GM Skips 2009 Oscars, Won’t Buy any Advertising Time

General Motors has pulled the plug off its 19-year long relationship with the Academy Awards, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday. Despite the fact that the Oscars are one of the biggest annual events on broadcast television, GM decided to end its long-time sponsorship of Hollywood’s flashy annual awards that included heaps of advertising time and the use of its vehicles to transport celebrities to the event and to Oscar-related parties. "It is a great property, but it simply didn't fit into our plans for 2009," said a GM spokeswoman. -Continued

The cash-strapped American automaker was one of the biggest advertisers for the Oscars spending $13.5 million for ad time last February and over $110 million the past 11 years according to TNS Media Intelligence. "With the current business challenges and tightening budgets, we've decided to focus our advertising and promotional dollars on activities that reach customers in the most impactful ways," a GM spokeswoman said. In other words, GM has decided to shift a large portion of its ad budget from the traditional media to digital marketing (internet) where the company’s execs believe they’re getting more bang for their bucks.

Kia Posts 24.1% Increase in Global Sales in July

At a time when most automakers are struggling to make ends-meet, Kia Motors reported that it sold 122,230 passenger cars and commercial vehicles in July 2008 recording an impressive 24.1% year-on-year increase. Cumulatively, through the first seven months of 2008, Kia’s global sales increased by 16.9% compared to the same period in 2007 and reached 839,384 units. So far in 2008, Kia’s best selling model in overseas markets has been the Cerato (also known as ‘Spectra’) with 124,058 units followed by the Rio at 94,340 units, the Cee’d at 91,857 and the Sportage SUV at 87,547 units. -Continued

By region, Kia posted significant gains in China with +114.1% in July and 42.7% from the beginning of the year and in Korea with +37.5% in July and 18.5% during the first seven months of 2008. Sales increases were also significant in Europe and North America (+8.4% and +3.5%) and Europe (+6.2% and +12,4%).

Infiniti G37 Coupe-Convertible to be Unveiled at the LA Show in November

Following an earlier announcement in May -see here- Infiniti has released more details on the forthcoming G37 Convertible. Confirming earlier reports, the drop-top G37 will feature a three-piece automatic retracting hardtop, just like its main rival, BMW 3-Series Cabriolet. Power will come from Infiniti’s 328 HP 3.7-liter V6 engine matted to either an all-new electronically controlled 7-speed automatic transmission with manual mode or 6-speed manual transmission.

Infiniti says that both the audio and climate systems on the G37 Convertible will be enhanced to provide equal experience with the top up or down. The all-new Infiniti G37 Convertible is set to make its world debut at the 2008 Los Angeles Auto Show in November.

Mitsubishi Raises Annual Production of the All-Electric i-MiEV to 10,000 Units

The huge positive response from the UK and other European markets for the i-MiEV has prompted Mitsubishi to raise its output target the all-electric city car that’s set to be introduced in the Japanese market in 2009 with Europe following in 2010, from 2,000 units per year to 10,000 units. To do so, Mitsubishi announced that its joint venture – Lithium Energy Japan – will build a separate plant in Kusatsu, Shiga Prefecture, to supply the additional anticipated demand.

The brand new plant is scheduled to be ready for next April’s start of production of the rear-wheel-drive i-MiEV all-electric city car. The plant will initially produce 1 million palm-size lithium-ion cells a year, which is enough to power 10,000 vehicles. An additional investment of more than 10 billion yen is planned by 2012 to add a second plant and doubling output to cope with demand. -Continued

According to the Japanese automaker, Mitsubishi Motors UK has requested that a proportion of the first 2,000 Right Hand Drive units be allocated to the British market to support a launch in London in 2009, something that is being seriously considered by the company.

