May 2009
GM To Build 160,000 New Small Cars in U.S. as It Aims To Hit 2015 CAFE Goal
By John O'Dell May 29, 2009General Motors Corp., which was going to import a new subcompact car called the Chevrolet Spark directly from China when it goes on sale in 2011, now says it will build them, and at least 100,000 more new small cars each year, in the U.S. ----------Spark Concept at Detroit auto show.----------The decision is being billed as a concession to the UAW to get the autoworkers union to sign off on GM's reorganization plan, and that's likely true. But we suspect it also is part of GM's response to new federal fuel-efficiency standards and the Obama administration's push to wring more
GM, Germany Edge Toward Magna as Opel Buyer
By Bill Visnic May 29, 2009By Bill Visnic Various press reports on Friday indicate Canada's Magna International had reached a tentative agreement for ownership of General Motors Corp.'s Adam Opel AG automaking unit and most of GM's European operations, including Britain's Vauxhall. The move would fulfill a long-held ambition for Magna, known mostly as an auto-industry supplier, to evolve into an automaker, although the company's European unit, Magna Steyr, has a strong background of low-volume and niche-volume vehicle production for a variety of automakers, including Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Chrysler. more
Toyota Boosting Prius Production To Align Supply to Strong Demand
By John O'Dell May 29, 2009Toyota Motor Corp., taken aback by the volume of advance orders in Japan for the 2010 Prius, had been considering cutting down initial shipments to the U.S, where the redesigned hybrid is scheduled to go on sale within days. That plan was jettisoned, though, and Toyota now is increasing production at its two Prius plants instead. "We don't want the North American market to be hurt," said John Hanson, head of environmental communications for Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. "We're upping production to protect allocations" for the U.S. and Europe while still satisfying home market demand. Toyota, which launched the more
May Car Sales: Ever-So-Small Hint of Hope
By Michelle Krebs May 29, 2009SANTA MONICA, Calif. -- May car sales, due to be reported by auto manufacturer Tuesday, remain off by double-digits from last year, but the sales increase from April to May is in line with typical April-May seasonal bumps and the drop from a year ago is largely due to lower fleet sales, according to Edmunds.com's forecast. For May, manufacturers are expected to report new vehicle sales -- retail and fleet -- of 890,000 units, a 36.1 percent decrease from the 1.4 million sold in May 2008 but an 8.9 percent increase from the 817,000 sold in April. A typical more
New MPG Standards Vs. Consumer Preference Incites Reader Debate
By Michelle Krebs May 29, 2009An AutoObserver story last week suggesting the federal government's proposed new Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards may clash with Americans' taste in vehicles sparked a sometimes heated round of comments. Using data from Edmunds.com comparing currently available models that can meet the 2016 CAFE mandate with the sales "popularity" of those vehicles demonstrated that in today's market, those vehicles have sporadic sales success. Seeking to end years of conflict between federal fuel-economy and emissions mandates and the initiatives of many states typically led by California, President Obama announced federal CAFE standards of 39 miles per gallon for passenger cars more
China Sets 42.2 MPG Fuel Efficiency Standard as it Seeks to Curb Oil Consumption
By John O'Dell May 28, 2009But Be Wary of Unfavorable Comparisons to New 35.5 MPG Standard in U.S. We'll probably be hearing a lot about this in days and weeks to come: China, concerned about its growing dependence on imported oil, is boosting its version of our federal CAFE fuel economy standard to require passenger vehicles to achieve a fleetwide average of 42.2 miles per gallon by 2015. That's almost 19 percent more than the 35.5 mpg corporate average fuel economy by 2016 that President Obama announced for the U.S. last week. We can just hear the pundits asking why we're not up there with more
Stop the Presses: NHTSA Recalls 345 Tesla Roadsters for Improperly Tightened Bolt
By Scott Doggett May 28, 2009"IF THE PROBLEM IS NOT ADDRESSED PROMPTLY, THE DRIVER COULD LOSE CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE, WHICH COULD LEAD TO A CRASH." So reads a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration notice issued today announcing the recall of 345 Tesla Roadsters, and from the sound of it you'd think the problem was on the scale of, say, steering wheels falling into drivers' laps at highway speeds. But, nooo. We're talking about a bolt on a rear flange hub that wasn't tightened quite as tightly as it should have been. So, will 345 Roadster owners be driving to Tesla repair facilities to more
Specialist Supplier Metaldyne Goes for Chapter 11
By Michelle Krebs May 28, 2009By Bill Visnic In a signal the widening distress in the U.S. auto industry's supplier sector is certain to spill outside the nation's borders, Metaldyne Corp., a Plymouth, Michigan-based developer and supplier of specialty metal components mainly for powertrain and chassis applications, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The company is owned by Japan's Asahi Tec Corp., a former competitor. more
Once Antagonistic, Big Oil Now Warms to Ethanol and Other Biofuel Companies
By Scott Doggett May 28, 2009For decades, the big oil companies and the farm lobby have been fighting about ethanol, with the farmers pushing to produce more of it and the refiners arguing it was a boondoggle that would do little to solve the country's energy problems. ---------Right, an ethanol plant in South Dakota.--------- So why are technicians for British Petroleum, the giant oil company, now working at an experimental ethanol plant in the old Louisiana oil town of Jennings, helping to make it more efficient? The erstwhile enemies, it turns out, are gradually learning to get along, as refiners increasingly see a need more
GM Commits to More U.S. Small-Car Production
By Michelle Krebs May 30, 2009By Bill Visnic The timing of the announcement is curious, but General Motors Corp. said Friday it will build unnamed, next-generation small cars in the U.S. using a currently idled assembly plant and stamping facility and United Auto Workers union labor. The small car GM plans to build on U.S. soil likely will be based on the Chevrolet Beat concept introduced at the 2007 New York Auto Show and paraded around other shows as well as Washington, D.C., events as GM's small, fuel-efficient car of the future. more