Archives for May 2014

• GM seeks N.Y. court for recall suits as plaintiffs’ lawyers claim death toll rises – Automotive News: GM said it wants a New York court to handle lawsuits arising from its ignition defect recall as lawyers for car owners said deaths caused by the flaw exceed the automaker’s count of 13.
• VW to bring new models to U.S. more quickly – Automotive News: VW Group is preparing to bring new and updated models from its namesake brand to the United States on a shorter time frame. The VW marque will introduce new products every five years, down from seven.
• JAPAN: Automakers start Nippon Charge Service – Just-auto: Toyota, Nissan, Honda and Mitsubishi, have jointly established a new company, Nippon Charge Service, to promote the installation of chargers for electric-powered vehicles (PHVs, PHEVs, EVs).
• Study shows federal regulations cost dealers billions, jobs – Automotive News: Franchised new-car dealers in the United States spent a combined $3.2 billion in 2012 to meet federal regulations, a report released today said. Dealers spent the money to comply with 61 major federal rules, the report said.
• Hyundai unveils wild mid-engined Veloster concept – Autocar: Korean manufacturer produces experimental rear-drive coupé to explore future potential of Veloster’s chassis.
• US: Ford to launch adaptive steering next year – Just-auto: Ford says it will launch ‘adaptive steering’ in 2015, claiming that the new generation of steering technology – developed with Takata – will improve the driving experience.
• Ford recalls nearly 1.4 million vehicles in North America – Reuters: Ford Motor Co said on Thursday it is recalling 1.39 million SUVs and sedans in North America, most for the possible loss of power steering.
• Zetsche predicts new ForFour will help Smart make first profit – Automotive News: Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche believes the all-new Smart ForFour minicar will be commercially successful and should help the money-losing brand make its first profit.
• First China-made Range Rover Evoque rolls off the Line – CarNewsChina.com: Spy Shots showing the first Range Rover Evoque rolling off the line in China, celebrated by staff wearing white helmets, indicating the factory isn’t completely ready yet. Range Rover however is in a hurry as Landwind is working hard on its own interpretation of the trendy Evoque.
• GM explains delay in brake light recall of 2.7 million cars – DetN: General Motors Co. told federal investigators Thursday why it took the Detroit automaker five years to recall 2.7 million cars for brake light malfunctions after it first recalled a small number of vehicles for the same problem.
• An Increase in Recalls Goes Beyond Just G.M. – NY Times: So far this year, Ford has recalled more than 2.9 million vehicles in the United States, far surpassing last year’s 1.2 million vehicles. Other automakers are reporting higher recall numbers as well.
• Motor Trend, Automobile magazines reshaped in consolidation – Automotive News: Source Interlink, the publisher of magazines including Motor Trend, Hot Rod and Super Street, is restructuring its automotive titles under a new branding group called The Enthusiast Network.

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• U.S. states meld zero-emission car plans in drive to sales goal – Automotive News: California, New York and x other states aiming to get more than three million zero-emission vehicles on the road in the next decade, unveiled steps to help achieve that goal including harmonizing consumer incentives and encouraging fleet purchases.
• UK: Ford’s Mulally warns on Europe overcapacity – Just-auto: Ford CEO Alan Mulally has sounded a warning over continuing excess capacity for the auto manufacturing industry in Europe.
• US: GM ignition switch engineer ‘forgot’ design change – report – Just-auto: The General Motors engineer at the centre of the ongoing ignition switch recall enquiry reportedly told Congressional investigators he had forgotten about the design changes he signed off without a new part number.
• Location of GM ignition suit litigation to be decided by U.S. panel – Automotive News: GM wants to return to a New York courtroom to fight at least 90 ignition-switch defect lawsuits while some car owners are driving for the cases to be heard by a California judge seasoned in auto litigation.
• Sorry I’m late for work boss, my car’s been hacked – Autocar: Could the self-driving cars of the future be prone to cyber attacks, disrupting traffic and your journey?
• UN Panel Gives Diesels Mostly Clean Bill of Health – Wards: “We conclude with a high degree of reliability that it is misleading to claim that people’s exposure to diesel engines of road motor vehicles is the cause of increased risk of lung cancer,” the UN panel’s report states.
• RUSSIA: Former Mercedes CEO cites sanctions reluctance – Just-auto: Former Mercedes CEO, Eckhard Cordes, is stressing the need not to rupture relations between Russia and the West as fallout from the Ukrainian situation continues its economic and political implications
• UK: Daimler’s car2go exits UK car sharing market – Just-auto: Daimler’s car2go car sharing unit is to quit the UK. It has been present in Britain with Daimler smart brand cars available for hourly rent in London and Birmingham but will be absent from both cities from 30 May.

