Autoblog

Toyota Financial Services recently leaped over GMAC Financial services to take the lead as the biggest U.S. auto lender in terms of loan and lease contract volume. The study by AutoCount (a unit of the Experian Automotive company) estimates that Toyota captured 6.35% of the market from January through June, while GMAC had 6.2% for a close second place. Rounding out the top five were Chase Auto Finance, American Honda Finance, and Ford Credit (in that order).

As GMAC has made major cutbacks in leasing over the summer, many industry experts expect Toyota to hold its lead through the end of the year. A spokesperson from GMAC was quick to point out that the study did not include two wholly owned subsidiaries: Nuvel Credit and National Auto Finance. When those two companies are included, GMAC's share increases to 6.72 percent -- effectively placing them at the top again. While the automakers battle for the title position, the independent banks are the ones to watch. They've been steadily increasing their lending share as the Detroit 3 struggle with the rising costs of funds and declining credit ratings.

[Source: Automotive News, subs. req'd]

No matter how you slice it, a proposed $25 billion loan from the Feds is a bailout, and that's exactly what Detroit's Big Three automakers are after, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal.

Lobbyists for General Motors, Chrysler and Ford have met with White House officials, Rep. John Dingell and a smattering of Michigan Democrats to discuss the loan, with plans to unveil the proposal after Labor Day.

The plan includes lending $25 billion to automakers in its first year at an interest rate of 4.5 percent (about one-third of what the companies are currently paying), with the government having the option to defer any payment for up to five years.

Details are scarce, and naturally, GM, Ford and Chrysler reps aren't saying much, but if the automakers and the Feds are serious, expect more information to leak out before the proposal is officially announced.

[Source: WSJ, Photo by Tracy O | CC2.0]

In an effort to secure more capital and reduce debt, Ford plans to sell $500m in new stock. Ford will use the cash infusion to buy bonds from Ford Motor Credit, which has been struggling with the slow economy and nation-wide credit crunch. Goldman Sachs is handling the stock sale, and Ford has given no timetable for when the stocks will enter the market. Ford has already exchanged debt for equity to the tune of $927m in the past year. With shares of Ford stock at under $5 per share right now, anybody can own a share of the Blue Oval for the price of a value meal.

[Source: Automotive News (subs req'd)]

A new business deal signed between the BBC on the one hand and Top Gear host Jeremy Clarkson and producer Andy Wilman on the other could see the vast expansion of the Top Gear brand worldwide. The deal involves BBC Worldwide, the international commercial arm of the government-owned television network, taking a majority stake in Badder 6. The latter is a company set up by Clarkson and Wilman two years ago for reasons unknown, but will now act to channel all revenues from the Top Gear brand back to the BBC, Clarkson and Wilman.

The deal is seen as a necessity to keep Clarkson happy so he'll remain on the show amidst offers from competing networks and producers for the world's most famous automotive journalist. Badder 6, which now includes three top-level BBC Worldwide executives, will be responsible for managing the marketing of Top Gear around the world, including the magazine, the original British television program, the new program for the United States undertaken by NBC, an additional new series for Australia, and all related merchandising opportunities. Now reaping the rewards for his efforts, Clarkson will act in a direct capacity as the figurehead for the Top Gear brand around the world. Although the deal did not involve his co-hosts Richard Hammond and James May, the pair are reported to have secured more lucrative deals themselves in light of Clarkson's new arrangement.

[Source: The Guardian via Inside Line]

Click above for high-res gallery of the Euro Ford Focus

For years, enthusiasts have been clamoring for Euro-only Blue Oval models to be sold in American dealerships. This dream is finally coming true, starting with the new Ford Fiesta and next-gen 2010 Ford Focus. Mark Fields has revealed that the European Focus and Foci built in North America will share 90% of their parts compared to just 20% today. Not only will this make for better cars, it also allows Ford to realize a double-digit profit improvement on each Focus compared to what it's earning today. This is certainly a positive development, as the automaker believes that the small car segment will nearly double in the next few years. We're inclined to agree unless Exxon discovers that the Earth's core is made of crude. The other part of Ford's plan is to make its North American plants flexible enough to respond quickly to the ever-changing U.S. market, which is something Toyota, Honda and other import automakers assembling vehicles in this country have already done with great effects.


