Toyota: 13 New Deaths, 2 Closed Plants. Allegedly

The MSM is abuzz with a rash of fresh (well, not really) deaths-by-Toyota. According to an Associated Press report (this one via Twincities.com,) “complaints of deaths connected to sudden acceleration in Toyota vehicles have surged in recent weeks, with the alleged death toll reaching 34 since 2000.” In the past three weeks alone, people told the NHTSA about nine crashes involving 13 alleged deaths between 2005 and 2010 due to accelerator problems. Without the heightened awareness, those people would have passed away unnoticed. Other fatalities loom:

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And In Other Toyota News ...

Don’t bogart that joint: Toyota will recall about 8,000 model-year 2010 Tacoma pickup trucks in the US. Not for unintended acceleration, or brake gremlins, but for good old cracks in the joint portion of the drive shaft, says Reuters. The front drive shafts are manufactured by Dana Holding Corp, and the affected vehicles were produced from mid-December 2009 to early February.

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GM and Delphi Ditching UAW For New "Green" Production Jobs

As GM tools up for production of its Volt extended-range electric car, Automotive News [sub] has noticed something interesting: workers at GM’s new battery pack assembly plant are not represented by the United Auto Workers. Located in the heart of UAW territory (Brownstown Township, MI), the Volt battery plant represents the very jobs that local politicians and GM leadership hailed as the green future of the auto industry. When the plant opened, GM Chairman/CEO Ed Whitacre waxed eloquent about the opportunities:

The development of electric vehicles like the Chevy Volt is creating entire new sectors in the auto industry – an “ecosystem” of battery developers and recyclers, builders of home and commercial charging stations, electric motor suppliers and much more. These companies and universities are creating new jobs in Michigan and across the U.S. – green jobs – and they’re doing it by developing new technology, establishing new manufacturing capability, and strengthening America’s long-term competitiveness.

As long as they do so without UAW representation, apparently. Needless to say, if GM can get away with using non-union workers at a crucial plant that’s supposed to represent the firm’s future, things aren’t looking so good for our friends in organized labor.

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Fiat's Dances With Governments Goes Bad

Fiat’s Sergio Marchionne looked like a pretty shrewd operator when he was able to snag a bailed-out Chrysler from the US government without paying a penny. Between that and the booming European sales on the back of government-funded scrappage schemes, Fiat pretty much spent 2009 proving that automakers should cater to governments almost as much as consumers. But as 2009 wound down, Fiat’s government affairs winning streak came to a halt as the Italian government started asking for a little quid for its quo, and it’s been going downhill from there. Now that Fiat wants to shut down its Sicilian Termini Imerese plant, and right-size Italian production, the love affair is officially over. “We are examining the possibility of renewing [consumer incentives],” Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi told reporters from Automotive News [sub]. “But Fiat does not seem interested in them.”

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Opel Going Nowhere Fast
Opel is running out of time and out of money. In the second quarter of 2010, the company will be out of cash again, figures the German Handelsblatt. As indicated yesterday, discussions with the unions are going nowhere. Says the Handelsblatt:”Management is preparing for a breakdown of the talks.” Reilly and his crew are trying to find ways how to get Opel going without wage concessions by the unions. But how?
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Opel Labour Boss: "Management's plans seem to change on a daily basis"

Opel’s turnaround negotiations with German unions have gone pear-shaped again, as top labour rep Klaus Franz left talks denouncing GM’s decision to cut 9972 jobs instead of the promised 8300, according to The Wall Street Journal. “Fundamental questions have not been answered,” fretted Franz. “Management’s plans seem to change on a daily basis.” Rudi Kennes, a labour representative from Antwerp, concurred, saying the atmosphere between management and the unions “has never been as bad as now.” He added ominously that “(Mr Reilly) needs to answer our questions.”

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Jaguar/Land Rover Boss Departs As Tata Takes Over

David Smith, CEO of Jaguar Land Rover has left the company for reasons that JLR and parent firm Tata refuse to elaborate upon beyond telling the Beeb that Smith’s departure is “not linked to the recent breakdown of talks with unions over pay and pensions.” Since the sale to Tata, Jaguar has been negotiating a two-tier wage system and pension reform with workers at its four British plants, but talks stumbled to a halt just days ago. So, that’s definitely not why Smith left suddenly.

