Chrysler and Russia’s number-two auto company is reportedly planning to use idle capacity to build the popular compact in Russia.

Originally Syndicated via RSS from Inside Line Automotive News

The new Motion Adaptive Electric Power Steering will debut on the Honda Legend in Japan.

Originally Syndicated via RSS from Inside Line Automotive News

GM’s Holden launches a sporty wagon model through its Holden Special Vehicles subsidiary.

Originally Syndicated via RSS from Inside Line Automotive News

The new clean diesel version of the X-Trail goes on sale later this month in Japan only.

Originally Syndicated via RSS from Inside Line Automotive News

After proving their skills with a video game controller and behind the wheel, two regular guys will compete at the Dubai 24-hour endurance race in 2009.

Originally Syndicated via RSS from Inside Line Automotive News

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Honda has higher hopes for the much-anticipated new model, which it plans to sell 200,000 a year and will be the first of several new hybrids. While it won’t be sold until April, Honda is showing a concept version at the Paris Auto Show, which opens at the beginning of October. Honda just released a press release unveiling the name today and first official photos, although details of its price (expected to be about $19k) and “>performance remain scant. The release points out that the original Insight was the first vehicle to break the 70mpg barrier for fuel efficiency. Any guesses on how closer the new, larger Insight (but smaller than a Civic or a Prius) will get to that figure?

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Originally Syndicated via RSS from Auto Beat

British insurer inexplicably figures out what engine sounds cause peak pheromone response in women.

Originally Syndicated via RSS from Inside Line Automotive News

Martin Eberhard posts an elaborate Excel spreadsheet on his blog to calculate the cost of driving the $100K-plus electric car. The bottom line: “Something between two cents a mile and six cents a mile.”

Originally Syndicated via RSS from Inside Line Automotive News

Bucking arguments from many automakers that new proposed U.S. fuel economy standards are too harsh, the Korean automaker confirmed it plans to reach America’s new fuel economy standard of 35 mpg by 2015 - five years ahead of time.

Originally Syndicated via RSS from Inside Line Automotive News

Situation is worsening at the new Nano factory.

Originally Syndicated via RSS from Inside Line Automotive News

Originally Syndicated via RSS from Inside Line Automotive News

Japanese-based tuner turns attention to a Korean sports car.

Originally Syndicated via RSS from Inside Line Automotive News

Originally Syndicated via RSS from Inside Line Automotive News

Originally Syndicated via RSS from Inside Line Automotive News

Originally Syndicated via RSS from Inside Line Automotive News

Originally Syndicated via RSS from Inside Line Automotive News

The French conglomerate is still working with Pininfarina on an all-electric car - and is reportedly looking to South America to find the lithium it needs to power the car.

Originally Syndicated via RSS from Inside Line Automotive News

Originally Syndicated via RSS from Inside Line Automotive News

The Pontiac Aztek was never sold in England, but British newspaper readers certainly remembered the car when they were left to choose the 100 ugliest cars of all time.

Originally Syndicated via RSS from Inside Line Automotive News

More than 1,000 Subaru owners honored the rally star with a record-setting procession.

Originally Syndicated via RSS from Inside Line Automotive News

Originally Syndicated via RSS from Inside Line Automotive News

“> It looks like General Motors is stuck on the discount treadmill. Bloomberg reported today that GM will extend its employee pricing program for all consumers for another month. The offer was set to expire on Sept. 2. With sales in the tank, all carmakers need to goose sales somehow. But going long with come-ons like rebates, employee pricing and 0% financing is a slippery slope. It’s easy for a carmaker to rely on discounts and tough to get off them. GM complains about $1,600 a car in retiree benefits costs. But giving away more than $3,000 a vehicle in incentives is a bigger hit to the bottom line.

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“> It can get pricey for GM. According to the company’s website, employee pricing cuts a little more than $2,100 off the sticker of a well-equipped Chevrolet Malibu LTZ for a sale price of $25,600. But then you can add in a $1,000 rebate for the Malibu and the discount climbs above $3,000. Discounts are bigger for more expensive models. A top-of-the-line, $48,000 Chevy Tahoe 4×4 sells with a $5,000 discount. Add in the $2,000 rebate and the truck sells for $41,000.

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“> The big offers just add to GM’s marketing quandary. All of the domestic auto makers have been trying to get better pricing and cut discounts. They need to conserve cash in the near term and in the long run, convince buyers that their dealerships aren’t just bargain shops. GM and rival Ford were trying to scale back a bit on incentives and even sneaked in a few price hikes over the past couple of years. Massive production cuts helped them pull back somewhat. But a weak market and plummeting popularity for their best models—trucks and suvs–has reset the clock. It will take a long time for Detroit to prove that they can really sell cars based on their merits instead of the deal.

