Marketplace

Happy outsourcing of July

Today's the day to celebrate everything American, but for Chrysler Group it marks a landmark deal with China's biggest automaker, Chery, to produce cars for export to the United States and elsewhere. Chrysler Chairman and CEO Tom LaSorda says the company's Chinese-made cars will hit the American market in a little over two years.

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A different sort of utility vehicle

Ford Motor Company announces today that it is teaming up with Southern California Edison to test a rechargeable hybrid. The utility company will get the plug-in car by the end of the year and as many as 20 by 2009 to test the durability and range of the car — and its impact on the power grid. The idea is to help get the new auto technology to market more quickly.

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GM makes a comeback

General Motors and Toyota have been neck n' neck in the race for global auto sales. GM sold 2.4 million vehicles to pull into the second quarter's top position, but Toyota retained its overall lead for the first half of the year. Back in the first quarter, Toyota outsold GM for the first time ever. Analysts still expect Toyota to surpass GM in both sales and production for the full year.

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Sell those Chryslers, or else

It could be the end of the road for some Chrysler dealerships if they don't improve car sales. The folks at Chrysler's new owners, Cerberus Capital Management, are warning its weakest franchises:Turn things around in six months, or you're losing the keys. But most of these cases will probably end up in court.

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So much for Christmas in July

Things are looking up for the domestic automakers. Or are they? GM and Ford both turned in welcome second quarter profits, but today we get the sales numbers for July. And those don't look so good. Edmunds.com predicts double-digit declines for both carmakers, despite the truckload of incentives they've been offering.

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Want to buy an American car? Pleeeease?

A screeching downshift for the Big Three in Detroit. For the first time ever GM, Ford and Chrysler saw their home market share dip below 50 percent. New numbers also show U.S. auto sales hit their slowest pace for July in nine years. Toyota and Honda also saw declining sales but the companies are still winning the market race. Toyota outsold Ford and Honda outsold Chrysler Group.

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Autoworkers still negotiating

When you're willing to give up part of your weekend and pull a 16-hour marathon session at work, chances are you're hoping something good comes out of it.
That's where negotiators for the United Auto Workers and General Motors were at til around 3 a.m. in Detroit. A break in the 16-hour bargaining session raised expectations the union and the top U.S. automaker were nearing an agreement, but there's no deal just yet. They'll get back to it later today. The outcome is important for GM, Ford and Chrysler as the companies try to recover from combined losses of $15 billion last year.

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GM, UAW still talking

General Motors and the United Auto Workers will head back to the bargaining table later today. Talks broke up early this morning after a more than 14-hour session between the largest U.S. automaker and its union. The negotiations started a week ago, when the UAW's past contract expired. Health care costs remain at the center of the talks.

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Stop a car thief in action

General Motors will soon be able to tell stolen cars to "freeze." Some 2009 models with the GM OnStar service will feature new technology that can bring a car to a halt. If a vehicle is stolen, OnStar's GPS system will be used to find it. That actually already happens up to 800 times a month with cars that have OnStar. But with the new version, if police see the stolen car moving and think it can be stopped safely, they can tell OnStar operators to slow it to a complete stop.

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Nothing soothes angry drivers like . . . coupons

Almost a million people that drive Explorers sued Ford after the big tire recall in 2000. The lawsuits claimed the SUV lost resale value because of perceived danger. Nothing a $500 coupon can't help!
That's how Ford is settling the class-action suit. The company will offer customers 500 bucks toward a new Explorer, or $300 toward other Ford vehicles. The agreement could cost the automaker as much as $500 million if everyone eligible takes a voucher.

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Not strong enough to steer clear of restrictions

New fuel-efficiency standards could drive muscle cars into extinction. GM will unveil a new supercharged version of the Corvette next month at the Detroit auto show. But the car's chief engineer says the 2009 Corvette Z-R-1 could be the last in a long tradition of performance cars by U.S. automakers. GM hasn't released the Z-R-1's fuel economy numbers but the current 505-horsepower Corvette gets an estimated 15 miles per gallon in the city, 24 on the highway.

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Prius whizzes by Ford Explorer

A hybrid has stopped one of the country's most popular SUVs in its tracks. Americans bought more Toyota Prius hatchbacks last year than Ford Explorers. The Explorer has been the top-selling SUV for more than a decade. The Financial Times reports Prius sales soared nearly 70 percent in 2007. Demand for the Explorer was less than a third of its 2000 peak. So maybe it's no coincidence Ford will introduce a new crossover vehicle at the Detroit Auto show Sunday. It's called "Explorer America," and will feature a fuel-efficient engine -- no eight-cylinder version.

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General Motors goes into the green

Green alternatives are out-shining chrome at this year's Detroit Auto Show. General Motors announced at the show yesterday it's launching a partnership with a renewable energy start-up company. Coskata Incorporated plans to produce ethanol from agricultural leftovers and municipal and industrial waste. GM says it's taken an ownership stake in the start-up, but no one's saying how much.

