Industry

The car industry has been dreading increases in the required roof strength of their cars for years now. The current regulations are holdovers from decades past, and safety advocates are calling for new standards that would dramatically improve safety, though the industry fears the high costs that...

Europe’s annual Car of the Year awards are on again and the finalists have been revealed. Whittled down to just seven front-runners from a field of 38 candidates, the competition is expected to be exceptionally close - there is no run-away favorite. Last year’s winner - the Fiat 500 minicar -...

There were no winners in September's sales totals, with every major manufacturer in the market down against the same month last year. The tale is as much one of the U.S. economy and the finance industry's condition as it is of the carmakers', but the effect it will have on bottom lines and future...

Call it a bailout or call it an aid package, the car industry is only concerned with securing the funds it believes it needs to remain competitive as CAFE standards tighten. The federal government has taken heed of calls from both unions and the carmakers, with both houses of Congress having...

The saga that has become the Porsche takeover of the Volkswagen Group faces two new key issues in the coming year, both relating to Audi. Already several high-tension situations have arisen, and bad blood between VW chairman Ferdinand Piëch and Porsche CEO and VW board member Wendelin Wiedeking...

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is considering altering the way it determines mileage figures for hybrid vehicles, which could ultimately result in much higher mileage figures being awarded to hybrids. Currently, the EPA test cycle involves city and highway driving, as well as high speed...

Known not just for its strong automotive business, but for its engine, aviation, robotics and motorcycle arms as well, Honda entered its 60th year as a corporation this week. Honda's official existence began on September 24, 1948, when Soichiro Honda incorporated the company. Starting with a...

It’s been well documented that Italy’s classic automotive design firms and coachbuilders are doing it tough. Bertone recently underwent a drawn out restructuring phase, which saw the company nearly go bankrupt and sold to an overseas buyer, while Pininfarina lost more than $164 million...

Brand value can be a fickle thing. It’s impossible to measure accurately and it can be affected by numerous volatile factors, but at the end of the day if a consumer is willing to pay more for one brand over another then brand value becomes a vital indicator of a company’s overall...

For the second time in less than 18 months, Lexus has come under fire for misleading advertisements that promote its RX400h hybrid SUV as being far more environmentally friendly than it actually is. The RX400h was being advertised by Lexus as "perfect for today's climate (and tomorrow's)", and that...

An all-new production line has opened today in Maranello, crowning 18 months of work and a 40 million investment. The ribbon-cutting ceremony comes just days after the Ferrari California's official unveiling, and coincides with the sale of the first California at auction. The 20,000 square meter...

Direct descendent of Henry Ford and current Blue Oval chairman Bill Ford Jr. sold one million of his own shares in the carmaker, about one-sixth of his total common stock holdings, in a surprise move last Thursday. The shares were sold at $5.05 each, earning Ford a tidy $5.05 million from the sale...

BMW is looking at reducing its U.S. sales for the first time in 16 years as the carmaker copes with a declining market and high fuel prices. One of its strategies is to take its focus away from the U.S. and instead attempt to boost sales in more profitable markets. The plan comes from BMW's new...

Doubts surrounding the passage of the historically British marques Jaguar and Land Rover into Indian ownership have consistently dogged the deal since its first rumored inception. Now that Tata is well underway in its new position as owner of the brands, it is assuring customers that there are no...

Already tension and hostility between two of Germany's most important carmakers is reaching the boiling point. Boardroom dramas and stock acquisitions have supplanted spy scandals as Porsche continues its takeover of Volkswagen, and the latest development involves VW building barriers between...

Two of Germany's most important carmakers are at odds over who will control day-to-day operations once a planned stock acquisition is completed. Just over a week ago, Volkswagen called on Porsche to make it clear that it wouldn't interfere with VW's daily operations once it becomes the auto giant's...

Success in business is often about taking educated risks, and even the best players in the game don’t always get it right. General Motors’ decision to import the Opel Astra to the United States as a Saturn-badged car, made before oil prices sky-rocketed and currency rates went out of...

New assessments of the projected expense of the automotive industry loan-guarantee program being pitched to the U.S. Congress reveal the cost could climb as high as $7.5 billion - double earlier estimates. The re-assessment is expected to make it even harder to get the program approved before the...

Securing a $25 billion loan package for the car industry has become not just a key policy issue for the current administration, but a rallying point for each side in the U.S. presidential campaign. The political hot-potato nature of such a decision is making it tough to get a clear read on what...

Chrysler is planning an aggressive model offensive over the next couple of years, with up to nine new models in the pipeline including both model refreshes and all-new vehicles. To cope with the extra capacity required for the new fleet, Chrysler is reportedly planning to build a new factory north...