Porsche Charges Eavesdropping on CEO Via a Baby Monitor
The Porsche-Volkswagen saga is becoming more bizarre every day; the latest chapter includes charges of eavesdropping via a baby monitor.
Porsche confirmed Sunday night that it has filed a criminal complaint with authorities 
regarding a suspected attempt to eavesdrop on CEO Wendelin Wiedeking. A report by the German weekly Der Spiegel, picked up by the Wall Street Journal Monday, said the complaint came after the microphone of a baby monitoring device was discovered behind a sofa in a hotel suite a day before last year's meeting of the supervisory board of Volkswagen.
Porsche holds 31 percent of the shares of Volkswagen and is seeking a majority stake.
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Chrysler Puts Axle Plants Up for Sale
Chrysler has quietly begun looking for buyers for two Michigan axle plants – one still under
construction, sources told the Wall Street Journal, which says the move reflects the automaker’s search for a leaner business model.
Over the past two months Chrysler has approached two axle suppliers, Dana Holding Corp., which recently emerged from bankruptcy, and American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc., which has been struck by workers at five plants since late February, about buying the two plants for about $400 million. The offer has also been made to private-equity groups, the newspaper reported in Monday’s edition based on comments from anonymous sources.
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Toyota Denies Japanese Government Helped with the Prius
Toyota Motor Corp. denied Wednesday it had received any funding from the Japanese
government to develop its Prius hybrid, The Associated Press reported.
Former Toyota executive and board member Jim Press, now vice chairman and president of Chrysler, had been quoted in the March 24 issue of Business Week magazine as saying, “The Japanese government paid for 100 percent of the development of the battery and hybrid system that went into the Toyota Prius."
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Nissan’s Mark McNabb To Depart the Company
By Michelle Krebs
Nissan North America has confirmed Mark C. McNabb, who returned to the automaker last July as senior vice president of sales and marketing, will leave the auto company for personal reasons on April 1.
Rumors of his imminent departure had been swirling in recent weeks. And some speculation has McNabb going to an unnamed Detroit car company.
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Tata Motors To Buy Stake in Ferrari?
By Nick Kurczewski 
Like a hapless A-list celebrity being hounded by the paparazzi, Tata Motors can’t seem to catch a break when it comes to avoiding being the subject of wild speculation and outlandish headlines.
The latest round of Tata’s awkward celebrity status came via a story published by Italian magazine L’Espresso, which recently reported Tata Motors now has its sights set on purchasing a stake in Ferrari.
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Cerberus-Chrysler: “Reality Bites” Says The Economist
Five months after Cerberus Capital Management was handed the company (for 
nothing, in effect) by Chrysler's former parent, Daimler, there are growing fears that the acquisitive private-equity group may have bitten off more than it can chew, The Economist magazine writes in this week’s edition.
The British publication notes three main problems facing Chrysler’s new management team with little or not time to solve them:
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Chrysler-Mahindra Cooking Up India Deal?
With Ford officially anointing India’s Tata Motors as the top bidder for Jaguar and Land Rover, it looks look Chrysler is trying to cook up a deal with an automaker in India as well.
Several global media outlets reported over the weekend that Chrysler is in talks with India’s Mahindra & Mahindra, archrival to Tata, for some kind of partnership, the nature of which is unclear.
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Report Says Tata Wins Jaguar, Land Rover from Ford
A British newspaper reports that India's Tata Motors will be named Friday as the winning bidder in the auction for Jaguar and Land Rover.
Britain's Birmingham Post newspaper says Tata will pay the equivalent of $2 billion for the two brands.
Ford has not confirmed the report.
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Nissan Will Attempt To Squelch Gouging on GT-R Supercar
By Bill Visnic
Now that the $70,000-or-so price of Nissan Motor Co. Ltd.’s upcoming '09 GT-R supercar is public 
knowledge, Edmunds' CarSpace.com message boards are abuzz with discussion -– and skepticism –- about what the real price will be once dealers and associated speculators stake out their pieces of the action.
