Auto News

[MasterDon]

Ssangyong restarts production

by Jeremy Korzeniewski - Autoblog.com

Korean automaker Ssangyong has reportedly restarted five of its production lines at its plants in Pyeongtaek and Changwon. Earlier this month, Ssangyong was forced to enter receivership as a last ditch effort to stave off bankruptcy after failing to negotiate a deal with Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp., the Korean automaker's Chinese owners, and Korea Development Bank, its largest creditor.

Prior to those negotiations, Ssangyong was hemorrhaging money due to a 50% drop in sales, which ultimately led to the inability to make payroll and fulfill supplier contracts. At this point, Ssangyong must wait until February 9 to find out if the local court of Seoul will allow the automaker to enter bankruptcy protection proceedings. Sounds like the road will remain bumpy for Korea's fifth-largest automaker for the foreseeable future.

[Devinda_Z]

Automobile Sales in 2009

Source : Autospies

Edited February 6, 2009 by Devinda_Z

[Devinda_Z]

Ford may start Volvo sale in Feb.

Ambereen Choudhury and Alan Ohnsman / Bloomberg News

Ford Motor Co., the only U.S. automaker to forgo government loans, will begin seeking buyers for its Volvo luxury brand next month and expects to draw bids from Chinese carmakers, said a person familiar with the plan.

Sales documents will be sent to prospective buyers in the middle of February, said the person, who declined to be identified because the details aren't public. Ford is considering a sale of Volvo as part of a strategic evaluation of the Gothenburg, Sweden-based unit, spokesman Mark Truby said. He declined to comment on possible buyers.

Ford, which bought Volvo for $6.4 billion in 1999, plans to sell assets and combine production platforms globally to ensure the Dearborn-based carmaker survives the worst U.S. car market since 1992. Chief Executive Officer Alan Mulally is trying to avoid tapping a $9 billion government credit line.

"It's not an ideal time for a sale, but obviously there's a need for cash," said Alan Baum, director of automotive forecasting for Planning Edge in Birmingham, Mich.

"Chinese buyers may be the only ones because there is overlap with European rivals, and India's Tata Motor Ltd. has its hands full with Jaguar and Land Rover," said Baum.

Chinese bidders may include SAIC Motor Corp., China's largest carmaker, Chery Automobile Co., and Guangzhou Automobile Group Co.

Source : http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/artic...0342/1148/rss25

[Devinda_Z]

Obama asked to add $25B in automaker loans to stimulus plan

By Justin Hyde • Free Press Washington Staff • January 23, 2009

WASHINGTON – Michigan’s congressional delegation asked President Barack Obama today to add $25 billion in low-interest loans for automakers and parts suppliers to his economic stimulus plan, and direct more aid for unemployed workers to the state.

In a letter, the lawmakers also lobbied to keep $1 billion in grants and $3.3 billion in loans for battery development for electric and hybrid vehicles in the bill. The House is expected to take up the $850 billion bill next Wednesday, with a goal of passing the bill through Congress by Feb. 16.

The $25 billion in loans through the U.S. Energy Department would come on top of $25 billion already set aside for automakers and parts suppliers to build more fuel-efficient models. The government has received more than 70 applications for the current $25 billion, and Detroit’s automakers have said they were counting on the loans to help them pay for retooling costs.

Lawmakers said given the state’s lengthy recession and 10.6% unemployment rate in December, it should receive a larger share of federal unemployment aid.

“We feel it is critically important that additional funding be directed to those states that need it the most – those with the highest unemployment rates,” the lawmakers said.

Source : http://www.freep.com/article/20090123/NEWS...3070/1014/rss13

[MasterDon]

Nissan to cut 20,000 jobs

09 February 2009 - www.autocar.co.uk

Nissan has announced 20,000 job losses as the firm faces its first full-year loss since it merged with Renault in 1999.

The company today predicted that it will make a $2.58bn (£1.75bn) loss for the financial year ending on 31 March, and that it will need to cut its global workforce from 235,000 to 215,000 as part of a major cost-cutting exercise.

Perhaps more noticeably, Nissan will put what it calls “the mid-term business plan” on hold, cutting spending on new projects and cancelling some new car programmes. Capital expenditure will be cut by 15 per cent, from 3.84bn yen (£1.78bn) to 330bn yen (£1.53bn).

The board of directors will not take any bonuses for 2008, and all executive salaries will be cut by 10 per cent.

