Archive for the ‘Daimler’ Category

Readers of a certain age will recall a time when America's roadways were clogged with Gremlins, Rabbits, and other fuel-efficient minicars. That historical moment was caused by spiking fuel prices in the 1970s (remember when Jimmy Carter told everyone to put on a snappy cardigan?), which rear-ended a recession in the early 1980s. If you've been paying attention, you might've noticed that today's financial and automotive landscapes are looking awfully familiar....

And so, just as they did 30 years ago, every automaker worth its salt is now looking to cash in on the American compact and subcompact markets. BMW has its MINI (not to mention its...

When Westerners think of Sharia -- the strict code of Islamic law -- we tend to think of...unpleasantness. Stonings, beheadings: that sort of thing. However, Sharia also covers financial issues, including lending practices. Specifically, Sharia prohibits the charging of interest on loans. That's been bad news for many Western automakers who provide financing, but Daimler recently reached an agreement with with several Middle Eastern companies to offer Sharia-compliant lending in that part of the world. Daimler may not earn interest on those auto loans, but given the Middle East's appetite for Mercedes-Benz rides, it's still an awfully big...

Despite all the great news coming out of Germany in recent days, it's apparently not all biergartens and schnitzel over there: a new article in Der Spiegel reports that high-end German automakers Mercedes-Benz and BMW are facing tough times on the sales floor, as the world's touch-and-go economy forces customers to purchase cars from their lower-priced competitors.

Mercedes-Benz's parent company, Daimler AG, has seen auto sales drop by 18% compared to last year, and their truck sales are at about 50% of what they had been. First-quarter losses for 2009 total around $3.5 billion, and rumors abound that Daimler's legendary CEO, Dieter...