News archive

August 2012

Bond cars are the attraction of the day

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(August 2, 2012) SOUTHAMPTON, England — Fans of 007 had a treat when they visited the Beaulieu National Motor Museum July 29. They got BOND IN MOTION, an exhibition celebrating 50 years of James Bond films. Simply Bond was a special one-off event in which owners of vehicles of the same make and model as any of the vehicles that have appeared in the Bond films, were invited to put them on display in the Beaulieu parkland for the day.

Toyota recalls RAV4 and Lexus HS 250h

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(August 2, 2012) TORRANCE, Calif. — Toyota has announced that it will conduct a voluntary safety recall involving 2006 to early 2011 model year RAV4 and 2010 model year Lexus HS 250h vehicles sold in the U.S. No other Toyota or Lexus vehicles are involved.

Approximately 760,000 Toyota RAV4s and 18,000 Lexus HS 250h are involved in the recall.

Sagging fleet sales drag Ford, GM lower in July

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(August 1, 2012) General Motors and Ford Motor Co. reported declines in July U.S. sales tied to falling fleet deliveries while smaller rivals posted sharp gains.

GM's sales dropped 6 percent last month, with deliveries to retail customers off 3 percent. The company said total fleet deliveries declined 15 percent, including a 41 percent drop in sales to rental customers. Ford reported a 4 percent drop in sales last month, with retail volume up 2 percent and fleet down 16 percent.

Chrysler posts 28th-consecutive month of sales increases

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(August 1, 2012) AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — Chrysler Group today reported U.S. sales of 126,089 units, a 13 percent increase compared with sales in July 2011 (112,026 units), and the group’s best July sales since 2007. The Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge, Ram Truck, and Fiat brands each posted sales increases in July compared with the same month a year ago.

Ford reports steady sales momentum in India

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(August 1, 2012) NEW DELHI, India — Ford India sold 8,323 domestic wholesales and export units in July, maintaining steady sales momentum despite persistently challenging economic conditions and monsoons hitting most of the country.
 
Ford India sold 6,236 wholesale units in the domestic market in July. The company sold 7,504 vehicles in the same month last year.
 

VW's Chattanooga plant gets third shift, new production schedule

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(August 1, 2012) CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — Just one year after celebrating its grand opening, Volkswagen Chattanooga has hired and trained a third shift team and implemented a new production schedule.

The three production teams will rotate through two shifts and work 40 hours over four shifts. The plant will operate six days a week, 20 hours a day. This will allow for an increase in plant production time as well as normalization in weekly work hours for all team members.

BMW sees profit slip in second quarter

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(August 1, 2012) FRANKFURT— Despite increased sales, BMW reported a fall in second-quarter profit compared with the same quarter last year as pricing pressure in Europe's weak market hit its margins. Group earnings before interest and taxes (Ebit) declined 19 percent from a record level last year to 2.27 billion euros ($2.79 billion) from 2.8 billion euros.

Mazda MX-5 picked as most likely to become classic icon in 50 years

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(August 1, 2012) According to a recent survey by UK classic car and motorcycle insurance broker Footman James seven per cent of classic vehicle owners predicted that the Mazda MX-5 was the vehicle most likely to be a classic icon in 50 years. 

The MX-5 was followed by the Bugatti Veyron, with five per cent of respondents feeling that the car would be a classic of the future, and the Audi TT, which was also predicted to be a future classic by four per cent of classic vehicle owners.