Headlines for Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Japanese brands continue to dominate Consumer Reports' rankings

Japanese brands, led by Lexus, Subaru and Mazda, continue to dominate Consumer Reports' rankings of the best light vehicles on the market, claiming “top pick” honors in seven out of 10 product segments and capturing the top seven spots for overall brand reliability and... Read More »

VW preps next-generation GTI for Geneva

Volkswagen plans to unveil the production version of the next-generation GTI hatchback at the Geneva Motor Show next week, giving the first glimpse of the high-performance Golf variant that will debut in Europe this May. Read More »

AutoNews Now: Honda comes roaring back

Honda lands at top in three Consumer Reports categories, Detroit brands lag; damage control at Tesla; GM reveals CEO pay. Read More »

Hyundai agrees to settle U.S. lawsuits over fuel efficiency

Hyundai has agreed to settle consumer lawsuits stemming from overstated fuel economy ratings for some 600,000 Hyundai vehicles sold in the United States. Financial terms of the tentative deal were not disclosed in a filing made by consumer attorneys in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles on Tuesday. Read More »

Treasury should curb pay for bailed out companies, watchdog says

The Treasury Department should reevaluate total compensation for employees in companies that were bailed out and apply guidelines that will curb excessive pay, said Christy Romero, the special inspector general for the Troubled Asset Relief Program. Read More »

First Shift: U.S. 'safe port' for Europe?

Snyder: Plus side of shifting output overseas; Nissan using Nismo brand to boost sporty image; GM stock nets U.S. $156M Read More »

GM paid CEO Akerson $11.1 million for 2012

General Motors paid CEO Dan Akerson $11.1 million last year, a GM official with knowledge of the matter said. Read More »

Repo-related American Recovery Assn., National Finance Adjusters merge

The American Recovery Association, an association of remarketing and recovery professionals that specializes in locating and repossessing vehicles on behalf of lenders, has merged with National Finance Adjusters, an organization that specializes in education for collateral recovery and liquidation... Read More »

Tesla will accelerate repayment of U.S. loan, Musk says

Tesla Motors plans to repay its $465 million loan from the U.S. Department of Energy twice as quickly as planned, CEO Elon Musk said today. Read More »

Delphi initiates dividend to show confidence in business

Delphi Automotive, the former parts unit of General Motors, initiated a dividend, its first since returning to the public markets after bankruptcy. Read More »

Nissan touts Nismo performance, wants more racing in U.S.

Nissan aims to buff its sporty image with a gleaming new headquarters for its Nismo tuner sub-brand, a return to Le Mans with an electrified racer and plans for an even higher performance Nismo-badged GT-R sports car. Read More »

Toyota Prius being evaluated by NHTSA for steering-shaft concerns

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is looking into whether steering shafts in Toyota Prius models spanning from 2004 through 2009 model years are defective. Read More »

Audi will boost German output further on U.S. demand

Audi will further expand production at its two German factories, citing stable demand for luxury vehicles especially from the United States. Read More »

EV nor not? Nissan tiptoes around Le Mans question

Nissan just announced it will return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race with a car sporting the brand's signature “electric powertrain.” But is it really a pure electric vehicle, such as the Leaf -- boasting the technology Nissan has staked its reputation on? Read More »

Geely to invest 116 million euros in cab maker

Zhejiang Geely will invest 100 million pounds (115.8 million euros) in London black cab maker Manganese Bronze in the next five years as part of plans to make the company profitable. Read More »

PSA-Changan JV appoints new president

Gilles Boussac is the new president of Changan PSA. For the past four years, Boussac has been an executive vice president at another PSA China joint venture, Dongfeng Peugeot Citroen Automobiles. Read More »

Volkswagen gov't subsidy probe dropped by EU

The EU has dropped a probe into aid given to Volkswagen by Germany after the government reduced the planned subsidy for the automaker, the European Commission said today. Read More »

PSA sees China turning into biggest market as Europe weakens

PSA predicts China will overtake France as its biggest market as early as 2015. The automaker expects to boost sales in China this year by 22 percent to 540,000 vehicles. Read More »

Sogefi's 2012 net profit up 22% on N. America growth

talian car parts supplier Sogefi said on Tuesday its full year 2012 profit rose 22 percent to 29.3 million euros as growth at its North American operations powered sales. Read More »

McLaren will build 375 units of Ferrari rival

McLaren said it will build just 375 units of its flagship P1 supercar that debuts at the Geneva auto show. The P1 will compete with Ferrari's Enzo successor that also debuts in Geneva. Read More »

Fiat adds SUV styling to the 500L minivan

Fiat will give the 500L Trekking a European debut at the Geneva auto show. The new car will compete in Europe against subcompact SUVs such as the Opel/Vauxhall Mokka, Ford EcoSport, Peugeot 2008 and Renault Captur. Read More »

Toyota to expand Russia lineup with U.S.-made Venza

Toyota will expand its model lineups in Russia and Ukraine by adding the U.S.-built Venza to the mix. The world's largest automaker will begin shipments of the wagon later this year as a way to generate added revenue for its U.S. operations. Read More »

GKN looks to U.S., Asia to offset weak European car demand in 2013

UK partsmaker GKN predicted another gloomy year for Europe's recession-hit car markets, saying the company would have to rely on the United States and Asia for growth again this year. In 2012, group pretax profit rose 19 percent to 497 million pounds ($751 million), the company said on Tuesday. Read More »