"i MiEV" specifications

Base vehicle		"i" mini-car
Dimensions (L x W x H)		3395 x 1475 x 1600 mm
Vehicle weight		1080 kg
Seating capacity		4
Maximum speed		130 km/h
Cruising distance with a single charge (Driving pattern : 10-15 mode)		130 km / 160 km*
Charging time (80% capacity)	15 Amp/200 V (on-board charger)	5 hrs / 7 hrs*
	15 Amp/100 V (on-board charger)	11 hrs / 13 hrs*
	3-phase 50 kW/200 V (Quick charger)	20 min / 25 min*
Motor	Type	Permanent magnet synchronous motor
	Max. output	47 kW
	Max. torque	180 N-m
	Max. speed	8500 rpm
Battery	Type	Lithium-ion
	Total voltage	330 V
	Total energy	16 kWh / 20 kWh*
Controller		Inverter
Drive		Rear wheel drive

Opel to Launch Electric Model Derived Directly from the Volt in late 2011

GM Europe's President Carl Peter Forster has revealed details on what the company plans to do with the Chevrolet Volt in the European market. Assuming that all goes well during the development phase and the Volt is launched in the US in late 2010, GM's plan is to have the first electric-vehicles (EV) for sale in Europe about a year later, which is late in 2011. According to Forster, Opel and its UK arm Vauxhall will initially introduce a model derived directly from the Chevrolet Volt but more European-market specific EVs are planned for the future.

"The thinking goes that to have a significant impact on the environment, EREVs must be sold in high volumes, hence the reasoning for Chevrolet. The same logic is true for Europe, so the first EREV vehicle will be an Opel/Vauxhall, followed several months later by a Chevrolet,"said Carl Peter Forster. "The Opel/Vauxhall will be derived directly from the Chevrolet Volt to get into the market quickly, but I can assure you that more variations for Opel-specific designs of EREVs are already in the works but more on that at a much later time", he added. -Continued

Forster also stated in the company's official European blog that although the first EV variants will come from the States, GM will need to produce the cars in Europe as well.

"The first EREV variants will certainly come from the U.S., but the thinking goes that to get significant long-term volumes to impact our CO2 compliance strategy, we will need production capability in Europe," said Forster.

"Additionally, to deal with the huge cost implications of the new technology (the batteries initially are costing several of thousand Euros more than a typical engine/transmission setup), we need incentives for consumers to off-set the high costs and drive more volume. One thought that I floated in media discussions was that we get early adopter "super credits" under EU CO2 schedules for the initial volumes."

"By giving an Opel/Vauxhall EREV-powered vehicle (which will have an exceptionally low CO2 number) a high multiplier in CO2 fleet averaging, it would allow GM more flexibility in meeting the overall fleet average while pushing the vehicles into the fleet faster than otherwise would have happened. In other words, if one Volt was incentivized in the compliance plan to count as multiple vehicles at that low CO2 number, it would give GM incentive to offer a higher volume of Volts to the market than the affordability of the vehicle would normally warrant. This is a logical use of the regulations to get a desirable shift in consumer behaviour," added Forster.

Mercedes Receives 10,000 Orders for New GLK in Western Europe

Mercedes-Benz’ new compact SUV seem to have hit the spot in Europe as the German luxury carmaker has announced that it has received a total of 10,000 orders in Western Europe just one month after the GLK was released for sale. Deliveries of the GLK-Class are scheduled to commence in Western Europe in October, with market launch in the U.S. set to follow at the beginning of 2009.

From the 10,000 orders, Mercedes-Benz has received 1,000 orders for the GLK “Edition 1” variant (pictured above) which will only be available for the launch of the GLK-Class. Among other things, the special edition GLK model will feature a specially designed exterior and interior with a sports package as well as an AMG multifunction leather steering wheel.

GM Posts $15.5 Billion Loss in Q2 2008

General Motors today announced its financial results for the second quarter of 2008, which saw the largest U.S. automaker report a loss of $15.5 billion mainly due to plunging sales in its core North American market and the dramatic shift in consumer tastes from the very profitable large pick-up trucks and SUV segments to smaller and less lucrative passenger cars.

