Headlines for Monday, January 28, 2013

Average wholesale used-vehicle prices, December

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

Europeans deliver best investor returns in '12

Despite economic uncertainty and restructuring in their home markets, European automakers and suppliers delivered the best shareholder return in their industry segments last year. Read More »

Mexico car ans truck sales - December & YTD

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

Help wanted: But who's on the way out?

It's great sport in the auto business -- talking about top-flight executives who could be on the move. This week we get to conjecture about who might be on the hot seat. Read More »

With redesigned '14 Forester, Subaru counts on a sales jump

Subaru expects sales of its Forester crossover to increase by about a third this year to at least 100,000 units with the arrival of a redesigned, slightly larger version in March. Read More »

After a 24-yr. chase, dealer faces fraud trial

A Philippine native, Eminiano Reodica Jr. went from working as a showroom attendant at General Motors headquarters in Detroit to owning the country's third-largest car dealership. Then the empire crumbled -- and Reodica vanished. Read More »

Do dealerships and divorces go hand-in-hand?

Maybe you're just hard to get along with. Or maybe those long, odd work hours deprive you of valuable family time. Whatever the case, the divorce rate for car dealership employees seems anecdotally high. Read More »

AutoNews Now: Fuel-cell team-ups

Team BMW-Toyota faces Team Ford-Nissan-Daimler; Malibu Eco, Focus EV lag; What, VW worry? Read More »

First Shift: Triple fuel-cell assault

Ford, Nissan and Daimler pledge to work together to further the technology; Toyota reclaims #1 spot; How Infiniti almost died. Read More »

Ford beating GM in race to Europe turnaround

Ford will post fourth-quarter results on Tuesday with the figures likely to show the lowest operating profit of the year. But those figures mask optimism coming from an unlikely place: Europe. The automaker is further along the road to recovery in the region than many of its rivals, including GM. Read More »

Tesla's Musk extends a hand to get Boeing Dreamliner flying again

Elon Musk has long considered Tesla Motors the bold, nimble answer to the auto industry's cautious culture. Now the electric-car maker's top executive has extended his help to another industrial giant: Boeing. Read More »

U.S. Treasury failed to curb excess 2012 pay at GM, Ally, watchdog says

The U.S. Treasury Department "failed to rein in excessive pay" at bailed-out GM, Ally Financial and AIG, the rescue program's inspector general said. Read More »

AutoTrader says it's business as usual following withdrawal of IPO

AutoTrader Group, the nation's largest online vehicle shopping site, said it would be business as usual for auto dealers following the company's decision Friday to withdraw its $300 million registration for an initial public offering of stock. Read More »

GM to invest $600 million to expand plant that makes Malibu, LaCrosse

General Motors said it will invest $600 million in a new paint shop and stamping press at the assembly plant where it makes the Chevrolet Malibu and Buick LaCrosse. Read More »

Porsche: Dealer profits, sales per store on the rise

With more new products coming, sales per dealership at U.S. Porsche stores should jump 30 percent during the next three years, says Michael Bartsch, COO of Porsche Cars North America. It's part of Porsche's plan to boost sales and profitability for its dealership base. Read More »

GM's troubled Opel unit gets a new boss and new platforms

Opel AG, the European unit that has been a drag on General Motors' profits, is getting a new boss from Volkswagen AG and new platforms from PSA Peugeot Citroen. Read More »

With Atlas pickup, Ford trades Marlboro Man for gizmos

Auto show concept vehicles are sort of like presidential inaugural addresses: They outline a broad, shining vision of the future, but they're short on the details of how that vision will be executed. Such is the case with the Ford Atlas Concept pickup unveiled at the Detroit auto show. Read More »

U.S. medium & heavy truck sales, Dec. & YTD

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

PSA halts car output in Slovakia on weak demand

PSA says it halted production in Slovakia for the day on Monday and will add another four stoppage days next month in response to weak demand across Europe. The automaker makes the Peugeot 207 and Citroen C3 Picasso models at the plant in the western Slovak town of Trnava. Read More »

Opel sales chief's departure is further blow to troubled brand

Opel sales and marketing chief Alfred Rieck has quit his post, marking another high-profile departure for the troubled brand. Opel named Duncan Aldred as interim head of sales and marketing. Read More »

Why can't cars do what phones do?

