Autoline Daily - Video

Lots of news about electric cars. Think, the electric car company out of Norway, filed for bankruptcy yesterday. Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn says the LEAF will be profitable by 2014. And GM just unveiled an electric version of the Beat in India. Ford dropped to 23rd place in J.D. Power's latest Initial Quality Survey, after being the highest-rated non-luxury brand last year. Volkswagen just demonstrat...

As we’ve been reporting, Saab has some serious financial issues and now it’s unable to pay its workers. The UAW and unions representing Fiat workers came to an agreement to negotiate together on issues concerning them collectively. Hyundai is pulling a Hawtai in China, exaggerating sales of its Sonata YF sedan. All that and more, plus a look at an innovative new safety feature that’s dirt cheap an...

Ford says it’s tweaking the software behind its SYNC and MyFord Touch systems because of customer complaints about the technologies. The Environmental Protection Agency is proposing another reduction in the use of cellulosic ethanol, the third straight year its slashed requirements. Over the last year, Detroit automakers have boosted sales in California while their Japanese rivals have seen their...

China wants to be in a position to dominate the global market for electric cars and the government is offering subsidies of $7,700 for plug-in hybrids and over $9,000 for EVs. Chrysler has been at the bottom of Consumer Reports' reliability and road-test scores for years, but the magazine just tested eight of its 2011 models and says its cars are improving. MINI just released photos and informatio...

Good News! Ward's is predicting June Sales will increase over May's Daily Sales Rate. At the same time, used car prices, which rose sharply in May, have been returning to earth this month. Ford says this is their 'last chance' to revive their Lincoln brand, and the company is investing $1 billion toward rolling out new products for the luxury brand. All that and more, plus John's segment on the ve...

Last week Mazda denied it would build a plant in Mexico, today the company announced it will build a factory in Mexico. And with Mazda dropping out of the Flat Rock plant in Michigan and moving to Mexico, Ford may want to move the Mustang which is also made in Flat Rock. Just a few days after blocking a bill that would drop subsidies for ethanol, the U.S. Senate turned right around and approved a...

J.D. Power and other analysts are forecasting increased car sales in the coming years, even projecting a return to 16 million annual sales. Supplier company Bosch is answering the auto industry’s call for more turbochargers, partnering with Mahle to build blowers. Buick fans get a surprise as the new Regal GS is rated as having the most horsepower per liter of any engine built by GM. All that and...

The Boston Consulting Group is wondering aloud whether EVs will be out-shined by advanced internal-combustion engines. The Center for Automotive Research says new fuel-economy standards will make cars more expensive, so much so that over five years the increased cost WILL NOT pay for itself in fuel savings. Yesterday the U.S. Senate voted to keep ethanol subsidies. All that and more, plus John res...

Word on the street is that GM CEO Dan Akerson told Opel recently they will not be sold as had been previously thought. Daimler is, however, considering outsourcing its Maybach cars to Aston Martin due to the line’s low sales. The Department of Energy has cut funding for the once-popular hydrogen fuel-cell program, saying it’s too expensive to support along with other alternative-energy programs. A...

A Plexiglas Pontiac display car from the 1939 world's fair is slated to hit the RM auction block this summer. China is recalling its electric taxicabs after one burst into flames recently due to faulty wiring and battery leaks. California is proposing targets for EV sales in their state that would mandate 14 percent of new cars be EVs by 2025. All that and more, plus John reports on Hyundai's figh...

David Strickland, the head of NHTSA, says companies developing in-car applications must not sacrifice safety for entertainment. Volvo is developing technology to avoid crashes with animals that will be ready for market in the next few years. Ford is only going to sell hybrid versions of the C-Max in the American market and it will only sell the two-row version, not the Grand C-Max version with thr...

GM is again seeking to sell its money-losing Opel Division and this time Volkswagen and Chinese car companies may be interested. Unions at Volkswagen want to buy a 3 percent stake in the company to increase their influence over how the automaker is run. Autoworkers at Maruti-Suzuki in India are striking for longer tea breaks, among other changes. All that and more, plus the fourth segment of the R...

