Plants/Manufacturing


Porsche cancels Boxster/Cayman production contract, Magna wants cash

Shortly after the Boxster debuted in 1996, Porsche contracted with Valmet Automotive of Finland as a second production source for the sports car, and a few years later, employed the facili along with the Cayman coupe. In 2008 Porsche decided that it would shift that production contract from Valmet to Magna International and its assembly plant in Graz Austria. Today, with Porsche being subsumed into the Volkswagen Group, the sports car maker has decided to cancel the Magna deal. With Volkswagen now buying up the remains of Karmann, the ... Read more →

REPORT: China's Changan delays plan to enter North American auto market Jonathon Ramsey

Changan is coming to America, just not yet. Aiming to establish a base in Mexico with which to move into the U.S. market, the Chinese automaker signed a deal last year to build a plant south of ...

BREAKING: Koenigsegg backs out of Saab purchase, brand future up in the air Chris Paukert

After riding in on a white horse, Koenigsegg Group AB has pulled out of negotiations to buy Saab from General Motors, leaving the Swedish automaker's future very much in doubt. In a brief ...

REPORT: Volkswagen confirms Karmann purchase, plans to build new car at factory in 2011 Michael Harley

Volkswagen AG has announced it will be establishing a new manufacturing unit in Osnabrueck, located in VW's home state of Lower Saxony, Germany. Interestingly enough, VW will be purchasing the ...

Dutch Exodus: Spyker relocating vehicle assembly to the UK Drew Phillips

In these tough times automakers are doing everything they can to cut costs. For Spyker, that means moving its vehicle assembly from its home country of the Netherlands to Coventry, England. How ...

Final Buell motorcycle assembled in Wisconsin 9 days ago on Autoblog

As far as motorcycle manufacturers go, Buell lived a relatively short life. Founded by a former Harley-Davidson engineer in 1993, the sportbike company was acquired by HDMC in 2003. But hard times falling on businesses large and small forced Harley to announce Buell's closure. And now the last ...

Hyundai reportedly shopping locations for third North American plant - in Mexico [UPDATE] 9 days ago on Autoblog

Hyundai is on a mission to expand its American market share. And so far, the going's been good for the Korean automaker, which has been taking the fight to its Japanese rivals with increasing ferocity. Now reports indicate that Hyundai-Kia is looking into building a third assembly plant in ...

REPORT: 65,000 seek jobs to build VW's New Midsize Sedan in Tennessee 10 days ago on Autoblog

You probably already know just how bad the employment situation is here in the States, and if you don't, nationwide unemployment is right around 10% – and that doesn't include those who took lower-paying part-time jobs in place of a lost full-time job. That's bad news for us, but at least ...

Autoblog builds an LS9 for someone's Corvette ZR1 11 days ago on Autoblog

When you think of brands like Aston Martin, Ferrari and AMG, the idea of their engines being built by the hands of skilled craftsmen is no great surprise. However, most people would be very surprised to learn that General Motors has its own special facility dedicated to building its highest ...

REPORT: Saab dealers 'running out of cars' 11 days ago on Autoblog

With new vehicle production at a trickle, and its dealer network slashed by a third, retailers of the Saab brand are finding inventory shrinking to drought levels. Some of the remaining dealers may even run out of new vehicles before replacements arrive. Point the blame towards the pending ...

REPORT: BMW X3 U.S. launch delayed by up to 6 months for custom order effort 11 days ago on Autoblog

According to BMW of North America's president, Jim O'Donnell, the Roundel crew will delay the launch of the 2011 BMW X3 by six months to establish a new customer ordering program and iron out which engines will be available in the States. The move will apparently make the customization of the ...

Hummer grinds gears: production of 2010 H3 and H3T resumes 16 days ago on Autoblog

Although the Hummer sale isn't officially official – which is to say, the Chinese authorities haven't told Tengzhong "Proceed!" – it is official enough that GM has restarted production of the 2010 H3 and H3T at its Shreveport, LA plant. General Motors didn't want to be stuck with ...

Autoblog Podcast #152 - Paukert enhanced! 17 days ago on Autoblog

The usual suspects of Chris, Sam, and Dan are joined this week by Autoblog Editor Extraordinaire Chris Paukert. It's a packed 'cast, starting with the apparent go-ahead of the Cadillac Converj. The future of the Dodge Viper figures in to a few minutes of debate, as does Chrysler's marathon ...