The ’09 GT-R, tested last weekend by Edmunds' Inside Line, certainly is next year’s most highly anticipated U.S. vehicle launch. Just as probable is that it will be 2008’s poster child for opportunistic dealer markups when the car goes on sale in June, what with a comparatively affordable starting price of $69,850 –- and Nissan promising a demand-stoking worldwide annual production run of just 1,500 cars.
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Ford Picks India's Tata for Jaguar, Report Says
Ford reportedly will name India's Tata Motors as preferred bidder for its Jaguar and Land Rover brands, according to Britain's Sunday Times.
The paper, in a story picked up by Reuters news service, said Tata will pay about $2 billion for the brands. The deal could be wrapped up in early 2008.
Tata's Indiana competitor, Mahindra & Mahindra, with private equity firm One Equity Partners, led by former Ford CEO Jacques Nasser, also bid on the British brands.
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Ford Shortens Bidder List for Jaguar, Land Rover
Ford has shortened its list of bidders for its Jaguar and Land Rover units.
Ford CEO Alan Mulally said in a Thursday morning conference call on third-quarter earnings that the planned sale of Jaguar and Land Rover is "progressing" with "selective parties." The sale is expected to be completed "no later than early next year," he said.
A source told Dow Jones Newswires Thursday that Indian automakers Tata Motors Ltd. and Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. along with One Equity Partners, a unit of J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. that involves former Ford CEO Jacques Nasser, have been selected to have more detailed discussions with Ford.
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Ford-UAW Deal Close
Detroit media reporting Ford and the United Auto Workers union could announce a contract settlement as early as Friday.
Negotiators from the two sides remained at the bargaining table Friday morning after an all-night session, suggesting they are in the final phases of the talks.
The critical issues is job security: the union appears ready to give Ford more cost cuts in exchange for fewer plant closings and specific future product programs for plants.
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Government Drops Delphi Investigation
The U.S. Department of Justice reportedly is dropping its investigation into criminal wrongdoing by former executives at Delphi Corp. An official public announcement is expected in a matter of days, according to Detroit media.
For the past two years or so, the Justice Department was investigating whether criminal intent was behind accounting irregularities at automotive supplier Delphi, which is in bankruptcy. Former Delphi executives, including former Chairman and CEO J.T. Battenberg III, are accused of using fraudulent accounting to hide the company's deteriorating financial condition between 2000 and 2004.
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Ford, UAW Adjourn Talks; Deal Close?
Negotiators for Ford and the UAW adjourned their marathon bargaining session in the wee hours of Thursday morning, but the buzz is the two sides are close to a deal. Talks resume later Thursday morning.
It is speculated that Ford may agree to close fewer U.S. plants than it had previously announced in exchange for increased cost savings from the union.
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Chrysler: What’s Chery’s Role?
Chrysler’s top exec in China says the automaker is exploring how to fill holes in its product portfolio in 
small-car segments, the largest-volume categories in the country. And the holes won’t be plugged by Chrysler’s current Chinese partner, Chery.
Simon Elliott, president and CEO of Chrysler Group China Sales Ltd., reiterated what AutoObserver reported during the Frankfurt auto show last month, when Chrysler’s top designer Trevor Creed said Chery would not be Chrysler’s partner in building the B-segment Hornet, a concept for an international people mover. Creed said Chery’s platforms were not appropriate for the Dodge Hornet, and the hunt for another partner was ongoing.
The comments by the two Chrysler executives beg the question: So what is Chery’s role with Chrysler?
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Ford Robs Toyota To Fill Top Marketing Job
Toyota has been robbed again!
Ford announced Thursday that it has hired Jim Farley away from Toyota. Farley, 45, currently group vice president of Lexus, will be Ford's first global chief marketing and communications officer.
"I wanted to bring to our team world-class marketing talent," Ford CEO Alan Mulally told AutoObserver in a phone interview just after the Ford board of directors agreed to hiring Farley.
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Ex-Hyundai Exec Bound for Ford?
Hyundai Motor America has confirmed its chief operating officer, Steve Wilhite, has resigned, effective Monday.
Wilhite is rumored to be a candidate for a newly created post of chief marketing officer at Ford, according to trade journal Advertising Age.