There’s also a new post in the executive boardroom: the chief recovery officer. Briton Colin Dodge will “lead the company's ongoing recovery activities”.

As yet, no factories will be closed, but an unfinished facility in Morocco, a joint-venture with Renault, has been put on hold.

[Devinda_Z]

Nissan cancels new 200SX

12 February 2009

The forthcoming Nissan 200SX replacement is the first major casualty of Carlos Ghosn's dramatic cutbacks, a company source has confirmed.

Nissan has been developing plans for a new, compact, rear-wheel-drive sportscar for some years. The Silvia project has been most visible as the Foria (Tokyo 2005) and Urge (Detroit 2006) concepts, but work has been continuing behind the scenes.

Monday's announcement of severe financial difficulties at the company, including a £612m third-quarter loss, also brought news of cutbacks to future model programmes, but it had been assumed until now that the 200SX was safe.

Ghosn wishes to concentrate all the company's development efforts on small and medium-sized cars. This will include an electric Prius rival, due to make its debut next year.

Plans for a big, fast, super stylish Infiniti saloon, using the GT-R platform, to challenge the likes of the Porsche Panamera and Lagonda Rapide have been suspended, but not cancelled.

Source : http://autocar.co.uk/News/NewsArticle/AllCars/238127/

Edited February 13, 2009 by Devinda_Z

[Devinda_Z]

Controversial BMW Designer Chris Bangle Quits

More information on Chris Bangle’s resignation

As promised, we’re back with some new information regarding Bangle’s departure from BMW, the reasons behind it and how will this impact BMW and future designs.

As we might have hinted earlier, lately it has been an internal argument, about the future of some BMW projects. Apparently, the Project i is the one that divided the designers and the board. Mr. Bangle’s idea did not fully coincide with his protege, Adrian Von Hooydonk and other members of the board.

Bangle’s ideas were denied since the company sees a different future for the Project i and this is what might have created a rupture in the team. This conflict might have been one of the main reasons that made him resign since he couldn’t take responsibility for the design strategy chosen by other people.

The Board of Directors tried to convince Bangle to stay on board and alternative positions were offered to him, including the Design Director of the U.S based, DesignworksUSA. Bangle turned down the offers but he will still cooperate at some level with BMW, mainly on non-automotive projects, most likely in the Designworks team. Sources say that he might be involved in some interior design projects, but probably too early to know for sure. The split seemed to have been amicable in the end and we have no doubt that BMW and its board are very fond of Mr. Bangle, and most important, they appreciate what he has done for the company in the past years.

Adrian Von Hooydonk will be the replacement and will be involved in the Project i, which has been “greenlighted” by the Board. Regarding Project i , there was a disagreement on the strategy that needs to be chosen.

As we know, BMW design language and strategy is set in motion years before the models hit the showrooms, so there will not be an immediate change in the BMW, MINI or Rolls-Royce designs. The first post-Bangle era design will be seen in 6-7 years, in one of the new BMWs.

So ….very unexpectedly the Bangle-era has ended at BMW AG. Ironically the advertised “New Era” has at least officially arrived: the company is going through a huge economic crisis, Chris Bangle resigns after many years with the company, the new M models are going turbo and overall, the BMW brand is repositioning itself…a “New Era” indeed.

As an ending point, it is worth mentioning that Von Hooydonk’s ideas on all the design languages was and is very in sync with Bangle views, Project i being the exception.

Who was right or wrong? Time will tell…..

P.S. Us, at BMWBLOG, would like to thank Chris Bangle for all the great work he has done over the years and most important, for inspiring other designers as well. Despite being heavily criticized by media, we believed in his projects and the design course he has chosen for BMW. We would also like to wish good luck To Adrian Von Hooydonk, a great designer that has the potential to fill successfully the spot left open by Mr. Bangle.

Source : http://www.bmwblog.com/2009/02/03/more-inf...es-resignation/

[GTAm]

More information on Chris Bangle’s resignation

Source : http://www.bmwblog.com/2009/02/03/more-inf...es-resignation/

Oh I am sooooooooo relieved!

[GTAm]

or ferrari out of F1...now that would really suck

As unsavoury as it may sound. I think they should quit for the next couple of years. They're a small company and need to strengthen themselves financially to survive this economic down-turn.

[Devinda_Z]

As unsavoury as it may sound. I think they should quit for the next couple of years. They're a small company and need to strengthen themselves financially to survive this economic down-turn.