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China: Expand Now Or Expand Later?
GM and VW are the undoubted leaders in the biggest car market in the world, and despite challenges from homegrown upstarts like BYD, analysts say that the tw…
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Supplier Issues Shut Windsor Until February, GM Adds Overtime At Arlington

Automotive News [sub] quotes CAW President Ken Lawenza as saying “supplier challenges” have shut down production of the Chrysler Group’s minivan plant in Windsor, Ontario. Chrysler confirmed that the plant would be closed until February 1, but refused to elaborate on the circumstances. According to Lawenza, “the reason is because if a supplier never lived up to their contract, then it could be legal ramifications. We let those guys hash it out legally.” The President of CAW Local 444 Rick LaPorte adds “it’s a piece for the key fob, so my understanding is that it’s a raw material issue. The good news is that it’s not an inventory adjustment problem or a lack of sales; it’s a good problem to have.” You know, relatively speaking.

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Ford Buyout Offer Draws Little Interest
Ford may be trying to do their bit about overcapacity issues, but they’re having little success with it. The Freep reports that a buyout program by For…
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Hybrid Kinetic Motors Inks $500m Deal With Italdesign Giugiaro

There’s a lot happening in the world of cars these days, but few stories are as compelling as the emergence of two rival US-based firms created by two former bosses of the Chinese automaker Brilliance. At face value, both Hybrid Kinetic Motors and Greentech Auto are little more than visa scams: neither attempts to hide the fact that their fundraising plans involve a US Visa program (EB-5) which allows citizenship to foreign nationals who invest a half-million bucks in an American business. For additional scam warning points, both firms purport to use mythical hybrid engines and plan factories with annual capacities of a million units. But as easy as it is to simply write these firms as Chinese visa hucksters grifting the good folks of such towns as Tunica, Mississippi and Bay Minette, Alabama, they keep showing up in the news with stories that predecessors like ZAP would have given their stock-price-boosting-press releases for. To wit: the latest news that Alabama hopeful Hybrid Kinetic Motors has signed a half-billion dollar deal with Italdesign-Giugiaro, the largest order in the famed design house’s 42-year history.

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Mississippi To Toyota: Can We Have Our Money Now?

Mississippi is starting to get a bit shirty with Toyota. ABC News reports that Mississippi legislators are getting annoyed with Toyota because of the lack of clarity as to when Toyota will start paying the interest on the money the state borrowed to bring Toyota’s car plant to Mississippi. Tate Reeves, State treasurer, told lawmakers during a briefing that discussions are ongoing about when Toyota would begin making payments. The State of Mississippi has already paid about $16.7 million in interest. However, Toyota have a different take on affairs.

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French Government Taking The Wheel At Renault

A few months back I noted that the French government was interfering in the car industry by demanding French plants stay open as a condition of their bailout of Renault. Well, things are getting even more….well….French. New York times (via Reuters) reports that French President Nicolas Sarkozy has summoned Renault and Nissan CEO, Carlos Ghosn for a cosy chat. Actually, “grilling” might be better way of putting it. The invitation has come about after reports surfaced that Renault might be producing its new Clio in Turkey, rather than France. This could be considered state bullying, but the French State is a 15% shareholder in Renault. French Industry minister, Christian Estrosi made absolutely no effort to cover this coercion.

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Industry Survey: US Not Out Of The Overcapacity Woods Yet

With the world starting to gain stability economically and economists talking about “bull markets” you’d be forgiven for thinking we can start to be optimistic and why not? Ford are flying high, GM (prodded by the government) are adding third shifts and Chrysler’s sales “only” dropped 3.7% in December. Well, don’t be too sure. CNN Money reports that a survey conducted by KPMG of 200 auto and supplier executive showed that 88% of them believe there is still too much capacity in North American plants. In fact, the survey showed that the executives believe that overcapacity is a bigger problem today than a year ago and when you look at the figures, it’s a bit of a no brainer.

