Thoughts On December Sales And SAAR By Jeremy Anwyl December 10, 2011 Last weeks auto sales reporting generated a buzz in the media with the news that November sales exceeded expectations and hit 13.6 million on a Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate basis. I had to smile when reading these reports. First off, because our analysts [...]
Aptera Will Auction Off Assets This Month By Danny King December 10, 2011 Aptera Motors, the electric-vehicle maker that said earlier this month it would shut down due to lack of funding, will auction off its assets later this month at its Carlsbad, Calif., headquarters, including computers, furnishings and auto-repair equipment, in order to raise [...]
Honda Recommits To Fun, Frugal Path By Paul Seredynski December 10, 2011 The 2011 Tokyo Auto Show punched up its glitz factor this year, but the real pageant for major Japanese automaker Honda Motor Co. Ltd. took place the day before the show. Gathering the international press at its Twin Ring Motegi racetrack, Honda [...]
We Get Fisker Karma To Go Farther Than EPA By John O’Dell December 8, 2011 For years, Fisker Automotive co-founder, chief executive officer and head designer Henrik Fisker insisted that the exotic plug-in hybrid sports sedan his company was developing would deliver 50 miles of all-electric range before its 4-cylinder gasoline engine/generator kicked in and [...]
Ford Bringing Back The Dividend, Tesla Slammed By AutoObserver Staff December 8, 2011 Ford Motor Co. confirmed today it will begin paying a quarterly dividend on its common shares, more than five years after suspending the dividend in 2006 during the first rumblings of an industry-wide restructuring hastened by the recession that began in late [...]
Nissan Expands Leaf Sales To Seven More States By Danny King December 8, 2011 Nissan North America Inc. expanded availability for its battery-electric Leaf to seven additional U.S. states this month, bring the total market to 30 states, adding the electric vehicle would be available nationwide in March. Nissan, which has sold 20,000 Leafs globally, [...]
New Commercial-Vehicle Safety Bill Introduced By AutoObserver Staff December 8, 2011 The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation said today it introduced legislation to advance commercial motor vehicle (CMV) safety and authorize programs and activities of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), the federal agency of the U.S. Department of Transportation responsible for [...]
Daimler’s smart To Go – Pickup Truck? By AutoObserver Staff December 7, 2011 In a design study to be unveiled at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit next month, Daimler AGs smart microcar division takes an improbable direction with the for-us (above), a battery-electric vehicle the company said is challenging ideas about what [...]
Raw-Material Costs Likely To Pressure Automakers By AutoObserver Staff December 7, 2011 Global shortages of numerous key raw materials may weigh on the auto industry in the next half-decade, said a report this week from investment firm PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. The firm said as many as 14 materials will be in short supply over the next [...]
Chrysler Revives Old Name For New Compact Car By AutoObserver Staff December 6, 2011 The Chrysler Group LLC said today the new, U.S.-built compact car for its Dodge division will reinstate the Dart nameplate and will be unveiled at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit next month. The 2013 Dart sedan is based [...]
