Archive for the ‘Industry’ Category

Potentially good news for automakers this morning: industry analysts predict that when June's sales stats are tabulated, the seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) for light vehicle sales may hit 10 million. That would mark the first time sales have crossed that symbolic line during this calendar year, and it could be a sign that things are finally stabilizing--at least for buyers.

Unfortunately, auto sales will still be down when viewed in the light of year-over-year comparisons. Using figures from analysts at Edmunds, the winners--or rather, the manufacturers whose sales are least terrible--will be Ford (-15.6%), Nissan (-24.2%), General...

Take this for what it's worth: Autocar is reporting that GM's sale of HUMMER to Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery is a no-go. The news comes by way of China National Radio, which says that the deal will be 86ed "by the ruling Communist party, as it goes against the country’s attempts to cut heavy pollution...." This wouldn't be surprising--as Marty Padgett mentioned earlier this week, the sale was on shaky ground--but given the lack of transparency in the PRC and our rusty Mandarin, we can't say for sure. We'll file it under "rumor" and "news", just to be safe.

[Autocar]

It's been a crazy decade for Toyota. Ten years ago, the company set out to become the world's biggest automaker, always denying that its intent was to topple General Motors.

Now, at number one, Toyota's finding the GM-style problems that come with being the world's biggest automaker aren't always easy to solve.

With sales dramatically slower, production cut heavily at new facilities in Texas and Indiana, and tooling never installed in a half-completed assembly plant in Mississippi, Toyota and its new chairman are saying the race to beat GM as the world's largest automaker was a mistake.

It's a dramatic departure for the company that always...