Headlines for Thursday, November 29, 2012
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ZF helps new BMW 3 series shift faster than a professional driver
ZF Friedrichshafen AG supplies the new BMW 3 series with its eight-speed automatic transmission, making BMW the first automaker to offer an automatic transmission with that many gears in the compact-premium segment in Europe. Read More »
Customer Incentives
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Subaru's Yoshinaga: U.S. is 'most important' market
Yasuyuki Yoshinaga expects Subaru to sell 330,000 vehicles in the U.S. in 2012, for a fourth straight year of record sales. The 58-year-old president of parent Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. Read More »
AutoNews Now: Rainbow of 'green' in L.A.
Toyota stepping up hybrid lineup; GM keeps eye on EVs and plug-ins; Chrysler goes electric; and Audi dives deeper in diesel. Read More »
Chrysler Museum, strapped for cash, closing to public
The Walter P. Chrysler Museum in suburban Detroit will close to the public at year's end, following years of fundraising challenges and operating at a deficit. Read More »
Auto industry worries about more inflated fuel economy claims
Hyundai's admission that it overstated fuel economy claims on several of its top-selling cars has the industry worried, with speculation rife among executives and analysts at the Los Angeles Auto Show that more automakers may have to do the same. Read More »
First Shift: More tweaks for 'MyFord'
Embattled system getting better voice recognition, navigation; devoted to Volt; GM, Ford and 'fiscal cliff'; Mitsubishi comeback? Read More »
GM banks on SS 'halo' sedan to pump more mojo into Chevy
For the first time in nearly two decades, Chevrolet will be back in the business of selling rear-wheel-drive sedans in the United States. Read More »
China approves Wanxiang plan to buy bankrupt battery maker A123
China's government has approved a plan by Wanxiang Group, a major Chinese auto parts maker, to acquire bankrupt U.S. battery maker A123 Systems, although a deal still hinges on the outcome of an auction next month and U.S. government approval. Read More »
Mazda to expand Mexican plant project, CEO Yamanouchi says
Mazda, anticipating a return to profit in its current business year, said a plant it's building in Mexico that will also make cars for Toyota is going to be larger than planned. Read More »
Porsche argues New York is not the forum for suit by hedge funds
Porsche SE is seeking to reverse a ruling that the carmaker must face a lawsuit by hedge funds accusing it of hiding a plan to corner the market in Volkswagen AG shares. Read More »
Ford aims for record 11 percent share of U.S. electric, hybrid market
Ford, vying to challenge Toyota's stronghold on the U.S. hybrid market, said it expects to wind up with 11 percent of the U.S. market for hybrid, plug-in hybrid and battery electric vehicles this year. The target would be a record for Ford and is more than double its current share of 5. Read More »
For Hyundai and Kia, a warning from Congress over mpg claims
Executives at Hyundai and Kia can breathe a small sigh of relief today. Read More »
Jury begins deliberations in GM theft trial
A jury began deliberating late this afternoon whether to convict a Michigan couple of stealing General Motors trade secrets related to hybrid-car technology to help develop such vehicles in China. Read More »
Honda saves the Civic
The interior treatment of Honda's current Civic was so panned by critics that the company went on a crash course to fix it. Rather than wait the traditional three model years to give the car a midcycle change, Honda made wholesale changes to the Civic just 19 months into its product cycle. Read More »
Toyota worries more about bad winter than fiscal cliff
LOS ANGELES -- Toyota Motor Sales is bullish on U.S. industry sales for 2013, despite the fiscal cliff prospect of tax hikes and deep government spending cuts. Toyota predicts November sales will end with a 14. Read More »
Ford Fusion wins 2013 Green Car of Year award
Ford, which has emphasized improving the fuel efficiency of its lineup, won a top "green car" award for its Fusion mid-sized sedan, which is offered in gas-powered, hybrid and plug-in hybrid versions. Read More »
EU will start free trade talks with Japan despite carmaker fears
EU trade ministers agreed to start negotiations toward a free-trade agreement with Japan despite resistance from European carmakers. Read More »
