Headlines for Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Design message from Geneva: Bye-bye classic sedan

The Geneva auto show signaled that the classic four-door, three-box sedan with a true trunk is out of fashion, particularly in Europe. Two examples of this trend come from automakers with long traditions of sedan making: BMW and Mercedes-Benz. Read More »

AutoNews Now: Lexus makes a global play

Toyota luxury brand plans multi-market campaign; Audi near milestone; dealers brace for loan scrutiny; peanuts, pretzels or a car? Read More »

GM marketing shakeup may end joint venture that handles Chevy advertising

GM is considering another shakeup in Chevrolet marketing that would end a joint venture created last year between two large agencies to handle Chevy's creative advertising globally. Read More »

Outgoing Chevy Impala lives another year, as fleet-only model

GM will sell the current Chevrolet Impala for another year to fleet customers only, while the soon-to-be launched replacement will be geared for sale mainly to retail buyers. Read More »

PSA streamlines top management after two executives step down

PSA/Peugeot Citroen has streamlined its management board after brands director Frederic Saint Geours and r&d chief Guillaume Faury left their posts. Saint Geours will stay on with PSA as an advisor to CEO Philippe Varin, but Faury is leaving the automaker to become CEO of Eurocopter. Read More »

Ex-Opel CEO Stracke will join Magna Steyr

Former Opel CEO Karl-Friedrich Stracke will join Magna Steyr, a unit of Magna International, on April 1. Stracke will be responsible for contract manufacturing at Magna Steyr's plant in Graz, Austria, as well as the unit's head of global engineering, the company said. Read More »

VW takeover law ruling may lead to big EU fine on Germany

Germany may be forced to pay millions of euros in penalties by the European Union's highest court for failing to change its so-called Volkswagen law to conform to EU rules. Read More »

First Shift: Faceoff: Civic vs. Civic

Outgoing model, pumped up by spiffs, shared the floor with replacement; Caddy ad agency shift?; Chrysler slows minivan output. Read More »

Minnesota dealers drop Tesla fight for now

The Minnesota Automobile Dealers Association -- at least for now -- is ending its push for legislation to block Tesla Motors from operating dealerships in that state. Read More »

Three GM cars being probed by NHTSA for possible brake light problems

Federal safety regulators are looking at three General Motors vehicles for potential brake light defects that could result in a recall of more than a million mid-sized vehicles. Read More »

Automakers ask EPA to pull back on Calif. ZEV mandate

Three months after the Obama administration gave California permission to start mandating the sale of zero-emission vehicles, automakers are again seeking to block the state's ZEV program. Read More »

'Dynamic' Range Rover Sport to debut in New York

The new Range Rover Sport premium large SUV will be unveiled March 26 on the eve of the New York auto show ahead of sales later this year, Land Rover said. “It is Land Rover's most dynamic vehicle yet,” Land Rover boss John Edwards said. Read More »

Lexus to launch global brand campaign in May

Lexus, aiming to reach consumers who have not considered the brand in the past, will launch its first global advertising campaign in May. Read More »

Ford recalls 7,150 newly built vehicles to repair child locks

Ford plans to recall 7,150 vehicles built in November, including the 2013 Escape crossover, because some models are equipped with a defective child lock on the left rear door. Read More »

Audi grapples with stagnant profit due to Europe slump

Audi aims for a "slight" increase in revenue this year after Europe's slumping market hit the brand's 2012 earnings. Audi forecasts higher deliveries this year on demand for the new A3 Sportback and the A3 sedan, which targets American and Chinese buyers. Read More »

Cordray nomination at stalemate as senators refuse to negotiate

A Senate hearing today on Richard Cordray's second nomination to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was less about his leadership than Republican distaste for the bureau itself. Read More »

Chrysler bankruptcy lawyer is Detroit financial manager pick, reports say

Kevyn Orr, a lawyer who earned $1 million in fees for helping manage the Chrysler bankruptcy in 2009, is Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder's top pick to be Detroit's financial emergency manager, a source with direct knowledge of the choice told Reuters today. Read More »

Why sales of the new Impala must come the hard way

Here's a prediction for a headline you're likely to see this fall: "Impala sales slide." Not because the 2014 Chevrolet Impala, redesigned for the first time in eight years, is a bad car. Read More »

Audi to extend U.S. diesel offerings with A4 sedan

American consumers will have the option of a TDI engine in Audi AG's next-generation A4 sedan, the automaker said today, expanding a campaign to sell more diesel engines in the United States. A new version of the A4, Audi's longtime U.S. best-seller, is set to arrive in 2014. Read More »

'Dynamic' Range Rover Sport to debut in New York

The new Range Rover Sport premium large SUV will be unveiled March 26 on the eve of the New York auto show ahead of sales later this year, Land Rover said. “It is Land Rover's most dynamic vehicle yet,” Land Rover boss John Edwards said. Read More »

Ford UK Chairman Greenwell retires after 40 years

Ford of Britain Managing Director Mark Ovenden will add the role of chairman to his job title when the division's chairman, Joe Greenwell, retires in April Read More »

China passes Sweden as Volvo's No. 2 market

Volvo sold 8,719 vehicles in China in January and February to establish China as Volvo's second-biggest market after the United States. Sales in China were strong enough to outpace Sweden, where Volvo sold 6,847 units in the first two months. Read More »

PSA launches new brand strategy for Peugeot and Citroen

PSA aims to shift the positioning of its two brands further apart, although analysts are skeptical of the move. Peugeot and Citroen cars chase a very similar customer base, which has been a problem for the French automaker for a long time. Read More »