Ford will not confirm if Wilhite will be appointed to the job or is in the running.
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Indian-Owned Jag, Land Rover?
It is looking increasingly likely that an automaker from India could become the new owner of the now Ford-owned Jaguar and Land Rover.
Two Indian automakers, Tata Motors Ltd., and Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., are among the bidders for Jaguar and Land Rover, which Ford hopes to sell as a package. And they may well be the front-runners among the bidders.
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Volkswagen of America: On the Move?
Reports have circulated, but have not been confirmed, that Volkswagen of America is seriously considering moving both of its headquarters and the headquarters of both of its brands –- VW and Audi -– from the Detroit area to new headquarters...well, elsewhere.
The reports are so strong that word is Michigan GovernorJennifer Granholm intends to step in and try to convince VWoA to stay put. The company’s U.S. headquarters are in the Detroit suburb of Auburn Hills, not far from Chrysler.
This is not the first time Volkswagen has been rumored to be leaving Detroit.
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Corvette Goes Midengine? Not So Fast.
Here we go again. Parts suppliers to automotive blog sites are atwitter about the prospects for a midengine Corvette. Indeed, that discussion –- which has occurred repeatedly since the 1960s -– is heating up yet again inside General Motors.
Automotive Web site AutoExtremist.com claims to have inside information that the C7 going midengine is nearly a done deal; a final decision is due next month, it insists.
Not so, say sources. Such a move is a long way from being a done deal with the C7 not due until mid next decade, and a decision to go midengine is not imminent. In the meantime, numerous enhancements will be made to the C6 Corvette before the C7 arrives, around 2013.
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Jaguar, Land Rover Suitors Are an Intriguing Cast
Ford’s proposed sale of its British marques –- Jaguar and Land Rover –- is growing more intriguing by the day.
We’ve got a couple of up-and-coming car companies from India looking to expand globally through the acquisition of the brands, and two former Ford execs bidding against each other.
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Who Killed the Chrysler Imperial? Wolfgang Bernhard, Report Says
The Detroit News reports today, on the eve of the final sale papers
being signed for Chrysler, that Wolfgang Bernhard, the former Chrysler COO and reportedly soon-to-be chairman of the New Chrysler, had the final say on the future of the Chrysler Imperial concept.
The large luxury sedan, unveiled as a concept car at the Detroit auto show in 2006 and set to go into production as a 2009 model, was reportedly scrapped in July as inappropriate in this era of likely stiffer fuel economy and emissions standards.
In gripping detail, the newspaper reports how Bernhard had the final say in the death of the Imperial, providing a glimpse into how Chrysler will operate under ownership of private equity firm, Cerberus Capital Management, which could become official as early as Friday.
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New Chrysler: Wolfgang Bernhard Reportedly to Return
As many predicted, Wolfgang Bernhard reportedly will become chairman of the board of the New Chrysler when the upcoming owner, Cerberus Capital Management LP, takes over, possibly by this Friday.
Few know Chrysler better. Cerberus hired Bernhard, who left Chrysler for Volkswagen in a political dispute and left VW for the same reason, as an adviser when it was negotiating to buy Chrysler.
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Ford Sale of Volvo Rumors Revived
Talk has heated up once again that Ford is selling Volvo.
London’s Sunday Times, citing unnamed sources, said the decision to sell Volvo, which is part of Ford's Premier Automotive Group (PAG), was made in the past two weeks, but that the timing of the sale had yet to be decided.
If Ford sells Volvo it would the final piece to completely dismantling the automaker’s European luxury collection, the Premier Automotive Group.
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Why Did Top GM Designer Leave?
If the auto industry does not involve more women in its product 
decisions, it risks becoming irrelevant, French-born Anne Asensio, a former designer for General Motors and Renault, told the Automotive News Europe Congress in Prague last week.
“The industry doesn’t need cars designed for women but by women,” she told the gathering as reported by the sponsoring publication.
On the face of it, her comments were predictable and hardly new. However, they are curious in terms of their timing.
French-born Asensio recently resigned -– ever so quietly –- from GM, and there’s lots of buzz about why.
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Chrysler Group, Land Rover and Jaguar?
