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Nissans New plant in Tennessee(3/31/2006)

Tacle Seating USA announced it will build its first U.S. manufacturing plant in this Nashville suburb to make seats for automaker Nissan Motor Corp.

Tacle Seating said it will open the 90,000-square-foot plant in 2007, when it will begin rolling out automotive seats for Nissan North America^s assembly plant in nearby Smyrna. The Tacle factory is expected to employ up to 170 people.

Tacle is a joint venture of Southfield, Mich.-based Lear Corp. and Tokyo-based Tachi-S Engineering, which formed in July 2003.

Economic development officials said Thursday the state is starting to see the benefits of Nissan^s decision last fall to move its North American headquarters from suburban Los Angeles to the Nashville area later this year.

"We are already witnessing the benefits from this announcement with Tacle Seating USA^s decision to locate its first U.S. plant in Tennessee," said Matt Kisber, commissioner for Tennessee Department of Economic & Community Development.

"This is great news for our state and for the many Tennesseans who will benefit from this job growth," he said.

GM wants to sell its stake in Isuzu(3/31/2006)

General Motors said yesterday it is in talks to sell its stake in Isuzu Motors Ltd. as the troubled company jettisons assets to drum up cash and hang onto its title as the world^s biggest automaker.

Disposing of GM^s 7.9 percent stake in the Japanese truck maker would mark the latest retreat for a company besieged by staggering losses, labor problems and mounting competition, especially from Toyota.

The move also would highlight GM^s rapid pullout from Japan. This month, Detroit-based GM sold 17 percent of Suzuki Motor for about $2 billion, leaving it with a 3 percent stake.

That followed last year^s sale of GM^s 20 percent stake in Fuji Heavy Industries, maker of Subaru cars.

GM once looked at shares in these smaller Japanese competitors as a window to cracking the Japanese market. But after making few inroads in Japan and facing dwindling market share at home, the company has more urgent priorities -- like becoming profitable again.

GM has shopped the Isuzu stake to three Japanese companies, Mitsubishi, Itochu and Mizuho Corporate Bank Ltd., and they are still considering the possibilities, spokesmen from the three companies said.

GM and Isuzu said no decision has been reached; there was no word on a possible price.

Strike Looms Over GM(3/31/2006)

General Motors^ largest parts supplier followed through on its threat to ask a bankruptcy court to void its labor contracts, a move union leaders said would result in a strike that would most likely cripple the world^s largest automaker.

The court filings by Delphi, a former GM subsidiary that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy court protection in October, were part of a sweeping organization that would slash the company^s payroll by 25%, freeze pension benefits and close or sell off non-essential operations.

"We need to take the steps necessary to halt losses that continue to occur at an unsustainable rate and transform our business," said Delphi Chief Executive Steve Miller in a statement. "Although today^s court filings are necessary to protect our businesses, we have not left the negotiating table. We have made considerable progress in recent weeks, and we intend to stay at it until we are finished."

Today^s filings come only one week after Delphi, GM and the United Autoworkers Union announced an agreement under which GM would pay for the early retirement of up to 13,000 Adelphi workers in an effort to help the parts maker reduce its costs and head off a strike this summer.

The UAW leadership today said that Delphi^s court action "kills the momentum" generated from last week^s agreement. " Indeed, today it appears there is no basis for continuing discussions.

"In the event the court rejects the UAW-Delphi contract and Delphi imposes the terms of its last proposal, it appears that it will be impossible to avoid a long strike," the UAW leadership said in a statement.

Many industry analysts have said that risks of a strike are so great -- especially for GM -- that they expect a settlement that would avoid a walkout. A strike by Delphi workers would cut off the critical flow of supplies to GM, which would lose an estimated $5 billion a month in lost sales and wages paid to idled workers, according to industry analysts. If Detroit-based GM was forced to close its factories, the automaker could be pushed closer to a bankruptcy filing of its own, analysts say.

On Wall Street, GM shares continued to lose ground today as investors feared the impact of labor strife at Delphi. The automaker^s stock was down nearly 2% in morning trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

"We disagree with Delphi^s approach but we anticipated that this step might be taken," Rick Wagoner, GM chairman, said in a statement. "GM expects Delphi to honor its public commitments to avoid any disruption to GM operations."

