- Tesla prepares to join automated-driving race – Automotive News: Tesla Motors will make its first foray toward automated driving, joining luxury rivals in offering high-tech features, including one that can keep the car in its lane, said a person familiar with the carmaker’s plans.
- FRANCE: Faurecia looks to carbon fibre cost reduction – Just-auto: Faurecia says it is seeking ways to slash the price of carbon fibre as it looks to the increasing use of composite materials and natural products to offer lightweight solutions for mass market models.
- New European Clean Air Rules Could be “Fatal” to Auto Industry, Executive Warns – thedetroitbureau.com: Facing growing concerns about air quality, global warming and long-term energy supplies, European regulators are debating sharply tightening already-strict vehicles emissions standards. Automotive executives at this year’s Paris Motor Show are warning such a move could be “fatal” for the auto industry.
- INDIA: Suzuki develops new 1.6- and 1.5-litre diesels – Just-auto: Suzuki is in the advanced stages of development of a new 1.6-litre, four cylinder diesel engine for Europe as well as a 1.5-litre version for use primarily by its Indian operations.
- Technology Takes the Wheel – NY Times: By the end of the decade, many automakers will offer vehicles that can take control on the highway, even passing and exiting on their own.
- PARIS SHOW: US light vehicle market heading for 17m in 2015 – Ford’s Fields – Just-auto: The US light vehicle market is heading for around 17m units in 2015, Ford CEO Mark Fields told just-auto at the Paris Motor Show.
- Self-driving cars stepping on the gas – Via Google News: Naoki Suganuma, 38, a Kanazawa University lecturer, recently test-drove a self-driving car at a driving school in Kanazawa. The car negotiated a …
- The new 500X is Fiat’s last chance, and one it’s grabbing with both hands – Autocar: Fiat is chasing big numbers with the launch of its new compact SUV, promising a car that both new and current customers will love.
- FRANCE: Valeo largest global growth as Europe returns: CEO – Just-auto: Valeo says it has become what it terms as the OEM with the largest global growth as the European economy continues to rebound.
- Daimler, Renault Chiefs Knock Hydrogen Cars – WSJ: Top executives of Daimler, Renault and Nissan came out opposed to Toyota’s plan to market fuel-cell vehicles that would compete with their electric car developments.
- 3 of 10 Autos Sold in Korea are SUVs – Via Google News: According to the automobile industry on Oct. 5, the top five automobile manufacturing companies in Korea sold a total of 94,834 cars last month …
- U.S. Cars Increasing Popularity in Korean Market – Via Google News: According to the Korea Automobile Importers & Distributors Association (KAIDA), a total of 128,817 imported cars were sold in Korea during the first …
- Buffett’s Van Tuyl purchase puts top retailers in cross hairs – Automotive News: When Warren Buffett signed a deal to buy Van Tuyl Group last week through his Berkshire Hathaway Inc. investment company, he clearly signaled that the top four dealership groups are in his sights.
- Paris hits and misses – Automotive News: There were more hits than misses at the Paris auto show, a sign that even with a sluggish European market, automakers are willing to take chances with new designs.
- Wrangler shock wave hits Toledo – Automotive News: Sergio Marchionne, CEO of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, dropped a bomb at the Paris auto show last week, and it landed 4,000 miles west on Toledo, Ohio.
- Boom time for Audi dealerships – Automotive News: Audi dealers, riding a sales bonanza, are also in the throes of a $1 billion building boom as they prepare to fulfill the brand’s long-term goal of selling 200,000 vehicles a year in the U.S.
- Tesla’s trump card: Used cars – Automotive News: Tesla is developing a program to sell the Model S secondhand in a bid to lower the cost of entry for the $71,070 sedan and unlock the earnings potential of Tesla’s factory-owned retail network.
- Hybrid Chrysler minivan will hit market in ’15, a year early – Automotive News: Chrysler Group will launch a plug-in hybrid version of the next-generation Chrysler Town and Country minivan late next year.
