliers in Mexico have seen 35 successive months of growth. [REG] 9:15 am U.S. ET | May 14
Report: Magna unit will expand Ala. stamping operation
Cosma International, a unit of Magna International Inc., plans to add 400 jobs at the Birmingham, Ala., stamping and subassembly factory it plans to buy from Ogihara America Corp., a newspaper reported today. Mayor Larry Langford told The Birmingham News that he met with Magna officials over the weekend to discuss the expansion. An incentives deal with the city will close Friday, May 16, he said. [REG] 11:39 am U.S. ET | May 14
China's FAW scouting suppliers for Mexican plantChina FAW Group Corp. has paid several visits to the offices of INA, Mexico's national auto parts association, Agustin Rios, INA's interim president, told reporters Tuesday, May 13. The visits here come ahead of planned small-car production in Mexico by the Chinese automaker. INA stands for Industria Nacional de Autopartes AC. [REG] 10:22 am U.S. ET | May 14 |
Toyota mulling building new low-cost car plant
Japan's Toyota said today it is considering setting up a new plant to build small, low-cost cars. Toyota spokesman Hideaki Homma said the company had not decided on details such as the location or timing of the move. [REG] May 14 15:00 CET
Fisker seeks arbitration in suit with TeslaFisker Automotive is asking a California court for arbitration in response to a lawsuit filed by fellow electric-car company Tesla Motors. The request was filed on Tuesday, May 13, in San Mateo Superior Court. A hearing is scheduled for June 11, according to court records. [REG] 3:30 pm U.S. ET | May 14 |
VW could build Porsches in U.S.Volkswagen could build Porsche's Cayenne SUV at its new U.S. plant. The German business newspaper Handelsblatt today reported that VW could build Porsche's premium SUV in a new factory it plans to open in the U.S. in 2010. [REG] May 13 16:07 CET |
Chrysler, CAW set May 14 deadline for talks
Officials from Chrysler LLC and the Canadian Auto Workers will negotiate until 6 p.m. Wednesday, May 14, to reach an early agreement on a three-year contract. Chrysler and General Motors entered early talks with the CAW after Ford Motor Co. and the union shocked the industry by reaching an early agreement May 4. CAW talks were scheduled to begin in mid-July for a contract to replace the deal that expires at midnight Sept. 16. [REG] 4:44 pm U.S. ET | May 13
