May 2010

Nissan unveils first commercial vehicle for North America, the NV

(March 11, 2010) Nissan unveiled its first commercial vehicle for North America, the NV, on Wednesday at a work-truck show in St. Louis.

The NV, or Nissan Van, will come with two engines: a 4.0-liter V6 or a 5.6-liter V8. Both are paired with five-speed automatic transmissions. The NV will come in 1500, 2500 and 3500 configurations. It launches this fall as a 2011 model.

Camaro outsells Mustang, but that could change with introduction of 2011 Mustang

(March 7, 2010) Chevrolet Camaro extended its lead in the U.S. sports car segment in February, posting 6,482 total sales. This is a 21 percent increase over January results, and marks the ninth consecutive month that Camaro total sales outpaced sports car models including the Ford Mustang, Nissan 370Z, and Dodge Challenger.

Consumers have bought nearly 75,000 Camaros since it was launched in early 2009, and demand continues to hold steady even in winter months.

Ford Figo to start at $7,683 in India

(March 10, 2010) NEW DELHI, India, — Ford India officially launched the Figo on Tuesday announcing pricing for the much anticipated new compact car.

"Our dealers are excited, customers are waiting and the new Figo is now ready to hit the streets," said Joe Hinrichs, president of Ford Asia, Pacific and Africa. "From the start we wanted to offer all the features of a B-Segment car at a Sub-B price. We've accomplished that with Figo."

Autostadt celebrates its 10th anniversary with 20 millionth visitor

(March 9, 2010) WOLFSBURG, Germany — This year the Autostadt, which was opened on the June 1, 2000, is celebrating its 10th anniversary, and a new record was reached on Feb. 25 when the number of visitors topped 20 million.

Instead of honoring the 20 millionth individual guest, the Autostadt decided to donate 20 000 Euros to the relief operation founded by the board of the Volkswagen Group together with the Montfort Missionaries for the victims of the earthquake in Haiti.

Lexus to introduce small hybrid hatchback to the U.S. by early 2011

(March 8, 2010) After long insisting that a compact car was not in Lexus' U.S. product plans, Toyota officials last week confirmed that the CT 200h hybrid hatchback, unveiled at the Genevea Auto Show last week, will be sold in the United States by early next year, Automotive News reports.

Ford Fusion, Fusion Hybrid attracting new buyers to Ford

(March 7, 2010) The 2010 Ford Fusion and Fusion Hybrid, fresh off a sales record and a string of awards in 2009, are attracting more buyers who are new to the Ford brand than ever before.

General Motors agrees to reinstate 661 dealers without arbitration

(March 6, 2010) General Motors has agreed to reinstate 661 of the planned to eliminate after its bankruptcy, last year, though more than 400 other retailers may yet be reprieved through a Congressionally-mandated arbitration process.

Rejected dealerships that applied for arbitration to get their franchines back total 1,160.

Bob Lutz to retire from General Motors on May 1

(March 5, 2010) General Motors Vice Chairman Robert A. Lutz will retire effective May 1 capping a 47-year career in the global auto industry that included senior leadership positions at four of the world’s leading automakers.

Lutz, 78, rejoined GM September 1, 2001, as the head of product development, and has led the company’s resurgence in developing great cars and trucks.  He also worked at BMW, Chrysler and Ford.

Ford surges to the top in U.S. auto sales surpassing General Motors

(March 3, 2010) Robust February sales pushed Ford to the top in U.S. auto sales, surpassing arch rival General Motors Co. for the first time in more than a decade.

Ford made its gains during a month that saw severe weather in much of the country and by new revelations about Toyota's safety defects.

Complaints of Toyota sudden acceleration mount

(March 5, 2010) About 731 owners of Toyota vehicles not covered by two recent recalls have reported sudden acceleration complaints to U.S. auto safety regulators in the past six weeks, a Detroit Free Press analysis has found.

The growing crowd of complaints, representing about half of the 1,460 received by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration since Jan. 15 about Toyota models and sudden acceleration, adds to evidence that Toyota still hasn't identified all possible causes of the problem, The Free Press reported.