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Fuel efficiency driving Toyota profits

The craving for more fuel-efficient cars continues to fuel sales for Toyota. The company raised its profit for the third fiscal quarter 7.5 percent over the previous year. Booming sales in China, Europe, and South America off-set declining sales in the U.S. The Japanese automaker is in a neck-and-neck race against General Motors for the top spot in global sales. Toyota sold 2.3 million vehicles in its third quarter, up nearly 6 percent from the same time last year.

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Add a coffee maker, we're in business

This week at the Chicago Auto Show, Ford plans to show off a new high-tech options package for its F-150 pickup trucks and commercial vans.Get this: It includes an in-dash computer with high-speed internet, plus a battery-powered inkjet printer. There's also a tool-tracking device, so you don't leave any tools behind at the work site.

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Tata reaching for the stratosphere

You remember that $2,500 Tata Nano car that came out a few weeks ago? No, not in the US -- in India. Well, the same company that makes the Nano is getting into Defense-related aerospace components. Tata Group and Boeing announced today a $500 million joint venture.
Tata will build the parts in India and export them to Boeing and its customers.

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Some classic Ferraris are too good to be true

Here's a deal: classic Ferraris for $30,000. It may be a deal, but it turns out the cars aren't real.
Italian authorities have busted a ring making phony versions of the Ferrari 360 Modena. The cars look authentic but under the sheet-metal, they're Pontiacs. Actual 360 Modenas sell used for about $150,000. Buyers say they knew the cars were fakes... but they were trying to impress their neighbors.

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BMW expands here, cuts there

The weak dollar is driving BMW's production plans in the U.S. In Europe, the company plans on cutting nearly 8 percent of its work force over two years. But on this side of the pond, BMW is looking to increase production by more than 50 percent within four years.

An auto industry analysts says BMW can save money on the lower dollar and on wages since its workers in South Carolina make less than German workers. The company has scheduled an announcement for today in Greer, South Carolina to discuss an addition to the plant, which makes the X-5 and Z-4 models.

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Prius could help drive Japan's joblessness down

Japan's inflation rate jumped 1 percent last month, the quickest rise in 10 years. High prices for imported oil is blamed partly to blame for the increase. Other date released today shows the country's jobless rate climbing to almost 3.9 percent. Unemployment has been hovering around 4 percent in Japan since last Fall.

But Toyota Motors may help draw down the jobless rate a bit. The company is planning to boost production of the popular Prius hybrid at it's Japanese plants. Today's Nikkei business daily reports Toyota hopes to increase output to 450,000 cars a year by 2009. Last year, the auto maker built about 280,000 Prius cars.

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Chinese want their SUVs

Some have said that the U.S. might be becoming a small cart nation. That should help with the price of gas. Except for... on the other side of the world, China is becoming a big car nation.

On Sunday, at the Beijing Auto Show opening, auto executives said that demand for SUVs and full-size luxury cars is growing fast in China. Don't they care about gas prices? So far, they don't have to. The Chinese government keeps price controls on gas and diesel to limit inflation. The government is pushing car companies to make more fuel-efficient cars.

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America's love affair with SUVs -- Is it over?

With these gas price, who wants to buy a pickup truck or an SUV? Apparently, not many people. And GM knows about it very well. Weak demand for these kinds of vehicles is pushing the auto maker to cut over 3,500 jobs at four factories. GM said it will make about 88,000 fewer pickups and 50,000 fewer SUVs this year. And when an auto maker cut jobs, shares rise -- 2.6 percent in after hours trading.

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Small car sales picking up

Yet another down month for U.S. auto sales. April numbers show big drops for all three of the major American automakers. Sales figures for Ford, GM and Chrysler declined from 12 percent to 23 percent compared to April 2007. The shaky economy and rising gas prices kept consumers away from traditional Detroit favorites like pickups and SUVs. But Americans were buying small cars and in record numbers. About one in every five cars bought last month was a compact or subcompact.

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Some Toyotas will cost a bit more

Toyota is raising the price tag on some of its models. Starting mid-month, the company will mark up the 2008 Yaris by $200. The '09 Camry will also go up $200, and if you want a hybrid Camry, it will cost you $300 more. Prices will go up on some Lexus models too. While Toyota is doing pretty well compared to U.S. automakers, it's struggling to hold on to profits because of the weak dollar.

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GM buys HQ it's been renting

The conditions in the real state market are not bad news for every one. It's a buyers market, after all. And GM figured this is a good time to buy its headquarters in downtown Detroit --
for $626 million. A bargain. The car maker had been leasing the space since 1996. GM also paid $200 million for a couple of office properties near Pontiac.

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