Renault-Nissan vows to build world's cheapest car? Nano-nah-nah-nah-nah! 17 days ago on Autoblog

The other day we alerted you to the "fact" that Ford will be releasing a brand new $650 car. But as does everything that sounds too good to be true, the car in question was a severely used (and dented) 1993 Ford Taurus, and the Wisconsin-based masters of parody at The Onion were behind the video, ...

REPORT: VW takes over #1 carmaker slot, sings "Wir sind die Meister, mein Freund" 18 days ago on Autoblog

It was a little more than a year ago when Volkswagen, because of Porsche's stock market finagling, briefly became the most valuable company in the world. This was just after it passed Ford for the number three slot in global sales. Now the big company that could – powered by the little car ...

REPORT: GM to invest C$100M in Ingersoll plant to boost GMC Terrain, Chevy Equinox volume 19 days ago on Autoblog

It's early, but so far, General Motors' 2010 Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain twins are exceeding sales expectations by enough of a margin that the automaker may have to shell out some serious coin to better-align production with demand. Reuters and the Toronto Star say GM will pay $100 million ...

Gordon Murray working on EV version of city car? 20 days ago on Autoblog

Gordon Murray's T25 city car looks pretty impressive on paper. It boasts higher cargo capacity and more seats (three) than a Smart Fortwo – and it promises to be built for maximum efficiency. According to Autocar, Gordon Murray says the T25 will be motivated by both naturally-aspirated and ...

REPORT: BAIC/Koenigsegg may produce Saab 9-5 in China 20 days ago on Autoblog

Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Co. (BAIC), announced as a minority partner in Koenigsegg's deal to purchase Saab from General Motors two months ago, plans to produce the Saab 9-5 on Chinese soil next year. The involvement of BAIC in the Saab transaction helps Koenigsegg close the deal and ...

REPORT: Tata may let other automakers build Nano 23 days ago on Autoblog

Tata Nano - Click above for high-res image gallery The Tata Nano has been in production since July, and during that time, Tata Motors has reportedly sold over 7,500 copies of its $2,500 car. The Indian automaker has plenty of potential customers for its inexpensive little econo-gem, but ...

They still make that? VW Golf Mk1 ends production after 25 years 24 days ago on Autoblog

The original Volkswagen Golf Mk1 arrived as a replacement to the Volkswagen Beetle way back in 1974. Sold in the States as the Volkswagen Rabbit, the early front-wheel-drive hatchback had a transverse-mounted (water-cooled) 1.5-liter four-cylinder rated at just 70 horsepower. It was good for a ...

Autoblog Podcast #151: With Eddie Alterman of Car and Driver 24 days ago on Autoblog

Abuelsamid, Lieberman, Roth and Shunk. Sounds like a law firm, but it's this week's podcast crew. Car and Driver editor-in-chief Eddie Alterman bravely wades into the pool and joins us for Episode #151 of the Autoblog Podcast, as well. We spend a goodly amount of time going over what's in ...

REPORT: Ford Kuga could come in Lincoln, Mercury flavors, replace Escape, be built in USA 25 days ago on Autoblog

How's this for an odd twist – Ford essentially kicked off the SUV craze with its Explorer, an embiggened four-door Ranger. And man, did we go crazy. Before the cheap-gas bubble burst, slightly more than half of all passenger vehicles sold here in America were SUVs. Just below the Explorer ...

Toyota plans to trim trucks, focus on hybrids, improve quality 25 days ago on Autoblog

Stick with what you know. That seems to be Toyota's new mantra going forward, as the Japanese automaker has reportedly diverted its attention away from large trucks like the largely unsuccessful and slow-selling Tundra pickup and back on hybrid vehicles – possibly all wearing the Prius ...

Ford and Canadian Auto Workers reportedly reach a deal 27 days ago on Autoblog

Ford Motor Company and the leadership of the Canadian Auto Workers union have reached a tentative agreement after a marathon four-day wrap-up to negotiations. Union membership needs to approve the deal, which will guarantee a Great White North presence for Ford until at least 2012. Voting is ...

