Headlines for Monday, January 21, 2013
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AutoNews Now: Feds to lift 5-star bar?
NHTSA ponders 'small overlap' crash test; Jag on the prowl for compact; Rechtin on Vette's 'borrowed' styling Read More »
Auto marketers flocking to Super Bowl
Hyundai and Kia each will have two spots during the Super Bowl, the companies said here last week during the auto show. They join a pack of auto brands eager to reach the game's huge audience. Read More »
Enough mandates, already!
Texas Chevrolet dealer Greg May says he could do without the latest mandate from General Motors to hire a firm to handle his online reputation management. May said GM's intentions are good but the execution is ham-handed. Read More »
Past winners talk about being a Rising Star
Past winners of the Automotive News Europe Rising Star award say that since being named they’ve enjoyed increased recognition from inside and outside their companies. Read More »
First Shift: Detroit's pickup 'dust-up'
Snyder on a big segment where Ford, GM and Chrysler continue to shine; Zetsche era extended?; Alfa's return; Batman's $4.6M ride Read More »
Zetsche expects to stay on as Daimler CEO
Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche says he expects to have his contract renewed by the company's supervisory board in February after his current term as head of the car and truck maker expires at the end of this year. Read More »
Cars.com to open 'Why Drama' campaign with Super Bowl spot
Cars.com will return to the Super Bowl next month with a commercial touting how the vehicle shopping Web site takes the drama out of car buying. In a statement, Cars. Read More »
Seattle startup tied to Wagoner delivers cars for test drives
A new online service enables car shoppers to test drive vehicles without going to a dealership. Tred, a Seattle startup with ties to former GM CEO Rick Wagoner, cuts dealership trips by delivering new vehicles for consumers to test drive and possibly purchase. Read More »
GM offers maintenance plan to fleet buyers
GM is offering a two-year, 30,000-mile maintenance plan through its Business Choice program for business fleet buyers. Read More »
VW names new sales strategy boss
Volkswagen Group has appointed Gert Schardey to run sales strategy and business development at its core VW brand. Read More »
Bentley ultraluxury SUV nears final approval
Bentley Motors is close to a decision to build an ultraluxury SUV, according to CEO Wolfgang Schreiber. The vehicle would share a platform with Audi, Volkswagen and Porsche. Read More »
BMW EV's range extended by motorcycle engine
BMW AG will offer a two-cylinder motorcycle engine and a generator to extend the range of its i3 electric. Herbert Diess, BMW's head of r&d, said the package will be offered as an option on the i3. Read More »
NHTSA may add 'small overlap,' angled crash tests
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration soon may revise its five-star crash safety program with new tests for cars and trucks, Administrator David Strickland tells Automotive News. Read More »
North America car and truck production by model, December & YTD
This is data compiled by the Automotive News Data Center and requires a Data Center subscription to access. Read More »
North America car and truck production by plant, December & YTD
This is data compiled by the Automotive News Data Center and requires a Data Center subscription to access. Read More »
GM looks for early contract talks at CAMI plant, CAW says
The CAW is recommending workers at a General Motors plant accept what it says is the automaker's request to open labor talks months ahead of a September contract expiry, believing it could help secure jobs at the southern Ontario site. Read More »
Toyota set to pick Prius developer as next chairman, report says
Toyota will probably pick Takeshi Uchiyamada, who led the development of the Prius hybrid car in 1990s, to replace Fujio Cho as the company's next chairman, Nikkei reported today, without citing anyone. Read More »
$30,000 is the new luxury-car hot spot
There's a new price battleground -- $30,000 -- for luxury-car makers as they chase younger buyers with small front-wheel-drive vehicles that are sliding down into mass-market territory. Read More »
Prime time for big pickups
Low incentives, new products and construction sites filled with aging pickups have set the stage for an especially competitive -- and lucrative -- battle in the one segment the Detroit 3 still dominate: big pickups. Read More »
Alfa Romeo brand to re-enter U.S. market in late 2013
Fiat-Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne has reiterated his intention to reintroduce the Alfa Romeo brand to the U.S. market later this year with the 4C coupe sports car. Read More »
The car is alive and well
There have been a few years recently that have been pretty bleak for those of us in the automobile business. Thankfully, 2012 was a great year in North America for suppliers, manufacturers and automobile dealers Keith Crain is editor-in-chief of Automotive News. Read More »
Honda concept sets off small-crossover buzz
With plans for a crossover based on the Fit subcompact in mid-2014, Honda is primed to have the first entry in a segment with intriguing prospects. And if the small-crossover category takes off, Honda could dominate it for years, judging by the wait-and-see attitude adopted by other automakers. Read More »
