Automaker and Dealers (227)
Honda's Largest Ever Recall Now Involves 2.8M Vehicles
Written by staffHonda has widened its biggest recall to fix flaws related to airbags in models including the Civic and Accord produced as long as ten years ago. Previously the company announced it was calling back 304,000 vehicles made in 2001 and 2002, including the Accord, Civic, Odyssey and CR-V. The recall now covers an additional 917,267 vehicles worldwide, said spokesman Keitaro Yamamoto. That brings the total to more than 2.77 million, the company's biggest recall for an individual flaw. More than 90 percent of the affected vehicles are in the United States.
Honda has also determined that approximately 640 affected driver’s airbag service parts were sold and installed in vehicles that needed these parts replaced from collision repairs. The automaker will inspect approximately 603,000 vehicles because they cannot determine which vehicles these service parts were installed in. Honda will replace the parts in the affected vehicles following the inspection. This recall now includes certain 2001 and 2002 Accord, 2001 to 2003 Civic, 2001 to 2003 Odyssey, 2002 and 2003 CR-V, 2003 Pilot, 2002 and 2003 Acura 3.2 TL and 2003 Acura 3.2 CL vehicles.
"Affected driver's airbag inflators may deploy with too much pressure, which can cause the inflator casing to rupture and could result in injury or fatality," the company said in a statement.
Magna Announces Camera-based Driver Assistance System
Written by staffMagna International Inc. announced Dec 1 that its Magna Electronics operating unit, in conjunction with Mobileye, its partner for image processing, has developed an innovative driver assistance system that uses a single, forward-looking video camera to provide safety and convenience features such as forward collision and lane departure warnings. More affordable than comparable systems, the Magna system has recently launched on General Motors vehicles in the North American market, available as an option on the 2012 Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain.
Nissan has announced that it has sold 20,000 units of its electric car LEAF worldwide and is on track to sell 10,000 units in the United States by the end of this year. Of the total number, about 60% were sold in the US. This compares to about 5,000 copies of the Chevy Volt.
GM has announced that it will buy back any Volt from a dissatisfied customer, according to an interview in the Associated Press. CEO Dan Akerson insisted Dec. 1 that the cars are safe, but said the company will repurchase the Volts because it wants to keep customers happy. Three fires have broken out in Volts after side-impact crash tests done by the federal government.
Akerson said that if necessary, GM will recall the more than 6,000 Volts now on the road in the U.S. and repair them once the company and federal safety regulators figure out what caused the fires.
The company also may redesign the battery for its Volt to address issues raised after federal officials opened a safety probe into the plug-in electric car, CEO Dan Akerson said.
"We want to assure the safety of our customers, of our buyers, and so we're just going to take a time out, if you will, in terms of redesigning the battery possibly," Akerson told Reuters in a separate interview.
GM said it would offer loaner vehicles to about 5,500 Volt owners as it works with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on ways to reduce the risk of battery fires breaking out days after crashes involving the car.
The steps came in response to a decision by NHTSA to open an investigation into the safety of the Volt's battery pack. A lithium-ion battery pack in a Volt that had been through a crash test in May caught fire three weeks later at a test facility in Wisconsin, according to NHTSA.
In lab tests completed last week by U.S. safety regulators, a second Volt pack began to smoke and throw off sparks while a third battery pack caught fire a week after a simulated crash.
Automotive News has reported that General Motors said that it will provide free loaner vehicles to Chevrolet Volt owners to offer "peace of mind" as federal safety regulators investigate fires that have occurred in the plug-in hybrid's battery pack after crash testing.
In a conference call with the media, General Motors executives tried to tamp down growing concerns over the Volt's safety after officials from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on Friday opened a formal investigation into the risk of fire in Volts that have been involved in severe crashes.
"I believe in the safety of the Volt," said Mark Reuss, GM president of North America. "Our customers' peace of mind is the most important thing. This technology should inspire confidence and pride, not raise any concern or doubt."
Second Chevy Volt Post-Crash Fire Prompts NHTSA Investigation
Written by staffThe National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said it will be opening a formal defect investigation into the risk of fire in Chevy Volts following a serious crash after the agency was able to reproduce the events that led to the initial Volt fire, and had a second car ignite last week.
This past May, NHTSA crashed a Chevy Volt. During that test, the vehicle's battery was damaged and the coolant line was ruptured. When a fire involving the test vehicle occurred more than three weeks after it was crashed, the agency concluded that the damage to the vehicle's lithium-ion battery during the crash test led to the fire.
Chinese firms Pang Da Automobile Trade Co. and Zhejiang Youngman Lotus Automobile Co. have agreed to buy Saab for 100 million euros ($142 million), according to reports in Automotive News.