REPORT: Toyota develops its own flower for cleaner air at Prius plant 29 days ago on Autoblog

Automakers make cars and trucks, no surprises there. Some even make other interesting things, like Honda, which also builds motorcycles, lawn mowers, jets, robots and solar cells. But until now, we haven't heard of any car company that develops its own species of flowers. Thankfully, Toyota has ...

REPORT: GM delays Chevy Cruze launch by three months 1 month ago on Autoblog

Like other automakers, General Motors would prefer to avoid the recall stigma that plagued first-year examples of rival Ford's Focus a decade ago. North American versions of that car were recalled five times in the first year to fix early production glitches. The new Chevrolet Cruze had been ...

Has VP Joe Biden leaked Fisker's product plan? 1 month ago on Autoblog

Regardless of what side of the political fence you find yourself on, it's hard to dispute that vice president Joe Biden has a reputation for saying more than he should. That's not always a good thing when you're privy to some of the most important secrets of what is arguably the most powerful nation ...

REPORT: Fiat may use next Chrysler 300 platform for Lancia, Maserati 1 month ago on Autoblog

The last time Chrysler and Maserati got together, America was blessed with what appeared to the entire world to be little more than a gussied-up two-seat Chrysler LeBaron convertible with a removable hardtop and opera-style windows. Apparently, since that last marriage between Detroit and Modena ...

Officially Official: Fisker buys GM's Wilmington Delaware plant 1 month ago on Autoblog

In Wilmington, Delaware this morning, Governor Jack Markell was joined by Vice President Joe Biden and Henrik Fisker (seen at right) for the official announcement about the purchase of General Motors' closed plant there. Fisker will re-tool the plant to build a new, more affordable plug-in hybrid ...

REPORT: Three Ford plants vote down new contract with UAW 1 month ago on Autoblog

Pattern bargaining is how things tend to be done in Detroit, a strategy which ensures that one automaker doesn't tend to get a plum deal at the expense of the other car builders in town. General Motors and Chrysler negotiated pretty hard with the United Auto Workers as part of the bailouts, and ...

REPORT: Mini 'Countryman' crossover skipping Detroit for Geneva? 1 month ago on Autoblog

Everyone is getting ready for the Mini Countryman -- including, perhaps, the WRC -- but everyone is going to have to wait, according to a report by those Mini-mad folks at Motoring File. The holdup is the upcoming BMW X3, which is BMW's foremost concern right now as the little crossover is ...

REPORT: Labor unrest in India to cause Ford to idle key NA crossover plant 1 month ago on Autoblog

Rico Auto Industries in India makes transmission parts for Ford's Flex and Edge, along with its upscale Lincoln MKT and MKX twins. Unfortunately for the Blue Oval, Automotive News is reporting that Rico's operations are in flux because of persistent troubles between labor and management. A few ...

Shreveport, LA mayor lobbies D.C. to close the HUMMER deal, already 1 month ago on Autoblog

Cedric Glover, the mayor of Shreveport, Louisiana, went to Washington, D.C. to plead his case for the sale of Hummer to Tengzhong. The only thing is, we're not sure why he went. To be more precise, we do know that he wants to protect jobs at GM's Shreveport plant that builds Hummers. The plant ...

U-S-A! Ford reportedly moving production of Kuga to America 1 month ago on Autoblog

The Ford Kuga is currently made in Europe and isn't available for sale here in the States, but if a report from Bloomberg is to be believed, the next Kuga could be produced in Louisville, Kentucky for sale both here and abroad. Bloomberg's sources claim that Ford plans to build as many as 80,000 ...

REPORT: Indian firm Reva to build electric cars in upstate NY 1 month ago on Autoblog

Sure, Syracuse, New York has the Carrier Dome, but if a pending deal between Indian electric car maker Reva and Long Island-based Bannon Automotive is finalized, the city may soon be known more for EV production. Bannon Automotive has been negotiating with India's Reva for months now, and the ...

REPORT: Honda likely to build Fit in the U.S. 1 month ago on Autoblog

What goes up, must come down. And in this situation, Japan's yen has gone up when compared to our dollar -- about eight percent since August. And with the yen's rise in value, the profitability of low margin cars like the Honda Fit goes down. Built in Japan, with the yen up, the strong-selling ...

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Autoblog Podcast #154: Gobbling up the News

Chris, Sam, and Dan kick out a podcast just in time for the long holiday drive.

 
 

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