Vauxhall Insignia Estate review Handsome And Versatile European Car Of The Year Award Will Help Credibility Financial Crisis Might Undermine It; Will Opel-Vauxhall Survive? *** out of 5 Tough Competition Includes Compact SUVs “Insignia Exclusiv has shed the “e” at the end presumably to keep prices down” Even though Italian and French manufacturers have dominated the […]
Supercar Maker Has Green, High Tech Expertise. “the reinvention of Saab is not beyond all possibility”. One of the most puzzling aspects of the disposal of General Motors’ European assets was the apparent scramble to buy Saab of Sweden, a chronic loss-maker which only rarely looked like selling enough cars to break even. GM’s offer […]
Growth In New Markets Likely To Be Undertaken With Partners. Idea That Family Control Might Be Diluted Takes A Beating. Peugeot isn’t about to merge with another big company like Fiat, Ford Europe or BMW, but will seek partners to maximise sales in new markets. Thierry Peugeot, chairman of the Peugeot supervisory board, had sparked […]
J.D.Power sees 13 million in 2009, diving under 11.5 million in 2010. Government scrapping incentive schemes have rescued Western European car sales for the moment, but investors believe this has mainly been achieved by bringing sales forward and expect 2010 to be the year when reality will assert itself. John Lawson, analyst with Citigroup Global […]
German Government Says Deal Could Be Reopened. Chinese Could Be Strong Bidders, Fiat Might Try Again. Just when you thought Opel/Vauxhall’s fate had been decided, cracks started to appear in the apparent consensus. The logic behind Magna of Canada’s bid for GM Europe’s Opel was always a bit difficult to follow. New GM Europe was […]
Marchionne’s Underlying Aim To Spin Off Fiat Auto “Fiat-Chrysler probably won’t make a new car; maybe sell 100,000 to 150,000 500s and lose money on every one”. The last obstacles have been cleared and Fiat looks set to join up with Chrysler. But anyone who expects the deal to rejuvenate either Chrysler or Fiat looks […]
Gets High-Tech Automatic, Facelift More Powerful, More Frugal Engines The Ultimate Little Sports Car Pulls Way From Competition ***** out of 5 Grit Your Teeth When You Compare Base Price With “Extras”Porsche has freshened up its little Boxster roadsters for 2009, tweaking the bodywork and adding more power, and economy, to the petrol engines. It […]
Plenty Of Wriggle Room In U.S. Rules To Avoid Downsizing. Hybrids Will Be Big Winners. Some Experts See Soaring European U.S. Sales, Others Unconvinced. The first reaction to the U.S. decision to bring forward by 4 years, the corporate average fuel economy standards, already seen as difficult to meet by the original 2020 deadline was […]
Failure To Raise Production In U.S. Induced Foreign Currency Hit. Toyota Neglected Small Affordable Cars, Quality Ratings. Toyota’s spectacular fall from grace as it chased GM’s poisoned chalice of crown as the world’s biggest car maker continues to roil investors. Toyota lost $4.6 billion in the year ended March 2009, and expects to almost double […]
Morgan Stanley Raises Estimates For 2009, But Slashes 2010. Increased Sales Are For Small Cars, Premium Sales Sinking Fast. Some optimists of the glass is half full not half empty variety claim to see the first hint of recovery in the European car business, but the unrelenting hard evidence points to continuing trauma at dealerships […]
