Headlines for Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Does Beijing need to rethink its auto policy?

John C. Humphrey, J.D. Power’s global auto chief, writes: China's automotive industry faces two critical challenges: substantial overcapacity and a massive proliferation of automotive companies and brands. Both challenges are structural but self-inflicted. Read More »

AutoNews Now: Honda's export efforts

On track to ship 100,000 vehicles from the U.S. in 2012; Powertrain factories assume global roles; Lapham's Black Friday plans Read More »

Ford takes Ram's bait with an empty hook

Ford Motor -- whose absolute dominance of the profit-producing pickup segment is now measured in geological terms -- is throwing a hard elbow at the rival Ram 1500 and its claim of best-in-class 25 mpg highway fuel economy. Read More »

First Shift: Tesla wins round in Mass.

Dealers set back in bid to curtail EV store; GM funds e-buses; Ford CNG kit; Lessons learned from dealership fire Read More »

GM agrees to buy Ally's European auto-finance business

General Motors agreed to buy the rest of Ally Financial Inc.'s international auto-finance businesses, including operations in Europe, in a deal with proceeds of $4.2 billion. Read More »

GM Financial agrees to buy Ally's international auto-finance business

General Motors agreed to buy the rest of Ally Financial's international auto-finance businesses in a deal with proceeds of $4.2 billion as the carmaker seeks to spur rebounds in Europe and South America. Read More »

North America car and truck production - 11/26/2012

This is data compiled by the Automotive News Data Center and requires a Data Center subscription to access. Read More »

Average wholesale used-vehicle prices, October

This is data compiled by the Automotive News Data Center and requires a Data Center subscription to access. Read More »

Customer Incentives

This is data compiled by the Automotive News Data Center and requires a Data Center subscription to access. Read More »

Give thanks for pent-up demand, lender rivalry

This Thanksgiving, dealerships can be grateful for pent-up demand and sharper competition among auto lenders. Those factors show no sign of letting up any time soon, according to research and consulting firm Frost & Sullivan. Read More »

Toyota recalls 150,000 Tacomas for defective spare tire plate

Toyota said it is recalling about 150,000 Tacoma pickup trucks because the spare tires can fall from beneath the trucks. The trucks -- built for the 2001 to 2004 model years -- were sold or registered in 20 cold-weather states and Washington, D.C. Read More »

Cecil Van Tuyl, patriarch of largest independent dealership group, dies

Cecil Van Tuyl, the patriarch of the nation's largest independently-owned auto dealership group, died Tuesday at age 85. Read More »

Hyundai Capital America seeking $1.2 billion credit line

Hyundai Capital America, the U.S. auto finance unit of Hyundai Motor Co., has asked banks for proposals for a new $1.2 billion three-year revolving credit line. Read More »

November U.S. auto sales predicted to rise 12% from year ago

Auto sales in the United States are rebounding after Superstorm Sandy cut sales in late October and early November, and this month should show a 12 percent increase from a year before, consultancies J.D. Power & Associates and LMC Automotive said today. Read More »

Cadillac to give ATS breathing room by trimming CTS output

We've heard a lot about how Cadillac's new ATS compact sedan was built to lure buyers away from the BMW 3 series and other German luxury juggernauts. That might yet happen. But, at least early on, the ATS is poaching buyers from its older and larger sibling in the Cadillac lineup: the CTS. Read More »

Honda ad agency co-founder Gerry Rubin to join Advertising Hall of Fame

Gerry Rubin, whose Rubin Postaer and Associates advertising agency has partnered with Honda Motor for nearly four decades, will be inducted into the American Advertising Federation's Advertising Hall of Fame. Read More »

Ford Credit bucks shift to longer, riskier loans

Ford Credit says it will keep providing Ford Motor Co. steady subprime support, but it's shying away from expanding those deals or offering longer loans -- a strategy rivals, including General Motors, appear to be pursuing. Read More »

Selling F&I after a natural disaster is tricky

Some East Coast dealers say vehicle sales are picking up after Hurricane Sandy struck last month. But they can't say the same yet about sales of finance and insurance products. Read More »

Suzuki, Ally 0% deals OK'd by court

In a silver lining for dealers, U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Santa Ana, Calif., last week gave American Suzuki Motor permission to carry on with 0 percent financing offers, which could help clear out unsold inventories. Read More »

Prestige Financial: Growth, minus the blazing guns

Prestige Financial Services of Salt Lake City is among a growing group of independent, subprime auto lenders that are expanding nationwide from a regional footprint. Read More »

BMW bets fwd architecture will keep it No. 1

The battle for the top spot in luxury car sales over the next decade likely will be decided by who wins the largest share of the expanding market for smaller premium cars. Current No. Read More »

Renault eyes Tata Nano rival, report says

Renault aims to grow its market share in emerging markets with the launch of two low-cost vehicles, one of which would challenge the Tata Nano in India, a French news Web site reported. Read More »

2013 Viper now enjoyable off the racetrack, too

Chrysler Group will sell less than half as many 2013 SRT Vipers all of next year as it sold Jeep Patriots in October. Executives with the automaker's new Street and Racing Technology brand are OK with that. Read More »

Toyota Prius not popular with car thieves, report says

Toyota's hybrid Prius is less likely to be stolen in the United States compared with cars of a similar age as thieves look for parts that can be used in more- common vehicles, according to a trade group. Read More »

China car market to grow 8% on small-city demand, McKinsey says

China's passenger-vehicle sales will expand by an average 8 percent a year to reach 22 million in 2020, driven by demand for sport-utility vehicles and rising incomes in smaller cities, according to a report from McKinsey & Co. Read More »

Valeo expects lift in N. America from new joint venture

French supplier Valeo is poised to become North America's second-largest producer of climate-control systems, breaking a tie with Visteon, now that the company has formed a joint venture to acquire operations producing those systems from Ford. Read More »

Toyota unveils pair of precrash safety systems

Toyota is rolling out two precrash safety systems that it says will help prevent high-speed collisions and pedal-misapplication accidents. The technology will debut soon in a high-end Toyota-brand sedan. Read More »