Featured BlogsJAMES B. TREECE Is Akio Toyoda cut from the Steve Jobs mold? 12:48 pm U.S. ET | May 8, 2013  Toyota Motor Corp. President Akio Toyoda wants to take personal responsibility for injecting design and performance pizazz into the Lexus brand.... Read More »
JIM HENRY Subprime scrutiny could open a real can of worms 12:01 am U.S. ET | May 8, 2013  Here's a disturbing thought: As much as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has upset auto lenders and dealers, it hasn't even gotten around to the vast category of subprime auto lending.... Read More »
NICK BUNKLEY Why Chevy execs are suddenly watching 'Mad Men' 2:19 pm U.S. ET | May 7, 2013  One of Joel Ewanick's big moves in his brief reign as chief marketing officer of General Motors was to combine two rival ad agencies and give them the Chevrolet account, ousting Campbell Ewald after decades of experience. It turns out that Don Draper had that exact same idea in 1968.... Read More »
LARRY P. VELLEQUETTE Fiat ad or (Arianna, Pitbull) music video? 7:42 am U.S. ET | May 4, 2013  I present to you Fiat's latest video in North America, "Sexy People." Some things just need to speak for themselves. I am left without words.... Read More »
NICK BUNKLEY Lincoln shoots for a happier ending after troubled MKZ launch 4:30 pm U.S. ET | May 1, 2013  How far off track did the launch of the redesigned Lincoln MKZ get? The car, whose chassis bears the burden of a once-thriving luxury brand now trying to prove it's still relevant -- originally was supposed to start arriving at dealerships last fall, around the same time Steven Spielberg's movie Lincoln was hitting theaters around the country.... Read More »
JESSE SNYDER April goes Detroit's way 12:01 am U.S. ET | May 1, 2013  Pickups are back. Sales of those honking-big behemoths so unique to North American roads jumped 27 percent in April. And they're up 30 percent in the first four months of the year.... Read More »
JIM HENRY GM, Chrysler take opposite tacks on captives 12:01 am U.S. ET | May 1, 2013  Does a car company need to own a captive finance company? While GM and Chrysler Group came off similar experiences of being partners with Ally Financial after their old captives went away during restructuring, they have reached different conclusions.... Read More »
LARRY P. VELLEQUETTE Why the auto industry needs to slow down 2:55 pm U.S. ET | April 29, 2013  I'd like to offer a bit of counterintuitive thinking, at least in terms of technology. Here it is: The auto industry needs to slow down. We have arrived at a point where the pace of technological advancement -- how fast automakers and suppliers can make their products better -- has vastly outstripped their own manufacturing abilities to keep up.... Read More »
JAMIE LaREAU Proposals for automakers to help limit distracted driving seem fair 10:39 am U.S. ET | April 26, 2013  Here's a big thank you to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The agency announced earlier this week some new guidelines to help address the hazards posed by complex in-car control systems and distracted driving.... Read More »
GUIDO REINKING Will VW give new Seat boss time to succeed? 12:01 am U.S. ET | April 26, 2013  Juergen Stackmann, new boss of VW's Seat brand, must discover what the ailing brand really stands for.... Read More »
DAVID BARKHOLZ Why ADP Digital Marketing became GM's neighbor in Detroit 2:32 pm U.S. ET | April 25, 2013  ADP Dealer Services is looking for goodwill and good designers (not necessarily in that order) in deciding to open a digital marketing innovation office in downtown Detroit. The company is the largest provider of dealer management systems in the country.... Read More »
JIM HENRY Why car loans, mortgages are apples and oranges 12:01 am U.S. ET | April 24, 2013  Using questionable logic, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau tends to equate mortgage brokers and auto dealers.... Read More »
JAMIE LaREAU Another case for bundling 12:01 am U.S. ET | April 24, 2013  F&I managers like to bundle products, with good reason. The practice typically spurs sales of other products.... Read More »
LUCA CIFERRI Why even a weak China is good news for European automakers 12:01 am U.S. ET | April 24, 2013  The Shanghai auto show proved once again that China is the promised land for automakers, particularly Europeans bracing for a sixth straight year of declining car sales in their home region.... Read More »
DOUGLAS A. BOLDUC Green group spills oil; makes confusing point on CO2 12:01 am U.S. ET | April 23, 2013  Green lobby group T&E has released a YouTube video that it hopes will put pressure on lawmakers to prevent them from weakening Europe's passenger-car CO2 target of 95 grams per kilometer for 2020. The trouble is that the video's message is difficult to understand.... Read More »
DUSTIN WALSH A name change to 456 as easy as 123? Not quite 12:01 pm U.S. ET | April 23, 2013  On March 22, A123 Systems Incorporated became B456 Systems Incorporated. But confusion followed the announcement and continues to follow the battery maker in the wake of its bankruptcy.... Read More »
AMY WILSON Dislike dealer franchise laws? There's a White House sign-up sheet 12:01 am U.S. ET | April 21, 2013  Just a day after Monday's Automotive News report that Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk will consider federal options in his fight with dealers over his factory-store sales model, a petition popped up on a White House Web site urging the Obama administration to overturn state franchise laws.... Read More »
JAMIE LaREAU Dealerships absorb an indirect hit when disaster strikes 7:21 am U.S. ET | April 20, 2013  This past week two catastrophic events hit communities. While no dealership employees were injured in either incident, dealers and staffers felt the impact.... Read More »
LUCA CIFERRI Looking for a Chinese car in Shanghai 12:01 am U.S. ET | April 19, 2013  If I were an executive at a Chinese domestic automaker, I would be very worried. Why? Because it is difficult to find a Chinese-brand car on the streets of Shanghai.... Read More »
JASON STEIN The (domestic) auto industry hits a wall in China 2:53 pm U.S. ET | April 19, 2013  If you listen to the industry experts -- and in this country there are more than a few who claim to know how the future will unfold -- they'll tell you that the good times in China are over.... Read More »
YANG JIAN Chinese automakers will showcase strategies at Shanghai show 12:01 am U.S. ET | April 19, 2013  The Shanghai auto show will provide an opportunity for Chinese carmakers to declare they've learned from past mistakes.... Read More »
MARK RECHTIN Get ready for Fisker's public flagellation 12:01 am U.S. ET | April 19, 2013  Top executives from Fisker Automotive are going to be called before Congress on April 24 for a public flagellation. The reason: Alleged profligacy with $193 million of taxpayer money from Department of Energy loans that are unlikely to be repaid.... Read More »
BRAD WERNLE It's hard to see where China's love affair with cars will lead 3:07 pm U.S. ET | April 18, 2013  If you hang around anyone connected with the Chinese auto industry for any length of time, you'll hear mind-boggling numbers about the industry's rosy future. But looking out my hotel room window here, I have to wonder just where China's love affair with the automobile and industrial progress will take us.... Read More »
JIM HENRY Who's the No. 1 lender? Gimme an A … 12:01 am U.S. ET | April 17, 2013  Who's No. 1 in auto finance? It depends on who's doing the telling.... Read More »
JAMIE LaREAU Good news for sellers: Blue sky values appear strong 1:05 pm U.S. ET | April 16, 2013  It appears blue sky values are back, even at dealerships in distress. Take two recent examples out of California.... Read More »
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