Autoblog

• Canada giving Ford C$80 million for new facilities
  

  Filed under: Government/Legal, Plants/Manufacturing, Ford, Canada

  
  
  The Canadian government and Ford have agreed on a deal to provide the Blue Oval $80 million worth of incentives over five years towards new and upgraded facilities. The deal specifically applies to Ford's Essex engine plant, which currently produces V8 engines for SUVs and trucks. Upgrades will be made to convert the plant to flexible manufacturing, which will enable Ford to keep the plant open by producing a number of different powerplants on one line. Flexible manufacturing will also help Ford shift production to meet whatever demand dictates, which is something Detroit automakers desperately want but generally don't have...
  



• CONFIRMED: Nissan Titan to get HEMI-fied
  

  Filed under: Trucks/Pickups, Plants/Manufacturing, Dodge, Nissan

  
  
  Even in a down pickup truck market, the all-new Dodge Ram should be a boon to Chrysler and not just because it's a far better truck than the one it replaces. The new Ram will also be the next Nissan Titan, a deal that helps Chrysler keep its truck factories running closer to maximum capacity. With Nissan borrowing Ram mechanicals and engineering, the assumption has been that Chrysler's 5.7L HEMI V8 was going to be part of the package. Nissan officials have continually denied that any decision about the truck's engine of choice has yet to be made and...
  



• BMW slashes V8 engine production in favor of fours
  

  Filed under: Green, Plants/Manufacturing, BMW

  The new BMW 7-Series has just stepped out from behind the curtain, and it's taken the stage to a house only half full. Demand for BMW's big engines has dropped so low that the house of the roundel says it can make enough 8-bangers to satisfy the world's demand using just one shift for four days.
  
  A member of BMW's supervisory board put it plainly: "We are producing the wrong engines here." Even the sixes, the center of BMW's engine constellation, are being taken out of production in Munich to be replaced by those with two fewer cylinders in 2011. When the phase-out is...
  



• Russia Report: GM retailer deals with increased demand, limited supply
  

  Filed under: Car Buying, Plants/Manufacturing, GM

  
  
  The Genser General Motors dealership in Moscow is in an enviable - if not frustrating - position. The outlet moves between 600 and 900 vehicles each month. But if supply could keep up with demand, the dealer's director of sales, Nataliya Ignatova, insists they could sell around 1,200 vehicles per month during the busiest sales season.

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• 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...
  



• Nissan to take on domestics with commercial truck in 2010
  

  Filed under: Detroit Auto Show, Japan, Plants/Manufacturing, Commercial Trucks, Nissan

  Sensing the ripe market opportunity, Nissan will start producing various light-commercial and medium-duty trucks in 2010. The targeted segment is currently dominated by Ford and GM, where the miscellaneous cabs and frames are used to produce such vehicles as dump trucks, tow trucks, and school buses. Now, Nissan wants a piece of the pie. Larry Dominique, Nissan's VP of product planning, wouldn't disclose details right now, but he did say that a handful of new products will be needed to satisfy the new commercial truck dealers - and Nissan is more than willing to oblige. Joe...
  




• Toledo Jeep workers to get four more weeks of "vacation"
  

  Filed under: SUVs, Hirings/Firings/Layoffs, Plants/Manufacturing, Jeep

  
  click above to view more high-res pics of the 2008 Jeep Liberty
  
  Employees at Jeep's factory in Toledo, Ohio reported back to work this week after two months of mandatory downtime. The good news is that they still have their jobs; the bad news is that they've been told to expect another four weeks off before the end of the year. This time, however, the shutdowns will be scheduled in week-long intervals instead of covering an entire four-week period. The slowdown of SUV sales has been widely covered and the Jeep brand has not been immune, including...
  



• Ford investing $75M to switch Michigan Truck plant from trucks to cars
  

  Filed under: Economy, Sedans/Saloons, SUVs, Euro, Plants/Manufacturing, Ford

  
  click above to view more high-res shots of the Euro-Focus
  
  News flash: small cars like the Ford Focus are selling beyond expectations (ours anyway) while trucks and SUVs are sitting on dealer lots much longer than auto manufacturers would like. For this reason, Ford is moving as quickly as possible to switch a few of its truck plants into car plants, including its Michigan Truck plant where behemoth SUVs like the Expedition and Navigator were being built. The switchover is going to cost the automaker since these are not...
  



• 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...
  



• Nano plant protests may cause Tata to reconsider
  

  Filed under: Economy, Plants/Manufacturing, Hatchbacks, FIAT, Tata

  
  Click above for high-res gallery of the Tato Nano
  

  Fueling speculation that the Tata protests last week may have been much more effective than originally reported, India's Tata Motors Ltd has said it will move the upcoming Tata Nano plant from its planned eastern India location if the violent protests don't end. The tension is between the industry that is pushing for the 1,000-acre plant and the farmers who wish to retain the land for agricultural use. After the unveiling of the plant in January, which was hailed by the state's ruling Communists, the protests have been...