...loose the battle in order to win the war...

but won't the Fiat group pick up the tab?

[GTAm]

...loose the battle in order to win the war...

but won't the Fiat group pick up the tab?

Well, Ferrari is the most profitable part of FGA. The jewel in the crown it is usually know as.... They should not mess with the jewel too much.

That said. Ferrari had another record year with a sales increase of 17.1% if I remember right. Luca Di Monto said that with the recession the waiting list would come down to a year from the current two. And that's more desirable Is he cool or what!? But I think he's a bit too overconfident.

[Devinda_Z]

Luca Di Monto said that with the recession the waiting list would come down to a year from the current two. And that's more desirable Is he cool or what!? But I think he's a bit too overconfident.

as S_N would put it , a modern day Pollyanna!

[Devinda_Z]

GM, Chrysler seek more gov't aid, to cut more jobs

By TOM KRISHER and KEN THOMAS, Associated Press Writers

DETROIT – General Motors and Chrysler asked the government for an additional $14 billion in aid, a dramatic acknowledgment that conditions in the U.S. auto industry have grown significantly worse in just two months. GM presented a survival plan that also calls for cutting a total of 47,000 jobs globally and closing five more U.S. factories.

That represents the largest work force reduction announced by a U.S. company in the economic downturn. Chrysler said it will cut 3,000 more jobs and stop producing three vehicle models.

Meanwhile, the United Auto Workers union said it has reached a tentative agreement with Chrysler, GM and Ford Motor Co. on modifications to labor contracts. Such concessions were also a condition of the government bailout.

GM said it could need up to $30 billion from the Treasury Department, up from a previous estimate of $18 billion. That includes $13.4 billion previously allocated and $9.1 billion in new loans. The world's largest automaker said it could run out of money by March without new funds.

GM's request includes a credit line of $7.5 billion to be used if the downturn in the auto industry is more pronounced than expected. But the automaker claimed it could be profitable in two years and fully repay its loans by 2017.

Chrysler LLC requested $5 billion in new loans on top of the $4 billion it received in December. The company had said it might need an extra $3 billion.

Both requests were part of restructuring plans the two automakers owed the government in exchange for earlier loans.

Ford, which borrowed billions from private sources before credit markets tightened, has said it can make it through 2009 without government help.

GM and Chrysler plan to reduce the number of models they offer to car buyers. GM on Tuesday raised the possibility its Saturn brand could be phased out.

The restructuring plans must be vetted by the Obama administration's new autos task force. In a sign the administration views the U.S. steel industry as a case study for revamping the auto industry, one of the task force's appointees played a key role in the reshaping of that industry earlier this decade.

President Barack Obama's top spokesman told reporters aboard Air Force One on Tuesday that he wouldn't rule out bankruptcy for the Detroit automakers.

The GM job cuts include 10,000 salaried and 37,000 blue-collar positions, amounting to 19 percent of its current global work force of 244,500. A total 26,000 of the cuts will come from outside the U.S. The cuts would take place by the end of this year.

The new plan has the U.S. work force declining from about 92,000 hourly and salaried employees at year-end 2008 to 72,000 by 2012.

GM Chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner said the plan submitted Tuesday is more aggressive than the one presented to the government on Dec. 2 because the global economy and auto sales have deteriorated in the time that has passed since then.

"Today's plan is significantly more aggressive because it has to be," Wagoner told reporters. "We have taken stronger actions, we needed to."

Chrysler had 54,007 employees at the end of 2008, so Tuesday's cuts would equal about 6 percent.

Auburn Hills, Mich.-based Chrysler said the economy and the market for new cars has deteriorated significantly since its initial request. Chrysler said it now projects that automakers will sell 10.1 million vehicles in the U.S. this year, the lowest level in four decades.

Chrysler will eliminate the Dodge Aspen, Durango and Chrysler PT Cruiser, according to company president Jim Press. GM said it plans to sell or spin-off its Saturn brand. If those attempts are unsuccessful, GM will phase out the brand.

GM is also evaluating options for a sale of its Hummer division and sought buyers for its Saab unit. Selling or eliminating those brands would leave GM to focus on Chevrolet, Cadillac, GMC and Buick, with Pontiac reduced to one or two models.

Details were unveiled on a day when President Barack Obama signed into law a massive economic recovery plan. Signs that the recession is deepening were more immediate for investors, however, and they dumped stocks and pushed oil prices sharply lower.