Saab owner, Swedish Automobile, said on Oct. 28 that it has entered into a memorandum of understanding to sell 100 percent of the shares of Saab to the Chinese companies. The memorandum of understanding is valid until November 15, provided Saab stays in reorganization. Swedish Automobile said Saab's administrator, Guy Lofalk, has withdrawn his application to a Swedish court for Saab to exit reorganization. The court had been due later the same day to decide on Lofalk's application.
Swedish Automobile said an important part of the deal "is the commitment of Pang Da and Youngman to provide long term funding to Saab Automobile."
Pang Da and Youngman will provide sufficient financing so that a court-backed reconstruction process under creditor protection can continue, a court document showed.
Nissan Announces New Certified Collision Repair Program Open to Dealers and Independent Shops
Written by staffNissan North America, Inc. (NNA) launched its nationwide Nissan Certified Collision Repair Network at NACE in Orlando. The new certification program is open to both dealer-owned and independent collision shops.
“There are growing numbers of owners who are enjoying the dependability, comfort, engineering and performance of Nissan vehicles every day,” said Mark Zoba, manager, Collision Parts, Part & Service Sales and Marketing, NNA. “These customers expect the highest level of consistent service, Genuine Nissan Parts, outstanding technical expertise and work done correctly in a skillful, efficient and careful manner. This means they expect prompt, professional, dependable service –which the certification process is designed to promote.”
Chrysler’s Southeast & Southwest Business Centers’ 2011 Service and Parts Business Conference and Expo Held in Orlando, FL
Written by StaffChrysler’s Southeast & Southwest Service & Parts Business Conference was held at the Disney Contemporary Resort in Orlando from October 12 through 14. More than 375 dealers, parts managers, and service managers enrolled in the conference; representing over 240 of the highest volume dealerships in the country.
To view a PDF of this article please click HERE.
The 3-day conference provided numerous educational sessions specific to dealer principals, service managers and parts managers as well as a vendor expo. This is the third year that the show has combined representatives from their southwest and southeast regions into one show—previously each region had separate shows.
The first day of the conference was kicked-off by Frank Lasater, SEBC Service and Parts Manager, and Bill Harry, SWBC Service and Parts Manager. Rolf Assmuth, V.P. Technical Service Operation, followed with a Service Operations Update and a Mopar Parts Update by Jim Sassorossi, Director, Mopar Field Service & Parts, concluded the morning.
The afternoon sessions included Mopar Brand Vision by Trish Hecker, Director Mopar Marketing, and Disney’s Approach to Business Excellence by Jeff Noel from the Disney Institute.
The second day of the conference provided over twenty Service, Parts and Dealer Principal break-out sessions for the attendees to choose from. This year's conference offered more flexible and diverse education sessions as a result of attendee feedback from the previous years. This allowed attendees to better adapt their sessions to their individual needs, resulting in more dealer principals and managers in attendance than any previous conference.
There was also a Vendor Expo Thursday night with over 100 vendors participating.
The conference wrapped up on Friday with various presentations by industry experts and closing remarks from Frank Lasater, SEBC Service & Parts Manager.
Automotive News is reporting that the UAW has ratified a four-year labor agreement with General Motors by a 2-to-1 margin -- marking another milestone in the automaker's post-bankruptcy restructuring.
The union, in a statement, said the vote was 65 percent in favor of the agreement among production workers. Among skilled trades workers who voted, 63 percent approved the deal, the UAW said.
The union reached a tentative agreement with GM on Sept. 16.
GM is the first of Detroit's three automakers to negotiate a settlement with the union. The UAW is now engaged in final talks to secure a labor accord with Ford Motor Co. The union's contract with Chrysler has been extended through Oct. 19.
GM CEO Dan Akerson and CFO Dan Ammann plan to brief financial analysts on terms of the deal at 2 p.m. ET today.
Under the pact, GM's 48,000 hourly workers have traded the promise of generous pay and benefits for job security and compensation gains that are more closely tied to the automaker's health, profitability and quality advances
A Swedish court has rejected an application by ailing carmaker Saab for protection from creditors to give it breathing space to solve a cash crisis and get funds from Chinese investors. Saab says it has commitments for additional short-term funding.
The Vanersborg district court in western Sweden said in a statement on its Web site that there was no reason to believe a new creditor protection process, known as a reconstruction, would work. Saab went through the process in 2009-2010 when it was owned by General Motors Co.
The company says it is looking for short-term stability while it seeks additional equity funding. The reorganization would have been self-managed but headed by an independent administrator appointed by the court. Under Swedish law the plan must be presented to creditors within three weeks of the filing and the plan would be executed over a period of three months.
