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The doomsayer business is booming again

June 30, 2008

It helps to look at history to understand the present. On the reopening of the BMW Museum in Munich on June 19, Eberhard von Kuenheim, the automaker’s legendary former CEO, helped visitors take that look.

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Trucks need car-like bumpers, insurers say

June 30, 2008

Light trucks should be equipped with bumpers like those that the government requires cars to have, according to safety researchers for auto insurers.

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Made For Each Other: Tesla to build new sedan in California

June 30, 2008

DETROIT - Like a major league baseball team threatening to leave for a new city out west unless its rundown, depressed hometown builds a shiny new stadium, “zero-emissions” carmaker Tesla Motors was looking to move its…

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EBay Gets Buffeted in Europe

June 30, 2008

The auction site could face millions in extra costs to track down counterfeit goods if a French court’s LVMH decision stands

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Real Estate: Making the REIT Picks

June 30, 2008

David Lee of T. Rowe Price Real Estate Fund tells how he’s outperforming rivals—and the stock market—and what property groups he likes now

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Plastech Redux: GM Wants C11 Supplier’s Tooling– Or Another Shutdown

June 30, 2008

In 2001, GM named Progressive Progressive Molded Products supplier of the year. Boston investment firm Thomas H. Lee Partners bought Progressive in 2004. With '07 revenues cresting $1.4b in 2007, the company's been a major GM supplier (TTAC is still investigating which parts they make for which GM vehicles). Yes, well, like so many other suppliers, Progressive got stuck between rising raw material costs and declining prices. Progressive filed for Chapter 11 on June 20, listing $500m in debt vs. $50m worth of assets. And now, as the court prepares to liquidate the supplier, GM has asked for court approval to seize tools from Progressive. Reuters reports says GM's filing cites "potential supply disruptions" that could "force the carmaker to shut its assembly lines." "The tooling is essential to ensuring the production of the component parts GM's assembly lines depend on," GM said in court [...]

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Ford Shopping Volvo To Renault and Dongfeng. Or Not.

June 30, 2008

Last we heard, Ford tried to shop Volvo to China's SAIC. Now Automotive News [AN. sub] reports that The Blue Oval Boys are trying to dump sell its troubled Swedish division on to Renault. We now learn that initial talks with Renault began last fall. But those broke down over "price differences" (as in Ford thought Volvo was worth something). Apparently, talks have now resumed. Renault/Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn has said on numerous occasions that he's looking for a partner in the American market. Someone. Anyone. GM? Chrysler? So, why not Volvo? You know, other than the fact the brand's only successful U.S. product– the XC series SUVs– just rolled-over and died. Of course, Ford continues to deny Volvo's on the auction block. "We are focused on improving Volvo's business results," says FoMoCo spinmeister Mark Truby. Meanwhile, AN says that Ford is also [...]

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Volt Birth Watch 60: The EV1 is Dead. Get Over It.

June 30, 2008

The LA Times reports that nobody tells Bob Lutz how to sell electric cars. In response to a NY Times article on GM's woes, an unnamed EV activist wrote a letter to the editor suggesting GM bring back the EV1 using Panasonic lead-acid batteries. This might have flown under the radar, except that the plucky rabble-rouser copied Maximum Bob on the email. Besides proving that he knows how to use email, Bob's reply proved that his world famous piss-and-vinegar approach hasn't been blunted by GM's recent bad news. "The EV will not meet any current safety laws," writes Lutz. "Putting a version into production that meets regulations would put us out to '11 or '12. They cost us well over $80,000 to produce, and, being a two-seater, we could only sell 800 in four years. We lost over one [...]

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Motorists Move to Scooters to Save

June 30, 2008

Consumers are looking at other transportation options.

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2009 Kia Borrego

June 30, 2008

2009 Kia Borrego
Let’s clear the air: we get that the sudden drop in large SUV sales casts the launch of the 2009 Kia Borrego in a questionable light. But when work began on the body-on-frame utility nearly four years back, truck sales in North America totaled 75,806 units and were predicted to increase each year until 2009. We can’t blame Kia for wanting a piece of that pie.
That pie certainly is smaller today, but there are still consumers who want, if not need, to sidle up to an SUV. Commuters may not find solace in the truck-like capacities (and a voracious thirst for fuel), but there are buyers who actively tow, venture off the beaten path, and need to carry more than five passengers in comfort. For those folks, an SUV may still be the ideal vehicle - and Kia hopes the Borrego will be their ideal choice.
The Borrego isn’t [...]

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