- Honda’s quarterly profit up on Asian sales growth – DetN: Honda’s quarterly profit surged nearly 20 percent on demand for remodeled cars in Japan and elsewhere in Asia. The Japanese automaker also raised its full-year profit and sales forecasts.
- JAPAN: Government to offer fuel cell incentives – Just-auto: The Japanese government is preparing to offer generous incentives for buyers of hydrogen powered fuel cell vehicles to help Japanese manufacturers such as Toyota and Honda take the lead in bringing hydrogen vehicles market.
- FRANCE: Renault H1 operating profit up 25% but warns on emerging market slowdown – Just-auto: Renault has posted a 25% increase in half-year Group operating profit to EUR729m (US$980m), but warns of a “sharp slowdown” in emerging markets.
- CHINA: JLR cuts prices amid anti-trust probe – Just-auto: European luxury car brands have cut new car and aftersales prices in China as a result of the government’s investigation into anti-competitive activity, launched earlier this year.
- Renault boosted by low-cost Dacia brand – FT: French automaker’s no-frills Romanian cars offset Russia weakness, helping the company to record a 25% rise in first-half earnings
- Honda profit rises 7 percent on cost cuts, Japan sales – Automotive News: Honda’s quarterly operating profit rose 7 percent to $1.94 billion as lower sales in the United States were offset by costs cuts and the company’s stronger focus on Asian markets.
- Honda Net Profit Grows 20% – WSJ: Honda Motor Co. says its earnings rose 20% in the latest quarter, when it benefited from growth in global auto sales, but was held back by delayed model introductions.
- Delay denied for auto recall database; launch set for August – DetN: Car, truck and motorcycle owners and used vehicle shoppers soon will be able to submit VIN numbers online at a government website — and at the sites of all major automakers — to find out immediately if vehicles have any unrepaired recalls.
- Daniel Howes: Culture overhaul is up to GM insiders – DetN: Six months after stepping aside as General Motors Co.’s fourth CEO in five years and leaving his successor with a searing recall crisis, Dan Akerson tells The Detroit News ‘we all … didn’t fully realize how deeply some of the problems ran.’
- How to prevent your car catching fire? – Via Google News: You may have seen it happening; a vehicle suddenly catches fire while on the road. If not seen first-hand, images and stories of flaming cars may have …
- Ford’s New Pickups to Have Higher Price Tags – WSJ: Ford Motor Co.’s new collection of aluminum pickups will come with a higher price tag than outgoing models when they hit the market in the fourth quarter.
- Panasonic to initially invest $200-300 million in Tesla battery plant: source – Reuters: Panasonic Corp plans to initially invest about 20 billion to 30 billion yen ($200-300 million) in Tesla Motors Inc’s planned lithium-ion battery plant in the United States, a person familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.
- Ford’s aluminum-body 2015 F-150s to cost more than previous models – DetN: Ford said today that base prices of its aluminum-body 2015 F-150 pickup will increase between $395-$3,615 over the current 2014 truck.
- Judge: Mercedes-Benz violated organizing rights in Alabama – DetN: An administrative judge said Mercedes-Benz USA violated the rights of workers at its Vance, Ala., plant who were seeking to convince other employees to form a union during off-time, but ruled in the company’s favor in other points of contention and imposed no fines.
- GM to add wireless smartphone charging – DetN: General Motors Co. said Monday it will offer wireless smartphone charging in the 2015 Cadillac ATS and 2015 Cadillac ATS Coupe to help address growing demand for charging devices in the car and eliminating the need for cords.
- Frugal new Jaguar XE tech secrets revealed – Autocar: Baby Jag will use a new 2.0-litre turbodiesel engine and aluminium-intensive structure when it goes on sale next yearThe new Jaguar XE will return as much as 75mpg on the EU combined cycle and have a CO2 rating of below 100g/km, according to the British car maker. Powered by the all-new 2.0-litre tubodiesel Ingenium engine and built around an aluminium body structure, the XE should better the frugality of today’s most economical BMW 3-series and Mercedes-Benz C-class models, the new baby Jaguar’s main…
- Consumer Reports wants Toyota to recall older Camry hybrids – Reuters: An influential consumer magazine on Monday called on Toyota Motor Corp to recall about 177,500 older Camry hybrid sedans to address potential power brake defects.
- Tenneco’s Q2 profit rises 29% on record revenue – Automotive News: Tenneco, a ride-control and emission-control systems supplier, today reported that its net income rose 29 percent in the second quarter from a year ago to $81 million on record revenue of $2.2 billion.
