auto industry

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Ford Surprises With $100M Q1 Profit
 Ford Surprises With
 $100M Q1 Profit 
Earnings report
Apr 24, 2008 7:28 AM CDT

Ford Surprises With $100M Q1 Profit

Cost cutting offsets weak sales in US for world's No. 3 automaker

(Newser) - Ford today posted an unexpected first-quarter profit of $100 million, Bloomberg reports, the result of cost cutting in North America and strong overseas sales. Analysts had anticipated a loss on the order of last year's first-quarter drain of $282 million. The world’s third-largest automaker said its revenues increased 1....

Toyota Overtakes GM in Q1
 Toyota Overtakes GM in Q1 
Apr 23, 2008 1:29 PM CDT

Toyota Overtakes GM in Q1

US giant's worldwide sales off 0.6% as overseas growth mitigates domestic dip

(Newser) - GM’s vehicle sales fell 0.6% in the first quarter, helping Toyota, on 2.7% growth, take the global sales lead, the Wall Street Journal reports. Toyota sold 2.41 million vehicles worldwide to 2.25 million for the American giant, which was hurt badly by a 10.2%...

More Cuts Planned as Ford Shifts Out of Reverse

Investors rally for Mulally as turnaround picks up speed

(Newser) - Ford was in the worst shape of Detroit's Big 3 a couple of years ago but chief executive Alan Mulally's sweeping changes have put the firm back on the road to profitability, the Wall Street Journal reports. The company has slashed jobs, and will likely cut more, and ditched its...

Detroit Looks to Pump Up Exports

US automakers say cheap dollar, low-cost labor puts them in driver's seat

(Newser) - The dollar’s declining value, lower labor costs, and other terms of new UAW deals have US automakers looking overseas as they attempt to reclaim market share and profitability, reports the Wall Street Journal. About half of US vehicle exports in 2007, which totaled $50.66 billion, went to Canada...

Roadblocks Zap Electric Carmakers' Momentum

Infighting and broken promises mar ambitious companies

(Newser) - The more than two dozen startups racing to produce viable electric cars face a bumpy road, the Los Angeles Times reports, as they navigate infighting, skyrocketing costs, and lack of mass-production know-how. Meanwhile, a successful car would face serious competition from several major automakers working on innovations of their own....

Tata's Luxury Buys Tell World 'We're Here'

Jaguar, Land Rover acquisitions add dimension to Indian giant's broad base

(Newser) - Perhaps you’ve never heard of Tata, the Indian company that's the new owner of Jaguar and Land Rover—but it's already a $70 billion globe-straddling giant, the BBC reports, with major subsidiaries in a host of industries. Not content with dominating its fast-growing home market, Tata Motors sells cars...

Alfa Romeo Revs Up to US Market
 Alfa Romeo Revs Up
to US Market 
Mar 15, 2008 8:34 PM CDT

Alfa Romeo Revs Up to US Market

Analysts skeptical due to weak earlier run at American buyers

(Newser) - Italian automaker Alfa Romeo is ready for a second run at the US market, hoping to provide a stylish alternative to BMWs and Audis, the Los Angeles Times reports. A cultural icon in Italy, Alfa failed to win over Americans in the past—and is now sparking skepticism from auto...

Chrysler Will Shut Down for 2 Weeks
Chrysler Will Shut Down
for 2 Weeks
Mar 13, 2008 1:32 PM CDT

Chrysler Will Shut Down for 2 Weeks

Forced July vacation part of automaker's revamping effort

(Newser) - Chrysler plans to shut down all operations for two weeks in July to save money and “accelerate Chrysler's recovery and transformation,” CEO Robert Nardelli writes in a company memo. Employees will take a forced break July 7-20 “in order to create better alignment and efficiency across organizational...

11 Rides to Scratch Off Your List
11 Rides to Scratch Off Your List
Mar 9, 2008 3:02 PM CDT

11 Rides to Scratch Off Your List

Consumer Reports says don't waste your money on these wheels

(Newser) - Beauty may be in the eye of the beholder, but performance isn't. Here are the 11 vehicles Consumer Reports rates the worst in this year's testing:
  1. Jeep Wrangler Unlimited: Handles like a tank
  2. Hummer H3: Poor visibility, fuel economy
  3. Jeep Liberty Sport: Noisy, poor finish, fuel economy
  4. Chevrolet Aveo5: Sluggish,
...

Porsche Speeds to $225B Euro Empire

VW acquisition would create Europe's biggest car & truck company

(Newser) - The map of Europe's car and truck industry is set to be redrawn with Porsche's likely takeover of Volkswagen, the Financial Times reports. Porsche's board voted to boost the sports car manufacturer's stake in Volkswagen to more than 50% yesterday, only hours after Volkswagen said it would buy a controlling...

