by Paul A. Eisenstein | Nov 18, 2010
Who says the minivan market is dying? Not the small band of makers that are rolling out all-new or significantly updated offerings for the 2011 model-year, a list that includes not just segment leader – and creator – Chrysler, but Honda, with the ’11 Odyssey, and...
by Henny Hemmes | Nov 18, 2010
So you thought you knew the Subaru Impreza? Think again. Up til now, Subaru has not been a maker known for coming up with especially ground-breaking styling. But that never mattered much with its group of loyal buyers. The joint project with Saab that brought Subaru...
by Bryan Laviolette | Nov 18, 2010
Twenty-six years ago, Fiat left the U.S. market amid claims of poor quality. Now, with the help of its new American partner, Chrysler, the Italian automaker is back with a stylish subcompact, the 500, or Cinquecento. Fiat officially revealed the U.S. version of the...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | Nov 18, 2010
Ford Motor Co. is betting big on small cars. It began the 2011 model-year early with the launch of the little Fiesta model and now comes the next-generation Ford Focus, the compact car the Detroit maker came to the L.A. Auto Show to formally unveil. Detroit makers...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | Nov 18, 2010
As the legendary Yogi Berra might have said, it was “déjà vu all over again” for Toyota at the 2010 L.A. Auto Show, the company unveiling its new RAV4-EV. Fourteen years ago, recalled the Japanese maker’s top American executive, Toyota came to the Los Angeles show to...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | Nov 18, 2010
Barring a shocking, last-minute setback, General Motors is expected to generate perhaps as much as $23 billion in a potentially record-setting IPO today. The initial public offering will not only generate cash for GM and the U.S. Treasury, its single-largest...
by Joseph Szczesny | Nov 18, 2010
Chrysler Group is preparing to sell more than 2 million vehicles next year, said CEO Sergio Marchionne as the automaker showed off its new Fiat dealership in the heart of Los Angeles. Significantly, Marchionne said that at least a quarter of those 2 million units...
by Joseph Szczesny | Nov 18, 2010
Kia is making its belated entry into electric propulsion with the launch of its first gas-electric model, the 2011 Optima Hybrid, at the Los Angeles Auto Show. The new model, similar in underlying technology to the new Sonata hybrid sold by Korean sibling Hyundai, is...
by Joseph Szczesny | Nov 18, 2010
General Motors’ eagerly-awaited Initial Public Offering is now on track to be the largest first-time stock sale in history. The maker, which only emerged from Chapter 11 protection 16 months ago, now estimates the public offering of common and convertible junior...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | Nov 18, 2010
Honda made an appropriately auspicious splash, Wednesday, as it staged its first-ever global preview at the 2010 Los Angeles Auto Show. And, suitably enough, the event marked the debut of the Japanese maker’s new Honda Fit EV Concept, a thinly-disguised version of the...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | Nov 17, 2010
The face of the future or just a fantasy in chrome? That’s the question Nissan left unanswered following its Wednesday news conference at the L.A. Auto Show. The strikingly distinctive four-door Ellure was one of three debuts on the Japanese maker’s stand. But where...
by Joseph Szczesny | Nov 17, 2010
Struggling to overcome cripplingly slow sales, Smart USA has brought in an outside design house to work on the new small car the maker is developing with help from Nissan. Jill Lajdziak, smart USA president, confirmed to TheDetroitBureau.com that Penske Automotive...