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NYT Declares UAW Free From "Lordstown Syndrome"

GM’s Lordstown, OH plant was something of a poster boy for all that went wrong with the UAW over the past several decades, reports the New York Times. Poor quality, worker sabotage and crippling strikes led to the coining of the term “Lordstown Syndrome” as a symbol of UAW recalcitrance. Lordstown’s workers were so feisty that they even picketed their own union hall in the 1980s. Now, with the legacy of the Vega hanging over their heads, and the possibility of plant closure only narrowly avoided by securing the Chevy Cruze manufacturing assignment, the members of UAW Local 1112 are singing a different tune. “We were the bad dog on the street at one time,” 1112’s shop Chairman Ben Strickland tells the Times’ Nick Bunkley. “We’ve got 3,000 lives to worry about. The cockiness and the arrogance that we once portrayed — we definitely got a lot more humble.” That, it turns out, is in large part due to General Motors’ spectacular fall from grace.

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EV Firm Th!nk Picks Indiana Site For US Factory

Good news for Elkhart, Indiana today, as The Detroit News reports that the Norwegian EV firm Th!nk has chosen the city for its $43.5m US production facility. The plant will have a production capacity of 20k units, once production ramps up from its 2011 start. By 2013, Th!nk says it will employ 415 workers who will build the firm’s City model, a two-seater which will initially cost nearly $40k before government tax breaks. The factory will receive some $17m in state and local tax breaks and incentives. Th!nk hopes to eventually reduce the cost of the City, which has a stated range of 112 miles and a top speed of 70 mph, to about $20k.

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Quote Of The Day: Your Tax Dollars At Work Edition
We’ve always said the Fiat-Chrysler alliance was positive. The headquarters of an increasingly global company are here. But I wouldn’t like to se…
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Toyota Plant Allows UAW Organiser Access

First, they sold the most amount of cars in the world, then, they started cost cutting and now, Toyota are taking another big step towards becoming GM. The Charleston Daily Mail reports that the managers of Toyota’s manufacturing plant in Buffalo, West Virginia have allowed workers to distribute union literature during breaks at the plant. There’d been grumblings about unionisation for some time. Last month, some Toyota employees, (with the backing of the UAW, naturally), filed a grievance with the National Labour Relations Board’s regional office in Cincinnati. They wanted to distribute union material but were stopped by Toyota managers. Jeff Moore, a Toyota vice president at the West Virginia plant, reversed that policy.

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Bailout Watch 577: Auto Task Force Redlines GM Production

The WSJ reports that GM has added a third shift to its Fairfax assembly plant at the request of the US auto task force. The Kansas City plant will now build 6,300 vehicles a week working 21.6 hours a day, up from 4,500 units per week working 14.5 hours per day with two shifts. The move reportedly makes Fairfax the first US auto plant to run three shifts on a routine basis. According to the WSJ,

the auto task force that oversaw GM’s reorganization last spring was startled to learn that the industry standard for plants to be considered at 100% capacity was two shifts working about 250 days a year. In recommending that the government invest about $50 billion in GM, the task force urged the company to strive toward operating at 120% capacity by traditional standards.

Why? That’s not exactly clear. The potential downsides of the move are far easier to identify.

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With No Money For Chrysler, Fiat Finds "Hundreds of Millions" For Italian Production

At the urging of the Italian government, Fiat said today that it is willing to shift production of Pandas from Poland to the Pomigliano plant in Naples and invest “hundreds and hundreds of millions” in order to bring its Italian production to over 800k units per year. But, he warns, the Italian government must extend domestic consumer credits in order to sop up the increased capacity or face a rapid market contraction. As part of the deal, the government would allow Fiat to shut a terminally unproductive plant in Sicily, for as Sergio says, “the number of cars produced per worker [in Italy] is totally out of proportion” compared with plants in Brazil or Poland. “It doesn’t correspond with any industrial logic.” He’s right, of course, but you have to admit that it’s strange to see the man who took American taxpayers for a savage ride by snagging a bailed-out Chrysler without putting a penny down, suddenly bankrolling the oblivious nationalism of the Italian government.

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European Overcapacity And Opel Rescue Bump Heads

Europe’s auto capacity is staggeringly underutilized, as political pressure to protect jobs stacks overcapacity upon overcapacity. Analysts lay out the gory details at Automotive News [sub]: Global Insight says European production capacity is currently at 59 percent, while PriceWaterhouseCoopers figures excess production is 6.8 million vehicles. Assuming an average production of 300,000 units per plant, over 20 of Europe’s 100 major auto plants will have to go to bring supply back in line with demand. Though Saab’s seemingly imminent closure should take a first step towards a European coming-to-terms with its unreformed auto industry, the Opel deal is starting to look like an opportunity that GM could be too state-aid-dependent to take advantage of.