There is an intense, behind-the-scenes race to find what automakers see as the cure to clunky infotainment systems: natural language. Read More »

Daimler, Ford and Nissan sign deal on fuel cell cars

Daimler, Ford and Nissan joined forces today to develop a line of affordable fuel cell cars for sale starting in 2017 in what could be the first major advance for the promising zero-emission technology. Read More »

Daimler, Ford and Nissan sign deal on fuel-cell cars

Daimler, Ford and Nissan joined forces today to develop a line of affordable fuel-cell cars for sale starting in 2017 in what could be the first major advance for the promising zero-emission technology. Read More »

Toyota wins back global auto sales crown from GM

Toyota outsold rivals GM and VW Group last year, regaining the global sales lead after losing it in 2011. Sales at Toyota, including deliveries from subsidiaries Hino Motors and Daihatsu, rose 23 percent to a record 9.75 million units, while GM sold 9.29 million. VW Group delivered 9. Read More »

Europeans deliver best investor returns in '12

Despite economic uncertainty and restructuring in their home markets, European automakers and suppliers delivered the best shareholder return in their industry segments last year. Read More »

Super spots

The 2013 Super Bowl next week will be super for automotive advertisers. As of late last week, eight auto industry players had confirmed plans to air 11 commercials during the big game for a total cost of an estimated $60 million. Advertisers are trying new ways to build buzz. Read More »

NADA has something for everyone

Besides warm temperatures, the National Automobile Dealers Association convention in Orlando will have plenty for everyone who attends. Read More »

Plan kicks CSI into cyber era

Hyundai is trying to bring the venerable written CSI survey into the age of the cloud, Twitter and Facebook. The brand has devised a new method, using e-mail and three-day turnarounds, to change the way it determines customer satisfaction. Read More »

Oregon store gives a lift to those in need

People and businesses in northeastern Oregon opened their arms to 38 tourists who survived when the charter bus they were on last month skidded off an icy Interstate and into a ravine, killing nine passengers. None went nearly as far -- literally -- as Legacy Ford-Lincoln in La Grande. Read More »

GM: Iowa dealer faked sales

General Motors is suing a Davenport, Iowa, Chevrolet dealership to stop what the automaker calls a "widespread fraudulent and unlawful" scheme to falsely report retail new-vehicle sales. Read More »

Next-gen VW Golf, GTIs will come from Mexico

Volkswagen AG says it plans to rework its assembly plant in Puebla, Mexico, to supply the United States with the next generation of Golf and GTI hatchbacks. That is expected to loosen up inventories in North and South America when the cars go on sale in 2014. Read More »

Group 1's foothold in Brazil

Group 1 Automotive Inc. plans to acquire one of Brazil's largest dealership groups. In a single move, the Houston company will add almost as much in annual revenues as it did with all of its 2012 acquisitions and will establish a retail foothold in the world's fourth-largest new-vehicle market. Read More »

Does your store have what it takes to be among the best?

In 2012, Automotive News set out to find the best dealerships to work for in North America. We want to hear from you again in 2013. Read More »

Mild-hybrid Malibu is tough sell for Chevy

Most prospective Malibu buyers at Castle Chevrolet in suburban Chicago quickly decide that they don't want to pay nearly $3,000 more for the Eco mild-hybrid version. Read More »

eAssist has most impact on big cars

One reason General Motors is pressing ahead with development of its eAssist mild-hybrid system, despite consumer resistance to it on the Chevrolet Malibu Eco, is that shoppers prefer eAssist on larger vehicles more than on smaller ones. Read More »

Massachusetts dealers appeal Tesla ruling

Citing 10-year-old amendments to the state's franchise law, Massachusetts dealers are appealing a court's dismissal of their lawsuit against electric vehicle maker Tesla Motors Inc. Read More »

A CEO search, GM style: Who'll take it?

Former General Motors CEO Ed Whitacre's book, American Turnaround: Reinventing AT&T and GM and the Way We Do Business in the USA, combines inside-the-boardroom drama with plain-spoken observations to weave a portrait of the uncertain, haphazard months after GM's July 2009 emergence from... Read More »

Satisfaction surveys: Timing is everything

Now may be the perfect time to replace or at least radically overhaul the traditional Customer Satisfaction Index. Millions of customers who haven't bought new cars or trucks in several years are heading back to dealerships as part of the industry sales surge. Read More »

Lincoln spots are puzzling

As a former Lincoln-Mercury dealer, I have to say I am not disappointed in having lost the Lincoln franchise. The new Lincoln Motor Co. TV spots are puzzling at best. Read More »

A nonintrusive warning is better

Regarding "NHTSA's backup-camera rules delayed" (autonews.com, Jan. 2): The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is half right on the issue of backup-camera rules. It would be better to have a nonintrusive ultrasonic sensor as the early-warning system for the driver. Read More »

Why reward what's required?

Regarding "Go to class, win a Dart" (Jan. 21): I think it is great to reward kids, and it is obviously great publicity for the dealership. But why create a reward for school attendance? Read More »

Bergstrom resolves clash with Chrysler over Fiat points in Wis.

Bergstrom Corp., Wisconsin's largest auto retailer, has settled its dispute with Chrysler Group over allocation of Fiat points in the state after its lawsuit against the automaker failed. Read More »

New owners for Mercedes-Benz of Brooklyn

This Automotive News feature lists recent dealership acquisitions as reported by brokers, official announcements and news media. Read More »