- End of the road for Hindustan Ambassador – FT: Hindustan Motors stops production of vehicle that came to symbolise high social standing and India’s hopes for economic self-reliance as sales slide and debts mount
- Why didn’t stalling alone trigger GM recall? – Automotive News: General Motors asserted for a decade that unexpected stalling was not a safety defect, even as its competitors issued about 90 recalls for similar symptoms during the same period and federal safety regulators opened 42 investigations into stalling.
- NADA: Dealer revenues like never before – Automotive News: Dealerships have more than bounced back from the recession. Fewer stores and the recovery in vehicle sales meant record revenues and profits for dealerships last year.
- Why mess with 2-tier wage success? – Automotive News: Ford’s Americas boss Joe Hinrichs says it would be risky to mess with the two-tier wage structure during 2015 UAW contract talks. Fiat Chrysler’s Sergio Marchionne, meanwhile, says the system isn’t sustainable.
- GM dealers fret about brand damage, prep for service windfall – Automotive News: For dealers, General Motors’ record barrage of safety recalls is a startling, confusing, aggravating logistical headache. It’s also potentially lucrative.
- Can 3-cylinder engines overcome their wimpy reputation? – Automotive News: Engineers have solved the technical problems that dogged the three-cylinder engine in the 1980s and early ’90s. But even with turbochargers, it may take a while for the triple to outrun its historical baggage.
- GM China to recall the Buick Enclave – CarNewsChina.com: General Motors China will recall 26.579 Buick Enclave SUV’s to replace faulty seat belts. The recall will start on June 30. The vehicles were produced between Aug 15, 2008 and April 10 this year. It is widely expected that more announcements on other recalls will follow soon. The Buick Enclave is imported into China.
- Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. Releases New Skyline with 2.0-liter Turbocharged Gasoline Engine – Nissan: Next-generation Turbo Model “200GT-t” to be Added to the Lineup
- Mercedes-Benz plans plug-in hybrid push for 2020 – Autocar: New hybrid versions of the S-class and C-class to lead a major focus on plug-in hybrid vehicles from Mercedes. Mercedes-Benz is gearing its future vehicle strategy around a greater uptake of plug-in hybrids than full electric cars, according to the company’s head of development, Thomas Weber.
- Caterham Group up for sale – report – Autocar: Malaysian media reports that Caterham chairman Tony Fernandes has put the automotive group up for sale with an asking price of £350mA report in Malaysia suggests that Tony Fernandes has put the British-based Caterham Group of motorsport, automotive and engineering companies up for sale.
- Auto parts price-fixing probe rattles industry – DetN: An investigation into price-fixing and bid-rigging in the auto parts industry has mushroomed into the Justice Department’s largest criminal antitrust probe ever, and it’s not over yet.
- Ford warns over Europe overcapacity – FT: Head of US-based company urges continent’s carmakers to close more unproductive factories and cautions that recent sales growth masks deeper problems
- BMW sees 2014 as year of growth opportunities for auto industry – DetN: BMW AG, the world’s biggest maker of luxury autos, expects global demand for cars to rise this year, underpinning its goal to sell a record number of cars.
- Jaguar Land Rover wins 17 MENA awards – Via Google News: This impressive figure is in addition to the numerous global awards already on mantle for the luxury British car brand. The Range Rover led the charge …
- Plays with Porsches: No safe place to test Porsche Cayman S – Via Google News: Part of the difficulty of testing cars when there’s no real test track facility … Disclosure: Porsche provided the vehicle, insurance, and a tank of gas.
- NHTSA investigates brake problems in 200,000 Nissan cars – DetN: The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Saturday it is opening an investigation into 200,000 Nissan cars over braking problems.
- Customers have their say in the space saver versus tyre repair kit debate – Autocar: Lexus reckons UK car buyers prefer a space saver to a tyre repair kit, so it is fitting one as standard to its new SUVSpent an interesting couple of hours yesterday morning scrutinising the Lexus NX, the Japanese manufacturer’s new mid-sized SUV which is pitched against the likes of the BMW X3 and Range Rover Evoque.
- Patent Applied: Brilliance Jinbei MS3 SUV for the China car market – CarNewsChina.com: Brilliance Automobile has applied for patent on the new Jinbei MS3 SUV for the China car market. The Brilliance Jinbei MS3 is a new compact SUV that looks a tad too much like the 2013 Acura MDX.
- Panasonic Unsure on Tesla Battery Goals – WSJ: Panasonic said the extent of its role in a proposed battery joint venture with electric car maker Tesla Motors is still uncertain as it expressed doubt over the venture’s ambitious target of reducing battery-manufacturing costs.
- Old GM has $1.1B in assets to pay $32B of claims – DetN: General Motors Co.’s predecessor, which is liquidating its assets to pay remaining claims, said it had $1.1 billion as of March 31 to pay allowed unsecured claims of $32 billion.
- GM recalls 500 full-size pickups, SUVs – DetN: General Motors Co. said Friday it was recalling about 500 2014 and 2015 full-size pickups and SUVs because the air bags may not work.