just-auto.com hot topics
US: Light truck market down 21% in April - (2nd May 2008)
US light vehicle sales in April fell to about 14.44m units on an annualised and seasonally adjusted basis according to Autodata Corp data. April’s market decline came against a backdrop of US economic worries and reflected a collapse in light truck sales.
GOLDING’S TAKE: A new look at the three ugly sisters - (29th April 2008)
Turns out there were three ugly sisters after all. Cinderella was easy to identify. She was better known to her sisters in the Ford family as Aston, named after the car of that name because she was so beautiful and made lots of money (no, no boys, not in that way).
BEIJING SHOW: China’s biggest car show joins the A-list - (25th April 2008)
It used to be just Frankfurt, Geneva, Paris, Tokyo and Detroit. But now Beijing has jumped over the red VIP rope to gain ‘A-list’ global motor show status from key carmakers like General Motors who, along with its joint ventures, showed 42 models including the Buick Invicta concept.
RESEARCH: Low-cost cars: opportunities and challenges - (11th April 2008)
It’s the hottest of hot topics – but it’s open to the widest of interpretations, writes Mark Bursa. What, exactly, is a low-cost car? The Dacia Logan? Fiat Palio? Toyota Aygo? Tata Nano? Maruti 800? Lada Zhiguli? Or a five-year-old VW Golf?
FEATURE: Ten useful things to know about Tata - (2nd April 2008)
As Tata makes headlines with the purchase of Jaguar-Land Rover from Ford, we’ve put together a short list of things that are useful to know about the Tata Group and its automotive unit.
Q&A with Tesla's 'Car Guy' - (27th March 2008)
Malcom Powell is VP Vehicle Integration at Tesla Motors, the California-based technology firm developing an electric sports car that will be contract manufactured by Lotus in Hethel. He is responsible for the engineering of the car and ensuring that it meets all the necessary standards prior to entering production. just-auto’s Dave Leggett interviewed him in January on behalf of the Lotus Engineering magazine proActive where this article first appeared.
FEATURE: BMW's calm before the ‘double cone cyclone’ - (20th March 2008)
If, as a brand, you are going to have a spiritual home that lives in the real world, it makes sense for that real world construct to share the same values, writes Dave Leggett. The BMW brand’s spiritual home is not likely to be a modest affair then, is it?
EXCLUSIVE: Chevrolet Volt to get limited US launch in 2010 - (12th March 2008)
Although General Motors is sticking by its goal of launching the Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid in the US in 2010, one of the company’s top executives has admitted to just-auto that it will be a severely limited launch at first.
GENEVA MOTOR SHOW - (4th March 2008)
Motor Shows are always glitzy affairs and this year's 78th international show in Geneva is as glitzy as ever. In the background to this year's show are industry concerns over recession in the US, high oil prices and increasing environmental pressures. Perhaps unsurprisingly, small cars are taking centre stage and the Green theme picks up where Frankfurt, Tokyo and Detroit left off.
RUSSIA: Renault signs for AvtoVAZ stake - (29th February 2008)
Renault has signed an agreement to buy 25% of AvtoVAZ, Russia's largest carmaker, for over $US1bn.
