Autoblog

• City of Flint gives GM tax breaks for Cruze and Volt factory
  

  Filed under: Etc., Plants/Manufacturing, Chevrolet, GM, Earnings/Financials

  Giveth, and taketh away, isn't that always the story? On the taketh away side, GM has recently lost a serious chunk of change. On the giveth side, The General received a $56 milion package of tax credits and grants to keep an SUV factory open in Ohio. It has also just received another package of tax credits from the city of Flint, Michigan to aid its investment in a factory that will build engines for the new Volt and Chevy Cruze. Approved over some constituent disapproval by the Flint City Council, getting GM to build the factory there...
  



• Toyota cuts sales forecast almost 7%
  

  Filed under: Toyota, Volkswagen, Earnings/Financials

  Last September we told you of Volkswagen's plan to overtake Toyota in global sales by 2015. Some Autoblog staffers giggled at the prospect. That was before Toyota reported a 39% drop in profit and began writing down leases, and long before today's news of the Japanese automaker reducing its sales goal for 2009 by almost 7%. Instead of the 10.4 million vehicle sales it predicted for 2009, Toyota says it now may only sell 9.7 million.
  
  While 7% may not sound like a big reduction, consider that Toyota has seen steady growth since its founding in 1934, and any drop is...
  



• Toyota tops GMAC as the biggest U.S. auto lender
  

  Filed under: Plants/Manufacturing, GM, GMC, Toyota, Earnings/Financials

  Toyota Financial Services recently leaped over GMAC Financial services to take the lead as the biggest U.S. auto lender in terms of loan and lease contract volume. The study by AutoCount (a unit of the Experian Automotive company) estimates that Toyota captured 6.35% of the market from January through June, while GMAC had 6.2% for a close second place. Rounding out the top five were Chase Auto Finance, American Honda Finance, and Ford Credit (in that order).
  
  As GMAC has made major cutbacks in leasing over the summer, many industry experts expect Toyota to hold its lead...
  



• WSJ: Big 3 seeking $25 billion from Feds
  

  Filed under: Government/Legal, Chrysler, LLC., Ford, GM, Earnings/Financials

  
  
  No matter how you slice it, a proposed $25 billion loan from the Feds is a bailout, and that's exactly what Detroit's Big Three automakers are after, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal.
  
  Lobbyists for General Motors, Chrysler and Ford have met with White House officials, Rep. John Dingell and a smattering of Michigan Democrats to discuss the loan, with plans to unveil the proposal after Labor Day.
  
  The plan includes lending $25 billion to automakers in its first year at an interest rate of 4.5 percent (about one-third of what...
  



• Ford to sell $500m in new stock
  

  Filed under: Ford, Earnings/Financials

  In an effort to secure more capital and reduce debt, Ford plans to sell $500m in new stock. Ford will use the cash infusion to buy bonds from Ford Motor Credit, which has been struggling with the slow economy and nation-wide credit crunch. Goldman Sachs is handling the stock sale, and Ford has given no timetable for when the stocks will enter the market. Ford has already exchanged debt for equity to the tune of $927m in the past year. With shares of Ford stock at under $5 per share right now, anybody can own a share of the Blue Oval for the price of a...
  



• Clarkson and BBC team up to take Top Gear global
  

  Filed under: Earnings/Financials, UK

  A new business deal signed between the BBC on the one hand and Top Gear host Jeremy Clarkson and producer Andy Wilman on the other could see the vast expansion of the Top Gear brand worldwide. The deal involves BBC Worldwide, the international commercial arm of the government-owned television network, taking a majority stake in Badder 6. The latter is a company set up by Clarkson and Wilman two years ago for reasons unknown, but will now act to channel all revenues from the Top Gear brand back to the BBC, Clarkson and Wilman.

  The deal is seen as a necessity to keep Clarkson happy so he'll remain on the show amidst...
  




• Ford: We can make money on small cars!
  

  Filed under: Economy, Sedans/Saloons, Plants/Manufacturing, Hatchbacks, Ford, Earnings/Financials

  

  Click above for high-res gallery of the Euro Ford Focus
  

  For years, enthusiasts have been clamoring for Euro-only Blue Oval models to be sold in American dealerships. This dream is finally coming true, starting with the new Ford Fiesta and next-gen 2010 Ford Focus. Mark Fields has revealed that the European Focus and Foci built in North America will share 90% of their parts compared to just 20% today. Not only will this make for better cars, it also allows Ford to realize a double-digit profit improvement on each Focus compared to...
  



• Harley-Davidson and MV Agusta sign acquisition deal
  

  Filed under: Earnings/Financials, Motorcycles

  

  Last month we brought you confirmation of Harley-Davidson's impending take-over of the MV Agusta Group in a deal valued at $109 million. The two parties have now signed the deal, leaving only regulatory approval to proceed with the acquisition.

  Although MV Agusta built nearly 6,000 motorcycles in 2007, production has slipped dramatically this year as the company was over-run with debt. Part of Harley's take-over involves the payment of some $70 million in MV Agusta's outstanding debts. Harley-Davidson announced that Claudio Castiglioni, the current chairman of the group, which also includes Cagiva motorcycles, as well as chief designer Massimo Tamburini, will remain in their posts and the company will continue...
  




• Toyota voices its support for success of Detroit 3
  

  Filed under: Toyota, Earnings/Financials

  
  According to Steve St. Angelo, a VP at Toyota North America, a healthy Detroit 3 is good for Toyota. While that may sound a bit odd or even patronizing, St. Angelo notes that the U.S. supplier base is working for both the Americans and Japanese. If one of their big clients like GM or Ford is in trouble, the effect to the supplier will in turn affect Toyota. What's more, the U.S. economy is closely tied in with the success of the automakers in Detroit and a depressed economy can only serve to hurt Toyota's U.S. sales numbers, a fact that is surely apparent when you glance...
  



• Chrysler asks UAW for 10-hour, four-day workweek
  

  Filed under: Plants/Manufacturing, Chrysler, LLC., Earnings/Financials

  In an effort to cut down on travel and energy costs, Chrysler is said to be in negotiations with the United Auto Workers Union to switch from five, eight-hour days down to four days with ten-hour shifts. We first heard this scheme mentioned as a possibility for the Jeep Factory in Toledo, Ohio, though it now appears as if all but the few plants turning in high amounts of overtime would be affected if the UAW agrees to allow Chrysler to make the scheduling change. As is typical with the new Cerberus-owned automaker, the Chrylser LLC isn't giving out any information on specific savings targets,...