ma section - normal
-
The 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 doubled 2008 losses to $2.45 billion. Daimler posted a Q4 loss before interest and taxes (EBIT) of about $700 million on its own, however, so not all the blame lies at Chrysler's feet. Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche says the company is still in a good position, despite a lost forecast for 2009 as well...
-
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 -
Mazda announces pricing for 2010 Mazda3Mazda used last year’s Los Angeles Auto Show to debut the new 2010 Mazda3 Sedan, and then followed it with the reveal of the Hatchback model at the Bologna Motor Show just one month later. The carmaker’s North American chief Jim O'Sullivan revealed in January that the car’s U.S...
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 -
Volvo adds pair of new five-cylinder turbodiesels to engine lineupDiesel is the way of the present in Europe, and to hear some tell it, it's the future for the U.S. as well. Either way, Volvo will be prepared with two new diesels announced in detail today. The D5 five-cylinder diesel was announced for the S80 sedan back in January, but now full details on both...
Kenneth Hall -
New details on FAB Design Maybach 57SPutting an already overwrought car through the tuner's wringer usually results in some pretty horrific ocular torture, and while the FAB Design Maybach 57 certainly qualifies, it adds a distinct element of sport that seems oddly congruent with the car's inherent design. Today FAB revealed more...
Alex Kaufmann -
Late last year, London Mayor Boris Johnson and Transport for London (TfL) picked two new designs for a modern-day Routemaster double-decker bus for the UK capital’s public transport service. More than 700 design submissions were evaluated and at the end of the day two designs, one by Aston Martin and architectural firm Foster and Partners, and another by Capoco Design, were picked. While the Aston Martin designed bus is nowhere near as enticing as some of the company’s sports cars, by bus standards there are still some very interesting elements. The design envisages a...
-
Ferrari recalls 1,900 F430 Spiders at risk of going up in flamesWe’ve seen a number of cases of Ferrari supercars going up in flames over the past couple of years but usually these are one off occurrences and the reasons behind the fiery end usually goes by unreported. In the latest twist of the ongoing Ferrari fire saga, the Italian supercar manufacturer...
Jeremy Weber -
Hennessey announces plans to modify the Ford Taurus SHOTwin-turbos, 365hp - stock - aggressive looks and...four doors? A Blue Oval on the grille? The Ford Taurus SHO is a legendary nameplate with a promising new face for the 2010 model year, and the tuners at Hennessey Performance have taken notice. Not much about the planned modifications are yet...
Nelson Ireson -
Spy shots: Seven-seater Chevrolet Tacuma MPVChevrolet is planning to expand into the seven-seater MPV market with an all-new model designed as a replacement for the Tacuma (a Daewoo model that was later rebadged a Chevy). Unlike the previous Tacuma, the new model is tipped to be manufactured in the U.S. and may be offered with a hybrid...
Ralph Hanson -
Honda's new Insight doubles first-month sales targets in JapanMaking plans for the future is tough when the market is as shaky as it is now, but Honda is trying to find a way to get its Insight hybrid to market in the U.S. for less than $20,000. To do so, it may have to build the car in the U.S., but it won't be able to justify that step unless it can sell...
Nelson Ireson -
Mercedes unveils special-edition G-Class SUVs for 30th anniversaryThirty years is a long time in the automotive industry, but the more things change, the more they stay the same - in 1979, the second oil crisis was in full swing, Detroit was smack in the midst of its malaise-era madness and the Mercedes-Benz G-Class was born. Now that three decades have elapsed...
Nelson Ireson -
Art imitates life, they say, though with video games getting so lifelike they look like playable movies, it's getting harder to tell which is life and which is art. Zele International has added to the confusion, showing off a new Gran Turismo edition body kit for the Infiniti G37, or Nissan Skyline Coupe as it's called in Japan, taken straight from the screens of Gran Turismo 5. The striking kit crosses the pixel-reality border surprisingly well, though the currency conversion isn't friendly: pricing in Japan starts out at ¥382,600 ($4,160) for the full kit. What comes in the kit? A grille...
-
Ford working four-cylinders into every car and crossover in its rangeSo smaller engines get better fuel economy - big surprise, right? Ford has recently been making a lot of noises about a transition to smaller engines based around their EcoBoost twin-turbo technology, but today the company is saying they'll be going four-pot in every car and crossover they offer by...
Nelson Ireson -
What financial crisis? Rolls-Royce sells 1212 cars, reveals updated Phantom rangeWith all the doom and gloom surrounding the auto industry and the economy in general, it is interesting to see that Rolls-Royce, the manufacturer of some of the most lavish cars on the planet, is enjoying record sales. Last year, the carmaker from Goodwood, UK, sold a total of 1,212 cars, its fifth...
Kenneth Hall -
Report: Obama drops plans for industry ‘car czar’President Barack Obama has made no bones about his commitment to using the government to help prop up the ailing automotive industry, but his earlier plans to instate a ‘car czar’ to oversee the industry’s restructuring have reportedly been dropped. The original bill passed for...
Nelson Ireson -
BMW releases ‘Performance Power Kit’ for N54 straight-six engineBMW’s N54 series straight-six engine is one of the most coveted powerplants currently in production, picking up prestigious awards like the International Engine of the Year title and appearing in some of our favorite cars like the 335i Coupe and Sedan. In its standard form, the...
Ralph Hanson -
Peugeot 3008 crossover official detailsPeugeot's work on its new 3008 compact crossover has so far been well documented, with the public getting their first taste of the vehicle with the almost identical Prologue HYmotion concept as far back as last year’s Paris Motor Show. Today, official details of the production 3008 have...
Ralph Hanson -
Afzal Kahn, owner of the eponymous 'Project Kahn' outfit, has unveiled his latest creation in what has come to be a long line of customized luxury vehicles. This time around the Project Kahn team has taken the relatively sober Range Rover Vogue SUV and tinkered with its appearance and handling slightly. The Project Kahn Range Rover Vogue conversion consists of a new bodykit, color-coded paint scheme and a custom sports exhaust system. The interior is given the bespoke touch, with an exquisite piano black trim made to the exact requirements of the customer. The vehicle also features specially...
-
Chris Bangle to open own design studioEarlier this month automotive designer Chris Bangle announced that he planned to quit the auto industry to pursue his own design-related endeavours. The American-born designer is yet to reveal exactly what his future plans will entail but a senior executive at his former employer, BMW, has revealed...
Kenneth Hall -
Analyst: tax breaks on new cars could spark up to 100,000 new salesA lot of hullabaloo on the topic of the need (or lack thereof) to act quickly and decisively on the economy, and to help kick-start the car industry in particular, has been flying about living rooms, bars, offices and Houses of Congress lately. To help give some life to the debate, the analysts at...
Nelson Ireson -
Detroit 3 looking to Asia for brand salesTough times are a unifying theme of the economic and sales reports of the last six months, especially in the car industry. Finding ways to pull itself up by the bootstraps is proving harder than imagined by some, but the effort is pushing the Detroit 3 to consider a window of opportunity in Asia...
Ralph Hanson -
2010 Toyota Camry previewToyota revealed its facelifted Camry sedan last month at the 2009 Detroit Auto Show, which for the 2010 model year has been given a new look both inside and out and has received an upgraded 2.5L four-cylinder as the base engine. Today pricing was revealed, with a six-speed base car starting out at...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Report: Chery considering bid for VolvoAmerica's car-market troubles are well-known and much belabored of late, but China's automotive industry isn't facing such a dire situation. In January, China's total car sales overtook America's for the first time, and many of the constituent companies, such as Chery, are looking outside China to...
Nelson Ireson