US Car Sales Sink in Slow Economy
US Car Sales Sink in Slow Economy
Mar 3, 2008 9:45 PM CST

US Car Sales Sink in Slow Economy

GM, Ford, Chrysler, and Toyota saw sales fall last month

(Newser) - A tumbling US economy hit Ford, General Motors, Chrysler, and Toyota today as all four posted declining sales for last month, Bloomberg reports. Chrysler fell 14% as Ford dropped nearly 7% and GM suffered almost a 20% drop in light truck sales. "Primarily it's driven by the weak economy,...

Are Car Roofs Tough Enough?
Are Car Roofs Tough Enough?
Mar 3, 2008 2:55 PM CST

Are Car Roofs Tough Enough?

US regulators consider stricter strength-to-weight standard

(Newser) - Three-quarters of vehicles on the road today would fail a proposed tougher standard for automobile roof strength, reports the Wall Street Journal. The current standard, unchanged since 1973, requires that car roofs withstand a force equivalent to 1.5 times the vehicle’s weight, but it exempts those more than...

Auto Worker Powerhouse Doug Fraser Dead at 91

Ex union boss helped save Chrysler from ruin

(Newser) - Former United Auto Workers president Doug Fraser, who played a vital role in saving Chrysler from bankruptcy, died yesterday at age 91. The cause of death was unknown, but Fraser had been suffering from emphysema, the Detroit Free Press reports. As UAW president during the ’70s and ’80s,...

Isuzu Says Sayonara to America
Isuzu Says Sayonara to America
Jan 31, 2008 1:14 PM CST

Isuzu Says Sayonara to America

Japanese automaker bailing as passenger sales fall to nearly nothing

(Newser) - Japanese automaker Isuzu, which brought the US such treasures as the SUV and fictional car salesman Joe Isuzu, is closing up shop in the US, thanks to its nearly non-existent sales. Of the 16.1 million cars sold last year, just 7,098 were Isuzus. Said actor David Leisure, who...

Ford Trims Q4 Loss to $2.75B; Plans Job Cuts

Eying weak economy ahead, will offer new round of buyouts

(Newser) - Ford Motor Co. said job cuts and plant closings helped slash its fourth quarter losses to $2.75 billion, Bloomberg reports, less than half of what they were a year ago. But, adds  the Wall Street Journal, the company plans to reduce its workforce by at least another 13,000...

Toyota, GM In Tie for Top Automaker
Toyota, GM In Tie for
Top Automaker
Jan 23, 2008 9:28 AM CST

Toyota, GM In Tie for Top Automaker

Tie highlights two companies headed in opposite directions

(Newser) - Toyota has finally caught up with GM, after years of growing roughly five times as fast. GM’s sales rose 3% in 2007, to 9,369,524 vehicles, but it was only enough to tie Toyota, which last week announced sales of approximately 9.37 million, ending GM’s 76-year...

Mitt Outplayed Mac in Michigan
Mitt Outplayed Mac in Michigan
OPINION
Jan 15, 2008 5:39 PM CST

Mitt Outplayed Mac in Michigan

Pundits rush in before polls even close

(Newser) - With Great Lakes State voting booths not quite closed—and polls tied—pundits are already writing post-mortems on the two-Republican race, and giving Mitt Romney the campaigning edge. The New Republic’s Jonathan Cohn and Henry Payne in the National Review agree that Mitt hit his stride, convincing Michiganders he’...

Romney Gets Personal in Michigan
Romney Gets Personal in Michigan
Jan 13, 2008 10:04 PM CST

Romney Gets Personal in Michigan

Will candidate's more emotional touch save his campaign?

(Newser) - You can go home again, Mitt Romney is finding in Michigan, where the GOP presidential candidate has adopted a softer approach as he vies for a badly needed primary victory in the state where he was born and raised and his father was governor. Voters are responding to the more...

Malibu Wins Car of the Year
Malibu Wins Car of the Year
Jan 13, 2008 4:26 PM CST

Malibu Wins Car of the Year

Mazda CX-9 wins best truck at Detroit auto show

(Newser) - General Motors' goal of taking on the Camry and Accord got a boost today as the Chevy Malibu won North American Car of the Year at Detroit’s auto show, CNNMoney.com reports. Its Corvette-inspired twin-cockpit design, and a body shape similar to European luxury cars, has already won media...

Battery Is Burning Issue for Electric Cars' Future

Manufacturers racing to make batteries that won't burst into flame

(Newser) - One main obstacle is holding back the electric car, the Wall Street Journal reports: its unfortunate tendency to burst into flames. Lithium-ion batteries, the only kind small and light enough to power the industry’s designs, have a history of overheating in laptops and other consumer electronics. You can’t...

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