- US: Former PR executive claims Ford bugged his telephone – Just-auto: Former Ford PR chief Jason Vines, a key lieutenant of CEO Jacques Nasser at the time, says the company bugged his telephone during the company’s 2001 Firestone tyre crisis.
- Toyota sells part of its Tesla stake – FT: Japanese carmaker banks on fuel cell vehicles over electric to drive growth
- JAPAN: Nissan recalls 260,000 cars globally over Takata airbags – Just-auto: In the latest development in the Takata airbag saga, Nissan Motor said it is recalling 260,000 vehicles globally due to a defect in driver-side air bags made by the supplier.
- Takata’s airbag crisis may spur automaker shift to Autoliv, Daicel – Automotive News: The defect in Takata airbags that has led to millions of recalls and has been linked to four deaths in Honda cars opens the supplier to risk of losing business to rivals including Autoliv and Daicel.
- MEXICO: Mazda starts 2 production at MMVO – Just-auto: Production of the redesigned Mazda 2 (Demio in Japan) has started at the automaker’s new plant in Mexico.
- UK: Mazda aims for new-look dealers by March – Just-auto: Mazda UK plans on completing installations of the brand’s new visual identity at 80% of its 136 outlets by next March.
- Kia Motors blames slowdown on strong won – FT: S Korean carmaker flags possible interim dividend to placate investors
- U.S. Auto Sales Fuel GM Earnings – WSJ: General Motors reported a 14% drop in its third-quarter profit but beat analyst expectations as strength in North America offset weaker results in other regions of the world.
- Profit Doubles at G.M., as It Strives to Move Past Its Litany of Recalls – NY Times: The nation’s largest automaker nearly doubled its profit from a year ago, benefiting from wider margins in North America.
- GM’s Finance Unit Receives Additional Subpoenas – WSJ: General Motors Co. said its GM Financial lending arm received additional investigative subpoenas in September from government officials relating to its subprime auto finance business and how it securitizes those loans.
- NHTSA’s botched airbag recall leaves car owners in dark – Automotive News: NHTSA botched its effort to inform the public about a potentially lethal airbag defect, directing 8 million consumers to an inoperable website and leaving millions of others unsure as to whether their cars were even at risk.
- Audi Recalls 850,000 Cars Over Airbag Software Flaw – NY Times: The recall of the 2013-15 A4 model includes about 102,000 cars in the United States, and the company said it had no reports of related accidents.
- PSA Peugeot Citroën seeks partners for Hybrid Air tech – Autocar: PSA is looking for a technical partner to help share the financial burden of bringing its Hybrid Air technology to market. PSA Peugeot-Citroën’s ingenious hybrid system, known as Hybrid Air, is proving so expensive to develop that the group needs partners to help, the firm’s research and development boss Gilles Le Borgne has said. Hybrid Air compresses gas on the overrun and turns it to propulsion when the car next accelerates or climbs a hill. Autocar has already driven a prototype Peugeot 2008 fitted…
- Rallying in the Land Rover Defender Challenge – picture special – Autocar: The stout Defender might not spring to mind as an ideal competition vehicle, but it can be plenty of fun on the muddy forest tracks of Wales. It’s a neat idea, the Defender Challenge. In short, it involves applying the formula that applies to one-make, arrive-and-drive racing, to rallying. It’s Bowler Motorsport’s idea. You might not be surprised to learn that, because the company has been doing innovative, interesting things with Land Rovers for decades. Bowler is independent but has close links and a…
- Toyota sells some Tesla shares, report says – Automotive News: Toyota has sold some of its shares in Tesla Motors, the Nikkei financial newspaper reported.
- GM Financial faces government, state probes over subprime loans, securities – Automotive News: GM Financial disclosed Thursday it is being investigated by ‘state attorneys general and other governmental offices’ in connection with subprime auto loans and the sale of subprime auto loans in the form of asset-backed securities.
- Toyota’s ad agency will join move to Texas – Automotive News: Toyota’s Los Angeles-based U.S. advertising agency is following its longtime client to Dallas in a bid to prolong their nearly 40-year relationship.