- Betting on Russia, despite turmoil – Automotive News: It sounds risky, but many auto executives say that the best response to Western sanctions against Russia is to continue investing there.
- Chevy, Ram pickups surge as Ford waits for F-150 – Automotive News: Chevrolet and Ram are enjoying a golden sales opportunity for full-size pickups.
- Porsche rejects entry-level roadster — again – Automotive News: After thinking about it long and hard, Porsche has abandoned the idea of building an entry-level roadster.
- Zest sedan adds punch to Tata Motors’ car sales – Via Google News: Tata Motors has been pinning a lot of hope on new launches like the entry-level sedan Zest to turn around its dwindling fortunes in the domestic …
- GM to invest $14 billion in China within five years – CarNewsChina.com: General Motors will invest $14 billion in China over the next five years and open five new manufacturing plants to increase annual sales in the world’s largest car market to nearly 5 million vehicles. The company’s plans for China also include introducing 60 new models or revamped vehicles, including nine new models from its flagship […]
- Tesla’s trump card: Used cars – Via Google News: Elon Musk, in his quest to transform Tesla Motors from a scrappy electric-vehicle startup into a mature, profitable automaker, may …
- Hamilton Wins a Wet Japanese Grand Prix – Via Google News: Sutil got out of the car as a recovery crane came to lift the car off the track, but on the following lap, Bianchi, driving a Marussia, spun off the track and …
- Ferrari 458 Speciale A: The most powerful spider ever – Via Google News: The 458 Speciale A made its world debut at the 2014 Mondial de l’Automobile in Paris. Offered as a limited edition special series of just 499 cars, the …
- GM Issues Three New Recalls – WSJ: General Motors issued three new recalls covering almost 60,575 vehicles in North America—the biggest for an ignition switch issue on some Pontiac G8 and Chevrolet Caprice police patrol vehicles.
- US carmakers: Rocky road ahead – FT: Ford and General Motors confirm what everyone knew: the near-term is unpleasant
- Honda Jade MPV is a low riding Bentley in China – CarNewsChina.com: A very hot Honda Jade MPV, Spotted in China on the Beijing Tuning Street., looking very speedy in light-froggy green. The normally rather boring people carrier has been horned up to the max with lowered suspension for maximal low riding, a super low body kit, black windows, chromed mirrors, an antenna, and: Bentley alloys! Almost […]
- BYD S7 SUV is Almost Ready for the Chinese car market – CarNewsChina.com: This is the all new BYD S7 SUV, it will be launched on the Chinese car market later this month. Price will start around 150.000 yuan and end around 190.000 yuan. The BYD S7 is a more luxurious and powerful version of the BYD S6. The BYD S7 in turn forms the base for the […]
- Wheelies: The Crash Test Edition – NY Times: The Lincoln MKS sedan scored poorly on an I.I.H.S. small-overlap front-end crash test; the underappreciated Porsche 914 will get its due.
- 2014 Paris Motor Show: Mercedes Offers Something for Everyone – NY Times: Big sedans and powerful AMG performance cars made the biggest splash, but Mercedes was persistent in its presence across all segments.
- G.M. Expands Crossover Recall in Canada to the U.S. – NY Times: G.M. is recalling about 290,000 Cadillac SRX and Saab 9-4X crossovers in the United States for a suspension problem that had also prompted a recall in Canada.
- Auto Ego: V8 Expats Find New Owners in an Ancient Land – NY Times: Ali Hebi, a barber who lives in a small village in Israel, owns a car rarely seen in the Middle East: a 1978 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am.
- The 2014 Paris Motor Show – NY Times: New at this show often looked a lot like existing models with facelifts and fresh electronics. Design studies were little more than thinly disguised future production models.
- Preview: The Names and Faces of the Incoming Class of 2015 – NY Times: The new model year brings changes for vehicles of all types and sizes.