New Mini MPV Challenges Honda Jazz Looks Good, Flexible Too, But Prices A Bit Steep Jazz Still Has More Qualities And Retains Its Crown **** out of 5 Fantastic Kia Guaranty Could Be The Deal Maker Though BARCELONA, Spain – The Honda Jazz is still the best mini MPV, but the new Kia Venga is the strongest pretender […]
After Much Posing, Renault Concedes Little; Investors Sanguine Insistence On Strategic Committee Involvement Might Mean Trouble French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s decision to flex his muscles with Renault had newspaper editorialists snorting with anger, but investors seemed to shrug their shoulders and concentrate on their forecasts, which seemed to agree that the company’s future was more […]
Marchionne Wants To See More Realism, Less Romance It would have been ironic if Saab had been allowed to die, because for the first time in years, this iconic but perennial loss-making Swedish company was about to launch revamped models that might well captivate car buyers. Spyker Cars of the Netherlands must have been tempted […]
Group Losses in 2009 Surprised Investors Fiat Auto Profits Depend On Italian Scrapping Extension New Model Programme Slow Until 2011 Fiat Group kicked off the financial reporting season with ominous looking losses in the fourth quarter, and profit expectations for the Auto group in 2010 which depend more on an extension of government subsidies than […]
Factories Shut, Production Of Eight Vehicles Idled Action Linked To Unintended Acceleration Recall It’s a public relations nightmare for Toyota. One day Toyota announced in Toyo that it will restore its battered finances by raising global sales by six per cent in 2010. The next day in the U.S. Toyota said it will temporarily withdraw […]
Face-Lift Hides Serious Changes Inside Interiors Improved; New Engine Technology Promises Much Fiat Claims MultiAir Will Boost Power, Economy rating *** out of 5 Prices Look Steep; Surely Not Racked Up For “Scrappage” Purposes? Fiat has face-lifted its Grande Punto range by sharpening up the looks front and back, adding more quality to the interiors, and […]
Shareholders Fear They Lag Behind Family Interest Volkswagen had a great year in 2009, particularly if you consider the fate of some of its main competitors, but its share price still languishes. Despite sales and profit success in 2009 while the competition was faltering – GM and Chrysler went bankrupt, Toyota made unprecedented losses – […]
Renault Expected To Benefit From Nissan’s U.S. Rally Talks With Daimler Promise Salvation To Structural Problems Investors are getting excited about Renault’s prospects, for the first time for a long time, as estimates of losses for 2009 are slashed, and profit projections for the future are boosted by improved prospects from alliance partner Nissan. News […]
“Electric Avenue” Shows Preoccupation With Battery Power Ford Unveils New Focus, Honda Introduces Zippy Little Hybrid With two of the former Big Three U.S. manufacturers GM and Chrysler emerging a little sheepishly from bankruptcy, the mood at the 2010 Detroit Car Show is understandably understated. Ford, which to its credit managed to avoid carrying its […]