- Many drivers are ready for autonomous cars, survey says – Automotive News: A significant percentage of drivers are ready for their cars to do the driving for them. In a study conducted in June by Insurance.
- Consumer Reports presses Toyota to recall some 177,500 Camry hybrids – Automotive News: Consumer Reports called on Toyota to recall about 177,500 older Camry hybrid sedans to address potential power brake defects.
- Audi to test automated car in Florida – Via Google News: Audi will be the first automated driving pioneer to test its technology on the Lee Roy Selmon Expressway in Tampa, which was recently designated as …
- GM, Toyota plan to resume production in South Africa – Automotive News: GM and Toyota plan to resume production on Tuesday in South Africa and the nation’s largest union agreed to end a four-week strike in the metals sector after accepting a wage increase offer from employers.
- The 2015 Sonata Shows That Hyundai Can Play With the Big Boys – NY Times: Driving a subpar vehicle through Greenwich, Conn., is a no-no, but Hyundai’s well-designed new Sonata can fit in without joining the upper crust.
- Tesla, Panasonic reach agreement on U.S. battery plant, report says – Automotive News: Panasonic has reached a basic agreement with Tesla Motors to initially supply the electric automaker’s proposed lithium-ion battery plant in the United States with machinery to make battery cells, the Nikkei said.
- How Helsinki Plans to Make Cars Obsolete by 2025 – Via Google News: Omaha, Nebraska is, like most American cities, car-dependent. People who ride the bus are either students or low-income individuals who can’t afford …
- Ford Dropping Weight – But Raising Price – of New F-150 Pickup – thedetroitbureau.com: While Ford’s new “aluminum-intensive” 2015 F-150 pickup is going on a diet, it’s going to be heavier on the wallet, the new truck’s sticker price jumping by as much as $3,615. But the automaker is hoping that potential buyers still see the pickup as a bargain because of the anticipated fuel savings.
- Most are open to driverless cars, but wouldn’t entrust their children to them – Via Google News: Over 75% of drivers would consider buying a car with autonomous capabilities, and the number jumps to 86% if doing so resulted in much cheaper car …
- Exclusive – GM moves next version of big pickups ahead by nine months: sources – Reuters: General Motors Co has pushed forward the launch of its next-generation full-size pickups by about nine months to fall 2018, hoping to narrow rival Ford Motor Co’s still-sizable lead in meeting future U.S. fuel-economy standards, supplier sources said on Monday.
- US: Cadillac adding wireless phone charging this autumn – Just-auto: Cadillac will add wireless charging of smartphones in the 2015 model ATS sport sedan and coupe launching this autumn. Compatible with Powermat and other in-phone wireless charging technologies, the feature eliminates the need for cords on board.
- Oz Students Claim EV Speed Record – Wards: The Sunswift eVe from the University of New South Wales achieved an average speed of 62.1 mph over the 500-km run, bettering the previous world record of 45.36 mph.
- Ford hikes revamped F-150 pickup prices as much as $3,615 – Automotive News: Ford is raising prices on the new 2015 aluminum-bodied F-150 pickup by $340 to $3,615, or 1 percent to 8 percent, and has trimmed the number of models to five from 11.
- BMW Launches Its Own, Free Supercharger Network for Electric Cars – Via Google News: In an announcement putting a charge into the automobile industry, BMW said Monday it is launching a free supercharger …
- Akerson: ‘We all’ misread problems in GM’s recall crisis – DetN: Former General Motors Chairman and CEO Dan Akerson says the automaker’s recent ignition switch recall crisis shows that problems with GM’s corporate culture were far more serious than executives realized.
- Fiat’s Vans Concept 500 Tapping “Board” Culture – thedetroitbureau.com: Cars and surfing enjoy a special relationship on the beach and in popular culture, especially in Southern California where vehicles such as Woody wagons became embedded local lore. Fiat’s new 500L-Vans concept is making a play for the surfing crowd and it was unveiled over the weekend in California.
- The Moral Case for Self-Driving Cars – Via Google News: In 2011, there were 5.3 million automobile crashes in the United States, … So who will be liable when a robot car-howsoever rarely-crashes into …
- Global product expert in Lincoln driver’s seat – Automotive News: Ford CEO Mark Fields, in his first major personnel move since taking over, announced Kumar Galhotra’s appointment last week among several changes in Ford’s product development organization.
- Ford, Ram quarrel over heavy-duty pickup towing title – Automotive News: Ford Motor Co. is threatening legal action if Ram keeps claiming that its pickups offer “best-in-class” towing. Ram’s response? In so many words, it’s telling Ford to go pound sand.