- Takata Airbags Force Yet Another GM Recall – thedetroitbureau.com: Barely a day after ordering the stop-sale of its popular Chevrolet Cruze model, General Motors has announced it will recall nearly 30,000 of the compact sedans because of the risk posed by improperly manufactured airbags. It’s also a black eye for supplier Takata, now linked to one of the largest safety issues ever.
- Lauer Creates Furor Over “Mom” Question for GM’s Barra – thedetroitbureau.com: Was Today Show host asking a critical and valid question — or being a sexist – when he questioned why Mary Barra was named GM CEO, and whether she can handle CEO duties while also being a mom? His interview with Barra has touched off a firestorm.
- GM recalls 194,107 Buicks in China due to headlight issue – Reuters: A joint venture of General Motors Co in China will recall 194,107 locally made Buick vehicles due to Chinese consumer complaints about the cars’ headlights, the country’s quality watchdog said on Friday.
- GM’s current product chief was part of ’05 ignition-flaw debate – Automotive News: A top product-development executive still working at General Motors was involved in deliberations about a deadly ignition flaw kept from the public, newly released documents indicate.
- U.S. Prosecutors Issue Subpoenas in GM Probe – WSJ: Newly released General Motors emails and other documents show a U.S. grand jury is issuing subpoenas for documents and raise questions about the company’s assessment of who was at fault.
- UK: We have to be a Samsung, not a Nokia – Ford – Just-auto: Ford’s global product planning and strategy director, John Stanger, has told a conference on future urban mobility that the company is looking to other industries to learn how fast technological change impacts companies and to ensure that Ford is well-positioned for potentially disruptive change in the automotive sector.
- UK: Sunderland signs GBP295m manufacturing park deal to create 5,200 jobs – Just-auto: Sunderland – home to Nissan in the UK – has inked a deal to establish a GBP295m (US$502m) International Advanced Manufacturing Park designed to attract automotive and hi-tech industries which could create new 5,200 jobs.
- McLaren unveils new FIA GT racer – Autocar: New 650S GT3 promises to be quicker, cheaper and easier to drive than current 12C GT3McLaren will compete in the 2015 FIA GT endurance racing championship with a car that promises to not just faster, but cheaper to run and easier to drive: the 650S GT3.The firm took the covers off its big Goodwood unveiling to a crowd this morning. Sharing the stage of McLaren’s festival pavilion with the P1 road car, the 650S GT3 race car has been built by McLaren GT in just three weeks.
- Audi plans plug-in hybrid offensive – Automotive News: Audi plans to launch at least four plug-in hybrid cars as it bets on the technology to counter rival BMW’s electric car offensive. The first of these, the A3 Sportback E-tron, will be rolled out this month.
- US: Infiniti-Daimler engine plant starts production – Just-auto: As heralded earlier this month, Nissan Motor’s luxury car unit Infiniti has begun engine assembly at its new Decherd powertrain plant, a collaboration between the Renault-Nissan Alliance and Daimler.
- JAPAN: Chrysler rumours “speculation” – Mitsubishi – Just-auto: A report by the Nikkei claiming Mitsubishi will supply its Attrage sedan to Fiat Chrysler Automobiles for sale in certain markets as a Chrysler have been denounced as “speculation” by MMC.
- Analyst: GM recall unlikely to affect China – Via Google News: Whiston, who covers the Detroit-based automobile maker for Morningstar, also said GM would sell “well over” 3 million cars in China this year.
- China: Fiat joint venture builds second factory – Via Google News: According to Chrysler Asia chief Mike Manley, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles ultimately wants to reach in China sales of 850,000 vehicles by 2018, a huge …
- Exclusive: Air bag accident, lawsuit led to GM Cruze recall – Reuters: An accident that left a Georgia woman blind in one eye and a subsequent lawsuit led to General Motors Co’s recall of about 33,000 Chevrolet Cruze sedans in North America for potentially defective air bags made by Takata Corp.
- Daimler and Nissan to Partner on New Mexican Luxury Car Plant – thedetroitbureau.com: Nissan Motor Co. and Daimler AG will announce a significant expansion of their four-year-old alliance this morning, the two partners planning to set up a new plant in Aguascaliente, Mexico that will produce small luxury cars for the Japanese maker’s Infiniti brand and the German manufacturer’s Mercedes-Benz.
- Lexus Targets 36,000 Sales with NX – Wards: Lexus sees more than half of NX buyers being non-Lexus owners, with the possibility of more than 70% of early customers being new to the brand.
- Airbag accident, lawsuit prompt GM to recall Cruze – Automotive News: An accident that left a Georgia woman blind in one eye and a subsequent lawsuit led GM Thursday to recall about 33,000 Chevrolet Cruze sedans in North America for potentially defective airbags made by Takata.
- Rockefeller proposes bill to strengthen auto-safety regulators – Automotive News: The chairman of the U.S. Senate committee that oversees auto safety proposed a bill late Thursday that would give U.S. regulators more funding and greater power to deal with light-vehicle defects.
- eBay rejects auction of Nazi chief’s car – Via Google News: According to Rathbun, the car was seized by the U.S. Army’s 7th Infantry Division in Berchtesgaden, a town in the Bavarian Alps where Hitler built a …
- TrueCar to drop 75 franchisees in policy disputes – Automotive News: TrueCar this month plans to drop up to 75 of its 8,000 participating franchisees for failing to honor price guarantees made to car buyers or for other violations of TrueCar policies, President John Krafcik said today.
- Infiniti, Mercedes start joint engine output in Tenn. – Automotive News: Infiniti began building its first engines outside of Japan here today in a new factory that represents the deepening ties between Nissan Motor Corp. and Daimler AG.
- GM tracked more than 800 air-bag nondeployments in Cobalt, Ion – Reuters: General Motors Co tracked more than 800 incidents where air bags did not deploy in the Saturn Ion and Chevrolet Cobalt, according to a 2012 internal GM memo made public on Thursday by U.S. lawmakers.
- GM lawyer to give details Monday on fund for victims of faulty switch – Reuters: A lawyer for General Motors Co will announce on Monday the eligibility criteria for a program to compensate victims of a faulty ignition switch that prompted the recall of 2.6 million vehicles.
- Corvette Museum Keeps Sinkhole for Display – thedetroitbureau.com: The old cliché states, “when life gives you lemons, make lemonade!” Well, apparently the National Corvette Museum’s board of directors likes old clichés as much as it likes old ‘Vettes as it approved a plan today to leave the 60-foot deep sinkhole in the museum’s Skydome as a permanent fixture. To get the details, go to TheDetroitBureau.com.
- Shelby America is Selling These 14 Prototype and Concept Cars – Via Google News: Shelby Cobra Demonstrator/Development Vehicle: $200,000 This Shelby Cobra was built as a 289FIA-spec race car for a proposed racing series, but …
- Five-store Tesla compromise reached in Pennsylvania – Automotive News: The pro-Tesla legislation in Pennsylvania that helped spark a confrontation between dealers and other automakers earlier this month is now halfway to passage — but with important new limits in place on the number of stores Tesla Motors would be…
- China’s GAC set to export Trumpchi line to U.S., exec says – Automotive News: The China-made SUV shown in the latest Transformers movie may hit U.S. showrooms as early as next year, testing demand by American consumers for Chinese autos.
- Alcoa: name-changer – FT: Alcoa is furiously trying to diversify away from aluminium mining and refining
- Ministries try ending war over car mileage claims – Via Google News: The Korean government unified standards and rules for vehicles’ fuel efficiency measuring and certification with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and …