- GM’s quarterly profit plunges on recall costs – Automotive News: General Motors today posted an 85 percent drop in second-quarter net income, hurt by recall-related expenses including a special charge of $400 million for the cost of a program to compensate victims of GM’s faulty ignition switch.
- GM Korea could make next-gen Cruze if union calls off strike – Automotive News: GM’s South Korean subsidiary told its employee union that the automaker could consider making the next-generation Chevrolet Cruze in South Korea if the union calls off a wage-related strike.
- US: Ford Europe finally makes a pre-tax buck – Just-auto: Ford has boosted second quarter pre-tax operating profit US$44m to $2.6bn and net income $78m to $1.3bn as wholesale volume and company revenue slipped 1%. And it’s finally back in pre-tax profit in Europe for the first quarter in three years.
- Ford overcomes sales dip to boost profits – FT: Record results in North America and a return to profit in Europe are outweighing economic problems in key Latin American markets for the US company
- Ford profit beats expectations, sets record for North America – Reuters: Ford Motor Co’s operating earnings for the second quarter beat Wall Street expectations as better-than-expected profit in North America and Europe countered weaker results in Asia Pacific and South America.
- UPDATE 1-Ford profit beats expectations, sets record for N. America – Reuters: Ford Motor Co’s operating earnings for the second quarter beat Wall Street expectations as better-than-expected profit in North America and Europe countered weaker results in Asia Pacific and South America.
- GM’s profit falls on recall costs, victims’ compensation fund – Reuters: General Motors Co reported a lower second-quarter profit on Thursday due to numerous recalls and the expected cost of at least $400 million for its victims’ compensation fund for those killed or injured by a defective ignition switch linked to at least 13 deaths.
- US: New boss for Lincoln as Fields acts swiftly – Just-auto: Ford’s struggling Lincoln brand, which has seen sales fall by 65% over the last 25 years, will have a new boss from 1 September in a move new Ford CEO Mark Fields described as “making clear we are serious about Lincoln as a world-class luxury brand”.
- Nissan Says Making Progress on Remedying Pathfinder Judder – Wards: The Japanese automaker has been updating transmission-control-module software, replacing torque converters and replacing entire transmissions to remedy the problem. Content Classification: Curated
- THAILAND: Sales drop 30% in June, 40% YTD – Just-auto: New vehicle sales in Thailand fell by 30.4% to 73,799 units in June, from 106,033 units a year earlier, according to data released by the Federation of Thai Industries.
- Strong won weighs on S Korean exporters – FT: Groups pin poor results on a rising currency, though most analysts dismiss their complaints, noting the won is still well below previous lofty levels
- Bentley SUV design finalised, reveals design boss – Autocar: The styling for Bentley’s first SUV has been signed off ahead of production starting in 2016, but it won’t look like the controversial EXP 9 F concept.
- Ford Says’15 Mustang Worth Its Weight in Go Power – Wards: A twin-scroll turbocharger teamed with twin independent variable camshaft timing and direct fuel injection helps the compact powerplant in the 2.3L engine turn out an unofficial 310 hp and 320 lb.-ft. of torque.
- Behold, the Active Tourists who will buy BMW’s new compact MPV – Autocar: Munich’s embracing of front-wheel-drive might be hard for some to accept, but it makes sound commercial sense. The launch of the new BMW 2-series Active Tourer took place in the very pleasant Tirol region in Austria. You can read Hilton Holloway’s driving impressions of the first full production front-wheel-drive offering from BMW here.
- US: GM announces six more recalls – Just-auto: General Motors has announced six safety recalls covering 717,949 recent model vehicles in the US. The numbers per incident vary from 22 to 414,000.
- Why is the design of the new Audi TT so predictable? – Autocar: The TT was a revolutionary car design when it was first revealed in 1995, but subsequent versions have played it safeWalk along pretty much any high street in the UK, in almost any town, and you will instantly see sights that are familiar. There will be a Greggs pie shop, a Starbucks, a golden arches perhaps, a Tesco Express and maybe a Subway. And the weird thing is, most of us feel subconsciously comfortable with such familiarity, because it’s been this way now for many years.At one time, however, high…
- Renault working on hotter Twingo for 2015 – Autocar: Higher performance version of the Twingo spotted testing ahead of a probable launch in mid-2015, but it is unlikely to be badged as Twingo RS.
- US: study sees buyers dissatisfied with unreliable tech – Via Google News: … the advent of the connected car world, where vehicles communicate to avoid accidents; as well as the introduction of the fully automated automobile.