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Originally Syndicated via RSS from Auto Beat

Ford appointed Stephen Odell, one of Ford Motor’s top executives in Europe, to run its Swedish Volvo unit, replacing Fredrik Arp.
Arp, who came to Volvo three years ago from his job as CEO of Swedish auto “>parts supplier Trelleborg, was at the end of his three-year contract, and was known to be disenchanted with the job, especially after Ford shopped Volvo around last year.

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Ford is believed to be ready to hold on to Volvo with no viable buyers at the counter. In many ways, it’s a natural for O’Dell to take the post. Since Ford has all but dissolved the Premier Auto Group, which had included Jaguar, Land Rover and Aston Martin, as well as Volvo, Ford Europe chief Lewis Booth’s job has become more focused on Ford brand. And O’Dell, his number-two, had a limited portfolio of responsibility.

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Three years ago, Ford felt it was still necessary, for cultural reasons, to appoint a Swede to succceed Volvo’s long-time chief Hans-Olov Olsson. Ford no longer sees that as a necessity.

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Originally Syndicated via RSS from Auto Beat

Fatal crash and fire takes life of a 30-year-old man who reportedly was driving at high speed at 2:30 a.m.

Originally Syndicated via RSS from Inside Line Automotive News

Aston Martin will revive the Lagonda name for a new brand of cars that will shy away from sportiness to focus on true luxury.

Originally Syndicated via RSS from Inside Line Automotive News

Originally Syndicated via RSS from Inside Line Automotive News

Originally Syndicated via RSS from Inside Line Automotive News

Originally Syndicated via RSS from Inside Line Automotive News

Originally Syndicated via RSS from Inside Line Automotive News

The sports car racer recovers from a crash in practice at New Jersey’s Thunderbolt Raceway, and his team will go to the backup car.

Originally Syndicated via RSS from Inside Line Automotive News

In another sign of the rise and fall of the Motor City, Volkswagen overtook Ford in the first half of the year as the world’s third-largest carmaker in vehicle sales.

Originally Syndicated via RSS from Inside Line Automotive News

The luxury sedan gets a set of all-wheel-drive variants.

Originally Syndicated via RSS from Inside Line Automotive News

Originally Syndicated via RSS from Inside Line Automotive News

Barack Obama has a lot to say about cars as he accepts the Democratic nomination for president. At the same time, GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz makes a plea for federal loans for Detroit automakers.

Originally Syndicated via RSS from Inside Line Automotive News

GM’s European division is set to launch its first models in the environmentally friendly Ecoflex lineup.

Originally Syndicated via RSS from Inside Line Automotive News

I have heard alot of industry-speak, but I’m not sure what to make of this, as reported in Automotive News:

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DENVER — Ford Motor Co. executives are telling lawmakers and other policymakers that suppliers as well as automakers are in critical need of low-interest federal loans soon.

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Ford purchasing chief Tony Brown was part of the automaker’s pitch to policymakers here today at the Democratic National Convention.

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But even Ford isn’t able to say what amount of federal money it needs.

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“We’re still dimensioning,” Brown told Automotive News after chatting with Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich. He was accompanied by Bruce Andrews, Ford vice president of government affairs and a former Democratic congressional staff member.

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Originally Syndicated via RSS from Auto Beat

I have heard alot of industry-speak, but I’m not sure what to make of this, as reported in Automotive News:

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DENVER — Ford Motor Co. executives are telling lawmakers and other policymakers that suppliers as well as automakers are in critical need of low-interest federal loans soon.

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Stabenow led the effort to add a provision to last year’s energy law authorizing $25 billion in loans for factory retooling to produce vehicles with fuel-saving technology.

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Originally Syndicated via RSS from Auto Beat

Originally Syndicated via RSS from Inside Line Automotive News

Originally Syndicated via RSS from Inside Line Automotive News

Originally Syndicated via RSS from Inside Line Automotive News

GM is recalling 88,809 2008 Buick Enclave and 2007-’08 GMC Acadia and Saturn Outlook vehicles for a problem with the windshield wipers.

Originally Syndicated via RSS from Inside Line Automotive News

Okay…I’m taking a lot of crud for my LaCrosse comments.

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www.Jalopnik.com offers this link to the image of the whole car, apparently previewed for media in July, though I was not present.