What an interesting concept: a car company that sells Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep models as well as Land Rover sport-utes and Jaguar cars.
It is a possibility, according to the Financial Times in London. The newspaper reported over the weekend that Cerberus Capital Management Group, which is set to close on its purchase of Chrysler next month, has expressed interest in bidding on one or both of the luxury brands put up for sale by Ford.
Another familiar name popped up in regard to Land Rover and Jaguar. Jac Nasser, former Ford CEO, reportedly is heading a study of the brands on behalf of buyout firm One Equity Partners.
And Automotive News reports rumors have former Ford exec, David Thursfield, head of Cerberus’ automotive units, leaving the firm. Thursfield had told the trade publication some time ago that he felt it was inappropriate for him to be involved with a Cerberus-owned Chrysler, given his long tenure at Ford. Maybe the addition of Land Rover and Jaguar will lure him to stay.
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Ford Confirms Considering Options for Jag, Land Rover
After rampant speculation mostly in the British press this past week, Ford decided to publicly confirm today that it is, indeed, intensifying discussions regarding what to do with its Jaguar and Land Rover brands.
A Ford spokesman said the company is working with financial advisers on strategic options for the brands, part of Ford’s Premier Automotive Group (PAG) that also includes Volvo. The company also told legislators in the U.K. Monday that Ford was looking at all options that may or may not include a sale of Land Rover and Jaguar.
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Ford Selling PAG: Where There’s Smoke, There's Fire
Rumors are running rampant, based on various news reports out of Europe this morning, that Ford is selling its Premier Automotive Group (PAG) or parts of it.
CityAM newspaper in Europe reported today that Jon Moulton, the venture capitalist who tried and failed to buy MG Rover, is preparing a $6-billion bid for Land Rover and Jaguar. Moulton, a partner in Alchemy Partners LLP, denied those reports in a telephone interview with Bloomberg News today.
Meantime, trade journal Automotive News Europe reports today that Ford has been actively seeking buyers for its European luxury brands after negotiations for Italy’s Fiat to buy Land Rover and Jaguar broke off late last month.
Last week, the rumors had BMW considering the purchase of Volvo.
Where there's this kind of smoke, there's bound to be fire.
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Fortune magazine: Cerberus Signs on Ex-Chrysler Design Chief Tom Gale
Former Chrysler Design Chief Tom Gale, reportedly has signed on as one of the many expert advisors by Cerberus Capital Management that is buying Chrysler, according to a profile on Cerberus in the June 18 issue of Fortune magazine.
Adding Gale to the growing roster of automotive experts suggests Cerberus is serious about turning Chrysler around and gets what needs to be done: get Chrysler's styling mojo back!
One of Chrysler’s major problems of late –- which under Gale had been its major strength –- is styling. Chrysler hasn't had a major design hit since the Chrysler 300, now long in the tooth.
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Chrysler Sold: Is There a China Connection?
Relief, exhilaration and even euphoria best describe the mood at Chrysler and in Detroit 
last week after DaimlerChrysler announced its sale to private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management. The wait was over, and a decision was made.
Now, reality is setting, and with that is increasing wariness and even suspicion.
What’s the bigger picture for Cerberus, especially in light of a host of other automotive investments it has made? Are its automotive investments purely a money play? Or is there something else? Is there a China connection or some other kind of overseas connection?
No one will know until the story unfolds because Cerberus is private and intensely secretive.
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Can Cerberus Still Bail If Unions Don’t Relent?
The timing of union contract negotiations and Cerberus closing on its purchase of Chrysler prompts the question: Can Cerberus bail if contract talks are looking favorable?
National contracts between Chrysler (General Motors and Ford as well) with the United Auto Workers union expires in September. The official kickoff handshake occurs in June, with negotiations in full swing throughout the summer. They will be at round-the-clock fever pitch by early September.
At the same time, DaimlerChrysler said yesterday it plans to close the sale of Chrysler with Cerberus sometime in the July-to-September quarter.
If at the point that Cerberus and DaimlerChrysler are to ink the deal union contract talks are not going smoothly and favorably, can Cerberus bail out of the deal?