- BMW aims to close gap on Audi by focusing more on the small car and new energy vehicle markets … – Via Google News: The Shenyang factory’s annual production capacity will increase by another 100,000 vehicles. BMW’s state-of-the-art three-cylinder and four-cylinder …
- Hyundai Motor Profit Skids – WSJ: Hyundai Motor second-quarter net profit fell 6.9%, hurt by a stronger local currency and higher costs incurred for improving its U.S. market share.
- After second-quarter profit hit, Hyundai Motor warns of firmer won, slowing demand growth – Reuters: South Korea’s Hyundai Motor said its net profit fell the most in five quarters, hit by the local currency’s sharp gain versus the dollar, and warned it sees a tough second half as the won stays strong and global demand growth weakens.
- O’Toole: Driverless cars improve mobility while mandatory V2I invades privacy – Via Google News: President Obama recently gave a speech in Virginia calling for mandatory installation of vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure …
- Car Culture: Muscle cars offer power trips beyond racetrack – DetN: Race car drivers like to say you can never have too much power. By contrast, regular motorists are supposed to be a bit more practical, accepting that 150-300 horsepower, depending on your vehicle type, is good enough.
- Canada: Lawmakers Consider Seizing Cars Over Guns – Via Google News: If someone convicted under the bill is driving a car that belongs to someone else, the vehicle owner cannot get his car back or recover losses without …
- Wheelies: The Keystone Velocity Edition – NY Times: Pennsylvania announces a higher speed limit along part of the Pennsylvania Turnpike; Porsche and Hyundai score well in a J.D. Power owner survey.
- Un-hack my wheels! Device promises to block cyber car attacks – Via Google News: Now, Valasek says that he and Miller will show off a prototype vehicle intrusion prevention device at the Black Hat hacking conference happening in …
- Porsche, Hyundai get high marks for customer satisfaction – Via Google News: By car segments, the winners were the Hyundai Accent (Small Car), Dodge Dart (Compact Car), BMW 4 Series (Compact Premium Car), Volkswagen …
- New General Motors Recall Covers 800,000 More Vehicles – NY Times: The auto company announced six more recalls on Wednesday for various flaws, and its worldwide recall total for 2014 is 29 million.
- GM Rolls Out Another Six Recalls for 717,000 Vehicles – thedetroitbureau.com: After a brief reprieve – and hints that the worst of its safety problems had ended – General Motors has announced another six recalls collectively covering more than 700,000 cars, trucks and crossovers. More from TheDetroitBureau.com.
- Opel plans ‘electric’ successor to Ampera plug-in hybrid – Automotive News: Opel said it plans an “electric” successor to the Ampera. The plug-in hybrid was introduced across Europe in 2011 but will be discontinued.
- GM seeks broader immunity in switch lawsuits – Automotive News: GM, moving to expand its immunity from lawsuits after recalling almost 29 million cars in North America, said it sees no need to try to settle customer claims until a judge decides whether it’s legally responsible for faults in its predecessor’s…
- GM lists more Cobalt, Ion fatalities in quarterly crash data – Automotive News: In the first quarter, General Motors received claims that defects in the Chevrolet Cobalt and Saturn Ion caused 17 deaths and 167 injuries, according to data it submitted to federal safety regulators.
- Pandora looks to challenge radio’s dominance in cars – Via Google News: This year, the company is planning to launch its radio services in 135 different car models from 26 auto manufactures. Five million new users have …
- GM Announces New Recalls Covering More Than 700000 Vehicles – Via Google News: American automobile manufacturer General Motors announced six new recalls covering 717,950 vehicles on Wednesday, bringing the company’s …
- Daimler warns over cyber attacks on cars – FT: Defending vehicles against hackers already ‘essential’, chief says while reporting 12% increase in operating earnings in the second quarter
- Consumer Reports Gives Buick Regal Thumbs Up – thedetroitbureau.com: Buick was at death’s door just a few years ago. A staid image and a mandate to cut down the number of brands in its portfolio, it looked like it would be heading to the scrap heap of automotive history. However, Buick’s made a comeback perhaps topped off by a sparking review of the new Regal by Consumer Reports.
- New Audi SQ7 to use electrically assisted turbocharging – Autocar: High-performance variant of next-generation large SUV set to use electric turbo system designed to reduce turbo lag on both petrol and diesel engines.
- Daimler says has more to do on costs after solid results – Reuters: Daimler produced a forecast-beating 12 percent profit increase in the second quarter as its new Mercedes C-Class and E-Class cars helped to lift profit margins.
- GERMANY: Opel axing Ampera, promises replacement EV – Just-auto: Opel chief Karl-Thomas Neumann has confirmed the Opel/Vauxhall Ampera is for the chop but, in a series of Twitter posts, promised a replacement.