[Source: Ford]

Last month we brought you confirmation of Harley-Davidson's impending take-over of the MV Agusta Group in a deal valued at $109 million. The two parties have now signed the deal, leaving only regulatory approval to proceed with the acquisition.

Although MV Agusta built nearly 6,000 motorcycles in 2007, production has slipped dramatically this year as the company was over-run with debt. Part of Harley's take-over involves the payment of some $70 million in MV Agusta's outstanding debts. Harley-Davidson announced that Claudio Castiglioni, the current chairman of the group, which also includes Cagiva motorcycles, as well as chief designer Massimo Tamburini, will remain in their posts and the company will continue to operate out of its headquarters in Varese, Italy. However, Harley-Davidson intents to appoint a new management team for MV Agusta, including a new managing director. With such measures in place, we're sure that the partnership between Milwaukee and Varese can only lead to good things for both companies.

[Source: Harley-Davidson]

According to Steve St. Angelo, a VP at Toyota North America, a healthy Detroit 3 is good for Toyota. While that may sound a bit odd or even patronizing, St. Angelo notes that the U.S. supplier base is working for both the Americans and Japanese. If one of their big clients like GM or Ford is in trouble, the effect to the supplier will in turn affect Toyota. What's more, the U.S. economy is closely tied in with the success of the automakers in Detroit and a depressed economy can only serve to hurt Toyota's U.S. sales numbers, a fact that is surely apparent when you glance at our By The Numbers posts over the past few months. Toyota's sales are still relatively strong, enough so that it has passed Ford to become America's second largest automaker and is currently knocking on GM's door (and giving them a spinning leg hook belly-to-back suplex) to take over the role as number one. So while a defeated member of the Detroit 3 may be bad for Toyota, a wounded one might be OK.

[Source: The Detroit News]

In an effort to cut down on travel and energy costs, Chrysler is said to be in negotiations with the United Auto Workers Union to switch from five, eight-hour days down to four days with ten-hour shifts. We first heard this scheme mentioned as a possibility for the Jeep Factory in Toledo, Ohio, though it now appears as if all but the few plants turning in high amounts of overtime would be affected if the UAW agrees to allow Chrysler to make the scheduling change. As is typical with the new Cerberus-owned automaker, the Chrylser LLC isn't giving out any information on specific savings targets, though preliminary figures put the reduction at something close to -- but under -- $10 million a year. The new shifts are already underway at a Chrysler distribution center in Atlanta, Georgia.

[Source: Automotive News - sub. req'd]

Click above for hi-res gallery of the Pininfarina Sintesi Concept

Even prior to Pininfarina CEO Andrea Pininfarina's untimely death while out riding his scooter, the market for coachbuilt automobiles was shrinking fast. To wit, the Italian car design firm had recently just managed to sign an agreement with its creditors to reschedule the company's debt and is now asking for an extra one-hundred-million Euros from shareholders for future product development. Pininfarina is also planning on designing and building its own electric car using batteries and technology supplied by a French company known as The Bolloré Group. Currently, many questions surround the storied Italian marque. As of today, for instance, Pininfarina is without a leader as the company has yet to announce its next CEO, despite the fact that it is knee-deep in a turnaround plan to bring the company back to profitability. Can the storied design firm and coach-building company survive these tumultuous times without a leader? Time, as always, will tell.


[Source: Just-Auto - sub. req'd]

There has been a lot said about GM in the wake of tough market conditions and the Detroit Automaker's $15.5B Q2 loss. As you can imagine, a lot of the talk isn't upbeat. GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz seems to think much of the discussion surrounding the General is nothing more than speculation and uninformed bias, but then again Maximum Bob's got a bit of a pro-GM bias of his own. So you can imagine that Blogger Bob was interested to see an hour long special called Saving GM, which recently aired on CNBC. Mr. Lutz' assessment of the piece? He thought it was fair and unbiased, and it touched on the good and bad of GM over the past few years in an honest way. Lutz said he liked that the documentary concluded that GM needs the public to think "smash hit vehicle from GM" and think of "cars in showrooms, not museums."

We haven't seen the hour long special Saving GM, so we reserve judgment as to whether or not it was fair, but we've heard from a few people it's worth a watch. Saving GM will re-air on CNBC on August 10 at 10 pm ET, so set your TiVo. You can also read more about here at the CNBC website if you need more convincing.

[Source: GM Fast Lane Blog, CNBC]