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Ford Family Weighs Sale of Shares, Media Reports
Members of Ford Motor Co.'s founding family are discussing the 
sale of part of their controlling stake in the automaker, sources with direct knowledge of the talks told Bloomberg in a post today.
Bloomberg reports Chairman Bill Ford briefed Ford’s board directors on family members' views before the annual shareholders meeting last week in Wilmington, Delaware. At a gathering last month, some family members urged that investment bank Perella Weinberg Partners be hired to advise on a share sale or alternative strategies, Bloomberg reported.
A family attorney denied the reports to Dow Jones.
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GM Rear-Drive Cars On Hold; Camaro Moves Ahead
General Motors Vice Chairman Bob Lutz says the automaker’s future rear-wheel-drive cars have been 
put on hold until the federal government decides on fuel economy and carbon dioxide emissions standards.
"We've pushed the pause button (on future rear-drive cars). It's no longer full speed ahead," Lutz told Chicago Tribune automotive columnist Jim Mateja in an interview in Tuesday’s paper.
But that may not be the whole story behind GM’s alterations of its future product plan.
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Chrysler Buyer: It’s Up to the Unions
Chrysler’s unions, in one way or another, will be the deciding factor in who ultimately buys the Chrysler Group.
It’ll come down to what deal is most palatable to them, and how well they’ll cooperate with -– or aggressively they’ll protest –- a potential buyer.
Of the offers now on the table, the deal likely to be most favored by Chrysler unions is an offer from Canadian auto supplier Magna International with private equity firm Ripplewood.
In contrast, a bid by Cerberus Capital Management ranks at the bottom with Chrysler’s unions, because the union suspects Cerberus intends to break it into pieces and strip it down to nothing more than a distribution company.
“Cerberus is a Trojan horse for Chinese automakers, and the unions know it,” said a source familiar with some of the bids.
Still, wild cards remain. The wildest card is the recent bid from Las Vegas billionaire Kirk Kerkorian and his Tracinda Corp. The innovative deal offers unions a stake in Chrysler and a future. Kerkorian claims Chrysler can be “a robust and lasting standalone entity,” and his Tracinda is in it for the long haul. Published reports put Kerkorian’s offered stake to the unions at 10 percent, but a source says Kerkorian is rumored to be willing to go as high as 20 percent.
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Dow: Private Equity With a Middle Eastern Twist
A British newspaper reports U.S. private equity firms with Middle Eastern investors are preparing a bid of at least $50 billion for Dow Chemical Co., the largest U.S. chemical maker.
Rumors of Dow’s purchase have been swirling for the past couple months, and it was speculated its purchase would be the largest in history by private equity. Indeed, the latest rumored deal would be the largest by billions.
London’s Sunday Express, citing unidentified "sources close to the deal," say the offer for Michigan-based Dow, which supplies auto industry and other businesses, is between $52 and $58 a share and will be made by the end of this week. The speculation sent Dow stock soaring.
Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. is among those backing the bid, the newspaper reported. At least half of the funding is coming from investors in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Oman, the newspaper said.
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Chrysler Sale Is No Fire Sale
By Joseph Szczesny
Chrysler is undoubtedly in play and its sale likely is a foregone conclusion. But DaimlerChrysler 
executives want potential buyers to know this is no fire sale, especially since not everyone at the German automaker is sold on a Chrysler sale.
“The company [in Stuttgart] is divided right down the middle. Half want a split and half don’t,” said one official who has worked for the company in Europe and North America. The source, however, said the company likely is past a point of no return and will be forced to sell Chrysler.
But DaimlerChrysler has certain requirements that must be met before it sells Chrysler. DaimlerChrysler CEO Dieter Zetsche set out four criteria for the sale of the Chrysler Group at this week’s annual meeting in Berlin.
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Ford’s Mulally Stays the Course
Ford Chairman Alan Mulally capped off a week of whirlwind visits to key media outlets and dealerships, 
where he played salesman, with a keynote speech opening press days at the New York auto show.
In the off-the-cuff speech and lengthy question-and-answer session as well as in his visits with the media, Mulally has revealed virtually nothing about what he plans to do to turn around the ailing automaker.