Chrysler near a deal for preferred lender
Chrysler Group is close to signing a new preferred auto lender that promises to boost leasing for dealers. Chrysler-Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne said the automaker is "in the final stretch" of negotiations with the financial services provider, which he did not name. Read More »
Go to class, win a Dart
Lots of dealers have given away cars to boost their business and help local charities. But a Chrysler Group dealership's annual $75,000 car raffle has pumped more than $1 million into struggling local schools and earned the dealership dozens of extra sales. Read More »
Denso plans $1 billion in N.A. projects
Denso International America Inc. plans to invest about $1 billion in North America over the next four years, including about $750 million in the United States that will create more than 1,200 jobs, the supplier said at the Detroit auto show last week. Read More »
Sizing up Detroit
West Coast Editor Mark Rechtin -- our tireless chronicler of such things as "micro-cheese-grater" interiors and front ends that evoke "a dachshund snorting a gopher hole" -- walked the floor of the Detroit auto show gathering first impressions of new cars and concepts. Read More »
Nissan Leaf price cut puts heat on rivals
Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn opened his press conference last week at the Detroit auto show with a bombshell: Nissan will cut the base price of the Leaf electric vehicle by $6,400. Read More »
Compact is 'top priority' for Jaguar
Jaguar wants to re-enter the compact segment and is considering multiple body styles, the brand's top executive said. Read More »
NORTH AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL AUTO SHOW:Side Swipe
Ask a world-famous designer at the Detroit show why his new vehicle has a sharp crease down its side, and chances are he'll talk about emotion. Read More »
Mercedes to add 2 models to S-class range
Mercedes-Benz's redesigned S-class range, which begins to arrive this fall, will grow from three vehicles to five with the addition of a convertible and an ultraluxury sedan. Read More »
VW to make turbo engines standard
By year end, three of the key cars in Volkswagen's U.S. lineup will be offered with a smaller, turbocharged engine, VW executives said last week, as the brand downsizes in an effort to boost fuel economy. Read More »
Lutz, GM end consulting deal
General Motors has parted ways with former product boss Bob Lutz, 80, who had been a paid part-time consultant for GM since September 2011. Read More »
NORTH AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL AUTO SHOW:Tesla factory running full tilt
Tesla Motors' Fremont, Calif., assembly plant is now at its full run-rate of 20,000 electric Model S sedans per year. The company also has begun producing 60 kWh vehicles -- the midgrade trim level -- in addition to the top-end 85 kWh cars. Read More »
NORTH AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL AUTO SHOW:VW ponders U.S. pickup
Ulrich Hackenberg, the Volkswagen AG board member in charge of product development, says VW might consider a pickup for its U.S. lineup -- but not until after 2018. Read More »
EDITORIAL:Keep recession's hard-learned lessons in mind
This is no time to get complacent. The U.S. auto industry is back on track. There is momentum, and it's all in the right direction. Read More »
LETTER TO THE EDITOR:Calif.'s leadership is bold, vital
California's zero-emission vehicle program is already showing signs of success. The policy has helped make California the leading U.S. market for hybrid and electric vehicles. Read More »
LETTER TO THE EDITOR:Detroit should have an auto showplace
It's time for Detroit to have an automotive showplace worthy of the Motor City. What better way to do that than with a site like the Autostadt in Wolfsburg, Germany? Read More »
Toyota Furia sheds some light on the next Corolla
Toyota offered a vision of its next-generation Corolla sedan that arrives in late 2013 with the unveiling of the Furia concept at the Detroit auto show. Read More »
Nissan spices up Versa hatch
Nissan will position its redesigned Versa hatchback to go after what it expects to be continued growth in the compact and subcompact segments. The company unveiled the hatchback at the Detroit auto show last week. Read More »
Mercedes' big CLA buildup begins with the Super Bowl
A 60-second TV spot in the fourth-quarter of next month's Super Bowl will kick off Mercedes-Benz's marketing for the CLA, a four-door compact with coupe styling that goes on sale in September. Read More »
Niche products still a priority at Nissan
The casual observer of Nissan product development for the past year or two could easily get the idea that the company has shifted its focus from interesting-but-marginal niche products to big-selling mainstream volume products. Not so, says the automaker's top global product planning executive. Read More »
Execs unfazed by Dart's slow start
Top Chrysler Group executives took responsibility for the 2013 Dodge Dart's sluggish sales start but said they have "a lot of levers" available to boost sales. Read More »
NORTH AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL AUTO SHOW:Lincoln to explore 'mass customization'
Lincoln wants to let shoppers custom-order vehicles with an array of special touches. 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 |
