Daily Email Wednesday

DOUGLAS A. BOLDUC

Is the S in the new Mercedes S class for Shanghai?

12:01 am U.S. ET | May 15, 2013
The new Mercedes-Benz S class made its world premiere today in Hamburg, Germany, but Shanghai might have been more appropriate. Why? China accounted for nearly half of all S-class sales from 2010-2012.... Read More »

 

Revamped Mercedes S class strives to set new luxury mark

2:00 pm U.S. ET | May 15, 2013
Mercedes-Benz is heralding the redesigned 2014 S class as a flagship that will set new benchmarks for luxury sedans with its packaging of technology, safety gear and opulence.... Read More »

 

NHTSA confirms new deputy, considers push for automatic braking

3:51 pm U.S. ET | May 15, 2013
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has confirmed David Friedman, previously a transportation analyst at the Union of Concerned Scientists, as its new deputy administrator.... Read More »

 

U.S. to monitor cybersecurity risks as car connectivity grows

3:04 pm U.S. ET | May 15, 2013
Rising cybersecurity risks to drivers as their cars become increasingly powered by and connected to computers have prompted federal auto safety regulators to start a new office focusing on the threat.... Read More »

 

Survey: Consumers are ready for new tech ideas in cars

10:29 am U.S. ET | May 15, 2013
A new survey about what vehicle consumers want and don't want suggests that the auto industry is lagging consumers when it comes to technology ideas.... Read More »

 

Detroit 3 research group targets next-gen hybrid, EV batteries

3:46 pm U.S. ET | May 15, 2013
With the U.S. Department of Energy's help, a research group managed by the Detroit 3 is launching a drive to speed development of next-generation battery technologies for hybrids and electric vehicles, the department said today.... Read More »

 

Lawsuit claims defects in Ford 3.5-liter V-6 EcoBoost engine

1:07 pm U.S. ET | May 15, 2013
Ford is being sued by three vehicle owners in Ohio because of alleged defects in the automaker's six-cylinder EcoBoost engine.... Read More »

 

LINDSAY CHAPPELL

How GM and Nissan avoided a UAW thorn

3:15 pm U.S. ET | May 15, 2013
A labor taboo still exists in the North American auto industry, and Nissan and GM sidestepped it this week. GM revealed that it will buy Nissan's compact commercial vans to provide Chevrolet with a competitor to Ford's Transit Connect compact van.... Read More »

 

AMY WILSON

Rebranding effort aids AutoNation's community giving

11:57 am U.S. ET | May 15, 2013
AutoNation has rebranded nearly 40 percent of its dealerships with its coast-to-coast AutoNation name. And, contrary to early fears within the nation's largest auto dealership group, AutoNation says it is maintaining or increasing share in those converted markets.... Read More »

 

Fiat mulls U.S. headquarters after Chrysler merger, report says

10:04 am U.S. ET | May 15, 2013
Fiat is considering moving its corporate headquarters to the United States following a planned merger with Chrysler Group, three people familiar with the matter said. CEO Sergio Marchionne is evaluating the switch from Turin, where Fiat was founded in 1899, to the United States as the carmaker's revenue and profit center shifts to North America, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing the internal deliberations.... Read More »

 

Americans, especially young, continue to drive less, report says

5:36 pm U.S. ET | May 14, 2013
Americans, in a worrisome sign for automakers, continue to drive less, with more and more younger people choosing to forgo a driver's license altogether, a major new study released Tuesday found.... Read More »

 

James Lawrence, NADA Used Car Guide publisher, dies

5:15 pm U.S. ET | May 14, 2013
James Lawrence, former publisher of NADA Used Car Guide, died May 6. He was 90.... Read More »

 

Former Mercedes spokesman A.B. Shuman dies at 72

4:54 pm U.S. ET | May 14, 2013
Arnold Baer Shuman, a product spokesman for Mercedes-Benz of North America for more than two decades, died suddenly Friday at his home in New Jersey. He was 72.... Read More »

 

Jaguar launches plan to spruce up stores

12:01 am U.S. ET | May 13, 2013
Jaguar is rolling out a plan to refurbish its U.S. dealerships in preparation for a wave of new products. Regional Jaguar teams are going "door-to-door" to discuss the new corporate identity standards, starting with about 50 older stores.... Read More »

 

Ford must switch gears, tout trucks, Mustang

12:01 am U.S. ET | May 13, 2013
Ford-brand marketers face an interesting challenge. After spending millions of dollars over the last several years promoting a lineup of fuel-efficient small- and mid-sized cars and crossovers, two historic launches loom on Ford's near-term horizon: the next-generation F-series pickup and the 50th anniversary Mustang pony car.... Read More »

 

Specialized van maker that won $50M U.S. loan shuts down

2:47 pm U.S. ET | May 8, 2013
Van maker Vehicle Production Group -- recipient of a $50 million loan from the Department of Energy -- has suspended operations and is in the process of being sold, its former CEO said today.... Read More »

 

Infiniti picks veteran Nissan stylist Albaisa for new global design post

4:01 pm U.S. ET | May 8, 2013
Infiniti has named a global design chief as part of the luxury brand's ongoing effort to distance itself from parent company Nissan's mass-market Nissan marque.... Read More »

 

JAMES 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 »

 

U.S. regulators close inquiries into Ford, Chrysler vehicles

12:18 pm U.S. ET | May 8, 2013
Federal safety regulators closed two separate probes into vehicles made by Ford and Chrysler after the two automakers conducted safety recalls this year to fix glitches in some models.... Read More »

 

Subaru to invest $400 million to build Impreza at Indiana plant

6:50 am U.S. ET | May 8, 2013
Subaru, gunning for a fifth year of record sales in the United States, said it will invest $400 million to expand capacity at its Indiana assembly plant by a third and add output of its Impreza compact.... Read More »

 

Toyota quarterly profit rises to $3.17 billion

2:39 am U.S. ET | May 8, 2013
Toyota more than doubled its fourth-quarter net profit as the yen's depreciation helped the automaker export more profitably and U.S. sales of the Avalon sedan and Tacoma pickup were strong. The company posted net profit of 313.9 billion yen ($3.17 billion), compared with 121 billion yen last year.... Read More »

 

TALK FROM THE TOP: STEVE CANNON

Mercedes CEO: Customer service will be 'my legacy'

12:01 am U.S. ET | May 6, 2013
Mercedes-Benz USA CEO Steve Cannon says customer service will be "the next major battlefield for all luxury manufacturers" and will be Cannon's main priority over the next five years.... Read More »

 

BEST PRACTICES

Custom 'werks' loads up Jeeps -- and revenue

12:01 am U.S. ET | May 6, 2013
The staff at Fields Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge-Ram noticed that many of the Jeeps they sold looked different when their owners came in for an oil change or other service appointment. The vehicles might have new tires, flashier wheels or modifications such as suspension lift kits. Seeing this sparked a big idea to increase revenue, set the dealership apart from competitors and help local charities in the process.... 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 »

 

APRIL U.S. AUTO SALES

Ford, Nissan lead gains as trucks, new models propel sales up 9%

8:00 am U.S. ET | May 1, 2013
Rising demand for Detroit 3 pickups helped lift U.S. auto sales 9 percent last month, while surprising declines at Toyota and Volkswagen took some steam out of the market's steady recovery. The seasonally adjusted annual sales rate came in at 14.9 million, marking the first time since October that the SAAR failed to top 15 million.... Read More »