by Paul A. Eisenstein | Mar 14, 2011
The ongoing investigation into claims that Chinese spies had infiltrated the French carmaker Renault has taken another turn worthy of a pulp spy novel. A company security agent is now facing charges of “organized fraud,” accused of inventing the claim of industrial...
by Joseph Szczesny | Mar 14, 2011
Much of the Japanese auto industry appears to be shut down, in the home market, in the wake of last week’s devastating earthquake and tsunami, and industry managers say they’ll be making decisions on when to get back to work on a day-to-day basis. At least one Honda...
by Joseph Szczesny | Mar 11, 2011
The massive earthquake that rocked northern Japan has dealt a hammer blow to the Japanese auto industry, which is still piecing together the impact of what is now believed to have been the worst temblor in recorded Japanese history – and the tsunami it spawned —...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | Mar 11, 2011
The following story has been revised to include the Ford Fusion Hybrid in the Top 10 list. If recent weeks are any indication, many American motorists are rethinking what to drive. Last month’s sales numbers saw a spike in demand for small cars and hybrids (though...
by Joseph Szczesny | Mar 11, 2011
When it first appeared last year, the Kia Sportage crossover got generally good marks – and plenty of attention to its distinctive design. The Korean maker has made a high priority of styling, as models like the all-new Optima demonstrate, and so, the Sportage took a...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | Mar 11, 2011
Lexus and Mini are the brands most likely to satisfy customers – at least those owners who take their vehicles in for service, reports J.D. Power and Associates. While its conventional wisdom that consumers will be heavily pressed to make unnecessary repairs by greedy...
by Marty Bernstein | Mar 11, 2011
March Madness Has Infiniti & Buick as presenting sponsors As the regular college basketball season ends, America’s college hoops mania begins, March 13 bringing Selection Sunday, followed on Monday by National Bracket Day, the First Four playing on March 16 &...
by Bryan Laviolette | Mar 11, 2011
A firestorm of controversy erupted after Chrysler’s social media agency accidentally sent a tweet that used the f-word on Wednesday. At one point, the automaker said one of its twitter accounts, @ChryslerAutos, had been compromised, but it later determined that...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | Mar 10, 2011
More than three years after announcing plans to produce a high-performance plug-in hybrid, Danish designer-cum-entrepreneur Henrik Fisker is ready to put his money – and a half billion dollars of U.S. taxpayer cash – where his mouth is. The sleek Fisker Karma coupe...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | Mar 10, 2011
With fuel prices spiking — and some markets are now reporting figures of more than $4 a gallon — plenty of folks are rethinking how small they should go. Even before the latest crisis in Libya sent global petroleum markets into turmoil, American motorists...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | Mar 10, 2011
While car sales may be on the mend, demand is still substantially below the 17-million peak the U.S. market saw a decade ago. And a substantial number of the vehicles sold during the last industry boom are going bust, which means a big jump in business for America’s...
by Joseph Szczesny | Mar 10, 2011
Kia and motorsports? The idea might have seemed ludicrous just a few years ago considering the Korean carmaker’s econobox image. But as it prepared to launch of new products, such as the all-new Optima, the maker took a bet that that tearing up the track might be a...