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Ford Brings Back Buyouts, Visteon Dumps Pensions on Public

It’s been a while since we’ve heard the word “buyout” echoing out of Detroit, as 2008 marked the year in which auto industry employees finally started to be fired like everyone else: without a hefty severance kiss-off. Ford, on the other hand, did not get a shot at free house-cleaning in bankruptcy court, so it’s bringing back buyouts. According to Market Watch, the Blue Oval is offering blue-collar employees a $50,000 lump sum payment and a $25,000 voucher for a new vehicle or another $20,000 lump sum, as well as six months of health insurance coverage. There’s even an extra $40k for workers of “a certain age.” But this being Detroit, employee benefits are either feast or famine. While Ford’s workers are being offered cash for their jobs, the former Ford parts division Visteon announced today that it is seeking to dump pensions for 21,000 retirees in bankruptcy, following Delphi into yet another stealthy yet popular form of indirect automaker bailout.

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Marchionne: Equity Beats Strategy
Almost exactly a month ago we asked:Fiatsler is bringing Fiat back to the US as a one-model-brand (500) with a dedicated sales and support staff just to meet…
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Indian Automakers To Rescue Sicilian Fiat Plant?
In Italian tradition, there’s not a lot of love lost between the Southern and Northern parts of the country. In part, because the North has always held…
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UAW Turning To Ford Negotiator?

UAW Boss Ron Gettelfinger plans to retire next year, and the search is on to replace the man who led the union through the political minefield that was the auto bailout. But the union’s support for Bob King, who led negotiations with Ford, could open up divisions within the union, reports Automotive News [sub]. King followed the Gettelfinger line, offering Ford many of the same concessions it granted GM and Chrysler during the government bailout that transferred large stakes in those companies to the union’s VEBA fund. Those concessions to Ford, which would have preserved the UAW’s decades-long policy of treating the Detroit automakers equally, were rejected by the same union rank-and-file that must now ratify King’s nomination.

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Ford: In-House Batteries Aren't Cheap. For Taxpayers

Zacks Investment Research reports that Ford will invest $500 million in Michigan for developing and building batteries for their hybrid and electric vehicles. In return, they have asked the Michigan government for a tax break between $85 to $120 million. Michigan haven’t confirmed whether they’ll give this tax break, which is handy because Ford have indicated that they will look elsewhere if the tax break isn’t given. This investment will create 1000 jobs. Each job will cost at least $85000? Shocking!

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Suppliers Keep Korean Auto Boom Rolling

As the world recedes, South Korea grows. First Hyundai registers double digit growth in the United States and now other automakers want a piece of the South Korean action. The Korean Times reports that Renault-Nissan announced that they will increase the amount of their South Korean parts suppliers from 28 to 100 by 2013. 108 major subcontractors took part in a conference along with officials from Renault-Nissan’s purchasing organisation.

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Toyota Restarts Plant Contruction As Currency Worries Outweigh Falling Demand
Asiaone Motoring reports that Toyota are now pushing forward on their constructions of plants in the United States and China which had previously been put o…
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Planting Season At Toyota

Toyota had slammed hard on the brake when it came to capital expenditures. So hard that ToMoCo (and Sony) were rapped on the knuckles by the Japanese Ministry of Finance for hobbling Japan’s economy. Suddenly, Toyota starts pouring concrete and installing machinery again. Not because of newfound faith in the auto market in general. Two factors made them do it: The Yen has become so expensive that manufacturing in the USA is cheaper. And China is gobbling up cars faster than Toyota can make them.

