Chrysler LLC announced yesterday that, it is “exploring strategic options for the Dodge Viper business,” which could also include the sale of the brand in near future.

Bob Nardelli, Chrysler’s Chairman and CEO, said that the company has “been approached by third parties who are interested in exploring future possibilities for Viper.”

According to the company, “This strategic review comes as the Company focuses on enhancing its core business and leveraging its assets.” Read the rest of this entry »

In November, Ford Motor Co. will drop one of two production shifts at its Chicago assembly plant. The move will result in the loss of jobs of 600 part-time workers. The plant employs a total of 2,175 hourly workers.

The Chicago assembly plant makes the Ford Taurus X crossover, Mercury Sable and Lincoln MKS. Reportedly, the production at the plant fell 15 percent last year to 131,646, which was half of the plant’s capacity for two shifts. The company said, the sales of Ford, Mercury and Lincoln cars dropped almost 9 percent in August from a year ago. Ford’s overall U.S. sales were down 26.5 percent, as compared to last year. Read the rest of this entry »

Although, the much anticipated 2010 Ford Mustang will debut later this year, Ford has released an image of the new Mustang logo. The updated pony looks more defined and muscular. Ford says the new pony is “faster looking,” with sharper and more defined edges.

“We wanted to give the Mustang pony a more realistic feel,” said Douglas Gaffka, chief designer for the 2010 Mustang. “We lifted the head to make the pony more proud, tipped the neck into the wind to give it a feeling of greater speed and better balance. It’s more chiseled and more defined and looks more like a wild horse.” Read the rest of this entry »

Stephen Odell, the Chief Operating Officer of Ford of Europe will replace the Fredrick Arp as President and Chief Executive Officer of Volvo Car Corporation, said Ford Motor Co. Odell will take over the charge on October 1, who will report to Ford of Europe and Volvo Chairman Lewis Booth. Odell will be responsible for the global operations of Volvo, out of its headquarters in Gothenburg, Sweden.

“Stephen Odell brings to Volvo a wealth of experience of strong leadership in the automotive industry,” said Alan Mulally, President and CEO of Ford Motor Co. Read the rest of this entry »

In a recent press event, Derrick Kuzak, the product development chief of Ford Motor Co. said the company is considering an inclusion of a new compact crossover vehicle  to its luxury brand, Lincoln. “We do think that there is room for a smaller car in the Lincoln brand,” he said.

The Lincoln brand might get the C-segment car at the same time, when it will replace the Ford Escape early next decade. However, Kuzak didn’t go into details, but the upcoming car is likely to be based on the European Ford Kuga crossover vehicle. Read the rest of this entry »

General Motors announced that it will unveil a production version of its Chevrolet Volt  later this month, as part of the company’s centennial celebration. The automaker will celebrate the 100th anniversary on September 16. The preview of the plug-in hybrid will be shown to employees and media at the company’s headquarters in Detroit.

“The rumors that a production version of the Volt will show up at the celebrations are true,” said an inside GM source. “The car will be a true representation of what the production version looks like and be somewhat different from the concept versions.” Read the rest of this entry »

August proved to be a very difficult month for Toyota and the Detroit 3. Nissan Motor Co., on the other hand managed to post a solid gain in terms of its US Sales. Their sales are up 1 percent for the year to date. The company confirmed that its US sales rose by a huge margin of 13.6% in the month of August, to 108,493 vehicles, due to the increased demand for large trucks and SUVs.

Nissan-brand sales were up 14.2 percent to 97,417 vehicles in August, driven by a 32.6 percent jump in light-truck sales, Al Castignetti, who is the vice president and general manager of Nissan Division, told Reuters. Read the rest of this entry »

General Motors has released a teaser picture of the 2010 Buick LaCrosse sedan on late Monday. However, the automaker confirmed that the new sedan would make its world debut at the upcoming Los Angeles Auto Show in November.

The teaser image reveals the logo and a portion of the grill of the car. The Buick LaCrosse is the smallest of all Buick sedans, which resembles the design of the Buick Invicta. GM vice chairman Bob Lutz said that the LaCrosse will use the FWD Delta II platform.

The production of the LaCrosse is expected to start at GM’s Fairfax plant in Kansas, in early 2009. The crossover vehicle will be a global car, which will also build in China with GM’s local partner, Shanghai Auto. Read the rest of this entry »

In an effort to boost the residual values of used cars, General Motor Corp. plans to add new warranty coverage to its used vehicles. The automaker will provide a fully transferable 12-month/12-mile ‘bumper to bumper’ warranty from the time of purchase with no deductible on all GM Certified Used Vehicles and Saturn Certified Pre-Owned Vehicles sold in the United States, announced the company.

The company believes that the new program will help expand sales of its used cars, while at the same time improving residual values. Reportedly GMAC the finance arm of GM has faced major losses in recent months due to plummeting residual values of its leased vehicles, caused by high oil prices, weak economy and shifting consumer preference towards smaller, more fuel-efficient cars. Read the rest of this entry »

Honda Motor Co. is all set to launch the 2009 Honda Fit that will hit the automaker’s dealers on August 26, 2008. Earlier, it was slated to launch on October 1.

The automaker decided to bump up the launch of the subcompact car, as the company is practically sold out of the 2008 model.

“We basically increased supply as much as we could to meet demand, and we were still going to be sold out of the 2008 model,” said Honda spokesman Chris Martin. “We had to do something so that our dealers would not be without the small cars that buyers are seeking,” he added. Read the rest of this entry »