#BertelSchmitt
Forecasters Predict Return Of Torrid Car Growth In China
By the end of 2009, China was the world’s largest auto market – something we saw coming nearly a year in advance. When the torrid double digit growth got stuck two years later, a lot of people called a bubble. However, the bubble did not burst. Now, analysts predict a return of the double digit growth.
A123 B456 System Bankruptcy Plan Approved
B456 Systems, the lithium-ion battery maker formerly known as A123 Systems, won court approval for its bankruptcy plan. It gives unsecured creditors of the company about 65 cents for each dollar owed, Reuters says.
Tax Saabotage: Three Former Saab Execs Arrested, Victor Muller's Offices Searched
During better times:Kristina Geers and Victor Muller
Key members of the board of bankrupt carmaker Saab were arrested yesterday on suspicions of tax evasion. Former Saab General Counsel Kristina Geers, former CFO Karl-Gustav Lindstrom, and former CEO Jan Åke Jonsson spent the night in jail. After a serious grilling, the three were released today. At the same time, the offices of Spyker in Zeewolde, Netherlands, were searched by police at the request of Swedish authorities, Z24.NL reports.
Musk Wants To Repay DOE's Tesla Loan By Tomorrow
Loans from the Department of Energy seemed to be a great idea at the time, now they are a millstone one wants to get rid of.
Honda's Jet Is Delayed
Honda’s jet was supposed to be commercially available in 2012, and then in 2013, but it will be another wait of another year. The FAA certification of Honda’s small business jet is delayed until late next year, “due to a minor issue in the certification procedure, which has since been resolved,” says Reuters.
TTAC Busts Embargo Of Two Unobtainable Cars On The Same Day
Nissan Dayz or Mitsubishi eK Wagon?
TTAC finally found the holy grail of the auto-blogosphere: We busted a stringent embargo that won’t lift for more than two weeks. We did that on cars that are unobtainable for most. We blew the tarps not off one, but two makes. We didn’t find a dealer brochure, we caught the cars while they were made.
Autobiography Of BS : How I Harmed Sundry Animals
While a minor shit storm erupted the other day over the use of a word denoting short-haired women who love women, and, allegedly, certain cars, I did a lot of the soul-searching and self-reflection demanded from me, and I thought about all the scandals I may have caused in my life, and which I would regret, if the hate mails are an indicator. There were many scandals, and one of the most egregious involved a car. Oddly enough, it involved a car that allegedly is a top choice among men who love men. The scandal, however, involved people who were into dogs, fish, and other animals. And it was about the Volkswagen Jetta.
Volkswagen's CrossBlue Said To See The Light In China
The Volkswagen CrossBlue and CrossBlue Coupe will be made in China by the Shanghai-Volkswagen joint venture, Carnewschina reports today. According to the report, the car will be built when Volkswagen’s new factory will open in Changsha in China’s Hunan Province.
Europe In April 2013: Up A Tad
As predicted by TTAC, European car sales were up slightly in April. Car sales in the EU rose by 1.7 percent in the month, Europe’s car manufacturer association ACEA says. We warned you before not to read too much into it, and we warn you again.
Autobiography Of BS, Now Available On Dead Trees
Those who frequently demanded that the Autobiography Of BS © is turned into a book or a blockbuster movie see themselves a little closer to their declared goal. The series will be a monthly feature in Top Gear Deutschland, a very glossy magazine and spin-off of the TV series. The BBC-inspired buff book already hit the stands in Germany, and arrived in my Japanese mailbox today.
McLaren, Powered By Honda
Thursday-afternoon press conferences at Mitsubishi and Nissan remained mostly deserted as the Fourth Estate congregated at Honda to hear the not so secret news that Honda will return to F1. I didn’t go because I thought we don’t cover F1. When I remembered that we now do, it was too late. Did I mention that running around Tokyo covering the auto beat is a world of tough decisions?
Charge! Electric Racers Attack Pikes Peak
The annual Pikes Peak International Hill Climb is quickly turning into a Nurburgring equivalent when it comes to bragging rights of electric vehicle makers. The venue is perfect for EVs: The track is 12.42 miles long, as cinch even for the most range-challenged EV. The track finishes at 14,110 ft, a height that deprives ICE-powered cars of oxygen and some 40 percent of their power. An EV just laughs at the breathless engines. I learn all those trivia today in Mitsubishi’s showroom in Tamachi, Tokyo. A descendant on Mitsubishi’s iMiev will be part of the electrified hill climb.
Small SUV Crashopalooza: Detroit Loses, Dykes Win
SUVs are usually regarded as safer than small cars. However, “most of the small SUVs tested for safety in crashes did not fare well in more stringent tests” performed by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), Reuters says.
“US small SUVs scored badly,” writes the wire. Top honors took a trucklet that, according to the Urban Dictionary, is “driven by post-menopausal lesbians:” The Subaru Forester.
Inside The Industry, Special Edition: The Truth About Getting In
This being Q&A Wednesday, I promised to answer TTAC commenter 28-cars-later’s question in feature-length. He said: “Bertel, how do you get such access to Ghosn… is Nissan just *this* friendly to the press?” Let me explain to you how it works.
Rolls-Royce, Now With Advanced Tautologic
Do you have a truly bespoke pair of shoes, hand-made, to the tune of $1,000? Or a truly bespoke suit, not just one off the plebeian racks of Armani or Ermenegildo Zegna? Watch out, “bespoke” is losing its worth faster than a dollar during the peanut president regime. Oddly, it is Rolls-Royce that is behind that dangerous paradigm down-shift.
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