In addition to reducing its labor force, Troy, Michigan-based Delphi, which operates as a independent company after it was spun off by GM, has been seeking to cut the pay of remaining workers nearly 40% in a two-step process. The proposal also would institute a two-tier pay plan under which newly hired Delphi workers would start at as little as $10.50 an hour.

The bankruptcy court has set court hearings on May 9 and 10 to review Delphi^s requests to re-write its labor pacts, modify retiree benefits and establish new supply contracts with GM, the parts maker said.

"While our Court filings are necessary procedural steps to enable action that may become necessary at some point in the future, we are singularly focused on reaching a consensual resolution with all of our unions and GM before any court hearing is necessary," Miller said in a statement.

GM to offer more incentives in March(2/27/2006)

General Motors Corp. has told its dealers it will launch a nationwide discount promotion in March, steering away from its goal of not providing big incentives, a newspaper said on Monday.

The Detroit News said the "March Madness" event, tied to the NCAA basketball tournament, will run from March 15 to April 4, and will be similar to a promotion GM ran last March that included lower sticker prices on select models across GM^s eight brands.

Last year^s program also included cash bonuses of $500 to $,1500 on models that had been on dealer lots for more than 125 days.

GM officials could not be reached immediately for comment.

In a separate program, GM is offering between $150 and $700 in cash incentives to dealers who accept extra vehicles in the last week of February, the paper said.

The programs come after the world^s largest automaker in January announced efforts to move away from incentives by cutting prices on most of its vehicles to reflect the price consumers actually pay.

GM has been losing U.S. market share to foreign rivals as it struggles with high labor costs and declining sales. Automakers are expected to announce February sales on Wednesday.

F1 can cope without Schumacher(2/27/2006)

Bernie Ecclestone says Formula One would cope without current superstar Michael Schumacher.

In fact, the Grand Prix supremo asserts in the German Sport Bild magazine that - should Schumacher retire soon - the paddock would claim a successor in a mere ^two or three races’.

^^No driver, no person, will ever be bigger than Formula One itself,^^ said the 75-year-old.

Bernie singles out rookie Nico Rosberg, as well as hopefuls Nelson Piquet Jr and Heikki Kovalainen, as contenders for the label of future superstar.

Interestingly, Ecclestone didn^t mention Kimi Raikkonen, or reigning Champion Fernando Alonso. But the Supremo lambasts the latter Spaniard^s future McLaren boss, Ron Dennis, for ^stupidly^ deceiving Flavio Briatore in the controversial 2007 switch.

5 Star for Peugeot Safety(2/27/2006)

The new Peugeot 207,

available in the summer, has been awarded 5 stars by Euro-NCAP for occupant protection.

It also gets a 3 star rating for pedestrian protection and 4 star rating for child protection - the highest aggregate score so far achieved by a supermini. While a five star rating is now pretty well expected for occupant safety, three stars for pedestrian safety is probably as good as a car can currently score without using a pyrotechnic bonnet (like the new Jaguar XK8), which automatically lifts on impact to cushion pedestrians from the engine. That would be very expensive indeed for a supermini.

Safety equipment includes up to six airbags, anti-submarining seats, pre-tensioning seatbelts with force limiters and, Isofix mountings for child protection on the two outer rear seats.

Mercedes finds a marketing chief(2/27/2006)

Mark McNabb, a former Nissan North America sales executive, has been hired by Mercedes-Benz USA LLC to be vice president of marketing.

McNabb, 44, begins his new job in Montvale, N.J., today, Feb. 27. He will be in charge of marketing and product management for the Mercedes and Maybach brands in the United States.

He fills a post vacated last August when Michelle Cervantez quit to become vice president of marketing for Hyundai Motor America. McNabb reports to Paul Halata, CEO of Mercedes-Benz USA.

McNabb resigned from Nissan last November, soon after getting a new assignment in Japan to run the automaker^s overseas sales and marketing. During a 19-year career at Nissan, McNabb had turns as head of the Nissan and Infiniti divisions in the United States.

