Latest automotive comment

COMMENT: No red carpet as CGT blasts Paris on PSA 26 Feb 2014

Simon Warburton

I don't know why I should be surprised, but the comments from France's Confederation Generale du Travail (CGT) union this week, were, well, breathtaking.

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GOLDING'S TAKE: Dinner with Duncan 25 Feb 2014

Rob Golding

So to Kettners in London's Soho, an eatery with private rooms much loved by corporate entertainers who want to engage the attention of the Press for a couple of hours.

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COMMENT: What a gas! Is CNG as green as portrayed? 24 Feb 2014

Dave Leggett

The boom in natural gas production in the US is leading to a surge in interest in running vehicles on the stuff. In theory, compressed natural gas is significantly cheaper than petrol and emits less greenhouse gases than conventionally powered cars.

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THE WEEK THAT WAS: Not the Porsche GT3's week 21 Feb 2014

Graeme Roberts

'Twas not a good week to be the owner of a shiny new Porsche GT3.

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GOLDING'S TAKE: Rule 1: never let a family run a car company 20 Feb 2014

Rob Golding

Ford went to a lot of trouble to prove the wisdom of Rule 1 and only when the Ford dynasty and every one of the Henrys were chased out of the power house did the company's full potential emerge.

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COMMENT: New AvtoVAZ broom sweeps the stable 20 Feb 2014

Simon Warburton

It hasn't taken long for new AvtoVAZ CEO, Bo Andersson to stamp his mark on the Russian automaker.

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COMMENT: New AvtoVAZ broom sweeps the stable 20 Feb 2014

Simon Warburton

It hasn't taken long for new AvtoVAZ CEO, Bo Andersson to stamp his mark on the Russian autoamker.

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COMMENT: Are Detroit OEMs heading for extinction if Apple acquires Tesla? 20 Feb 2014

Guest author

Frost & Sullivan automotive and transportation team leader Prana Tharthiharan believes that Detroit OEMs are in trouble if Apple acquires Tesla and thinks that the rumours surrounding this potential acquisition have some fire behind them.

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COMMENT: France state of intent to PSA 19 Feb 2014

Simon Warburton

After months of shadow boxing, PSA Peugeot-Citroen finally confirmed today (19 February) what the market had widely anticipated, namely a massive three-way cash injection that will see EUR3bn (US$4.1bn) pumped into the automaker.

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COMMENT: US splits north/south on union issue? 17 Feb 2014

Simon Warburton

Well, who saw that one coming? Not me certainly - I thought the UAW would sweep all before it in its aim to secure representation for the 1,500 or staff at Volkswagen's Chattanooga plant in Tennessee.

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THE WEEK THAT WAS: Noticed anything different? 14 Feb 2014

Graeme Roberts

Just in case you haven't noticed yet, just-auto.com has a new look. Take a bow, the inhouse team that developed it all (including the systems we editorial bods use to publish stuff like this) and, unlike some 'techies' I have worked with, respond to constructive complaints with regular tweaks to the software rather than machine gun fire.

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COMMENT: Chattanooga vote to sway American south? 14 Feb 2014

Simon Warburton

In what could be a landmark vote for the Southern States of America, Volkswagen's staff at its Chattanooga plant in Tennessee are going to the polls to determine if they wish to be represented by the UAW.

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COMMENT: Australia deals with painful auto troika exit 12 Feb 2014

Simon Warburton

So they've all broken ranks now. Holden, Ford and now Toyota, have all announced they intend to quit manufacturing in Australia, with the Japanese automaker the latest to announce its departure from the 'lucky country' and pack its bags, at least from a manufacturing standpoint.

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COMMENT: How will 'highly autonomous' really look in 2020? 11 Feb 2014

Dave Leggett

The roadmap and timeline to the fully autonomous vehicle remains far from clear. Renault has, helpfully, provided a little clarity on its strategy to introduce vehicles with some autonomous control capability by 2020.

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COMMENT: Toyota Australia closure inevitable and ironic 10 Feb 2014

Graeme Roberts

Toyota Australia's announcement of the planned end of local manufacturing in 2017 was both inevitiable and ironic.

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COMMENT: MEDEF stirs the pot in Tehran 7 Feb 2014

Simon Warburton

France's association of businesses (MEDEF) appears to have stirred up one huge hornet's nest this week with its visit to Iran that included elements believed to be from PSA Peugeot-Citroen and Renault.

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THE WEEK THAT WAS: Ingenuity rewarded 7 Feb 2014

Graeme Roberts

No matter who makes what using what, there's always a boffin or two in a lab somewhere figuring out a new way of doing it. That was my thought on sighting a bit of news from Hyundai Motor's Kia affiliate this week.

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COMMENT: Delhi show much improved 7 Feb 2014

Chris Wright

From the last event two years ago, you have to say the Delhi Auto Expo has moved up a notch.

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COMMENT: Aston Martin recall - challenges of globalisation 7 Feb 2014

Guest author

Aston Martin produces some of the world's most highly engineered cars, and its reputation stands on the quality of those vehicles. The news this week, therefore, that the company has to recall the majority of vehicles it has made since 2007 will come as a shock, writes Brian Balmer, industry principal for performance materials at research firm Frost & Sullivan.

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COMMENT: Ghosn steps up Renault-Nissan integration 3 Feb 2014

Dave Leggett

The Renault-Nissan Alliance has undoubtedly been an automotive industry success story. In its fifteen years of existence, the alliance of the two has brought big benefits for both participants in terms of components procurement, scale economies and shared engineering costs.