Mulally was asked point blank by Edmunds.com President Jeremy Anwyl about incessant rumors that Mark Fields, president of the Americas and devisor of the Way Forward turnaround plan, and Cisco Codina, group vice president for North American marketing, sales and service, were history.
Seemingly surprised to hear of the rumors, Mulally responded he’s standing by his men and the plan.
Mulally reinforced that message during his speech in New York. He claims no further, deeper cuts are required, as analysts and industry observers insist are needed.
Asked at the New York show about Ford’s prospects for survival, highly respected auto analyst, Joe Phillippi, of AutoTrends, in Short Hills, N.J., responded: “Dicey.”
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Magna, Private Equity Firm Bid for Chrysler, Analyst's Report
Canadian supplier Magna International Inc. has joined with a private equity group to make an offer to buy the Chrysler Group from DaimlerChrysler, according to Brett Hoselton, an analyst for KeyBanc Capital Markets, as reported by Automotive News.
Magna and its partner have made an offer to buy Chrysler for $4.6 billion to $4.7 billion, Hoselton says in his March 23 report. He cites sources at Magna but does not name the private equity partner.
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Wal-Mart vs. Julie Roehm: Battle Grows More Sordid
The Wal-Mart situation involving former Chrysler marketing executive Julie Roehm, dismissed from the giant retailer, gets more sordid by the minute. It makes the controversy surrounding her at Chrysler look tame by comparison.
In court documents filed Monday, Wal-Mart accused Roehm and another top marketing executive (who was fired from the retailer) with having an affair while they were selecting new advertising agencies and seeking jobs from the agency they ultimately recommended to represent Wal-Mart, according to The New York Times.
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Nissan: More Restructuring in the Works?
Further restructuring at Nissan is rumored as a result of the automaker's less than stellar performance of late.
Nissan-Renault CEO Carlos Ghosn is unhappy with Nissan's U.S. sales performance and recent product launches and intends to take action, according to the rumor mill.
Ghosn has made no secret of dissatisfaction publicly.
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Chrysler: As the Rumor Mill Churns
GM? India? Magna? Private equity?
Analysis, speculation and flat-out rumors continue as DaimlerChrysler “explores all options” regarding the future of its Chrysler Group. A potential Chrysler-General Motors link has generated the most interest.
The Financial Times in London reported on Sunday that DaimlerChrysler is considering taking a minority stake in GM as payment for Chrysler if a deal between the two carmakers goes ahead.
Buying part or all of Chrysler’s industrial assets for shares placed with DaimlerChrysler would relieve GM of the need to raise new cash, which GM would find onerous given the current “junk” status of its debt, the paper noted. As a minority shareholder of GM, DaimlerChrysler could benefit from billions of dollars’ worth of synergies and cost savings expected from merging the two companies.
The London newspaper quoted a source identified as a leading shareholder as saying: “They are interested in who takes Chrysler over, and they would be happy to take equity in GM in return.” The paper said such an equity arrangement has the support of at least two of DaimlerChrysler’s institutional shareholders.
Such a plan may be sheer wishful thinking on the part of the quoted shareholder and other European shareholders eager to dump Chrysler. But it represents a shift in GM strategy, which has been moving away from equity arrangements.
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Hyundai Is Monday's Chrysler Suitor
If it's Monday, it must be Hyundai. 
Friday the frenzied buzz was that General Motors was in talks to buy Chrysler. By Monday, South Korea’s Hyundai was rumored to be interested.
And by the end of the week, even more names are likely to emerge as suitors. One could be from China – maybe Chery or Shanghai Automotive Industries Corp. (SAIC) – or some private equity firms from virtually anywhere.
Of the two automakers rumored to be interested in Chrysler so far, Hyundai makes more sense. Hyundai lacks much of what Chrysler has; GM already has too much of what Chrysler's got.
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Rumors of GM Buying Chrysler Are Just That
Rumors are running rampant since a German Web site reported General Motors is in talks to buy Chrysler, now that DaimlerChrysler has indicated its American arm is for sale.
But they are just that - rumors.
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