Official: Lotus ramps up Indy racing program with Bourdais and Legge

Filed under: Motorsports , Lotus , Misc. Auto Shows The only thing more ambitious than Lotus and its expansive new product plan is the company’s racing program. In the span of just a few years, the British automaker has launched forays into Formula One , IndyCar , endurance sportscar racing and even karting , all with its own factory-backed works initiatives. And in true Lotus style, it’s not showing any signs of slowing down any time soon.

See more here:
Official: Lotus ramps up Indy racing program with Bourdais and Legge

Report: China’s Youngman to wage new bid for Saab

Filed under: China , Europe , GM , Saab , Earnings/Financials Ladies and gentlemen, those of you preparing to leave the theater because you thought the Saab opera was over, well, take a seat. After sinking a fair bit of money into the troubled Swedish automaker while chasing the deal, Youngman isn’t ready to walk away. According to Reuters, the Chinese firm is ready to make a new bid for the Swedish brand as soon as next week, and it could be worth more than a billion Euros.

Here is the original post:
Report: China’s Youngman to wage new bid for Saab

Report: Massive auto parts price fixing probe spreads to four continents

Filed under: Etc. , Europe , Government/Legal , Japan , Earnings/Financials , Australia Investigators are currently expanding the scope of an automotive component price fixing probe. Officials in Australia , the U.S., Europe and Japan are collaborating to discern the breadth of the issue. So far, 20 automotive suppliers have been identified as being part of the investigation, though it’s thought that authorities are looking into a significantly larger number of companies.

See more here:
Report: Massive auto parts price fixing probe spreads to four continents

Report: Saab owners, employees, dealers and suppliers trying to figure out what comes next [w/video]

Filed under: Europe , Government/Legal , Videos , Saab , Earnings/Financials They’re called uncharted waters, and everyone who has anything to do with Saab is floating in them. It’s been a while since a global, decades-old automotive brand went bankrupt and wasn’t rescued or provided immediate after-death care by a corporate parent, but that’s the case with Saab, and no one’s quite sure – not the company itself, nor dealers, nor employees, and certainly not customers – how this plays out. There’s the outside chance that another (presumably non-Chinese) company could swoop in and purchase the brand whole before the liquidation process takes hold, but as this didn’t happen earlier, there’s little reason to think that a white knight can be found at this late date.The bankruptcy has been filed and two receivers have been named, but there isn’t even a timetable for who’s going to get what, or what to do while everyone waits.

Read the rest here:
Report: Saab owners, employees, dealers and suppliers trying to figure out what comes next [w/video]

Report: "Old GM" quietly dead and buried

Filed under: Government/Legal , Earnings/Financials After 103 years of stratospheric heights and immeasurable lows, General Motors Corp. has died. Motors Liquidation Co., or “Old GM,” as it became known during the 2009 bankruptcy reorganization, was quietly dissolved on Thursday, Dec. 15, taking the company’s bad debts and liabilities along with it.

Read more:
Report: "Old GM" quietly dead and buried

Report: Chevy Cruze production in Lordstown to restart today

Filed under: Budget , Sedan , Plants/Manufacturing , Chevrolet , GM The Detroit News reports that General Motors will resume full production of the Chevrolet Cruze today, after a supplier issue caused a production snarl at its Lordstown, Ohio facility earlier this week . On Tuesday, the Lordstown facility’s third shift was put on hold, and both the first and second shifts were shortened. Full production will resume when third shift workers arrive tonight, and GM states that employees scheduled to work the first and second shifts on Friday should report at their regularly scheduled times.

Continued here:
Report: Chevy Cruze production in Lordstown to restart today