By Brendan Moore

01.29.2010

THINK, the Norwegian EV automobile maker, has put together a list of cities in the US that are ready for EVs, and, furthermore, has ranked those cites in terms of their relative openness to EV automobiles, as well as their level of potential gain in terms of positive consequences.

Whew. Got all that?

If you recall, THINK announced plans recently to refit a shuttered RV factory in Elkhart, Indiana in order to produce the THINK City electric car there, which also required the genesis of THINK North America. The $43.5 million production site will have eventual capacity of 20,000 vehicles annually. Production is scheduled to launch in 2011 and the plant will employ up to 400 people by 2013, according to THINK executives.

It is probably accurate to describe the small EV company as “plucky”. The people at THINK believe in their business model and believe that some Americans are ready for a new kind of everyday car, and by golly, they’re going to do their level best to make that happen. The small company is unabashedly interested in doing well by doing good.

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By Chris Haak

01.29.2010

We’ve already published several articles on the topic, but Toyota’s massive recall and its related public-relations debacle continues to gain momentum.  In addition to the stop-sale that we reported on several days ago, many entities are now taking the recall a step further.  Perhaps this is out of genuine concern for the welfare of Toyota drivers, perhaps it is out of concern of being sued if something happened before the affected vehicle was fixed.  My sometimes-jaded viewpoint says that it’s the latter, but perhaps it’s the former, or a combination of the two.

Today, several different entities reacted similarly to Toyota’s recall: Continue Reading

By Chris Haak

01.28.2010

Proving that its multi-year turnaround plan has clearly taken root, Ford Motor Company reported final 2009 net income of $2.7 billion, including a gain of $868 million for the fourth quarter of 2009.  These numbers compare favorably, obviously, to the $14.8 billion loss for 2008 and the $5.9 billion loss for Q4 2008.

Furthermore, Ford CFO Lewis Booth raised the company’s earnings projections for 2010 and 2011.  During the middle of 2009, Ford had forecast that it would be “break-even or better” in 2011, and three months ago, raised the 2011 forecast to “solidly profitable.”  Now, Booth is forecasting a profitable 2010 as well.

Ford ended 2009 with with $25.5 billion in automotive gross cash and $34.3 billion in automotive debt.  The debt load is reduced from prior-year levels thanks to debt restructuring that Ford tackled during 2009, but about double the level that GM has after GM’s “quick rinse” bankruptcy.  In comments to reporters, Booth noted that Ford’s balance sheet still needs more work, but he is obviously very much aware of the situation that it puts Ford in relative to its competitors with relatively clean balance sheets. Continue Reading

By Dennis Haak

01.28.2010

Sometimes, it’s nice to take a step back from talk of bankruptcies, recalls, CO2 emissions, Cash for Clunkers, and the new-car market generally, and reconsider a simpler era.  Specifically, I’m talking about GM’s Advanced Design pickup trucks, which the company produced between the 1947 and 1955 model years.  For reasons I’ll get into in a moment, these trucks have a special place in my heart.

The Advanced Design pickups were GM’s first all-new vehicles of the Post-World War II period.  Following the resumption of passenger car production, the Big Three (plus the independents, several of whom were still in business at the time) basically trotted out 1946 model year cars and trucks that were eerily similar to their 1942 pre-war versions. Continue Reading

Fiat has been making motor vehicles for 111 years, and in each one of those years, Italy has been Fiat’s largest market, but not any more.

The Italian automaker sold almost 750,000 vehicles in Brazil last year, a 12.6% gain from 2008’s numbers. Fiat’s sales in Italy grew only .5% to 722,000 units.

Fiat is the No. 1 auto manufacturer in Brazil, as it has been for the last eight years in a row, with VW and GM snapping at its heels in the No. 2 and No. 3 spots respectively.

Fenabrave, the national dealership association of Brazil, says that Brazil’s car and light commercial vehicle sales jumped 12.7% to a record of more than 3 million combined in 2009. Showing roughly equal increases by category, passenger-car sales in the country increased 12.6% to 2.52 million units as light commercial vehicle sales climbed 12.3% to 489,900 units.

Brazilian auto sales in 2009 were spurred by ever-increasing demand from Brazil’s rapidly-growing middle class, a good national economy compared to other parts of the world, and, importantly, federal tax cuts on the sale of new vehicles.