According to the Nikkei [sub], a Toyota plant in the US and one in China will increase ToMoCo’s annual output capacity by 200,000 units before the Japanese 2010 fiscal ends on March 31, 2001. The construction will cost Toyota a little over $1b, depending on the vagaries of the greenback and its pegged follower, the Chinese Yuan. Here are the blueprints:

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Chrysler Plans Another Long Vacation
Having planned to idle production plants for a mere ten days over the winter break, Chrysler is responding to weak sales by extending the holiday shutdown of…
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Mercedes C-Class Production Shifted To Alabama

After writing about Spyker transferring production from the Netherlands to the United Kingdom, I thought I’d seen it all. Well, now I have. Production going OUT of Germany and into the United States. After much debating, Daimler have finally decided to switch some production from Germany to the United States. According to Reuters, roughly a fifth of Mercedes-Benz C-Class models will be built in Alabama by 2014, in hopes of protecting against currency fluctuations and maintaining profit margin. Naturally, the unions weren’t happy, in fact they downed tools in protest, claiming it was a “blatantly wrong decision.” Dr Z saw it differently, especially considering the move is said to be worth $100m in incentives from the state of Alabama.

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Nissan: No Olympic Sponsorship, No Production

Nissan’s UK plant could lose the production contract for Nissan’s Leaf EV, thanks to the London 2012 Olympics’ committee. Production of the Leaf at Nissan UK’s Sunderland plant would almost certainly have been confirmed, sources tell Autocar, had the Olympics picked Nissan’s bid, creating instant demand for some 2,000 Leafs. Because they chose BMW to sponsor the 2012 Games, production of the Leaf in the UK is no longer a sure thing. Though Sunderland is still said to be in the running as the European Leaf production site, Nissan have plants in Portugal and Spain that are bidding for the job. And after the London Olympic committee’s implication that Nissan’s bid lost because they couldn’t rely on its EVs, Nissan seems ready to make all of England pay for the insult.

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Obrigado, Volkswagen!

The Brazilian-American Chamber of Commerce reports that Volkswagen AG has announced it plans to build (cue “Dr Evil” voice) 1 million vehicles in Brazil by 2014. To help this grand notion become a reality Volkswagen will invest €2.3 billion (about $3.5b) into the endeavour benefiting its two assembly plants in Anchieta & Taubate and its engine plant in Sao Carlos. Volkswagen aren’t far off this target; this year Volkswagen expects to manufacture 800,000 vehicles in Brazil. Brazil is also Volkswagen’s third largest market after China and Germany, respectively, so there’s plenty of demand for the Wolfsburg Warriors’ offerings, with deliveries to customers up 70% since 2005. If Volkswagen cars are suffering from alleged reliability issues, it doesn’t seem to be bothering our Brazilian friends.

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Don't Call Me Milano
Alfa Romeo was founded in Milan some 99 years ago, but as a division of Fiat, it’s pulling up its roots to relocate its remaining 232 Milan-based emplo…
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Opel Rescue Up To European Taxpayers?
General Motors made one point very clear, 100 percent clear, the restructuring plan could only be achieved when European member states with Opel plants give…
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Ford Invests Big In Brazil
While Ford are making some headway in North America, their real Western Hemisphere focus is on the growth market of Brazil. Bloomberg reports that Ford will…
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New Plant Plans Highlight Strengths In The US Auto Industry

One of the most overlooked arguments during last year’s bailout debates was the fact that America’s automotive industry was not under threat. Sure, a few companies based in Detroit were panhandling at death’s door, but so-called “import brands” have been closing the gap in terms of Americans employed for years. And America’s transplant auto industry is continuing to grow. Even as the Detroit firms have slimmed down their North American manufacturing footprints, foreign firms are moving ahead with American and NAFTA-area plants despite the economic downturn. Not only do these moves signify possible new jobs, they also represent a long-term bet on the fundamental strength of the US economy.

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Fiatsler's Dilemma: Build Engines In Michigan Or Mexico?
The engine in question is Fiat’s 1.4 liter “Fire,” planned for use in the Fiat 500 as well as planned Dodge and Chrysler B-segment hatchbac…
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  • MaintenanceCosts It's not a Benz or a Jag / it's a 5-0 with a rag /And I don't wanna brag / but I could never be stag
  • 3-On-The-Tree Son has a 2016 Mustang GT 5.0 and I have a 2009 C6 Corvette LS3 6spd. And on paper they are pretty close.
  • 3-On-The-Tree Same as the Land Cruiser, emissions. I have a 1985 FJ60 Land Cruiser and it’s a beast off-roading.
  • CanadaCraig I would like for this anniversary special to be a bare-bones Plain-Jane model offered in Dynasty Green and Vintage Burgundy.
  • ToolGuy Ford is good at drifting all right... 😉