- Isuzu and GM to jointly develop mid-size pick-up truck – Reuters: Isuzu Motors and U.S. group General Motors have agreed to jointly develop a mid-size pick-up truck for sale in major markets around the world excluding North America, the Japanese truckmaker said on Friday.
- GM and Isuzu to jointly develop midsize pickup for global markets – Automotive News: General Motors and Japan’s Isuzu Motors said today they agreed to jointly develop a midsize pickup truck for sale in several markets around the world, but not for the United States and Canada.
- US: Analysts peg September light vehicle sales around 1.3m, SAAR 16.5m – Just-auto: Final-week forecasts from Edmunds.com and Kelley Blue Book (KBB) suggest September 2014 light vehicle sales in the US will be down around 20% from August but up about 11% year on year to around 1.3m (SAAR: 16.5m).
- US: Ford’s Americas chief predicts 17m light vehicle sales in 2015 – Just-auto: Ford’s president of the Americas, Joe Hinrichs, said during a TV interview the company is predicting industry-wide US light vehicle sales will top 17m in 2015, a tally last achieved in 2001.
- Motor Mouth: This 3D-printed car could change everything – Via Google News: Yes, an entire automobile. And not just a cute little plastic model of a car or an artist’s rendering of what a future car might look like, but a complete, …
- Renault to Unveil New-Gen Espace MPV at Paris Show – Wards: 2014 Paris Auto Show Through the years the family van has matured into a large, sophisticated utility meant to appeal to buyers with a strong design and modular, highly flexible interior.
- SOUTH KOREA: Analysts see hybrid car sales soaring with new government incentives – Just-auto: Sales of hybrid electric cars in South Korea are expected to accelerate next year with government incentives expected to make some local models actually cheaper to buy than equivalent petrol models.
- Hyundai Deal Has Tax Benefits – WSJ: While Hyundai Motor’s $10.2 billion purchase of land in Seoul’s upscale Gangnam district has angered investors and sent its shares down 14%, the deal has one financial benefit for the car maker.
- Toyota India’s Sales, Fiscal Injuries Self-Inflicted – Wards: Toyota is refining its manufacturing practices to again ensure quality. New Managing Director Naomi Ishii has started the process for rapid localization of parts and is working to choose the right models in the right segments.
- Boards of Hyundai Motor, units OK signing of $10 billion land deal – Reuters: The boards of Hyundai Motor Co and two affiliates on Friday approved a 10.55 trillion won ($10.12 billion) purchase of a plot of land in Seoul, the companies said, sealing a deal worth more than triple the property’s appraised amount.
- GM: Ratings upgrade to aid lending arm, support global sales push – Automotive News: GM plans to leverage its return to investment grade, which could lower borrowing costs, by strengthening its lending arm, CFO Chuck Stevens said.
- After a G.M. Recall, a Fiery Crash and a Payout – NY Times: Lara Gass died days after receiving her recall notice, in the first known fatal crash to have occurred after the ignition switch recall began. Her parents want to know why G.M. insisted her car was still safe to drive.
- GM expects Cadillac to sell 40% more cars in China this year – CarNewsChina.com: General Motors expects Cadillac sales in China to increase by 40 percent this year, as the US carmaker prepares to reorganize its luxury brand as a separate unit based in New York.The company forecasts delivering about 70.000 Cadillacs by year’s end in the world’s largest auto market, after selling more than 45.600 units in August, […]
- BMW plans hot i9 as part of 2016 centenary – Autocar: More aggressive and powerful version of the i8 planned to celebrate BMW’s centenary in two years time,
- GM debt bumped up to investment grade by SandP – Automotive News: General Motors’ corporate debt was raised by Standard and Poor’s to investment grade, another critical step in the automaker’s long recovery from its 2009 bankruptcy and reorganization.
- Tesla Banned From Test-Driving And Selling Electric Cars in Iowa – Via Google News: Electric car backers in Iowa argue that the move not only forces them to go to showrooms in other states to buy the vehicles, but also gets in the way of …
- Post-holiday sales volume remains strong, analysts say – Automotive News: September U.S. auto sales are expected to come in about 10 percent higher than a year ago, according to four analysts’ estimates, with no sign of a typical post-Labor Day slowdown.
- Chrysler Recalls 349000 Cars for Ignition Key Issues – Via Google News: Although this recall concerns only 349,442 vehicles in comparison to millions … If this happens while driving, the vehicle could lose engine power and …
- Chrysler’s revamped line to build about 100 more Ram 1500s a day – Automotive News: Chrysler Group says its Warren Truck Assembly Plant will build about 100 additional Ram 1500s each production day, or 28,565 per year, to meet demand.
- Number of older cars grows sharply – Via Google News: The car population here has been getting older over the past decade or so. For example, in 2007, four in five cars on the road were less than four …
- Iowa: Sorry, Tesla, You Can’t Do Test Drives Here – Via Google News: Because the company was not actually selling cars, Tesla did not believe it was … State law that requires licensed auto dealers is intended to protect …
- Why Tesla was kicked out of Iowa – Via Google News: Tesla Motors is the hottest name in the growing electric car market. But don’t plan on taking the Model S for a test drive in Iowa anytime soon.
- Chrysler recalls nearly 350,000 vehicles from 2008 to fix ignition switches – Automotive News: Chrysler is recalling an estimated 349,442 vehicles from the 2008 model year to fix an ignition switch problem. The automaker says it will correct conditions that may cause ignition keys to become stuck or inadvertently move.
- Driven Into Debt: Miss a Payment? Good Luck Moving That Car – NY Times: Subprime lenders are increasingly relying on technology that allows them to track and disable delinquent borrowers’ vehicles with just a tap of a cellphone app.
- Audi Readying New TT and TTS Models for Paris Debut – thedetroitbureau.com: Audi’s original TT was a groundbreaker when it came to design but the latest version of the roadster is in need of a little updating. Fortunately, TT fans are going to get to see exactly that when the German maker shows off its latest iterations of the TT and TTS at the Paris Motor Show in a week.
- GM ignition-switch victim’s family to accept compensation offer, lawyer says – Automotive News: The family of at least one victim killed in a General Motors vehicle with a faulty ignition switch will accept an offer from a program set up to provide compensation for crash injuries and deaths, a lawyer for the family said today.
- Barra lands on Time cover and back in the spotlight – Automotive News: After months of blistering criticism, lampoons and scrutiny of General Motors, CEO Mary Barra is venturing back into the media spotlight after an initial rush of positive publicity early this year when she became the first female CEO of a major…
- U.K. Automakers Downplay August Production Drop – Wards: Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders CEO Mike Hawes says August typically is the slowest month of the year and some key plants took additional shutdown time compared with last year.