The massive second-quarter loss, which compares with an $891m net income in Q2 2007, includes $9.1 billion in special items, such as $3.3 billion relating to the GM’s North American hourly special attrition program, $2.8 billion adjustment to the Delphi reserve and $1.1 billion in restructuring and capacity related costs. Although GM posted a profit of $400 million for its automotive operations outside North America, a $4.4 billion loss in its problematic home turf resulted to an adjusted loss of $4.0 billion on automotive operations. -Continued

GM recorded $9.1 billion of special items, predominantly non-cash in nature for the current quarter or near-term periods, which include:

$3.3 billion relating to the 2008 GMNA hourly special attrition program

$2.8 billion adjustment to the Delphi reserve

$1.1 billion GMNA restructuring and capacity related costs

$1.3 billion impairment of GM’s equity interest in GMAC

$340 million Canadian Auto Workers contract-related accounting charges

$197 million related to settlement of the strike at American Axle

Ford Cuts Dozens of Design & Engineering Jobs from its U.S. Operations

Ford’s drastic transformation plan that includes the reduction of salaried-related costs by 15% until August 1, 2008, has claimed dozens of design and engineering positions at its U.S. facilities. According to a report from Wall Street Journal, the scene at the company’s product development center in Dearborn, Michigan on Thursday, July 31, was described as dramatic by observers with at least one engineer had to be escorted out of the building by security guards. -Continued

The reports states that the involuntary layoffs took their toll in Ford’s U.S. design operations which saw half of the company's 50 design modellers and three-quarters of its scanners (specialists that scan clay models and turn them into digital information) lose their jobs. Amongst others, Ford reportedly laid off Richard Gresens, the designer of the new Flex seven-passenger crossover.

Apparently, the layoffs in the design and engineering sectors also have to do with Ford’s recent decision to infuse its line-up with more Euro-models, meaning that its European operations will most probably get the upper hand in the company’s creative departments.

Via: WSJ

U.S. Government Owns 642,233 Cars - Drivers Get Paid Up to $90,000 a Year!

Seems like we’re not the only ones obsessed with automobiles, so is the U.S. government as it owns a staggering 642,233 cars. And if that’s not enough to raise an eyebrow or two, then this will; according to General Services Administration data obtained and analyzed by The Associated Press (AP), the operating costs of those vehicles that include maintenance, leases and fuel cost taxpayers $3.4 billion last year!

The report from AP notes that while most vehicles are used by officials to do their job, there are indications of mismanagement and unnecessary spending. And when we’re talking about spending we mean tens of millions of dollars every year. For example, Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt’s driver earns about $90,000 a year – and who needs a college degree! But to be fair, salaries for government drivers begin from $46,000. -Continued

Another good example of the way money is wasted can be seen at a Cleveland VA medical center where a government-leased vehicle was driven a mere 16 times in a year while another one was used only twice in the three months after its arrival. And to top it all, one sedan at the center has disappeared and hasn’t been seen in months!

Check out the full article from Associated Press writer Jennifer C.Kerr by clicking the link below.

Via: Yahoo AP

Toyota Starts Construction of Second Indian Plant

Toyota Motor Corporation or TMC for short held an official ceremony on Thursday (July 31, 2008) to mark the beginning of construction of its second plant on the outskirts of Bangalore in India's Karnataka State. The new plant is scheduled to have an annual production capacity of 100,000 passenger vehicles (including a new compact vehicle) when it begins operation in 2010.

VW May Build Two Vehicles at its New U.S. Plant

Volkswagen spokeswoman Jill Bratina revealed to The Associated Press on Wednesday (July 30, 2008) that the German carmaker is thinking about adding production of a second vehicle to its Chattanooga plant in addition to a new midsize sedan designed specifically for the North American market. "Our Chattanooga plant will give us flexible local production in the market," Bratina said. "In line with this flexibility, a second automobile in addition to a sedan specifically designed for the USA is conceivable in the foreseeable future." (Image: CarScoop)

Abarth Rumored to Develop Lotus Elise Based Sports Car

Ever since Fiat re-launched its Abarth brand, we’ve been hearing rumors about a stand-alone sports car that will act as a “halo” car for the Italian brand. Now, British magazine Autocar is reporting that it has learned from credible sources that Fiat has struck a deal with Lotus to use the next generation Elise that’s expected in 2010 as a base for a lightweight sports car with a mid-engine, rear-wheel drive layout. -Continued

The two-seater that is slatted to enter production in 2011 will get its own unique styling along with a range of Fiat sourced engines that could include the 1.4-liter Turbo unit from the Grande Punto Abarth and the 1.8-liter direct-injection Turbo from the new Lancia Delta. (Picture: CarScoop)