Revamped Mazda6 to offer optional diesel engine
Mazda will become the only Asian automaker to sell a diesel engine in the United States when it adds a 2.2-liter turbocharged diesel to the 2014 Mazda6 lineup in the second half of 2013. Read More »
Tapping supermodels and sex, again, to sell Fiat's expanding line
Most everyone agrees that sex sells. Chrysler Group will soon find out whether sex tinged with bawdy humor sells Fiats. Read More »
Honda taps downtown L.A. for advanced design studio
Honda R&D Americas has opened a design studio in the heart of downtown Los Angeles, replacing its advanced design center in suburban Pasadena. The location -- a hip neighborhood in the heart of downtown L.A. Read More »
Tesla hikes Model S price by $2,500
Tesla Motors is hiking the base price of the all-electric Model S by $2,500 to $59,900, or $52,400 after a federal tax credit. The new price reflects an increase of 4.4 percent over the $57,400 base price ($49,900 after the $7,500 tax credit) when the sport sedan debuted in March 2009. Read More »
For 1 day in L.A., Lincoln salutes its glorious past
While other automakers were showing off their latest 21st century creations on the first day of the Los Angeles Auto Show on Wednesday, the Lincoln stand stood apart, filled with restored classics from the brand's glory days. Those grand days were many years ago. Read More »
In LA, SUVs take inspiration from BMW
At this year's Los Angeles auto show, it seems that BMW X1s are everywhere. A cute blue vehicle I passed looked just like an X1 SUV. Actually, it was a Mazda CX-5 that resembled an X1 from the side, but had a nose and tail different than the X1. Read More »
Aston Martin says it has entered 'advanced' talks to boost funds
Aston Martin, the British luxury-car maker controlled by Investment Dar, is in “advanced” talks to sell new shares to investors to boost funding for future development. Read More »
Aston Martin says it has entered 'advanced' talks to boost funds
Aston Martin, the British luxury-car maker controlled by Investment Dar, is in “advanced” talks to sell new shares to investors to boost funding for future development. Read More »
Volkswagen agrees to extend JV with China's FAW
Volkswagen has reached an agreement to extend its joint venture with China's FAW Group for another 25 years after concluding that neither side infringed on technology patents. Read More »
Fisker idles Karma production to await A123 battery plant sale
Fisker Automotive said it’s awaiting a sale of the Michigan plant that makes lithium-ion batteries for its plug-in hybrid Karma sedan so it can resume production of the plug-in sedan. Read More »
Fiat sees potential in U.S. for SUV-styled 500L
Fiat says the 500L Trekking, an SUV-styled variant of its 500L small minivan, could account for half of overall 500L sales in the U.S. market. Read More »
GM opens China research center to focus on 'new energy'
General Motors opened its latest global research center in China, taking advantage of the country's vast supply of engineering graduates to drive its development of a new generation of electric vehicles. Read More »
In LA, SUVs take inspiration from BMW
At this year's Los Angeles auto show, it seems that BMW X1s are everywhere. A cute blue vehicle I passed looked just like an X1 SUV. Actually, it was a Mazda CX-5 that resembled an X1 from the side, but had a nose and tail different than the X1. Read More »
Chevy Volt again ranked by Consumer Reports as most-loved car
The Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid landed atop Consumer Reports' annual owner-satisfaction ranking for the second straight year. Read More »
Porsche says new Cayman has more aggressive design
Porsche's head of design, Michael Mauer, said the new Cayman coupe has lost the “modesty” of the current model to become a real sports car in its own right. Read More »
Automakers shrink their European dealer networks
Automakers are using the expiry of the EU's block exemption regulations for new-car sales to eliminate underperforming dealers and shrink dealer networks in countries where vehicle sales are falling heavily. Read More »
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 Toyota's Lentz: Camry in a 'three-horse race'Toyota's Jim Lentz says the Camry will fend off main rival Honda Accord and upstarts such as the Ford Fusion... Mon., May 20» Watch the Video |
