Industry
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American carmakers have caught the brunt of the public's outrage against the car industry, thanks mostly to their highly public pleas for cash. But the whole industry is hurting, even niche Japanese carmakers like Mitsubishi. As part of their cost-cutting measures, the Triple Diamond brand will be closing the doors on their U.S. design studio in Cypress, CA, leaving 60 employees out of work. The move echoes a similar step taken by Nissan in January when it closed its Michigan studios. Chrysler closed its California design studio last May, though the facility was later purchased by - of all...
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Chrysler's SRT brand not going anywhereJust because you can buy a Charger SRT8 for under $35,000 after incentives and rebates doesn't mean Chrysler is liquidating its SRT cars to get rid of the brand. In fact, Chrysler has said specifically that its high-performance division is safe from the current budgetary cutbacks. Unlike General...
Ralph Hanson -
Bentley gets idle staff to build furnitureLuxury carmakers have a knack for stamping their logos on almost anything, from pens, to laptops and watches. But the latest direction Bentley is turning for additional revenue has left us scratching our heads a little - the 90-year old company has started producing furniture, including tables and...
Kenneth Hall -
Marchionne confident Fiat can help ChryslerThe Fiat-Chrysler partnership has been brewing since well before the economic meltdown and federal loan bonanza of late 2008, but it's still taking shape as the carmakers find ways to work to their mutual benefit. Today Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne reaffirmed his confidence that Fiat will be able to...
Nelson Ireson -
GM auditors have 'substantial doubt' about the company's survivalOnce again General Motors is issuing a warning that it may run out of cash. How, you might wonder, considering the billions in taxpayer dollars that have already been pumped into the company? It's unfortunately very simple: GM is still playing catchup with its debt, and all the money spent so far...
Ralph Hanson -
Washington kickstarts credit market with $200 billion in consumer loansIn a plan to stimulate the flailing American economy and instill confidence in the credit market once more, the U.S. federal government will be launching a new $200 billion program to help Americans finance large purchases. Previously, it was thought that the government could increase the program...
Alex Kaufmann -
Luxury sports car manufacturers are having a tough year in 2009, despite their successes last year. Earlier this month we heard from Porsche, who had experienced a massive drop in sales for the first six months of fiscal 2008/2009 following their record profits last year and now a similar story is unfolding at Lamborghini, with sales dropping by around 40% in the wake of canceled orders. Despite selling the most cars in the brand's history last year, the drop in sales is still in line with a global fall in demand for luxury cars in 2009. Lamborghini CEO Stephan Winkelmann stated that...
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Germans scrap clunkers as Americans hang on to theirs longer than everThe U.S. Senate killed the 'Cash for Clunkers' bill in February on the argument that it wouldn't have enough of an impact. While they may have been right - the bill only allowed for limited incentives - the premise has proven successful in Germany. Running against a very strong current of downward...
Nelson Ireson -
Obama's stimulus package expands plug-in hybrid incentives, but diesel fans unhappyA new-generation of plug-in hybrid vehicles may still be a couple of years away from reaching showrooms but the $700 billion Wall Street bailout bill passed by Congress and signed into law last October by President Bush and expanded by President Obama's recent stimulus package secures a tax break...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Chrysler incentives cost a massive $5,566 per car in FebruaryPeople aren't buying new cars. It's really that simple in a lot of ways; the economy is down, the future is uncertain and no one wants to bet their house that they'll still have a job in six months. So Chrysler has been going wild with incentives to try to prop up sales in a market that just...
Nelson Ireson -
Porsche sales hit hard by economic crisis, Boxster fares worstPorsche, the once unassailable leader in the sports car segment, has proven that it is not completely shielded from the current economic crisis sweeping the globe. In an official statement, Porsche has revealed that the first six-months of the 2008/2009 financial year have not exactly been smooth...
Jeremy Weber -
Audi: we will beat Mercedes and BMW in Europe by 2010The bosses at Audi are gunning for their German rivals BMW and Mercedes-Benz, announcing this weekend a goal to sell more cars than either in Europe by 2010. Audi's continental domination will be followed soon after by the Volkswagen Group's rise to the number one spot in the world, if the company...
