Industry

A study undertaken by the American Automobile Association (AAA) has found car crashes involving 15-17 year old teenagers cost the U.S. over $34 billion each year. The study takes into account a number of quantifiable factors related to crashes including the cost of medical expenses, lost work and...

In a move designed to appease green-minded investors, Ford has pledged to reduce its new-vehicle greenhouse gas emissions by 30% by 2020 at the latest for both the U.S. and Europe. Ford believes promoting itself as environmentally responsible will attract customers, mimicking the strategy Toyota...

A month ago news of Chrysler's impending two-week North American summer shutdown sent ripples through the automotive press. Speculation of tough times and drastic fixes ran amok. Today word from Chrysler reveals that at least three factories could remain open while the rest of the company takes a...

Mercedes-Benz is planning a suit against Audi for infringement of its Bluetec technology. Under a European patent Daimler owns rights to the particular nature of the system, which controls emissions of diesel engines. Daimler claims to have sent at least three letters through its legal department...

Carmakers may be finding it tough importing cars into the U.S. because of the weak dollar but on the flipside exporting cars outside of the States is proving to be very lucrative. Combine this with last year’s revised labor contracts and U.S. carmakers are now faced with a tremendous...

Chinese automaker Nanjing purchased much of the MG brand while then-rival SAIC took ownership of other names under the MG umbrella, including several Rover models. Not included in either deal, however, were rights to distribute under the MG trademark in Europe. That has been rectified, however, for...

Scientists from Ruhr University Bochum (RUB) in Germany have revealed a major flaw in vehicle keyless entry systems by demonstrating a new device that can ‘learn and record’ radio codes used to lock and unlock car doors. In the same way that a universal remote control can mimic commands...

With fuel prices continuing to spiral northwards and consumers around the world adopting a new wave of environmental consciousness, sales of small economical runabouts are skyrocketing and carmakers unaccustomed to building and selling such models are starting to feel the heat. Finding it hardest...

It’s no big secret the British auto industry has been floundering. Most of the country’s premier labels are now owned by foreign companies, and with Asia’s car industry continuing to surge last month’s sale of Jaguar and Land Rover to India’s Tata is unlikely to be the...

Diesel models may account for half of all vehicle sales in Europe but in the U.S. their numbers still hover around the 3% mark. Petrol-electric models, meanwhile, sell in even lower numbers with total sales in the U.S. only accounting for a meager 2.2% of the market. Despite their low popularity in...

Just days after the liquidation of the shady car customizer's assets, Carroll Shelby has been served with a suit brought by the former customers of Unique Performance, the Texas company that engaged in title-washing and other scandalous behavior that eventually led to its bankruptcy and criminal...

As oil companies rake in record profits and pump prices soar ever higher, Democrats in Washington are asking why the industry is fighting so hard to keep massive tax breaks. The answer - simple supply and demand - seems to fall a bit short. But it's one thing to see the problem, and another...

Update: BMW will decide by the end of the year whether or not it will start selling engines to rival carmakers as negotiations with a number of parties are still taking place. Speaking with Automotive News, BMW board member Friedrich Eichiner said GM, Daimler and Fiat have all expressed interest in...

Auto sales in the U.S. have been on the skids for the good part of a year, due mostly to the country’s credit crisis and rising oil prices, but March levels marked the industry’s worst performance since 1993. Sales were down for most of the major carmakers, with American makes once...

Toyota today announced the establishment of a new North American research facility located in Ann Arbour, Michigan, which will spearhead research on advanced areas including powertrain technologies, energy systems, and partnerships with government and academia. The carmaker plans to spend $100...

Small-scale Malaysian car manufacturer Proton is developing a new range of in-house engines, including diesel engines for the first time, as part of a strategy to increase its export program. Proton has traditionally relied on Mitsubishi engines, but a new requirement for diesel mill and several...

While Jaguar and Land Rover will be getting a much-needed resuscitation from Tata and its deep pockets, stricter emissions and fuel-economy regulations set to roll in over the next decade as well as continual reliability and quality issues are likely to prove to be problematic for the new Indian...

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) has today agreed to reduce the number of zero-emissions vehicles carmakers are mandated to build each year by 70%, easing an earlier target that would have seen them sell up to 25,000 zero-emissions vehicles between 2012-2014. This figure has now been...

Jaguar finally changed hands this week with Indian carmaker Tata paying $2.3 billion for both the luxury brand and Land Rover. Although this seems like good value for Tata, Jaguar’s performance of late has been dire. The carmaker sold less than 54,000 units in all of 2007, down from about...

The last Australian built Mitsubishi has rolled off its production line at the carmaker’s Tonsley Park site in Adelaide today, one month after officials first announced the closure of the plant. Mitsubishi first started building cars in Adelaide back in 1980 after acquiring the plant from...