Via: Autocar

VW Overtakes Ford in Global Sales During First-Half of 2008

After losing the number 2 spot in worldwide sales to Toyota in 2003, Ford is on its way to yield the third place to the VW Group. During the first half of 2008, Volkswagen managed to slip into the third position right behind Toyota and GM (see here), leaving Ford in fourth place. The German Group reported sales of 3.27 million vehicles during the first half of the year, a 5.8 percent increase over 2007. Ford on the other hand saw its sales fall 11 percent during the same period to 3.09 million vehicles. (Picture: CarScoop)

Fiat Raises Annual Production for 500 Minicar to 200,000 Units

For the second time in a few months, Fiat has hiked production of its ultra successful 500 minicar in order to meet increasing European demand. In a conference call with analysts, Fiat Group’s CEO Sergio Marchionne revealed that production of the 500 minicar at the company Tychy plant in Poland has been boosted to over 200,00 units a year. -Continued

Fiat’s initial plans in 2007 where to sell approximately 120,000 units this year, however high demand saw the Italian carmaker raise the target to 140,000 earlier this year. According to a report from Automotive News, between the 500’s July 2007 introduction and the end of June 2008, Fiat dealers have received 230,000 orders.

Via: ANE (Sub. Req.)

Blind Justice? Chinese Court Dismisses Fiat’s Claims Against Great Wall

Just a week after a Turin court banned Great Wall from importing the GWPeri into Europe on the basis that it closely resembled Fiat's Panda minicar, and a Chinese court in Hong Kong dismissed Fiat’s claims for infringement by the Chinese car maker. Reuters also reported that Fiat was ordered by the Shijiazhuang Intermediate People's Court to pay 8,800 yuan or about $1,300 in legal fees. As you can see in these pictures here, apparently justice is blind in China...

China’s Great Wall Banned from Importing Panda Clone to Europe

Following in the footsteps of BMW that managed to stop the Chinese Shuanghuan CEO SUV from being imported into Germany, Fiat has won a court order against China’s auto manufacturer Great Wall Motors (GWM) banning the latter from bringing the GWPeri to Europe. The Italian carmaker had sued GWM both in Italy and China. In the case of the Turin court, it was ruled that the GWPeri looked to close for comfort with the Italian carmaker’s Panda minicar –wonder why…

Under the ruling, Great Wall Motors (see the clones here) should pay a €15,000 or $28,000 fine for importing the first example into Europe. If the Chinese carmaker decides to violate the ruling, GWM will be fined a further €50,000 per car brought into the region. Images of both the GWPeri and the Fiat Panda after the jump. -Continued

GWPeri

Fiat Panda

GM VP Carl-Peter Forster: “The culture of good enough has pretty much left”

We just finished reading an interesting article from Carl-Peter Forster, GM Group's VP and President of GM Europe on the company’s official blog, concerning the quality issues of the past and the change in mentality that has occurred in the Group. As you can see for yourselves in the extraction below, Forster was surprisingly honest referring to GM’s past culture in terms of quality as being “simply OK”. Forster also dedicated a part of his article to BMW and the way that every single employee at the Bavarian company took particular pride in their work striving to be the best person in the industry at that position. -Continued

«It’s taken some time and it’s still an on-going process, but the culture of “good enough” has pretty much left GM. Quality is not just about good process; it’s a foundation of the culture of the company. When I was at BMW, no matter where you worked – even if you were the second-ranking librarian in the corporate library—you strived to be the very best person in the industry at your position. It wasn’t something you preached, or had to remind people about, it was simply how most all employees viewed themselves. I think that passion bled through to all the products it created.»

«At GM, I’ve found some of the most talented and inspiring people I’ve ever worked with, but the culture in the past always seemed to come up with a “simply OK” mindset. That’s not to say that GM hasn’t done outstanding products in the recent past, but if we’re honest, the sum total of the parts was not always compelling.»

