Ford executive vice president retires early

Mark Schulz, Ford Motor Co. executive vice president, is going to retire early next year after 30 years of service with the automotive manufacturer.Schulz is responsible for Ford automotive operations outside of North and South America. He joined the world's second-largest automaker, in 1970 as an assembly line worker.Schulz is one of the latest senior executives to leave since the company appointed Alan Mulally, 61, as CEO three months ago. A series of other senior executives including Ford's second-ranking North American executive, the North...

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Motorbike ride a day keeps the traffic away

Ever felt fed up with cars? It's funny I should say that but there is nothing more annoying then driving in London. A real nightmare. Going from A to B becomes a day-long adventure that does nothing for my nerves. So I decided to get a bike... A motorbike of course, haven't gone mad yet. Started searching and came across Brooks Barn. Simple, fast...

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Traffic Accident Research Centre

The Volvo Car Corporation and Volvo Group are setting up a joint Traffic Accident Research Centre in China. Volvo is continuing to acquire information and expertise in the drive to develop safer vehicles with its active traffic accident research, while at the same time hoping to contribute to safer road traffic in the world's most populous country.Volvo's...

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Fiat India records profits

Positive results by Fiat’s core automotive division is reported to perform well as it posted again profit for the fourth straight quarter this week. The company continued gaining from improved sales of Grande Punto hatchback and other popular Fiat models. Fiat is aiming for a 2006 group trading profit of 1.85 billion euros, targeting a net profit of...

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The Bosch Group bids for Pacifica

The market is excited with the news that Bosch Group has made a $495 million bid for Australian auto parts manufacturer Pacifica Group Limited (PBB). Bosch intends to make an off-market takeover offer for Pacifica.The offer includes the assumption of Pacifica’s existing net debt. The Bosch cash offer represents an outstanding opportunity for Pacifica...

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Toyota hiring new staff in Lafayette

The Toyota Subaru production plant of Indiana Automotive Inc. in Lafayette is hiring a 1,000 strong automotive workforce. SIA and the Indiana Department of Workforce Development have collaborated to design a paperless, online application process that will begin on Oct. 30. Applications also will be accepted at any WorkOne office in Indiana.SIA is...

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New cars at factory outlet prices

It sounds impossible but Factory Outlet Cars is one of the first retailers to promise a range of new cars at factory outlet prices. The company is one of the largest UK online new car dealers, offering a wide range of new car prices with considerable savings. The price discounts on new cars do not compromise on customer service and the company has...

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Bad year for Ford or automotive in Australia?

The Australian is reporting on new job losses across Australias besieged automotive parts industry this week, after Ford Australia unveiled plans to cut new car production by 20%.The news come following previously reported new car sales figures drop for Holden and Toyota, in September last year.Ford also warned of job losses from its 5000-strong workforce...

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BeijingBenz-DaimlerChrysler opens new plant

Great news for the automotive industry from China.BeijingBenz-DaimlerChrysler Automotive Ltd, a joint venture between DaimlerChrysler and the Beijing Automotive Industry Corp, said it will open its new manufacturing facility in Beijing tomorrow.The company has previously said it will produce the Chrysler 300C at the new plant in the Beijing Development...

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Poweroffroad customer service - Adam & Tarek Mowafi

There has been a lot of industry talk about The Mowafi's, (Adam & Tarek Mowafi). Their enterprise Poweroffroad seems to be causing some problems amongst the business community as well as customers as people report on the web. They are infamous for customer services and their poor refund policy. Some documentation on the web: Tarek Mowafi of Poweroffroad rips someone of £2,000 The Mowafi's dodgy business Trading standards court case Update: It is reported that Adam & Tarek Mowafi have fled to Egypt. Please don't be discouraged to report...

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Russian auto plant reduces car prices

Great news for the Russian automotive industry from the Gorky Automotive Plant.Gorky Automotive Plant is setting unified prices for 'GAZ' cars all across Russia. As a result, the prices will decrease in the regions located far from the production center. For example, in the Russian Far East the prices will decrease by RUR17000 for passenger cars and...

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Honda updates Element

American Honda Motor Co., Inc, announced that the substantially updated 2007 Honda Element LX and EX went on sale at $18,900. That accounts for an average increase of just 2.7 percent or $572 on a sales weighted basis (not including the all-new Element SC). The all-new Element SC, which goes on sale September 28th, will start at $22,695. Destination...

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Automotive resources

Used Cars in Los Ange...

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New automotive R&D facility from MG Motors

MG Motors has set-up a new research and development facility for the University of Oklahoma. This could help turn OU into a world-class automotive engineering school reports OU Daily.Thomas L. Landers, Dean of the College of Engineering said that MG Motors North America Inc. plans to set up shop somewhere on campus this fall and will eventually construct...

