Unions Seek To Stop GM Buy-Back Option. Beijing Automotive Industry Group dropped out of the race to acquire Opel-Vauxhall, leaving the Magna-Russian consortium and RHJ, a Belgian listed company that used to be known as Ripplewood Holdings Japan, to fight over the spoils. RHJ is linked to the U.S. private equity firm Ripplewood Holdings. It […]
Archive | July, 2009
Ford Europe’s Modest Profit Wiped Out By Ailing Volvo
Last Year Volvo Might Have Gone For $6 Billion. Now Ford Will Be Glad To Get $2 Billion. Ford of Europe managed to make a profit in the second quarter, but couldn’t keep pace with the red-ink from Volvo, raising the pressure to find a buyer for the Swedish chronic loss maker. Ford Europe’s pre-tax […]
Fiat Auto’s Profit Makes It A Rarity
But Investors Warn Next Year Will Be Tougher, As Others Recover. Don’t Hold Your Breath For That Spinoff Either. Fiat Auto was the envy of most of its peers after it managed to make a profit in the second quarter. Unfortunately, the roles are likely to be reversed next year. Fiat Auto managed a small […]
Just How Much Is Porsche Worth?
VW-Porsche Move Closer To Merger. Estimate Of Porsche Value Varies By Up To €4 billion. Cayenne-VW Sweetheart Deal Made Much Money For Porsche. Some of the uncertainty has been removed about the future of Volkswagen and Porsche as they move closer together, but there are still plenty of questions to answer; try this one – […]
Chevrolet Cruze review
Looks Good, Quality High, Priced To Go Well-Designed Cruze Will Be A Force In This Golf Sector World Car For GM Is A New Opel/Vauxhall Astra In Disguise **** out of 5 Cruze Leads Chevy In Touring Car Races-What A Waste Of Money “Nobody ever bought a car because a souped up version with nothing in […]
Look Out BMW, Audi, Merc; Here’s The Porsche Panamera
BMW Will Take Biggest Profit Hit. Panamera’s Looks Divide Opinion Though. There is a time bomb ticking away set to explode against the bottom line of the German premium car manufacturers BMW, Mercedes and Audi, and it is called the Porsche Panamera. The Panamera is a four-door sedan about the size of a BMW 5-Series, […]
Audi TT RS review
High Quality, High Performance You Will Of Course Pay For The Privileges Watch Out BMW, Mercedes, Porsche **** out of 5 HENLEY, England – Audi has launched a new red hot RS version of its little TT roadsters and coupes with four-wheel drive, which it hopes will steal sales from BMW’s Z4, Mercedes’ SLK 55 AMG and the […]
Magna’s GM Europe/Opel-Vauxhall Deal Stumbles On
RHJ, China Offers Resurface Pressurising Magna Magna’s deal to buy GM Europe’s Opel-Vauxhall brands with its Russian partners was supposed to have been signed by mid-July, but as the deadline expired, challengers who fell by the wayside earlier are apparently back in contention, after being revived by some kind of magic sponge. RHJ International, the […]
GM Resurfaces Minus Much Debt, Brands, Dealers
Leaner, Meaner GM Less Likely To Discount. “GM has an opportunity to completely reshape its business and ultimately become a viable competitor once again”. Here’s a sentence that’s not made sense for some time. “Detroit at last has something to celebrate”. That was the conclusion of the Financial Times’ Lex column after General Motors emerged […]
Despite June Sales Surge, The Dreaded “W” Recession Looms
When Incentives Expire, Many Expect Sales To Dive In 2010. But Scrapping Said To Create New Sales Among 2nd Hand Buyers. Consensus Reckons Green Shoots Delayed Until 2011. Don’t be fooled by the latest figures which show West Europe’s car sales rose four per cent in June. Far from heralding the green shoots of recovery, Citigroup […]