The Senate Banking Committee set its hearing for a proposed auto-industry bailout for Dec. 4. The Senate hearing is parallel to a similar hearing on Dec.5 before the House Financial Services Committee. The House committee scheduled its hearing previously. Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., chairman of the Senate committee, simply called the hearing, “The State of the Domestic Automobile Industry:...
Auto Industry Archive
November 2008
Nissan North America changed its mind about having a display at the Chicago Auto Show in February. According to a spokesman for the Chicago Auto Trade Association, which produces the show, Nissan decided late on Nov. 26 to have a Chicago display, after all. The trade association cited this statement from Nissan: “At the national level, Nissan North America decided to withdraw from both...
The Wall Street Journal characterized the fresh dispute between Daimler and Cerberus over Chrysler as “open warfare.” That’s overstating the case, but the fight has the makings of a nasty dispute, with roots dating back to the first days of the turnover of Chrysler from Daimler to Cerberus. Cerberus bought 80.1 percent of Chrysler for about $7.2 billion in August 2007. In...
Top Ten Reasons to be Thankful, U.S. Auto Industry Version: 1. Gas prices are down: According to AAA, the national average for regular unleaded was about $1.85 per gallon on Thanksgiving Day, down from about $3.01 a year earlier. True, it may not last, but just imagine for a moment if it had kept climbing after it hit $4. 2. The election is over, and Obama won: The uncertainty surrounding...
The downturn in U.S. auto sales has evolved to the point where many consumers are simply sitting on their wallets. At first, gas prices were the big problem. Consumption fell slightly, and gas prices have fallen a lot. Yet overall, people still aren’t buying cars. Scarce credit was, and to a great extent still is, the big problem. Even the most credit-worthy customers are finding it...
Daimler AG went public today with what sounds like a potentially ugly dispute with Cerberus over Chrysler. Cerberus bought 80.1 percent of Chrysler for about $7.2 billion in August 2007, undoing the DaimlerChrysler merger, which took place back in 1998. In September, the two companies disclosed they were in negotiations for Cerberus to acquire the remaining 19.9 percent of Chrysler. Meanwhile,...
The House Financial Services Committee set a Dec. 5 hearing to review revised turnaround plans from Ford, GM and Chrysler. Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., called the hearing, “Review of Industry Plans to Stabilize the Financial Condition of the American Automobile Industry.” That at least narrows the scope of the hearing. Last week, the Detroit Big Three ran into severe criticism on a...
Luxury automotive brands have a reputation for being “last-in, first-out,” of a recession. That’s not quite the same as being recession-proof, as Porsche AG illustrated in a Nov. 25 announcement that it is cutting eight days worth of production through the end of January, on top of normal holidays. “Even Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, Stuttgart, cannot escape the current...
Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services downgraded Ford Motor Co. recently to the same “CCC+” rating as General Motors and Chrysler, despite Ford’s recent efforts to play up the fact that it is in better shape financially than it crosstown rivals. To an extent, Standard & Poor’s agrees that Ford’s greater liquidity is an advantage, said credit analyst...
Chinese automakers are coming to the Detroit auto show in January, but reflecting hard times in the U.S. market, Nissan Motor Co. and some other brands are going to skip it, according to published reports. Before the current crisis, it would have been unthinkable to skip the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, without at least a token presence. Automakers have scaled back their...
- BMW Says Flexible, Not Lean, Is The Next Big Thing in Autos
- GM May Close Saab After Buyer Backs Out
- VW's Sports Marketing: Targeted, Focused and Relentless
- Ford Set to Regain U.S. Market Share First Time Since 1995
- Air Cars Have Major Range and Emission Challenges, Says Two New Studies
- GM Chairman Whitacre Has Angel in One Ear, Devil in the Other
- Aptera EV Shakeup and Delays Linked to Financial Problems
- Indian EV Maker Reva Makes Bid for World Dominance (Starting With Iceland)
- Troubled GMAC Is Making It Look Easy For Rival Ford Credit
- Ford Bets Small-Vehicle Trend Is Here to Stay
- Nissan's Carlos Tavares on Launching the Leaf and Electrifying the World
- Daimler's Dieter Zetsche: For Us, Small Cars; For Chrysler, More SUVs
- GM Repays U.S. Early, In Part By Charging Us More
- Nissan Introduces the Leaf EV in Los Angeles
- Ford Has Volvo On the Block, But the Safety Hits Keep Coming
- Batteries vs. Fuel Cells: A Tale of Unequal Federal Funding
- Ultracapacitors: Maybe Not Miracle Workers, but Great EV Power Potential
- Fiat Plan for Chrysler is One Letter Away from
- A Business Case for Battery Cars? Look at Tesla
- It's Getting Hot in Here: The High-Stakes Debate Over Fuel Economy and Climate Standards
- Consumer Reports Gives Nod to Ford Reliability
- Speed Bumps Generate Electricity--and Cash
- VW's Sports Marketing: Targeted, Focused and Relentless
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- Siemens Builds Electric Bike for American Chopper TV Show
- General Motors CEO Front and Center in New PR Campaign
- Lithium-Ion Batteries Could be Too Expensive, MIT Team Says
- Ford Bandwagon Rolling But It's Too Soon to Hop On
- Ford Taurus Comeback Is Off to a Modest Start
- Women Car Buyers Still Met With Dealer Disrespect
- Ford Readies EV Fleets, Prepares to Connect to the Smart Grid
- Indian EV Maker Reva Makes Bid for World Dominance (Starting With Iceland)
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Everyone has their eyes on the automotive industry lately. BNET Automotive gathers and supplies daily industry trends and news coverage with specific insights for managers and executives, focusing on the major auto companies and parts manufacturers. In addition to detailed auto company trends and profiles, we report on new alliances and partnerships, new models, mergers and acquisitions, labor management, auto unions, investments, and other key issues related to this sector of business.