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• Volvo Wants to Electrify the Road – but Idaho Entrepreneurs Want to Pave them with Solar Cells – thedetroitbureau.com: Battery-cars and buses may be clean but they’re plagued by limited range and long charging times. But Volvo will test a new electric bus that can charge even while driving using special induction chargers built into the road. Meanwhile, an Idaho couple has developed special solar cells that could replace conventional asphalt pavement and provide much of the energy America needs. But at what cost?
• US: KBB analyst pegs May sales at 1.54m, 16.05m SAAR – Just-auto: After TrueCar yesterday (27 May) called May 2014 new light vehicle sales in the US (including fleet) 1,521,000 units, up 5.5% year on year and 9.5% over April, and a SAAR of 16.1m, Kelley Blue Book (KBB) has pegged a year on year rise of 6.7% to 1.54m units, and an estimated 16.05m seasonally adjusted annual rate.
• Google plans own fleet of self-driving cars – Automotive News: Google will launch its own fleet of autonomous vehicle prototypes #8211; with no steering wheels and no gas or brake pedals #8211; as the technology giant begins a new phase of its self-driving car project.
• The most Bizarre Car Transport in China, ever – CarNewsChina.com: We have seen some impressive ways of transporting cars on Chinese roads but this one beats ‘em all. A giant truck carrying Changan pickup trucks and MPV’s was Spotted in China on a highway near Beijing by Reader Lao Wei, thank you for the pictures!
• Qoros 3 Hatch will hit the Chinese car market on June 24 – CarNewsChina.com: The Qoros 3 Hatch will be launched on the Chinese car market on June 24, giving Qoros an entry in the all-important compact-hatchback segment. Price will start around 110.000 yuan and end around 150.000 yuan. The Qoros 3 Hatch is based on the Qoros 3 Sedan that was launched in November last year.
• Google unveils driverless car prototype – FT: The search engine group is producing its own fleet of 100 prototype two-seater vehicles that dispense with steering wheels and pedals

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• RUSSIA: AvtoVAZ to stem sales fall this year: Bo Andersson – Just-auto: AvtoVAZ says it will stem its fall in sales this year as it launches four new models onto the Russian market in the next 24 months.
• BRAZIL: Updated March may make Nissan local Japanese leader – Just-auto: Compact hatchbacks are strongly represented in Brazil’s light vehicle market, accounting for nothing short of 45% of sales.
• RUSSIA: “World economy can rest in peace”: Gazprom Neft chairman – Just-auto: Russian energy giant, Gazprom Neft, says it will continue to work on developing new power sources, despite their entry to market remaining “considerably shorter than political and electoral cycles.”
• JAPAN: Toyota seeks to speed up Japan, US hydrogen networks – Just-auto: Toyota will help local authorities in Japan and the US create infrastructure for refuelling hydrogen-powered cars to help speed up the spread of fuel cell vehicles.
• Rash to write off Chinese car groups – FT: Multinational car companies have spurred the development of the largest, most competitive and most profitable car industry the world has ever known
• INDIA: Volkswagen rethinks strategy – Just-auto: Volkswagen is rethinking its strategy in India after failing to impose itself following a big splash market entry five years ago.
• China to take 6 million older vehicles off roads – DetN: China’s government plans to take 6 million older, polluting vehicles off the road this year in an effort to revive stalled progress toward cleaning up smog-choked cities.

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