The UAW said discussions are continuing regarding the union-run trust fund that will take on retiree health care expenses starting next year. Under terms of the government loans, both Chrysler and GM are required to reach concessions with the UAW and debt holders.

"The changes will help these companies face the extraordinarily difficult economic climate in which they operate," UAW President Ron Gettelfinger said in a statement released by the union.

GM Chief Financial Officer Ray Young said the company hopes to exchange two-thirds of its roughly $28 billion in unsecured bond debt by the end of March. Bondholders, he said, signed a letter saying that they were making progress with the company.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said she was hopeful the plans would help lead to the "transformation of our domestic automobile industry into a viable, technologically advanced, and globally competitive manufacturing force."

She said "Congress looks forward to working with the Obama Administration" to make the domestic auto sector competitive "while ensuring accountability to the taxpayers."

___

Associated Press Auto Writer Dan Strumpf in New York contributed to this story. Associated Press Writer Ken Thomas reported from Washington.

Source : http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090218/ap_on_...e/autos_bailout

[Devinda_Z]

Automakers submit viability plans

http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/pop...20&src=news

[Supra_Natural]

Well the so called "Carpocalypse" has claimed it's first victims.....

http://jalopnik.com/tag/gm-viability-plan/?id=5155377

GM has announced that Saturn the "different kind of car" will cease to exist after this product cycle...

http://jalopnik.com/tag/saturn/?id=5155957

While Saturn barely popped up on petrolhead radar, the other casualties from GM are rather more serious....

No1 is the news that Pontiac, they of the GTO and the Firebird, will no longer continue as a separate division.... but MIGHT survive as a name only on some generic GM products.... I can see that working out great...

http://jalopnik.com/tag/pontiac/?id=5155904

Saving the absolute worst for last, comes today's body blow that the only part of GM that made cars people actually WANTED (including the Brilliant Corvette ZR1 and Cadillac CTS-V both of which even fervently Anti-American Jeremy Clarkson and James May conceded were great) is also going the way of the dodo.

Sayonara to GM's High Performance Vehicle Operation..... Thankfully EXISTING Performance cars will continue (Including the two mentioned above), there just wont be any new ones...

http://jalopnik.com/tag/high-performance-v...ons/?id=5156124

Dark times indeed

[Devinda_Z]

No1 is the news that Pontiac, they of the GTO and the Firebird, will no longer continue as a separate division.... but MIGHT survive as a name only on some generic GM products.... I can see that working out great...

Dark times indeed

so looks like not even the PussyCatDolls were able to save Pontiac!

http://www.buzzjack.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=70204

Edited February 19, 2009 by Devinda_Z

[Pericles]

Or even having a role in Transformers. Tho I guess getting torn apart at the end didn't help tho...

[MasterDon]

so looks like not even the PussyCatDolls were able to save Pontiac!

http://www.buzzjack.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=70204

hmm... fake lip synching pop group with only one talanted hottie endorsing a pontiac...i can't believe why this marketing ploy failed

hope you noted the oozing sarcasm!

[Devinda_Z]

these images were included in the first post but for some odd reason didn't display...

thought u lads might find it entertaing in someway at least

[Devinda_Z]

Or even having a role in Transformers. Tho I guess getting torn apart at the end didn't help tho...

poor Jazz

but of all the recent American cars i recon the Solstice was one of the nicest!

not like i've driven it or anything to comment, but just the whole concept of the cars and what it was made it very likeable enough i thought

[Pericles]

hmm... fake lip synching pop group with only one talanted hottie endorsing a pontiac...i can't believe why this marketing ploy failed

hope you noted the oozing sarcasm!

Ask our recent Marketing grad (who still hasn't given that treat), you could sell dog poop with the correct spin and a hot enough endorser in the US. And PCD brings plenty of hotness, even if they haven't much in the way of local talent. They were built as a dance group anyway. I mean, one of them is a former Miami Heat Cheerleader! (Thats a basketball team, in case you don't know about the Heat)

And I guess the success of PCD should be enough to convince you of my first sentence

[Devinda_Z]

I mean, one of them is a former Miami Heat Cheerleader! (Thats a basketball team, in case you don't know about the Heat)

all a i can say post googling/oogling is that the "Heat" is certainly "Hot"

[MasterDon]

Ask our recent Marketing grad (who still hasn't given that treat), you could sell dog poop with the correct spin and a hot enough endorser in the US. And PCD brings plenty of hotness, even if they haven't much in the way of local talent. They were built as a dance group anyway. I mean, one of them is a former Miami Heat Cheerleader! (Thats a basketball team, in case you don't know about the Heat)

And I guess the success of PCD should be enough to convince you of my first sentence

yeah i guess everything is in the marketing and publicity...how else can you explain paris hilton's fame...only in america as they say

yeah i know the heat,coupla my buddies are bball freaks...it's also super shaq's team eka neda

[Devinda_Z]

Job cuts at Mini spark angry rows

Angry agency staff have confronted union officials at BMW's Mini Cowley plant in Oxford, after the carmaker confirmed 850 job cuts at the site.

