bankruptcy

It's never easy to create a new version of something that already exists in a given market. Take, for example, the police car. For decades, the Ford Crown Victoria has been the king of the cop cruiser hill. Unfortunately, the Panther platform was retired, which means no new Crown Vics were on the...

The European car market continues to decline as the economies of most of its nations spiral downward, and the toll on the upper end of the custom and tuner segment continues to rise. Porsche-specific tuner companies 9ff and speedART have both filed for insolvency protection in Germany this month...

If you're a fan of visually unappealing yet wildly potent automobiles, the Gumpert Apollo is probably your desktop background right now. Founded in 2004 by ex-Audi Sport director Roland Gumpert, this manufacturer is best known for production of the Apollo. A rather unique machine, the Apollo is...

Luxury sports car maker Wiesmann has filed for insolvency in its native Germany, the latest niche automaker to be hit by the downturn of the European new car market. Wiesmann is known for its retro-styled roadsters, typically using BMW drivetrains, and the company says it has sold more than 1,600...

Detroit, once America’s fourth biggest city and still the heart of the country’s auto industry, filed for Chapter 9 bankruptcy protection in a federal court late on Thursday. With a current population of approximately 700,000, it means Detroit is now the biggest municipal to ever file...

In August of 2012, Spyker filed a $3 billion lawsuit against General Motors in a U.S. District Court in Michigan, alleging that the American auto giant deliberately forced Spyker-owned Saab into bankruptcy by blocking a planned asset purchase by Chinese investor Youngman Lotus. General Motors...

This morning, Fisker laid off all of its communications staff and most of the rest of its labor force. Far from the beginning of the end, the news today comes as the final flameout for a company that has been reduced to smoldering wreckage for some time now. That's meant both figuratively and...

In February, we heard the sad news that Irwindale Speedway was closing its doors and canceling all events for the remainder of 2012 due to the bankruptcy of its operator, Irwindale Speedway LLC. Following the original announcement, Irwindale Speedway’s owner, Nu-Way Industries, announced it...

In the 2009 horror-comedy motion picture Zombieland, actor Woody Harrelson’s character wanders a ruined America, in search of the last remaining Hostess Twinkie cream-filled sponge cake in existence. It’s a noble quest, one that’s about to be mirrored by Saab aficionados...

In August, we heard the sad news that Germany’s Gumpert Sportwagenmanufaktur, maker of the legendary Apollo line of supercars, was forced to start insolvency proceedings following a failed deal to market its cars in China. At the time of the announcement, the administrator overseeing the...

Legendary British engineering firm and race car constructor Lola Cars, established in 1958 and based in Huntingdon, England, has ceased operations after entering administration and failing to secure new investment. The firm, which is part of the larger Lola Group, originally went into...

Production at niche sports car manufacturer Artega, based in Delbrück, Germany, has come to an end, with the company stating on its website that the last of its Henrik Fisker-designed GT sports cars rolled off the line on September 30. Artega filed for bankruptcy protection in July of this...

Following its announcement in June to acquire the remaining assets of bankrupt Swedish automaker Saab, as well as the assets of subsidiary firms Saab Powertrain and Saab Tools, National Electric Vehicle Sweden (NEVS) has confirmed today it has finalized the acquisition process. One key asset NEVS...

Just when it looked like the bankruptcies and bottoms-dropping-out of the car industry were behind us, Gumpert announces that it has applied for insolvency proceedings in its home country. Why? Because it failed to meet its plans to deliver its offbeat supercars to expected Chinese-market buyers...

As recently as March of this year German sports car manufacturer Melkus was making headlines with new model introductions, however, things have turned sour since then and now Melkus is making headlines once again, this time due to the company recently filing for bankruptcy with a court in Dresden...

Despite its significant links with the auto industry and the world of motorsports, the Nürburgring race track is in severe financial distress, with news coming overnight that its private operator has filed for bankruptcy. The track itself is owned by the German government, with the private...

The saga of the financial debacle surrounding Germany’s storied Nürburgring circuit has been been going on for years. In 2010, it was made (very) public by ‘Ring Meister Sabine Schmitz, working on behalf of a group called “Save The Ring.” While the group has been...

Just days after news that Italian automaker DeTomaso had filed for bankruptcy comes word that its chairman, Gian Mario Rossignolo, was arrested on allegations that some $9.2 million in public funds were used inappropriately in a botched turnaround effort. Rossignolo purchased the rights to the De...

Despite the grand visions of its latest owner, former Fiat executive Gian Mario Rossignolo, legendary Italian sports car brand De Tomaso has announced it has filed for bankruptcy. The announcement comes after a long period of uncertainty and a failed attempt to secure a Chinese buyer for the...

It’s a sad day for sports car fans, with news coming out today that German firm Artega, manufacturer of the Henrik Fisker-designed GT sports car, has filed for bankruptcy. The small scale manufacturer, based in Delbrück, stated that it has become insolvent and that it is seeking to find...