Autos

Have you driven a Tata lately? Probably not, but that could soon change as Tata Motors, an Indian conglomerate, has purchased the popular Ford brands Jaguar and Land Rover in a $2.3 Million deal. The deal gives Ford the chance to rid itself of two losing operations while getting a much needed influx of cash. Ford Motor plans to focus on trying to right the ship of their main brands Ford, Lincoln, and Mercury.

Mr. Alan Mulally, President and CEO of the Ford Motor Company, said, "Jaguar and Land Rover are terrific brands. We are confident that they are leaving our fold with the products, plan and team to continue to thrive under Tata's stewardship. Now, it is time for Ford to concentrate on integrating the Ford brand globally, as we implement our plan to create a strong Ford Motor Company that delivers profitable growth for all."

As U.S. automaker General Motors posted its biggest annual loss ever, they announced Tuesday that they planned to offer voluntary buyouts to all 74,000 members of their unionized workforce. GM reported a record loss of $38.7 billion in 2007, which was mostly due to a write down in accumulated tax credits in the 3rd quarter that were expected to expire unused.

GM revealed that they would be offering $140,000 to employees with more than 10 years of service, and $70,000 to all others. They are also offering early-retirement pension incentives of $45,000 for production employees, and $62,500 for skilled trades workers.

Plastech Engineered Products Inc. of Dearborn, Michigan, a major supplier to the auto manufacturer Chrysler, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. On Friday, Chrysler was forced to scramble to maintain an inventory of plastic parts produced by Plastech, who agreed to supply them through the weekend.

The weekend has passed and Plastech will no longer be supplying those parts. Chrysler has in turn decided to temporarily shut down four plants. The affected Chrysler plants are located in Sterling Heights, MI; Newark, DE; Toledo, OH; and Belvidere, IL.

According to a company spokeswoman, Chrysler is still determining the additional and long-term impact of Plastech's bankruptcy on its manufacturing operations.

On Friday, Michelle Tinson, spokeswoman for Chrysler, said:

"Today, Chrysler informed Plastech, a Tier 1 supplier of various interior, exterior and powertrain plastic components, that effective immediately, it was canceling all of the supplier's purchasing orders, taking action to recover its tooling from Plastech facilities and resourcing orders to other suppliers.

We are working with the supplier cooperatively and are immediately on hold to remove machinery until we have a mutual solution to ensure our operations continue. "Today's actions are to safeguard the delivery of parts to a number of our U.S. and Canadian assembly operations to ensure the highest levels of quality."

Lincoln unveiled today their newest premium utility concept vehicle - the Lincoln MKT. Key features of the spacious new vehicle include a 3.5-liter V-6 EcoBoost engine with turbocharging and direct injection that producers the power and torque of a V-8 engine, with the fuel efficiency of a V-6.

Combined with advanced transmissions, weight reductions, electric power steering, and aerodynamic improvements, the Lincoln MKT shows great promise for Ford Motor Company's vehicle sustainability strategy and appeals to consumers who want to lessen their impact on the environment without sacrificing style or power.

Ford's new EcoBoost engines, like that which is featured in the Lincoln MKT concept car, will reportedly deliver up to 20% better fuel economy on more than half a million Ford, Lincoln, and Mercury vehicles each year in North America within the next five years. The EcoBoost engine will first be featured in the Lincoln MKS next year.

As for the Lincoln MKT, Mark Fields, President of The Americas, said. "The Lincoln MKT concept offers the comfort of a luxury sedan, the spaciousness and flexibility of a full-size utility and the performance of a sporty roadster -- executed with new technologies and materials that make it as environmentally friendly as it is elegant."

Tata Motors unveiled the long-awaited launch of their new low-cost vehicle, the Nano, at the New Delhi Auto Expo on Thursday. The Nano has been proclaimed the cheapest car in the world, coming in at just $2,500 USD.

The car promises to change the face of not only the Indian car market, but also the global auto industry. The pint-sized car is a five-seater hatch with four doors, and is powered by a 30 HP Bosh 624 cc four stroke engine mounted out back and mated to a CVT. This marks the first time a 2-cylinder gasoline engine will be used in a car with a single balancer shaft. Even more impressive is the car's expected 54 miles per gallon.

Despite waning sales at home, both Chrysler and General Motors set sales records abroad in 2007. Chrysler revealed a 15% increase in sales over 2006 figures, while GM is predicting that 75% of their sales will come from outside the U.S. in the next ten years.

General Motors' CEO Rick Wagoner recently sat down for an interview with Bloomberg News, where he revealed that while 58% of GM's sales came from outside the U.S. in 2007, they expect that number to increase significantly within the decade. In fact, GM is predicting that in ten years (or less!), up to 75% of their sales will be from abroad.

This morning, thousands of Chrysler workers in northeast Ohio and around the country walked off the job. The United Auto Workers union had set a strike deadline of 11 a.m. Wednesday.

In Ohio, the strike affects the Chrysler plant in Twinsburg, where workers also went on strike today. The Twinsburg plant employs about 1,000 workers.

This is the first UAW strike against Chrysler since 1997, when one plant was shut down for about a month. It's also the first strike against Chrysler during contract talks since 1985.

Maybach, an ultra-high end luxury automaker subsidiary of Daimler, is shutting down nearly half of its U.S. stores (29 of 71) in the face of poor car sales. Since its 2002 launch, Maybach has sold in the range of just 800 cars.

Most of the stores that sell Maybach cars also happen to sell Mercedes models. Dealers who wanted to sell Maybachs had to invest over half a million dollars to accomodate the high-end label.

The 2006 sales goal was 600 cars, but the dealers only managed to sell 146 cars. Mercedes US Chief said that affected dealers will be duly compensated, however many dealers still stand to lose a significant portion of what they initially invested.

So why have Maybach sales been so dismal? The biggest problem is that many see it as an over-priced "bloated Mercedes-Benz". There's very little difference between the Maybach and a fully loaded Mercedes S-Class, so when given the choice, many will go with the more wallet-friendly S-Class.

A tentative contract between the United Auto Workers and General Motors may have halted the strike, but it's not all rosy. Included in the agreement, the UAW has agreed to allow GM to sell or close a stamping plant in Indianapolis and an engine plant in the Detroit suburb of Livonia, as well as several other possible locations, including one in northeast Ohio.

According to a copy of the agreement, a small powertrain operation in Parma, Ohio may also be on the chopping block. The document indicates that no future powertrain products will be allocated to the facility in Parma beyond 2010. However, the same facility does have a stamping operation that will continue with new generation products.