- Fiat and Mitsubishi Motors team-up to build, develop mid-size vehicles – Reuters: Fiat Chrysler on Friday signed a memorandum of understanding with Mitsubishi Motors to potentially cooperate in manufacturing and developing a mid-sized pickup truck for Fiat, it said in a statement.
- Hyundai Motor to build two new Car Factories in China – CarNewsChina.com: Hyundai Motor plans to build two new factories in China. The automaker plans to open a new plant in the northern Hebei province and another one in Chongqing. Hyundai, which has three factories in Beijing, in March signed a preliminary agreement to build a plant in the southwestern city of Chongqing to help the automaker […]
- Morgan boss dispels rumours of stalled sales – Autocar: Morgan is on course to hit its sales targets for 2014 and hasn’t been affected by Charles Morgan’s departure, says company boss Steve Morris
- Spy Shots: Volkswagen Lamando is getting Ready for the China car market – CarNewsChina.com: New spy shots of the new Volkswagen Lamando, showing that the sleek new sedan is almost ready for the China car market. The Volkswagen Lamando will be launched on the Chinese auto market in ovember, price will start around 180.000 yuan or 29.000 USD. Chinese name is Ling Du (??). The Lamando debuted last month […]
- The Ferrari F50 Was The Last F1-Engined Road Car – Via Google News: The Ferrari F50 is often remembered as a flop: it was slower than the car it replaced and for years its styling was absolutely reviled. I think the problem …
- House bill proposes tougher auto safety rules – Automotive News: House Democrats introduced another bill Thursday to toughen federal auto safety laws after the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration came under more criticism by U.S.
- Does it really matter where a car is designed? Infiniti thinks so – Autocar: Nissan’s luxury brand Infiniti has just opened a London design centre, hoping the urban buzz will inspire some truly great cars.
- 7 Japanese supplier execs indicted in price-fixing scheme – Automotive News: A federal grand jury in Detroit has indicted seven executives from Japanese auto suppliers Mitsubishi Electric and Hitachi Automotive Systems for their alleged roles in a conspiracy to fix auto parts prices, the Justice Department said today.
- Exclusive: China’s Wanxiang to relaunch Fisker Karma car with 2012 design – sources – Reuters: Chinese auto parts producer Wanxiang Group, which bought stylish electric car pioneer Fisker Automotive from bankruptcy, is accelerating the relaunch of Fisker’s Karma hybrid luxury car by using a design from the company’s last year of production, people close to the companies said.
- Warren Buffett is bullish on GM, Detroit – Automotive News: Billionaire investor Warren Buffett said today he is bullish on Detroit and General Motors — and said he’s impressed with CEO Mary Barra.
- CFPB’s latest guide on discrimination falls short, auto lenders, dealers say – Automotive News: Auto lenders and dealers are largely disappointed with a long-awaited report by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau that outlines the bureau’s method for finding discrimination in auto loans.
- Wheelies: The Lotus Layoffs Edition – NY Times: Group Lotus says it may have to cut up to 325 jobs; Fiat Chrysler’s new global headquarters will be in London’s upscale West End.
- Lotus Mulls Cutting a Quarter of its Workforce – thedetroitbureau.com: Just four years ago, the future for Lotus appeared bright with plans for a burgeoning product portfolio bolstered by enthusiastic management; however, those efforts appear to have failed as the company announced plans to cut as much as a quarter of its workforce. The sports car maker is taking the next 45 days to finalize its plans, according to TheDetroitBureau.com.
- Lotus may cut workforce 27% in restructuring – Automotive News: Group Lotus, the maker of exotic British sports cars, may reduce its workforce by 27 percent to cut costs. As many as 325 of the 1,215 people employed at the company could lose their jobs as the manufacturer restructures, Lotus said Thursday.
- Calif. grants 29 permits to test self-driving Lexus, Mercedes, Audi cars – Automotive News: California issued its first 29 permits this week to three companies to test self-driving cars on public roads, state officials said today.
- Dodge Challenger Hellcat Gets 22 MPG Highway Rating – thedetroitbureau.com: In the “golden age” of muscle cars, models like the Dodge Challenger were lucky to come close to delivering double-digit fuel economy. So, the EPA’s official mileage numbers for the new Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat could come as a shock: 22 mpg on the highway. The combined rating comes in at 16 mpg. Read more at TheDetroitBureau.com.
- US: NHTSA adding in-house technology expertise: Potomac Alliance – Just-auto: America’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), is increasingly bringing technical expertise in-house says a public policy expert advising TRW in Washington.
- Hyundai Motor’s record $10 billion bid for trophy property alarms investors – Automotive News: Hyundai Motor Group will pay a record $10 billion for the site of its new headquarters in Seoul’s high-end Gangnam district, out-bidding Samsung Electronics and sparking investor concerns that it is wasting cash on a trophy property.
- Tomorrow’s Mustang Will Likely Adopt Radical New Powertrain Options – thedetroitbureau.com: Ford delivered a big surprise when it added a turbo EcoBoost four-cylinder option for the 2015 Mustang. But that’s likely to be just the start of a major powertrain revolution for the classic pony car. Ford insiders tell TheDetroitBureau.com that they’re looking at everything from advanced gas engines to e-turbos, even hybrid options for Mustangs to come to meet tough upcoming mileage and emissions standards.
- Headquarter shifts and negative portents – FT: The Korean group’s decision to spend $10bn on a new corporate headquarters is a reminder of the adage that a corporation on the wane spends lavishly on a new home
- US: And now (drum roll), the Nissan Leaf truck… – Just-auto: This is what happens when auto engineers at a technical centre need (a) a team building project and (b) a workshop hack truck.
- Group Lotus considers cutting a quarter of its workforce – Autocar: Up to 325 jobs at risk at Norfolk sports car manufacturer under a restructuring proposal put forward by company chief Jean-Marc Gales.
- China’s Lack of Brand Loyalty Helping German Automakers – thedetroitbureau.com: Chinese consumers are proving as fickle as their counterparts in the United States, according to a new study by the Boston Consulting Group, and that may be good news for German car brands there. A recent survey of new car buyers shows those brands are considered “aspirational” purchases.