DETROIT and ANDERSON, Ind. — Tuesday marked the first funding action by the newly formed General Motors Ventures, a strategic relationship between Bright Automotive and General Motors. The agreement with the Indiana automaker is intended to help accelerate Bright's production of the IDEA, a plug-in hybrid commercial vehicle. Executives explained the companies signed a memorandum of […] [Read More]

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Delivering one of the keynote addresses at the National Automobile Dealers Association Convention & Expo in February will be Jim Lentz, president and chief operating officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Lentz will offer the industry message during the formal opening of the 94th Annual NADA Show. The conference is slated for Feb. 5-7 in […] [Read More]

DEARBORN, Mich. — Volvo Car Corp. is now officially under new ownership. The sale of the Swedish car brand from Ford to Zhejiang Geely Holding Group has wrapped up, and the Chinese company now owns 100 percent of Volvo Cars. It was also revealed that taking the reigns atop Volvo Cars as president and chief executive officer will be Stefan […] [Read More]

DETROIT and WASHINGTON, D.C. — As President Obama walked through General Motors and Chrysler manufacturing facilities late last week, the White House sent out a report about its cumulative efforts to resuscitate the industry. The administration stressed throughout a document titled "The American Auto Industry: A Comeback Story" that had federal officials not swooped in with […] [Read More]

DETROIT — General Motors has discovered that almost two-thirds of Chevrolet Equinox and Traverse buyers are new to the brand. In fact, almost half of all buyers who turn to these models are conquest sales taken away from other automakers. The majority of these Chevy buyers are apparently trading in non-Chevrolet vehicles so far this year. In addition, the company indicated […] [Read More]

MEDFORD, Ore. — Along with naming a new chief financial officer, Lithia Motors announced strong vehicle sales performances of both used and new units resulted in net income gains during the second quarter. Revealed last week during its regular financial report, Lithia indicated its 2010 adjusted second-quarter net income from continuing operations came in at 27 […] [Read More]

TOYOTA CITY, Japan — Since the company is spread throughout the globe, Toyota Motor Corp. has made significant management changes aimed at moving local personnel to senior management positions in North America and Europe. Toyota believes that making these changes puts in place management structures capable of more rapidly and accurately grasping local conditions and identifying local needs. […] [Read More]

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif. and McLEAN, Va. — New-vehicle retail sales apparently are limping to the finish as June closes. J.D. Power and Associates indicated on Wednesday that weakness seen earlier in the month has progressed at an accelerated rate. As a result, J.D. Power believes the selling rate has dipped below 8.5 million units, according to […] [Read More]

FRANKLIN, Tenn. — Looking at the company's outreach efforts, Nissan North American on Wednesday discussed the recent endeavors of its Nissan Foundation, which gave nonprofits throughout the U.S. a grand total of $578,500 in grants. These nonprofits are located in middle Tennessee, northeast Texas, south central Mississippi and southern California, as well as the Atlanta, […] [Read More]

BLOOMFIELD HILLS, Mich. — Penske Automotive Group reported double-digit improvement in several areas of its second-quarter performance, including a substantial gain in income from continuing operations attributable to common shareholders. Specifically, Penske said that particular item totaled $29.2 million, up from $19.8 million in during the year-ago period. The group enjoyed a 16.6-percent upswing in total […] [Read More]