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Here is the link to the image. IT’s worth noting that my wise-guy friends at jalopnik.com have identified this car in their blog as a Lucerne, but we think it is the image of the new LaCrosse. My question: Will Tiger Woods actually drive one of these things?

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http://jalopnik.com/photogallery/newgmcars/1002793462

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Looks like a decent job from Lutz’s design lab. But I’m still not excited.

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Originally Syndicated via RSS from Auto Beat

Okay…I’m taking a lot of crud for my LaCrosse comments.

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www.Jalopnik.com offers this link to the image of the whole car, apparently previewed for media in July, though I was not present.

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http://jalopnik.com/photogallery/newgmcars/1002793462

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Originally Syndicated via RSS from Auto Beat

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Automotive News this week reported that Indian auto/truck maker Mahindra and Mahindra is delaying launch by six months to the fourth quarter of 2009. This, in fact, was known months ago, which is why Mahindra dealers haven’t begun building showrooms.

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According to sources, the chief concern of the company is to make sure that trucks are spot-on in terms of fit and finish and won’t be prone to early recalls for quality issues. Mahindra is anxious to avoid the Hyundai syndrome (quality problems that set in shortly after launch sunk the brand for a decade.

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Originally Syndicated via RSS from Auto Beat

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Automotive News this week reported that Indian auto/truck maker Mahindra and Mahindra is delaying launch by six months to the fourth quarter of 2009. This, in fact, was known months ago, which is why Mahindra dealers haven’t begun building showrooms.

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If there is a concern among executives at Mahindra, and U.S. distributor Global Vehicles, it is the continuing high price of diesel in the U.S. All of Mahindra’s vehicles are diesels, and expected to get around 30 mpg. Diesel today, nationally, is about $4.15 per gallon on average, compared with $3.69 for gasoline.

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Originally Syndicated via RSS from Auto Beat

I caught a few minutes of Rush Limbaugh’s radio show today. God help me.

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Rush, who is no fan of promoting the purchase of more fuel efficient cars, was blathering about how the current Moscow Auto Show is showcasing gas guzzling SUVs. He then excoriated the U.S. for promoting “bubble cars” at its shows. Hmmmm. I don’t recall seeing too many “bubble cars” myself.

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Originally Syndicated via RSS from Auto Beat

I caught a few minutes of Rush Limbaugh’s radio show today. God help me.

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Rush, who is no fan of promoting the purchase of more fuel efficient cars, was blathering about how the current Moscow Auto Show is showcasing gas guzzling SUVs. He then excoriated the U.S. for promoting “bubble cars” at its shows. Hmmmm. I don’t recall seeing too many “bubble cars” myself.

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Originally Syndicated via RSS from Auto Beat

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Earlier this week, I wrote a story for BusinessWeek.com about the protests enveloping the plant which is slated to soon commence production of the $2,500 Tata Nano, the world’s cheapest car. To recap, on Aug. 24, an estimated 30,000 protesters, angry at the way the state government had acquired 400 acres of land surrounding the plant, gathered at the factory and blocked roads leading to it. Some 4,000 riot police with water cannons were on standby in case of violence. Some of the protesters stayed on, setting up a reported 21 camps and promising not to leave until the land, which Tata wants for suppliers, is handed back. Protesters are said to have attacked Tata employees and stolen equipment from the site.

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One wonders what this is going to do to the Nano’s profitability. Tata says it’s already spent $350 million on the plant in Singur. Even if it can move successfully the whole plant bit by bit to a new site, Ashvin Chotai, an independent auto analyst, reckons it would cost another $50-$100 million. And that doesn’t taken into the account the added costs for suppliers, which would also face the prospect of moving closer, or sending “>parts further, to a new site. “There is a possibility that Tata may need to shoulder some of these costs,” says Chotai. Then there’s the impact of rising raw materials costs, which consultants Global Insight estimate account for about 23% of the Nano’s pretax price.

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So what’s all this got to do with the Mini? Well, like the Nano, the Mini was small, had an innovative design and low price (retailing at under £500). It was hugely successful, too, selling over five million between 1959 and 2000. Most analysts expect the Nano, with its super-cheap price to be at the very least a big seller in India. Still, there’s one aspect of the Mini’s history that Tata would be wise to avoid: the more Minis that were sold, the bigger the losses were for the now long defunct British Motor Corporation. Indeed, Ford estimated it lost £30 on every one sold because the price was too low. Putting that into perspective, that equates to a loss on the Mini of over £7 million, a huge sum at the time, in 1967 alone. That’s caused some auto historians to claim that the legendary Mini was in fact “a major factor in the demise of the British auto industry”. Sometimes a commitment to a low price can be very costly.