Nelson Ireson -
Like bell-bottom jeans, tie-dyed shirts and shoulder-length hair - on men - some things capture the style of an era. It's easy to look back and see what defined the hippie culture, or the beatniks or even the mods, rockers and punks of the '80s. But looking forward is an altogether different task. So Audi has enlisted the help of the evolution-based game SPORE to fuel its competition for an Audi design from 2025. The core thesis of SPORE is to create a microcosm of one's own design, and then guide it through five stages of evolution, from cell, to creature, to tribal to civilization and...
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Ford execs take 30% pay cutFord has been one of the most active of the Detroit 3 carmakers when it comes to cutting executive pay and white collar jobs, and today the Blue Oval announced its latest measure for weathering the economic storm and turning around its slumping performance. Hourly workers at Ford will get yet...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
GM scraps plans for Volt engine plant in Flint, MichiganEarlier this month General Motors announced that it was putting plans for the construction of a new engine plant in Flint, Michigan, on hold. The plant was to build a new range of 1.4L four-cylinder powertrains for cars like the Chevrolet Volt and Cruze, but a company spokesperson has now revealed...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Chrysler assets could be sold to Chinese carmakerThere is mounting speculation that ailing Detroit carmaker Chrysler may not be able to survive as a standalone firm. Negotiators in Detroit are working furiously to secure a deal with Italy’s Fiat Group but if the proposed alliance falls through Chrysler has a number of options as backup. One...
Kenneth Hall -
Obama's car industry task force shuns domestic cars for personal useThe resurgence in domestic car quality (it's real) hasn't quite caught up with the members President Obama's newly-formed Task Force on the Auto Industry, or at least so it would seem from their personal car choices: 18 of 20 members and senior aides drive imports. It's not a surprise the majority...
Nelson Ireson -
New focus on R&D expected at Honda with announcement of new CEOHonda, like most major carmakers, is experiencing one of its worst performance slumps in decades. Shrinking demand worldwide for new vehicles and a strengthening yen have had disastrous effects on the company’s bottom line, with the most recent profit warning predicting a $3.7 billion...
Jeremy Weber -
General Motors and Chrysler have told authorities in Canada that they need as much as $8 billion in aid to stay afloat, more than double the original amount requested just three months ago. The latest request is in addition to the $26 billion the two Detroit carmakers are seeking from the U.S. government as revealed in their recent viability plans. While no specific figure has been given for the Canadian aid request, GM and Chrysler said they expect amounts proportional to the loans they are seeking back in the States. Unfortunately for the Canadian government, it has little to no bargaining...
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Chrysler still sees GM merger as best betDesperate times call for desperate measures and at Chrysler it appears every option is on the table. The Auburn Hills carmaker has been tied with at least five major carmakers in the past six months, even coming close to a merger with Detroit rival General Motors. While such a move may seem a...
Ralph Hanson -
GM viability plan calls for $16.6 billion in additional aid, 47,000 job cutsChrysler’s request for an additional $2 billion in government funded loans in its latest viability proposal looks trivial compared to the $16.6 billion requested by General Motors today in front of the U.S. Treasury. Without this funding GM says it could run out of money as early as next...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Chrysler cost Daimler $1.75 billion in 2008The divorce of Daimler from Chrysler in 2007 wasn't complete - the German company Daimler still holds 19.9% of Chrysler - and now that lingering relationship has come back with a vengeance. Despite a year that would be only moderately unsuccessful for Daimler, Chrysler's involvement more than...
Nelson Ireson -
Chrysler's viability plan requires additional $2 billion in loansBuilding a foundation for the reconstruction of the industry, General Motors and Chrysler are required to submit new plans for viability today as part of the loan agreement established late last year. GM has yet to unveil their reworked plan, but Chrysler has just released the key details of its...
Ralph Hanson -
White House: GM, Chrysler to get another $7 billion todayDetroit's carmakers are due to submit their latest viability plans to the government later today, but already a White House source has leaked that General Motors and Chrysler will both be getting new loan funds. GM's $4 billion loan and Chrysler's $3 billion will bring the total amount handed out...
Ralph Hanson