by Paul A. Eisenstein | Apr 9, 2013
Detroit-based powertrain company EcoMotors has landed a $200 million deal to produce its new opoc motor in China, a deal that initially will see the “breakthrough” engine design used for stationary generator applications – though the U.S. company’s chairman says...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | Apr 8, 2013
It wasn’t that many years ago when Chinese auto shows were relatively lame events, manufacturers rolling out production cars and prototypes we’d already seen at other global events, such as Detroit, Geneva or even Tokyo. Not anymore. This year’s Shanghai Motor Show...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | Apr 8, 2013
BMW is the latest global automaker to announce plans to create a special sub-brand for the Chinese market – but the German luxury giant is also eyeing its start-up as a possible source of exports. We should hear more about the new Zhi Nuo brand at the Shanghai Auto...
by Joseph Szczesny | Apr 8, 2013
Ever since Toyota ran away with the auto industry’s environmental crown after the successful introduction of the Prius more than a decade ago, other automakers have been trying to figure out a way to snatch it away from the Japanese auto giant. Companies as different...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | Apr 8, 2013
If your wallet is still hurting from the painfully high fuel prices much of the country experienced over the winter there’s some good news next time you head to the pump. The average price of a gallon of regular unleaded gas has dipped to just $3.58, a three-cent dip...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | Apr 8, 2013
If it were possible for things to get worse, well, it just might for fast-failing Fisker Automotive which, just last Friday, laid off three quarters of its employees, including its marketing, engineering and communications teams. That move has triggered a federal...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | Apr 5, 2013
This is a complete update of TheDetroitBureau.com’s earlier report. About 75% of the workforce at troubled battery-car start-up Fisker Automotive has been laid off, including its entire communications staff and much of its marketing and engineering operations, a...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | Apr 5, 2013
Barely a week after U.S. employees were put on a 5-day unpaid furlough, troubled Fisker Automotive has apparently given termination notices to as much as half or more of its staff – including its entire communications department, several well-placed sources have told...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | Apr 5, 2013
We’ve been hearing a lot about the “epidemic” of distracted driving, as U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has dubbed it, and most fingers point to such high-tech diversions as texting and handheld cellphoning. But a new study says we may be looking in the wrong...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | Apr 5, 2013
With the launch of its updated 2014 E-Class, CLS and CLA performance models, Mercedes-Benz will begin a dramatic shift at its AMG brand-within-a-brand. Going forward, virtually all of the performance division’s products will come with standard all-wheel-drive. The...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | Apr 5, 2013
Federal safety regulators have continued to tighten automotive crash standards in recent years – but now are considering a new rating system that would make it easier for motorists to judge not only how a vehicle performs overall but how well it might protect older...
by Joseph Szczesny | Apr 5, 2013
The United Auto Workers appears to be edging closer to an up or down vote on union representation at the new Volkswagen AG manufacturing plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee thanks to support from the German Metal Workers union, IG Metall. IG Metall representatives at...