Chrysler shuffles its deck of brand CEOs as Ralph Gilles is appointed CEO of the Street Racing Technology group while Fred Diaz will become CEO at Chrysler de Mexico. Popularity and prices of used cars are on the rise both in the United States and in Spain, helped by shortages of new cars and higher prices. Ford set a goal yesterday to increase its global sales 50 percent by 2015 largely through i...

Chinese automakers are expanding at a rapid pace and one of them is building cars in Iraq of all places. Geely and Volvo are clashing over the direction the safety-conscious Swedish brand should go. GM CEO Dan Akerson adds Lincoln to the long list of brands he's bashed. All that and more, plus we evaluate BMW's fast and fun X5 M.

A Saudi Prince wants to see lower oil prices to keep Americans and Europeans from seeking alternatives. BMW unveils its all new 1-series along with its treasure trove of new features. Pick-up trucks of all makes and shapes are piling up across the U.S. as sales slow due to gas prices. All that and more, plus a look at how the auto industry and the EPA are training engineers to make more fuel effic...

The U.S. government sold its remaining Chrysler stock to Fiat and President Obama is going to a Jeep plant in Ohio today to celebrate. GM's President of North America, Mark Reuss wants to test the company's futuristic autonomous electric vehicle, the EN-V, in Detroit. Mazda is in talks with Ford about selling its stake in their shared assembly plant in Flat Rock, Michigan where the Mazda6 and the...

Well, the analysts were right. May sales were down compared to April as high gas prices and other factors steered customers away from showrooms. But the news isn’t all bad. Ron Bloom, White House auto advisor, says taxpayers will not lose nearly as much money on the bailouts of GM and Chrysler as previously thought. Also, startling statistics from China about child safety-seat usage. All that and...

Car sales in the American market slowed down in May. J.D. Power forecasts that the SAAR rate will come in at only 11.5 million units. UPS is testing a fleet of lightweight trucks made with composite body panels which reduce the weight of the truck by 1,000 pounds compared to its normal delivery trucks. Fiat decided to dump the Chrysler brand in Europe and slap Lancia badges on them instead. All th...

Even though GM and Ford are recovering quickly in the American market they still want to close more assembly plants where they have slow-selling models. Mercedes is introducing another lust-worthy supercar, a drop-top version of its SLS AMG. Volkswagen announced it wants to completely take over MAN, the German commercial-vehicle maker. All that and more, plus John shares some of his thoughts on th...

The UAW wants to get seats on the boards of the Detroit automakers. The Japanese automaker recovery is going faster than initially predicted. BMW demonstrates the advanced state of autonomous technology at race tracks around the world. All that and more, plus a preview of this week's Autoline Detroit in which the panel debates which foreign transplant the union will target.

Chinese car sales aren’t just slowing, they could fall. U-Haul won’t rent you a trailer if you’re a Ford Explorer buyer or own a soft-top Wrangler. Ford demos Sync integration with medical equipment for blood sugar monitoring on the go. All that and more, plus we get a look into the EPA where we learn they don’t just test cars.

CEO Sergio Marchionne wants to have one management group for both Fiat and Chrysler, not the two separate groups like they’re now using. General Motors will build the next-generation Chevy Impala at its Detroit-Hamtramck plant, alongside the Volt and Malibu. One analyst is warning that Chinese automakers face severe overcapacity unless they change plans to expand. All that and more, plus John answ...

For more than 50 years the Arabian Peninsula has fueled the modern world, but the easy pickens are rapidly becoming slim pickens as supplies of high-quality light-crude oil dwindle. Louis Renault’s heirs are suing the French government for seizing the company back in 1944 and not providing them with any compensation. Mercedes-Benz is seriously considering bringing its Vito utility van to the U.S....

A company called Planning Perspectives, which tracks supplier relations, says the Detroit Three have improved dramatically, while the Japanese, in the words of the study’s author, "have lost their way." Volkswagen, at its new plant in Tennessee, will be paying its hourly workers $27 an hour, including wages and benefits. That compares to about $52 an hour for GM and Chrysler and $58 at Ford. The a...

The Obama Administration has dropped its idea of handing out letter grades to vehicles based on their fuel economy. J.D. Power says that car sales in May will drop. It forecasts the SAAR at just 11.9 million units which was previously at 13 million units. Auto supplier TRW just introduced an airbag that's installed in the roof which replaces the passenger airbag mounted in the instrument panel. Al...