Pontiac To Cease Production(2/27/2006)

Buick-Pontiac-GMC General Manager John Larson announced in a video clip to dealers on Tuesday February 21, that the Australian-built Pontiac GTO, which was based on the Holden Monaro, will be ceasing production at the end of the 2006 model year. Larson cited upcoming Federal regulations as the main reason. In 2007, new airbag deployment standards would take effect, which the GTO would not be able to meet.

"By the end, the GTO provided Pontiac with exactly what it needed, a great performance icon, which brought that performance piece of Pontiac back into the market." Larson went on to say that the motoring press cited the GTO as the best horsepower-per-dollar value in the market.

Larson also added that Pontiac was "exploring opportunities" in other rear-drive performance vehicles, both coupes and sedans. It is, at this point, unknown if this means that a new-generation GTO will be coming out in 2008, or perhaps the rumored G8 sedan, presumably based on a similar architecture. Some insiders have even hinted at a possible Firebird variant to come along a year or so after the Camaro, if it actually returns as expected. The Camaro was a huge hit at the 2006 North American International Auto Show in Detroit this past January.

Also, no word yet has come through regarding Pontiac^s future motorsports plans, in which the GTO played a heavy role in the last two years. We^ll continue to update this story as it develops.

Rolls-Royce convertible to roll out in 2007(2/27/2006)

Rolls-Royce and Bentley used to be sister brands in the realm of British ultra luxury, but now that the two automakers are owned by different companies – RR is a part of the BMW family, whereas Bentley is under the Volkswagen umbrella – they have come into direct competition with one another.

Rolls-Royce 100EX concept convertible was first seen at the 2004 Geneva Motor Show, and it seems that at this year’s show, we’ll be able to get a good look at the production model that just might be hitting driveways at high-end country clubs and multi-acre estates some time next year. The project currently goes by the name of “RR02”, so you can probably expect a name change before it goes to market.

Under the hood you’ll find the same 6.7-liter V12 found in the Rolls-Royce Phantom limousine, the brand’s only vehicle at this time, putting out 453 hp and 531 lbs-ft of torque. That said, because this is a “sporty” vehicle, those numbers might get even more impressive in the “RR02”.

If you have to ask about price, you probably won’t be able to afford the Rolls Royce convertible, because it will likely fetch more than the $341,000 Phantom.

BMW sells stake in Rolls-Royce(2/27/2006)

BMW on Friday sold two thirds of its stake in Rolls-Royce, the aero engine manufacturer, drawing a line under the German carmaker^s historic attempt to revive its aerospace business.

BMW said it would record a €300m ($356m) non-cash gain from the sale, with the proceeds used to repay holders of a bond convertible into the shares.

The holding in Rolls, acquired when a joint venture for small aircraft engines was dissolved in 1999, will drop from 9 per cent to 3.25 per cent, with more likely to be sold in coming weeks.

The conversion of the bonds will remove a painful volatility introduced to BMW^s profits by international accounting rules on "fair value", which forced BMW to record notional losses on the Rolls stake.

The company recorded non-cash losses on the stake of €173m in the third quarter of last year as Rolls^ shares fell, even though the risk was all borne by the convertible bond holders.

BMW used its close relations with Rolls – where it was the largest shareholder until Friday – to good effect in 1998 when it snatched the Rolls car brand by licensing it from the aero engine maker, which had previously licensed it to Vickers.

Volkswagen, which paid Vickers £430m ($750m) for the car business, ended up with just its Crewe factory and the Bentley brand.

BMW started off as an aero engine maker, not moving into car production until the late 1920s, a decade and a half after its founding.

It focused on cars after the second world war and only returned to aero engines – the source of its propeller logo – in 1990 with Rolls.

Other carmakers with tight links with aerospace include DaimlerChrysler, BMW^s arch-rival, which is the biggest shareholder in EADS, the Franco-German aerospace and defence company, and Honda, which has just developed a small jet.

BMW used the Rolls stake in 2003 to back a €561m bond exchangeable into Rolls shares, paying a coupon of just 1.875 per cent.

Investors have opted to exchange their shares now partly to secure the aero engine maker^s dividend, due next month, a BMW spokesman said.