Top News:
- Lentz on Lexus: Few regrets – Automotive News: Toyota’s North American CEO Jim Lentz says it would have been wiser for Lexus to have invested in a three-row crossover instead of the sporty RC coupe. But Lexus’ performance this year has left little reason for regrets.
- GM hints at dealer bonus redesign – Automotive News: North America chief Alan Batey hints at a successor to General Motors’ Essential Brand Elements program, which has funneled billions of dollars to dealers since 2010 to update their stores and raise the level of customer service.
- GM to suppliers: Let’s see books, not bids – Automotive News: General Motors has launched a new way to buy parts that foregoes the conventional bidding process for suppliers. Instead, the new process lets GM inspect suppliers’ factories and analyze their internal cost data.
- Is danger lurking in junkyards? – Automotive News: American Honda is reaching out to thousands of salvage yards and auto recyclers offering to buy up inventories of recalled Takata airbags in an effort to keep them out of circulation.
- Subaru will add capacity 4 years ahead of schedule – Automotive News: Red-hot Subaru, gunning for a seventh year of record U.S. sales, is boosting production capacity in North America four years ahead of schedule.
- Porsche to give retailers a test track deal – Automotive News: Porsche dealers will get a special deal on booking track time for customers at the brand’s $100 million Atlanta headquarters and test track in June. Porsche executives expect 30,000 visitors annually.
- Winterkorn vows to revamp VW – Automotive News: Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn, who last month survived an attempted ouster by his boss, told 5,000 VW managers that he plans to restructure the giant German automaker.
- ‘Nutty’ demand has Tesla rethinking battery market – Automotive News: Musk says Tesla’s stationary batteries may need twice as many battery cells as its cars, signaling that Tesla may not be a car company forever.
- Stores reach out to empower female customers – Automotive News: A visitor to Don Jenkins’ dealerships in this north Tennessee city will find a fair share of brawny men, but a dearth of female shoppers. So the dealer’s daughter, Casey Jenkins, is doing something about that.
- Sonic to restore customer-pay service revenue – Automotive News: Sonic Automotive’s warranty work is up so much, it was losing customer-pay service jobs due to lack of capacity. It’s changing that now with several tweaks to its service lane.
- BMW expands event marketing after success in ’14 – Automotive News: BMW of North America is expanding its event marketing because 25 percent of last year’s participants who drove a vehicle later bought one, says the…
- Vive la Ford: French army picks Rangers – Automotive News: But a spokesman for the French Defense Ministry insisted that the decision was “not a question of America versus France,” noting that Ford assembles…
- Ford sweated details to improve launches – Automotive News: When Ford Motor Co. began building the aluminum-bodied version of its top-selling and most profitable vehicle last year, it was critically…
- Listening to dealers should help Nissan in its push for share – Automotive News: Nissan is further adjusting its sales incentives for dealers, tweaking a program it heavily revamped a year ago. Jose Munoz, Nissan North America…
- Andersson is set to speak at congress – Automotive News: Bo Andersson, CEO of Russian automaker AvtoVAZ and General Motors’ former head of global purchasing, will speak at the Automotive News Europe…
- Scion to announce 3rd new vehicle this fall, sources say – Automotive News: Scion is gearing up for a rebound with two new vehicles, the iA sedan and iM hatchback, both shown last month at the New York auto show.
- Buick Verano for China hints at longer, sleeker US version – Automotive News: The redesigned Buick Verano that General Motors recently showed at the Shanghai auto show is expected to closely resemble the eventual U.S. car…
- 2016 Mustang gets 2 new trim levels – Detroit News: The packages will include aluminum wheels, hood and side stripes, taillamp accents and other features.
- MEDIA-Maruti Suzuki to form new team, network to sell bigger cars – Economic Times – Reuters: MEDIA-Maruti Suzuki to form new team, network to sell bigger cars – Economic Times. – Source link: (bit.ly/1RtbOpk). – Note: Reuters has not verified…
- Car Makers, UAW Consider a New Class of Hires – WSJ:
Other news, rumors, and gossip:
- Volkswagen Going Electric In China, Electrifying 20 Models – Cleantechnica: Volkswagen is apparently aiming to have over 20 different electric vehicle (EV) models on offer in the Chinese market within the “near future,”…
- Passenger car sales up 18 percent in April: SIAM – Vancouverdesi: New Delhi, May 11 (IANS) – Domestic passenger car sales grew by 18.14 percent in April and stood at 159,548 units from 135,054 units sold during…
- Car (Electrification) Trouble? GM Says Demand For Electric Cars Has Not Met Projections – Forbes: General Motors said demand for electrified vehicles has fallen short of initial projects. Does this signal future problems with consumer acceptance of EVs?