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Originally Syndicated via RSS from Auto Beat

“>

Earlier this week, I wrote a story for BusinessWeek.com about the protests enveloping the plant which is slated to soon commence production of the $2,500 Tata Nano, the world’s cheapest car. To recap, on Aug. 24, an estimated 30,000 protesters, angry at the way the state government had acquired 400 acres of land surrounding the plant, gathered at the factory and blocked roads leading to it. Some 4,000 riot police with water cannons were on standby in case of violence. Some of the protesters stayed on, setting up a reported 21 camps and promising not to leave until the land, which Tata wants for suppliers, is handed back. Protesters are said to have attacked Tata employees and stolen equipment from the site.

“>

Yet for all that Tata insists that the Nano will go on sale as planned in October. If the problems at Singur aren’t resolved, the company says one possibility is to shift production to another plant. There’s also the option of ditching the Singur site altogether and building a new site somewhere else in India.

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One wonders what this is going to do to the Nano’s profitability. Tata says it’s already spent $350 million on the plant in Singur. Even if it can move successfully the whole plant bit by bit to a new site, Ashvin Chotai, an independent auto analyst, reckons it would cost another $50-$100 million. And that doesn’t taken into the account the added costs for suppliers, which would also face the prospect of moving closer, or sending “>parts further, to a new site. “There is a possibility that Tata may need to shoulder some of these costs,” says Chotai. Then there’s the impact of rising raw materials costs, which consultants Global Insight estimate account for about 23% of the Nano’s pretax price.

“>

So what’s all this got to do with the Mini? Well, like the Nano, the Mini was small, had an innovative design and low price (retailing at under £500). It was hugely successful, too, selling over five million between 1959 and 2000. Most analysts expect the Nano, with its super-cheap price to be at the very least a big seller in India. Still, there’s one aspect of the Mini’s history that Tata would be wise to avoid: the more Minis that were sold, the bigger the losses were for the now long defunct British Motor Corporation. Indeed, Ford estimated it lost £30 on every one sold because the price was too low. Putting that into perspective, that equates to a loss on the Mini of over £7 million, a huge sum at the time, in 1967 alone. That’s caused some auto historians to claim that the legendary Mini was in fact “a major factor in the demise of the British auto industry”. Sometimes a commitment to a low price can be very costly.

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Originally Syndicated via RSS from Auto Beat

Hummer’s Middle East director says two separate parties are expressing interest in buying the rugged off-roader brand.

Originally Syndicated via RSS from Inside Line Automotive News

BMW will present an all-new 7 Series, plus an Active Hybrid version, along with 3 Series and X1 Concept.

Originally Syndicated via RSS from Inside Line Automotive News

Originally Syndicated via RSS from Inside Line Automotive News

Originally Syndicated via RSS from Inside Line Automotive News

Originally Syndicated via RSS from Inside Line Automotive News

Originally Syndicated via RSS from Inside Line Automotive News

Originally Syndicated via RSS from Inside Line Automotive News

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I’m having a snarky Dennis Miller moment. The Democratic Convention kicks off today. The China Olympics concluded last night. A new NFL season is almost upon us. Baseball playoff fever is hotting up.

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And into my e-mail box today came a sneak peak, I thought, of the 2010 Buick LaCrosse. Okay, I’m not that juiced up, but I’ll have a look. I’m game. But then I open the e-mail from GM, and all I get is a shot of the grille of the refreshed 2010 Buck LaCrosse (pictured above).

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Readers: Help me think of a top ten list of things of greater consequence than the refreshed grille of next year’s Buick LaCrosse, which will be shown, I’m told, at this fall’s LA Auto Show

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9. New printer cartridges from HP that will be 3% more expensive than the rip-off prices the company charges already.

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Originally Syndicated via RSS from Auto Beat

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And into my e-mail box today came a sneak peak, I thought, of the 2010 Buick LaCrosse. Okay, I’m not that juiced up, but I’ll have a look. I’m game. But then I open the e-mail from GM, and all I get is a shot of the grille of the refreshed 2010 Buck LaCrosse (pictured above).

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Readers: Help me think of a top ten list of things of greater consequence than the refreshed grille of next year’s Buick LaCrosse, which will be shown, I’m told, at this fall’s LA Auto Show

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Originally Syndicated via RSS from Auto Beat

The Phantom gets tasteful interior and exterior treatment for a United Arab Emirates special edition.

Originally Syndicated via RSS from Inside Line Automotive News