by Ken Zino | Sep 10, 2009
General Motors has just announced that its Board of Directors supports a bid from the consortium of Magna International Inc. and Sberbank to buy a majority stake in its European Opel/Vauxhall operations. The other finalist in the bidding, Belgian-based private equity...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | Sep 9, 2009
The French-based automaker, Smart, could be in for a much-needed expansion of its line-up, industry sources report, with the maker’s parent, Daimler AG now in talks with the French carmaker, Renault. Initial reports out of Europe, quoting a source close to the...
by Ken Zino | Sep 9, 2009
Taxpayers are not going to recover anywhere near the money they have invested in automakers and their subsidiaries, according to a report just released by the Congressional Oversight Panel. The Panel, which is investigating the U.S. Treasury Department’s Troubled...
by Ken Zino | Sep 9, 2009
When we last left our beleaguered European auto company, Adam Opel, the German Chancellor had politicized the proposed sale by calling for General Motors Company to sell its loss-making European subsidiary to a Russian backed consortium headed by Magna International....
by Paul A. Eisenstein | Sep 9, 2009
While everyone waits and wonders whether former Tonight Show host Jay Leno can work his magic during prime time, Ford Motor Company has signed on in an unusual partnership that will have celebrity drivers racing battery-powered versions of the automaker’s Focus sedan....
by Ken Zino | Sep 9, 2009
Volvo is recalling 2008-2010 S80 models for 2008-2010, 2009-2010 XC 70 and 2010 XC60 vehicles. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says that under some conditions, the software within the central electronic module (cem) may not send a signal to the fuel...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | Sep 9, 2009
The downsizing of General Motors’ executive ranks continues, with numerous sources suggesting that the automaker’s Chief Financial Officer Ray Young will be among the next to go, as part of a shake-up in the corporate finance department. Rumors have been circulating...
by Mike Davis | Sep 9, 2009
In rapid fire succession, this writer was recipient of three emails from divergent but known conservative friends–one a former journalist–with an apparent widely circulated though un-sourced report alleging that politics determined which Chrysler dealer...
by Ken Zino | Sep 9, 2009
Koenigsegg Group AB, the ultra small Swedish sports car maker for the ultra rich, said this morning that Beijing Automotive Industry Holdings Company Ltd would become a partner as it buys Saab from General Motors Company. The new financing announced today was first...
by Joseph Szczesny | Sep 8, 2009
Crispin, Porter + Bogusky, the ad agency that Volkswagen of America recruited to buff up its image, has decided it doesn’t want the VW business after all, VOA officials have confirmed. The ultra-hip agency from Miami and Boulder has elected not to participate in the...
by Ken Zino | Sep 8, 2009
The United Steelworkers (USW) today updated the White House on this year’s sharp spike of “accelerating” Chinese tire imports. According to preliminary government data for August, there’s been an extraordinary increase of passenger and light truck tire imports into...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | Sep 8, 2009
While most automakers will be shining the spotlight on their latest sheet metal, Lotus Engineering will put the focus on the iron and aluminum underneath during its news conference at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show, next week. The company, the consulting and...