- Baojun 560 will hit the Chinese car market in July – Carnewschina: The brand new Baojun 560 SUV will be launched on the Chinese car market in July. Price will range from 80.000 to 100.000 yuan, positioning the Baojun 560 in one of the most competitive segments of the market. Baojun is an entry level brand under the SAIC-GM-Wuling joint venture, in which GM has a 43% []
- Toyota in talks to expand fuel-cell vehicles technology partnership with Mazda – Automotive-business-review: Toyota is reportedly in the final stages of negotiations with Mazda to expand their fuel-cell vehicles (FCVs) technology partnership amid mounting…
- Breaking: General Motors Files Trademark Applications For ‘Krypton’ And ‘Camaro Krypton’ – Gmauthority: General Motors has filed applications to register “Krypton” and “Camaro Krypton” as a trademarks with the United States Patent and Trademark Office…
- Volkswagen in F1 ‘would be great’ – Ecclestone – Worldcarfans: But as for whether a full or part-sale to Volkswagen is the solution for Red Bull, he answered: “I don’t know that — you would have to ask them.”
- Chinese taxi drivers on Strike against Uber – Carnewschina: Taxi drivers in the city of Chengdu, capital of Sichuan Province, went on strike on Sunday May 10, protesting against the activities of the U.S.-based online taxi-hailing service Uber. About two hundred taxis joined the protest.
- Volkswagen unveils 200kW 1.0L TSI, downsizing to the max – Performancedrive: It’s a 1.0-litre TSI three-cylinder unit that produces an insane 200kW (272 PS) of power and 270Nm of torque. Based on the current VW Polo engine,…
- AP Exclusive: Self-driving cars getting dinged in California – Bnd: This May 13, 2014 file photo shows a row of Google self-driving Lexus cars at a Google event outside the Computer History Museum in…
- V8-Powered Jaguar XE-R to Rival BMW M3 – Motorward: But Jaguar apparently wants something closer to the BMW M3 and Mercedes C63 AMG. The goal here is partly challenging the Germans, but mostly…
- Tesla: Pressure Increases For Big Second Half (TSLA) – Seekingalpha: 2015 was always going to be a very important year for electric vehicle maker Tesla Motors (NASDAQ:TSLA). After the company missed delivery…
- Volkswagen Unveils New 1.0 And 6.0 Litre Engines In Vienna – Themotorreport: The Volkswagen Group has unveiled two new petrol engines at the annual Vienna Motor Symposium, effectively ‘book-ending’ its powerplant line-up…
- Tesla business acquisition wrongly sends stock market into frenzy – Caradvice: Tesla Motors acquired Riviera Tool LLC, a tool and die company based out of Michigan, for an undisclosed sum on the 7th of May. What followed was…
- BMW Prepares Two Concept Cars For Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este 2015 – Topspeed: For the past 10 years, BMW Group has had the responsibility of organizing the event, and for this year’s gathering, the German automaker is teasing…
- Volkswagen Tiguan expected to be launched in India next year – Cartrade: German auto major Volkswagen, has been quite well accepted in the Indian market. The carmaker had been planning on the launching the Tiguan…
- Toyota, Mazda eye technology tie-up – Ejinsight: Toyota Motor Corp. and Mazda Motor Corp. are in talks to share certain fuel-efficient technologies, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing an…
- Red Bull says F1 season a write-off, urges Renault to focus on speed, not reliability – Abc: Former champion Red Bull has declared its Formula One season a write-off and urged engine partner Renault to throw caution to the wind and focus…
- S. Korea’s auto exports drop 6 pct in April – Korea Herald: South Korea’s automobile exports shrank significantly from a year earlier in April amid a … The country’s overall auto output shrank 2.2 percent on-year to 424,402 cars in April as the large cut in exports more than offset a 2.7 percent…