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BMW chooses Zenon software

The BMW Group has chosen to use zenOn software solutions for their plants world-wide. Copa-Data zenOn will manage the security and reliability at all production plants. The German car manufacturer is confident that it could increase efficiency and productivity considerably across their plants. The BMW Group decided in favour of world-wide implementation...

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Automotive Engineering Programmes

IUCTT (International University College of Technology Twintech) is starting to offer a range of tertiary programmes in automotive engineering this year.IUCTT is the first institution in Malaysia to provide such programmes at diploma, degree, master and Ph.D levels at its School of Automotive Engineering.The programmes will be conducted at the IUCTT campus in Bandar Sri Damansara in collaboration with Auto Terminal Sdn Bhd (Tekat).A Memorandum of Agreement was signed between IUCTT, represented by Dr Ismail and Tekat, represented by its executive...

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New Volkswagen Plant in Russia

The way for a new Volkswagen AG production plant in Russia is clear. The Chairman of the Board of Management of Volkswagen AG, Dr. Bernd Pischetsrieder, and the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Skoda Auto, Detlef Wittig, signed the necessary contracts with the Russian Federation and the Kaluga Oblast in Moscow on Monday.The new plant will be built...

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Gasoline prices delaying 'green' cars

Thirty-seven percent of consumers say high gasoline prices have them thinking about replacing their cars with more fuel-efficient vehicles. And half of those say they are considering a gasoline-electric hybrid, according to a new survey by Consumer Reports.But when cost-conscious consumers actually look at hybrids, many of them will be turned off, predicts Douglas Love, a spokesman for Consumer Reports.The first generation of hybrids, such as the Honda Insight and Toyota Prius, "were designed from the start to deliver great fuel economy," Love...

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Automotive corporate responsibility

Great news from TNS! Automotive companies are finally striking a chord with their social responsibility programmes in emerging markets. A great step towards building some strong local ties that can aid the production of cheap cars in the future. The 2006 Global Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) study, which was conducted in March and April across 16 countries, reveals that emerging markets such as Thailand, India, and China rate automotive companies higher in regards to corporate social responsibility than mature markets of the west. The study...

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Robotic cars driving inside city limits

Seven months after an unmanned Volkswagen successfully drove itself over the rugged Mojave Desert, the Pentagon is sponsoring another challenge for self-driving vehicles that can weave through congested city traffic without causing an accident. The contest, to be held in November 2007, will test the vehicles' ability to independently carry out a simulated military supply mission in an urban setting in less than six hours. The Pentagon's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA, created the latest challenge to spur development of vehicles...

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New York Auto Show

Anyone with a car has seen the upward drift of gas prices, which have jumped an average of 17 cents in the past two weeks. And the auto industry is watching that trend closely, rolling out a variety of more economic, fuel-efficient vehicles.They're on display at the New York International Auto Show at the Jacob Javitz Center. Hybrids are getting a lot of attention this year, offering electric power assist for lower gas usage. And the other flavor of the moment is the crossover utility vehicle, or CUV. This is the fastest-growing sector in the United...

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New York debut of Saturn PreVue

The PreVue seems like a glimpse of a possible future design direction for the Saturn brand as it tries to broaden its appeal to include sportier vehicles notes the Auto Blog. Sharp-eyed readers will recognize the PreVue as a rebadged Opel Antara GTC concept from last year's Frankfurt Motor Show, more evidence, if any were needed, of General Motors'...

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Saving private US auto industry

The accelerating woes of Ford and General Motors and the ongoing crisis in auto parts have produced vows from Detroit that business-as-usual won't continue. Yet unless U.S. trade policy changes, too, and Washington imposes sweeping emergency tariffs on imports of manufactured goods, the American-owned automotive industry will soon disappear, and along with it much of the rest of America's core manufacturing. For a quarter-century, Washington has dodged the biggest trade problem plaguing domestic automotive producers: an import tidal wave of...

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Motorola in automotive electronics sale

Motorola Inc. said Monday it is selling its automotive electronics business to Continental AG.The German tire company will pay about $1 billion for Motorola's auto electronics business, which generates about $1.6 billion in annual sales.The unit will join Continental's automotive systems division, which has annual sales of about $6.5 billion.The deal is expected to close in the first half of this year, pending customary closing and regulatory conditions.Motorola's automotive unit currently is a component of its Networks & Enterprise business...

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Chinese carmaker in Malaysia

China carmaker Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd’s plan to assemble its cars in Malaysia is now back on track, making it the first Chinese vehicle to be assembled here, after the government allowed a portion of its cars to be sold in the domestic market. The assembly of its 1.3 litre Geely CK1 sedan will be carried out via Information Gateway Corporation Sdn Bhd (IGC), a local company that holds the exclusive franchise to assemble, manufacture and distribute the China carmakers’ right-hand drive cars. Under the latest collaboration, IGC will sell...

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