- In emerging Indonesia, Honda’s Mobilio muscles in on Toyota’s turf – Reuters: Honda Motor’s Mobilio, a spacious yet affordable multi-purpose vehicle (MPV), has nearly doubled its market share this year, triggering a price war with Toyota Motor in Indonesia, the latest battleground for global carmakers.
- Wrangler will remain body-on-frame, sources say – Automotive News: The next-generation Jeep Wrangler will continue to be a body-on-frame vehicle and won’t switch to unibody construction, Automotive News has learned.
- MEXICO: Fiat Strada becomes RAM 700 mini pick-up – Just-auto: FCA has added a new model for the Mexican market’s 2015 model year: the RAM 700. This small pick-up is a rebadged Fiat Strada Adventure and is imported from Brazil.
- Fisker’s Back! Makes Return at L.A. Auto Show – thedetroitbureau.com: Less than two years after stepping down from his namesake company, Henrik Fisker is stepping back onto the automotive stage by joining forces with a California mega-dealer to produce the “Ultimate American Muscle Car.” Fisker is pairing up with Galpin Motors to debut this new vehicle at the L.A. Auto Show next month.
- Mexico projected to surpass Brazil as top Latin Am. vehicle producer – Via Google News: Mexico is poised to overtake Brazil as the top Latin American automobile producer for the first …. By then, the combined auto output of the two nations would be 8.83 million vehicles, 38 percent higher than in 2013.
- US senators demand nationwide recall over Takata air bags – Via Google News: The recalls have focused on cars in hot, humid places, such as Florida, … The National Independent Automobile Dealers Association on Thursday …
- GM CEO Barra ‘Stepping Up’ Outreach to Owners of Recalled Vehicles – Wards: The executive also shares news about GM’s progress rehabilitating its European operations, including the strategy for a depressed Russian market, and the automaker’s ambitions for the Cadillac brand
- Another State Deals A Blow To Tesla’s Business Model – Via Google News: It is already illegal to make direct sales of any new automobile but the new … Elon Musk, Tesla’s founder, has been fighting to sell his cars directly to …
- New Ford Crash System “May” Spare Pedestrians – thedetroitbureau.com: Ford Motor Co. will launch a new collision warning system that it says “may” prevent the pedestrian crashes that have become a growing problem on U.S. roads. More than 4,700 pedestrians were killed in 2012, according to the CDC, one ever two minutes; and such crashes account for 1/3 of roadway fatalities in some countries.
- Daimler Reports Mercedes Expected to Hit Sales Record – thedetroitbureau.com: A surge in Mercedes-Benz sales boosted Daimler AG’s revenue by 10% in the third quarter despite the soft global economy, which the company expects worsen. Daimler net earnings also jumped to 2.82 billion euros from 1.89 billion euros a year ago and Mercedes-Benz cars is on its way to record sales this year. For more, click on TheDetroitBureau.com.
- Germany: Resolution reflects drivers’ profiling concern – Via Google News: “The DPAs realised there are a lot of risks in connected cars; the possibility of collecting data from automobiles such as location and speed, which are …
- GM profits jump but recalls hurt cash flow – FT: Strong demand in North America for pick-up trucks and sports cars
- NHTSA’s Friedman Apologizes for Takata Snafu – thedetroitbureau.com: The nation’s top auto safety official apologized late yesterday for the agency after it shorted the number of vehicles equipped with potentially dangerous Takata airbags by 3.1 million vehicles. The agency’s website that lets owners to see if their vehicle has been recalled also failed after the alert Monday, according to TheDetroitBureau.com.
- Audi recalls 102,000 A4 cars in U.S. over airbag glitch – Automotive News: Audi is recalling nearly 102,000 A4 sedans in the United States to fix a software glitch that may prevent front airbags from deploying in a crash.
- Hyundai First With FCV in U.K. – Wards: The arrival of the first ix35 models comes just after £11 million in U.K. government and industry funding is earmarked to expand the nationwide hydrogen refueling station network and increase the uptake of fuel-cell vehicles.