Auto suppliers under bankruptcy protection
The News Review:
- Auto suppliers under bankruptcy protection
- Porsche buy launches VW drive for world domination
- Advance Auto’s Do-It-Yourself Sales vershadow Strong 2Q
- FREE PRESS AUT CRITIC
- State Auto Financial declares 15-cent dividend
- Auto clubs allow drivers with a taste for luxury to test high-end …
Auto suppliers under bankruptcy protection
The Associated Press
has asked a Delaware bankruptcy judge for permission to cut health and life insurance benefits for thousands of current and former workers. Judge Christopher Sontchi said Friday that he needs time to consider the evidence and arguments. While the Van Buren Township Mich. -based company acknowledged that cutting off the benefits would cause hardship for some people it claims the benefits are one of its largest liabilities and keeping them in place would make it tough for the company to reorganize.
Porsche buy launches VW drive for world domination
AFP
Volkswagen already Europe’s biggest automaker and Porsche maker of the legendary 911 sports car agreed to a tie-up late Thursday after nearly four years of brinkmanship and infighting. The full acquisition which will also entail the Gulf state of Qatar taking a stake in Porsche and which VW estimates will produce three billion euros (four billion dollars) in synergies should be complete by 2011. It closes an ugly chapter in the history of Germany’s illustrious auto sector that began in late 2005 when two of the industry’s biggest names crossed swords in a duel for control of the empire. In the beginning it was Porsche that sought to buy VW in a bid to drive down the average carbon dioxide emissions of its fleet before new European anti-pollution legislation comes into effect in 2012. VW’s efficient Polo and Skoda models were to offset Porsche’s greenhouse-gas-spewing muscle cars. Porsche which already uses VW assembly lines also aimed to protect its powerful but insular partner against potential foreign investors. The Stuttgart-based manufacturer tried to acquire 75 percent of the shares in VW but the attempt backfired in May against the backdrop of the financial crisis which hit the auto market hard and produced a crippling credit crunch.
Related from Zxyangchen: Porsche opens door on sedan market
Advance Auto’s Do-It-Yourself Sales vershadow Strong 2Q
Wall Street Journal
(AAP) fell Thursday dragging down its competitors as investors were disappointed by the retailer’s do-it-yourself sales in the last quarter. The do-it-yourself same-store sales figures overshadowed what otherwise was a strong quarter for the company with earnings per share excluding items beating estimates and gross margin showing strong growth. But the do-it-yourself sales – also referred to as retail sales – made investors skittish since that business generates 70% of Advance Auto’s revenue. The rest of sales come from the commerical division which sells directly to garages. The figures also weighed.
FREE PRESS AUT CRITIC
Detroit Free Press
He was amazed by Saturday’s gathering of cars and sightseers: “It’s great to see the people of Detroit celebrating cars in such a difficult year. “From Ford Model A’s to tail-finned Cadillacs the 2009 Dream Cruise was also a reminder that great design and engineering endure and that Detroit has produced plenty of both. It was a welcome message to a region that has suffered unprecedented job cuts bankruptcies and political humiliation as the auto industry struggled. “I’m not trying to figure out the history of how we got here. I’m just trying to make a small difference” said A. ‘Neil proprietor of A.
State Auto Financial declares 15-cent dividend
The Associated Press
a property and casualty insurance holding company said Friday that its board declared a regular quarterly cash dividend of 15 cents. The dividend will be paid on Sept. 30 to shareholders of record as of Sept.
Auto clubs allow drivers with a taste for luxury to test high-end …
The Star-Ledger – NJ.com
For a fee of $29000 a year he can have access to a dozen exotic cars at the Vulcan Motor Club in Chester — a fair price he said considering his choices include new releases like the $495000 Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren and the $100000-plus electric Tesla Roadster. While the rest of the auto industry struggles the high-end car rental industry appears to be gathering speed in New Jersey where at least a handful of exotic-car clubs and their multimillion-dollar fleets are headquartered. Company owners say a growing number of consumers are renting the sleek glossy vehicles for joyrides and daylong outings. “We’re in a renter’s market” said Vulcan co-founder Tom Mizzone who estimates business is up 60 percent this year and the number of annual members has grown to nearly 100. Exotic car clubs charge either by a single-day rate ranging from several hundred dollars to several thousand dollars or by membership a timeshare-like arrangement that costs $10000 to $50000 for 20 to 80 driving days a year. That makes them attractive to a surprisingly wide swath of customers from casual drivers to car aficionados who drive the brightly colored exotics to country clubs Manhattan theatres Atlantic City casinos and Cape Cod beaches.
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