Auto Industry Archive

General Motors President and CEO Fritz Henderson confirmed today GM would be willing to sell a majority stake in its German-based Opel subsidiary, as GM sheds costs by selling or closing brands and divisions. “We certainly indicated a willingness to go into a minority position,” Henderson said in a press conference today. Henderson also confirmed: Hummer has two potential buyers,...

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The path to profitability with hybrid and battery electric cars may not be at the top of the market—as Fisker and Tesla are assuming—but at the bottom. Take a look at the price wars developing between Honda and Toyota over, respectively, the Insight and Prius. And that’s only the beginning. When Honda announced that its mid-sized Insight sedan would open at $19,800, it was a shocker to...

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The once-bright luster of hydrogen and fuel cells seems to have dimmed recently, with the momentum shifting to plug-in battery vehicles. Hydrogen is still very expensive, despite talk of the “hydrogen highway” there are only 65 filling stations around the country, and costs haven’t come down enough on the cars themselves. And now the shoe has dropped, with Energy Secretary Steven Chu...

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Richard Levin, president of Yale, is the only economist on the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, which presumably gives his thoughts on the auto industry more than a little weight. And Levin, who was recovering from surgery at presstime and unable to comment further, thinks the industry will shrink. A lot. In an interview with the Yale Alumni Magazine, Levin foresees...

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Democrats have finally agreed on a vehicle scrappage bill that backs off some of the protectionist, Big Three-promoting aspects of HR 1550, introduced by Representative Betty Sutton (D-OH). But it’s controversial anyway, because it allows American car buyers to get substantial environmentally based subsidies on 15-mpg trucks that could hardly be called “green.” Under “cash for...

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General Motors today reported a steep net loss of $6 billion for the first quarter of 2009, potentially another half-step in the direction of a bankruptcy filing on June 1. The single biggest factor for GM’s loss is that demand has fallen off a cliff. Revenues fell by nearly half versus the year-ago quarter. GM’s worldwide production fell by more than 900,000 cars and trucks, or...

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Volkswagen is investing $1 billion in a state-of-the-art car plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and Stefan Jacoby, president of VW Group of America, said at a Washington, D.C. forum May 6 that the cars coming out of the plant could include one of the very economical BlueMotion diesels. In Polo form, with a 1.3-liter turbodiesel, it acheives a whopping 60 mpg–better than a Prius. “We’re...

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After it’s reorganized, the new Chrysler expects to be profitable, if barely, as soon as 2012, according to the company’s own forecasts, submitted with Chrysler’s U.S. Bankruptcy Court filing. The forecasts were submitted for Chrysler by Robert Manzo, executive director of Capstone Advisory Group LLC, a firm that specializes in guiding corporations through Chapter 11...

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Creating a dealer network is a big hurdle for any vehicle startup, so Craig Bramscher, CEO of electric motorcycle maker Brammo, made a smart move: He hooked up with Best Buy. Later this spring, the first (of three) Brammo EV bikes will go on sale online, but you have other options. “We can confirm that Best Buy will be piloting electric-powered personal transportation products at some of its...

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The auto lending division of GMAC Financial Services is starting to claw its way back into business. GMAC today reported a wider loss overall of $675 million in the first quarter of 2009, versus a net loss of $589 million in the year-ago quarter, because of losses in its mortgage division and in commercial financing. However, the first-quarter report also included positive news for its global...

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