Read the whole article here

Volkswagen Group Officially Takes Control of Scania

The Volkswagen Group has received the necessary antitrust approvals from the E.U. and other countries worldwide to buy the majority of stakes in Swedish truck manufacturer Scania AB. Earlier this year, the German Group had reached an agreement with Investor AB and the Wallenberg foundations to acquire their entire shareholdings in Scania for approximately 2.8 billion euros. Volkswagen will now increase its share of voting rights in Scania from 37.98 percent to 68.60 percent while itts equity interest will rise to 37.73 percent (from 20.89 percent). -Continued

"We are delighted that Scania will now become the Group's ninth strong brand under the roof of Europe's largest automobile manufacturer," said Prof. Martin Winterkorn, Chairman of the Board of Management of Volkswagen AG. Scania now has a clear shareholder structure, he added. "As with all of our Group brands, Scania will retain its own corporate headquarters, its own culture and its own profile," said Winterkorn.

Auto Plus Magazine Raided by French Police after Espionage Complaint by Renault

So much for the freedom of press; French car magazine Auto Plus’ offices were raided by the police on Tuesday and a journalist was taken into custody as part of an official investigation into an industrial espionage complaint that was filed by French automaker Renault last August after the magazine published pictures and details of model not due to be launched for another three years.

Along with taking Auto Plus journalist Bruno Thomas into custody for questioning, French police officers also confiscated computers, hard disks and photographs from the magazine’s central offices. According to reports, an unnamed Renault employee is also under investigation for leaking pictures to the French magazine.

Although Renault did not give out any details on the leaked pictures obtained by Auto Plus, in a statement made by SNJ, one of the largest journalists unions in France, it was revealed that the model that triggered Renault’s fury was a future version of the Megane. Notably, over the past few months Auto plus has managed to obtain many inside pictures of the new Megane that’s scheduled to debut in Paris this fall. -Continued

Commenting on the filing of the complaint, a Renault spokesman said: "It kills creativity; you may as well just give our models to the newspapers and our competitors. What's the point of doing any research? The idea is not to attack Auto Plus but to cut off the sources that feed it, to find the source inhouse.”

Of course that’s not the way it was seen by two of the largest journalists' unions in France, SNJ and the press section of Force Ouvriere. “It is intolerable that journalists are treated like criminals when they simply exercise their job of informing the public. The custody of Bruno Thomas can not be used to make him reveal his sources”, SNJ said in a statement, the full text of which can be read below.

SNJ Statement (Web Translation from French)

The National Union of Journalists (SNJ) wishes to stigmatise the new and serious breach of the protection of journalists' sources that occurred on July 15 at Auto Plus.

The magazine has been a very long search and one of its journalists was in custody. Some computers were searched, copied disks and access to servers made.

The reason for this procedure, to say the least shocking, is a complaint filed by the manufacturer Renault after broadcasting pictures of one of its Megane model. Yet it is a specialty of this newspaper to give a "scoop" of information in his field.

Renault's complaint does not seek directly Auto Plus but would seek to identify its sources.

It is intolerable that journalists are treated like criminals while they simply exercising their profession Inform. The custody of Bernard Thomas can not be objective to put pressure on him to compel him to release his sources.

The SNJ is totally supportive of his colleague and undertake all steps to assist in this ordeal. The SNJ also supports the drafting of the magazine.

While France has years of delay on the law and European law on protection of journalists' sources, necessary arrangements in our country, even though the Parliament before it is finally a text on the issue, judges and investigators continue to regard the press as places where everything is permitted.

For the SNJ, this procedure should be the last.

Link: Auto Plus

Official: Volkswagen to Build U.S. Plant in Tennessee

Volkswagen made it official today that it will build its first production facility in the U.S. in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The company will build the plant in the Enterprise South Industrial Park, located 12 miles northeast of downtown Chattanooga. According to VW, initial production capacity for the $1 billion facility that will bring about 2,000 direct jobs to the area is anticipated to be 150,000 vehicles annually, including a new midsize sedan designed specifically for the North American market. Production is scheduled to begin in early 2011. -Continued

“The U.S. market is an important part of our volume strategy and we are now very resolutely accessing that market,” said Prof. Martin Winterkorn, CEO of Volkswagen AG.

“Volkswagen will be extremely active there. This plant represents a milestone in Volkswagen’s growth strategy. We will be selling 800,000 Volkswagens in the U.S. by 2018, and this new site will play a key role. This, along with our growth strategy, is a prerequisite for the economic success of the company in the dollar region. We look forward to establishing an important mainstay for ourselves when we become the biggest European carmaker there.”

Pic: Carscoop