Industry

The former CFO of Chrysler and chief aide to Kirk Kerkorian and his Tracinda investment company, Jerry York, has given some insight about his thoughts on the current state of Ford and its subsidiaries. York, who met with Ford CEO Alan Mulally last month, thinks the Blue Oval chief will sell Volvo...

As carmakers face stricter fuel-economy and emissions regulations, shifting demand to smaller and less profitable models and shrinking sales in key markets like Japan and the U.S., GM marketing chief Mark LaNeve says prices for new cars and crossovers will have to rise. This follows previous...

As fuel economy standards tighten and prices rise, more car makers are turning to forced-induction solutions to improve the efficiency of existing engines. Turbochargers are the most efficient way to do so, and Detroit firm BorgWarner sees rising demand in North America, Europe and China as its...

Bob Lutz, writing today on GM's FastLane blog, discussed the Buick Invicta Concept (pictured) and its relation to the upcoming Buick LaCrosse production car. The GM CEO also gave a look into the future of GM's model-sharing plans, focusing on differentiating cars that share platforms, rather than...

Rick Wagoner, General Motors' CEO, has recently come out against United Nations research arguing that there is a link between biofuel production and a global rise in food prices, deriding the report as "shockingly misinformed." Perhaps GM's own vested interest in the subject - not just in the form...

The auto industry spent a combined $70.3 million lobbying the U.S. government last year, setting a new record for the bill, which came in 19.6% higher than the previous year. The inflated level of spending was driven mostly by new CAFE regulations voted in over the past 12 months. The finding was...

U.S. auto sales have been on the decline for the past 12 months and there’s no sign of a major upturn anytime soon. The market, which for years has been the world’s biggest in terms of auto sales, could soon be overtaken by Europe and possibly China and according to Renault-Nissan CEO...

Despite the massive losses of early 2008 at GM and Chrysler, other firms, like Maserati and Ferrari are doing quite well - as is Volkswagen. The Volkswagen group's Volkswagen brand generated a $718 million profit in the first quarter, despite essentially unchanged revenues compared to last year...

Since Chrysler is under private control it has no obligation to release financial results but according to its former parent company, Daimler AG, its result for the 2007 financial year could be a loss of more than $6.8 billion. Daimler indicated that Chrysler lost roughly that amount in the last...

GM today announced financial results for the first quarter of 2008, revealing a $3.3 billion loss over the period – down from a modest loss of just $42 million one year ago. Revenue for the first quarter was $42.7 billion, down slightly from $43.4 billion in the year-ago quarter. This was...

Update: Just yesterday we brought news of Pininfarina's fund-raising drive to get new capital investors, and today the company has made its announcement. Three additional major players in the auto industry will be taking a stake in the design firm, although exactly how much will be acquired by each...

As the fallout from last week’s CAFE announcement continues, worrying details about the new standards and how they appear harsher for some carmakers than others are starting to appear. The 2015 interim target of 31.6MPG fleet average for new cars and trucks is based on a complicated formula...

GM will attempt to avoid the same fate as Toyota and reduce production at a number of its plants to prevent an oversupply of vehicles in the stagnant U.S. market. Corroborating with the decline in demand for fullsize SUVs and pickups, GM confirmed today that it will start eliminating shifts at its...

We’re used to reading stories about the Detroit 3 suffering from inventory problems but when unstoppable Toyota suffers a blowout you start realize just how badly the state of the economy and the car industry in general is doing. Inventory levels for Toyota and its Scion brand have risen to...

Porsche's power plays within Volkswagen have been getting a lot of press lately, with everything from failed board votes to spy scandals sprouting out of the deal. Now attention turns to Porsche's interest in Audi, where it is working to secure three spots on the supervisory board. The three...

The U.S. Secretary of Transportation couched the new CAFE plan as saving billions of gallons of fuel, but the industry sees it as one that will costs billions in research, development and manufacturing costs over the next five years. Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters noted in the announcement...

Updated: The European Union has followed the lead of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission and approved the $2.3 billion sale of Jaguar and Land Rover to India’s Tata. There were no content of the sale from competitors and customers and the decision was made under a ‘simplified...

While Ford is being praised for posting its surprise $100 million first quarter profit, its Mazda subsidiary has shocked just as many analysts with a record profit of $1.55 billion for 2007 – up 2% on 2006’s record level. The jump in profit was on the back of a 7% jump in revenues and a...

Teetered on the edge of bankruptcy, Italian coachbuilder Bertone and its ‘Stile Bertone’ design house were approved today to be split into two independent factions. This will allow the more successful design arm to separate itself from the downturn that has been plaguing the...

Updated: Volkswagen’s U.S. chief Stefan Jacoby has confirmed the carmaker is looking at securing a location in either Michigan, Alabama or Tennessee for its new North American plant and expects a final decision to be made by the middle of the year. Key considerations for the decision include...