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By Kevin Miller

01.26.2010

Toyota has announced today that they are halting sales of some vehicle models that are involved in the automaker’s recent recall for sticking accelerator pedals. Only Toyota branded vehicles are involved; no Lexus and Scion vehicles are affected. Models involved include the RAV4, Corolla, Matrix, Avalon, Camry (non-hybrid), Highlander, Tundra, and Sequoia. Retailers have been instructed that involved vehicles are not to be sold. This will undoubtedly have an effect on both consumer confidence and Toyota’s January sales numbers.

The halt in sales is also causing a halt in production at several of the automaker’s US plants that produce those models. Plants in Indiana, Kentucky, Texas, and Canada will be affected by the shutdown.

Toyota’s press release speaks for itself; the full text is available below the jump.

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Tortured sale process finally over for Saab, Spyker and GM

By Brendan Moore

01.26.2010

Spyker Cars NV, the tiny Dutch supercar manufacturer, and the last potential buyer for Saab, has finally struck a deal with General Motors to buy Saab.

Rumors of a sale were rife Sunday night, with many different sources stating that the deal would be announced yesterday, but that didn’t happen. Later in the day yesterday, Ed Whitacre, new CEO of GM, said at a GM press conference that, “GM does not have a deal” and “has not changed direction” on shutting down its Swedish unit. 

He said yesterday that GM was still moving forward with the orderly shutdown of Saab. This, despite the fact that sources in Sweden were still reporting that a deal was imminent.

It is thought that the deal is structured as reported yesterday, but with a lower transaction amount, with Spyker paying GM a total of almost $400 million USD. The purchase price roughly breaks out as follows: $326 million in preferred shares in the next corporate iteration of Saab and $74 million in cash.

The European Investment Bank will provide a 400 million euro loan ($566 million), intended to secure the purchase and provide some operating capital, guaranteed by the Swedish government.

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By Brendan Moore

01.26.2010

Yes, Ed Whitacre pulled a Dick Cheney yesterday.

You will recall that when G.W. Bush asked Dick Cheney to find a vice-president for his administration, Cheney looked around and decided that Dick Cheney was the best choice.

Whitacre says that the General Motors board offered him the position, and, shucks, he was hardly ever thinking about being CEO to begin with, but that’s what the board wanted. So, he pretty much had to take the job.

Well, maybe.

Regardless of how it happened, it happened, and now Whitacre is leading GM as both chairman and CEO. He said in his press conference yesterday that he intends to keep both titles as long as he is at GM.

Apparently the board is unconcerned about the accountability issues from a corporate governance perspective that might rear their heads with Whitacre owning both titles. Many auto industry analysts feel that the board was keen to minimize any further disruptions to the GM management team, and thus Whitacre became the easy choice since he was already in the position as interim CEO.

Whitacre opined yesterday during the press conference that, “This place needs some stability. I guess that’s me.”

Whitacre is GM’s third CEO in only ten months.

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By Brendan Moore

01.25.2010

UPDATE – 12:30 PM ET, Jan 25: GM Chairman and CEO Ed Whitacre stated during a press conference a short time ago that, “GM does not have a deal” and “has not changed direction” on shutting down its Swedish unit”.  He said the GM is still moving forward with the orderly shutdown of Saab.

Sources in Sweden are still reporting that a deal is imminent.

Original post follows:

Several sources are now reporting that a deal to sell Saab to the Dutch supercar maker Spyker Cars NV has been reached, and will be announced later today.

United Press International, Reuters, Sweden’s Dagens Industri and the Financial Times are all reporting that Spyker will hold a press conference today to make public the agreement, which take effect as soon as possible in order to minimize any business disruptions. It is expected that GM will either participate in the same press conference, or, issue their own public statement.

Bloomberg News is reporting that Spyker has offered GM approximately $500 million USD for Saab. The $500 million breaks out as follows: $325 million in preferred shares in the next corporate iteration of Saab, $75 million in cash and $100 million of Saab’s existing liquid assets.

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By Andy Bannister

01.25.2010

Russian car giant AvtoVAZ – owner of the Lada marque – has begun 2010 with the launch of a low-volume coupé, with just 60 units slated for production this month.

Based on the company’s existing Priora model, a glance at the new coupé suggests it is unlikely to prompt enthusiasts to besiege the gates of the company’s Togliatti factory, however.

Despite rather ordinary looks and specification, the new vehicle is being presented in the Russian media as something rather special, a patriotic alternative to a foreign car in these hard economic times.

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