Canadian supplier Magna International and an unnamed private equity group have placed a bid for the Chrysler Group, according to KeyBanc Capital Markets analyst Brett Hoselton. The bid for Chrysler is worth approximately $4.7 billion. Given most analysts stating that Chrysler is worth anywhere from nothing to around $13 billion, the offer may not be […]

Last week, Hyundai announced it would add a second engine plant at its assembly facility in Montgomery, Alabama, but there was no announcement what the engine plant would produce. With the current engine plant in Montgomery building Hyundai’s V6 used in the Sonata and Santa Fe, we figured the plant would produce four-cylinder engines. Sixty […]

Carlos Ghosn, CEO of Nissan Motor and Renault, will give up some control at the automaker’s American operations. Ghosn will no longer have direct oversight of Nissan’s operations in North and South America, and will turn his focus to Nissan’s and Renault’s global operations. Effective April 1, Hiroto Saikawa will replace Ghosn as Nissan’s chairman […]

Cerberus Capital Management, one of the two leading contenders to buy the Chrysler Group, has hired former Chrysler COO Wolfgang Bernhard as a consultant. Cerberus and private equity firm Blackstone Group have emerged as front runners in the bids for Chrysler.
As a former executive at Chrysler, Bernhard was one of the primary architects of Chrysler’s […]

When Honda’s new assembly plant in Greensburg, Indiana, begins production in 2009, the first product rolling off the line will be the Civic, according to a company source. Initially, the plant is expected to only build Civic models, but other models will be added later. The Civic is currently built in North America at Honda’s […]

BMW CEO Norbert Reithofer announced that the automaker will continue its new product initiative with the X6 crossover. The X6 crossover will begin production in 2008 at the company’s assembly plant in Spartanburg, South Carolina. The X6 is a spin-off of the X5 SAV that will seat four and feature a coupe-like body. The X6 […]

MINI revealed that its new extended model would be called the “MINI Clubman” at last week’s Geneva Motor Show. The Clubman is inspired by the MINI Concept that debuted at the 2005 Frankfurt Motor Show, which was in-turn inspired by the successful Morris Mini Traveller of the 1960s.
The new MINI Clubman will debut at the […]

Despite reports to the contrary, Telsa Motors says that it will not use any Ford running gear in its WhiteStar project all-electric four-door sedan. There have been several reports that suggested that Tesla’s WhiteStar project will use Ford’s CD3 platform as the basis for the sedan. The CD3 platform underpins the Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan, […]

Not long after the announcement that Ford had sold Aston Martin to a consortium led by David Richards, founder and chairman of Prodrive, Aston Martin announced that its current chief executive, Dr. Ulrich Bez, will remain has the brand’s Chief Executive. Prodrive’s David Richards will be join Aston Martin’s board as a non-executive chairman.
Aston Martin […]