automotive

TOKYO--It has been a tough run for U.S.-Japan joint automaking ventures in North America.

They once were hailed as learning labs where ailing Detroit manufacturers could assimilate the wisdom of the East. But in recent years they have crumbled under financial stress and shifting alliances.

In 2009, General Motors walked out on its 25-year-old joint venture with Toyota, New United Motor Manufacturing, in Fremont, Calif. Later that year, Suzuki bailed on its CAMI joint plant with GM in Canada.

Now Mazda Motor seems poised to pull out of its longtime manufacturing partnership with Ford.

At issue is the … Read more

Raising federal fuel economy standards to as high as 56 mpg in the 2025 model year would yield fuel savings to consumers that more than offset higher vehicle prices, a new study found.

But lifting corporate average fuel economy to 62 mpg would result in vehicle price increases that exceed fuel savings over a five-year period, according to the nonprofit Center for Automotive Research.

The report highlights room for compromise on the Obama administration's preliminary proposal to raise CAFE to between 47 mpg and 62 mpg from the 2017 to 2025 model years.

Environmental groups have pushed for 62 … Read more

Tesla Motors and Electric Power Research Institute join U.S. Department of Energy, automaker research teams and energy companies to accelerate the development of new energy-efficient technologies for cars and light trucks and the infrastructure needed to support them.

According to the DOE, the collaborative effort formerly known as FreedomCAR and Fuel Partnership, is now U.S. DRIVE--Driving Research and Innovation for Vehicle efficiency and Energy sustainability. The goal is to beef up research and development of not only new vehicle technologies, but to also work on a broad range of energy infrastructure technologies.

"Government-industry partnerships like U.… Read more

Since emerging from bankruptcy reorganization in mid-2009, General Motors has invested $3.4 billion and has added or saved more than 9,000 jobs. The U.S. automaker today announced an additional investment of $2 billion; an additional 4,000 jobs have been saved or created.

The announcement was made by GM Chairman and CEO Dan Akerson during an event at the 54-year-old Toledo Transmission Plant in Toledo, Ohio.

"We are doing this because we are confident about demand for our vehicles and the economy," Akerson said. The company also released an animated clip (after the jump) about … Read more

Despite rising prices at the pump, many consumers are still reluctant to purchase vehicles with alternative power trains because of cost and misunderstandings about the new technologies available.

That's according to the J.D. Power and Associates "2011 U.S. Green Automotive Study," whose primary findings were released today.

The J.D. Power and Associates study was conducted in February and included interviews with over 4,000 U.S. consumers planning to buy a new vehicle within one to five years. It estimates that alternative vehicles will make up less than 10 percent of the market by … Read more

The German automakers' battle to dominate China's luxury market is about to spread to a new product segment: small cars and crossovers.

Mercedes-Benz and Audi have chosen the Shanghai auto show for the world debut of two models: a small hatchback dubbed the Mercedes Concept A-Class and the Audi Q3 crossover.

The four-seat Concept A-Class, which is positioned as a sporty rival to the BMW 1-series and Audi A3, is powered by a turbocharged, direct-injection 2-liter gasoline engine that generates 210 horsepower.

The front-wheel-drive car's four-cylinder engine is mated to a dual-clutch transmission.

Other features include a radar-based … Read more

TOKYO--The world's largest maker of automotive microcontrollers--the electronic brains that control millions of vehicles built by major automakers--is shifting production from a key crippled plant to two other plants, but it will take months before shipments can start.

The move by Renesas Electronics, which controls 41 percent of the global automotive chip market, signals months of shortages of the highly specialized parts, already in tight supply before the March 11 earthquake in Japan. Japanese and North American automakers could face production shutdowns if the pipeline runs dry.

Renesas will move production from its Naka plant, which built 25 percent … Read more

Audi and Ford sign a cell phone contract, the Feds want your electric car to make noise, and a hybrid car that costs close to a million dollars.

• First Ford with embedded wirelress data?

• Audi signs T-Mobile, gets AT&T

• Senators call for removal of checkpoint avoidance apps

• Feds postpone mandatory rear cam rule decision for 45 days

• Order your 918 Spyder Hybrid now--for $845K

Florida's Avera Motors announced March 10 that it was changing its name to Rivian Automotive. Company CEO R.J. Scaringe blogged about the name change, saying that the new name "pays homage, in part, to the Indian River Lagoon," which is near the automaker's Rockledge, Fla., facility.

The new name saves the company from a costly trademark infringement lawsuit from Hyundai over the use of the Avera name. The South Korean automaker claimed Avera was too similar to the company's Azera nameplate.

In October 2010, Rivian teased with the release of a photo of a … Read more