by Paul A. Eisenstein | Oct 31, 2011
Ever so close to getting production – and inventories — back to normal after suffering for months from the impact of Japan’s March 11 earthquake and tsunami, Honda has announced it will once again have to slash production by half due to flooding in Thailand. The...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | Oct 31, 2011
When Lotus pulled the Elise out of the U.S. market at the end of the 2011 model-year it said it had no choice because it couldn’t meet strict new government safety mandates. The British marque isn’t alone. A number of low-volume manufacturers have struggled to keep...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | Oct 31, 2011
Despite some ambitious sales goals the little Fiat 500 hasn’t exactly set the U.S. market on fire. So the Italian partner of Detroit’s Chrysler LLC will be turning up the energy level with the upcoming launch of the 2012 Fiat 500 Abarth. Due to make its debut next...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | Oct 31, 2011
Honda saw profits for the second quarter of its fiscal year plunge by 68%, well beyond what analysts had been anticipating – and the maker is hinting the situation may not improve as quickly as it originally anticipated. Honda had been hoping to begin a...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | Oct 31, 2011
If American consumers are reining in their spending that’s news to new car dealers who appear to have rang up one of the best months since the deep recession began three years ago. Preliminary data suggests that the annualized sales rate for October could approach a...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | Oct 31, 2011
Everything old is new again – especially when it comes to the classic 1964-1/2, ’65 and ’66 Mustangs. Like many makers, Ford has a catalogue full of parts for those original pony cars, everything from brakes to seats. But now, it seems, you can even order all-new,...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | Oct 28, 2011
As far as John Mendel is concerned New Year’s Eve can’t come soon enough. The top American executive at Honda says this has been the worst year the Asian automaker has experienced since it first entered the U.S. market – though with its factories now back up to full...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | Oct 28, 2011
Ford Motor Co. is a small step away from achieving one of CEO Alan Mulally’s key goals after the maker received another upgrade in its debt rating from Moody’s Investors Service – the agency also giving an upgrade to industry giant General Motors Corp. Both makers are...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | Oct 28, 2011
Facing imminent collapse, Saab has agreed to a fire sale that will give two Chinese companies complete control of the Swedish automaker – thought the deal must still be approved by Chinese regulators. The 100 million Euro – or $141.4 million — purchase price is...
by Joseph Szczesny | Oct 28, 2011
Ford Motor Co. wants to make sure you don’t fall asleep behind the wheel – something four in 10 Americans admit they have done at one time or another. A new system designed to alert drowsy drivers is among a number of new safety technologies the maker is planning to...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | Oct 28, 2011
Despite the significant cost savings it is bringing to the smallest of the domestic automakers, Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne signaled that the maker’s two-tier wage structure is something he plans to eliminate in the not-too-distant future. About one in eight of...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | Oct 27, 2011
Confirming it is on track to become the global sales leader Volkswagen revealed it had also hit one out of the park, tripling its net profit for the third quarter of 2011. Things didn’t go so well for VW’s German rival during the July – September quarter, however,...