Casual staff, who had been laid off with immediate effect, threw fruit at leaders of the Unite union, claiming they felt betrayed.

Tony Woodley, joint general secretary of Unite, described BMW's treatment of the workers as "disgraceful".

The site will now close for a week, and weekend working has been scrapped.

A BMW spokesperson said weekend workers had effectively been given a week's notice as they would be paid for next weekend as well.

The carmaker also said it had identified 150 surplus workers at its Mini plant in Swindon.

The workers would be offered a transfer to work in Oxford, it added.

'Cannon fodder'

Mr Woodley said Unite had demanded an "urgent meeting" with the chairman of BMW.

"It is unacceptable that workers can be viewed as cannon fodder when a company needs shelter from recession," he added.

A spokesman for the Department for Business, Enterprise & Regulatory Reform said it intended "to launch a consultation in the near future about how the UK will implement the Agency Workers Directive".

Job losses

Work at the Cowley plant will not restart until 23 February. The changing shift patterns, and the resulting job losses, will come into force on 2 March.

"Mini plant Oxford will be bringing in a new shift pattern in response to continuing volatile market conditions," a BMW statement said.

The Cowley plant shut down for four weeks at Christmas

"As of Monday 2 March, the plant will go from a three-shift to a two-shift pattern, operating five days per week instead of the current seven."

"The company regrets that this change will result in the release of around 850 agency workers from the business," it added.

BMW had said that all staff at the factory, including remaining agency workers, would be paid their basic wages during the closure.

However, many agency workers said they were unclear what the future held after being told the weekend shift had been axed.

'A disgrace'

Javid Najibi said he had been told to leave after four years at the plant and that he was likely to get no payout.

"It's bad news for everybody. There's no work any more for the weekend shift. No-one knows about the future plans," he said.

Another agency worker told the BBC that he felt like a "second class" employee compared to the permanent staff.

"It's a disgrace," he said.

"I've worked here for three-and-a-half years and now I'm being sacked for no reason. I've been used."

A Mini spokesperson had confirmed at the weekend that the company was in discussions with Unite union representatives over changes to shift patterns at the plant.

"Our first priority is to communicate with the workforce," the spokesperson had said.

'Angry and upset'

However, staff were angry about the way in which they were told about their job losses.

Bernard Moss, from the union Unite said: "[The workers] obviously weren't very happy and the biggest issue was being told one hour from the end of the shift that they hadn't got a job."

Reaction from workers to the job losses

Worker Silvia Fernandes said: "I've been here for four years and I've never been sick, I've never missed work and they tell me one hour before that I've been sacked. That's not on.

"That's why people are angry and so upset with BMW and the union."

The company's 4,500 staff had returned to work on 5 January after an extended four-week Christmas holiday.

In December, 300 agency staff were told there would be no more work for them at the plant after the Christmas holiday.

Global slowdown

BMW, like most carmakers across the world, has been struggling in the face of falling sales during the economic downturn.

Overall, BMW sales fell by 4.3% in 2008, to 1.4 million vehicles, although Mini sales actually rose by 4.3% last year, to 232,425 cars.

The carmaker is the latest in a long line of car manufacturers in the UK to announce plant closures and redundancies.

For example, Honda has closed its plant in Swindon for four months between February and May.

Source : http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7891913.stm

[Pericles]

yeah i guess everything is in the marketing and publicity...how else can you explain paris hilton's fame...only in america as they say

yeah i know the heat,coupla my buddies are bball freaks...it's also super shaq's team eka neda

A bit out of date. The Heat traded Shaq away last year Sadly it was after I bought a Heat t-shirt. They won only 15 games out of 82 that season. And that was after winning the Championship in 2006.

However, while the team is riding the rollercoaster, the Heat Dancers have won the "Hottest Dance Team in the NBA" contest for 3 years running! Yay Team!