Author: Clark Westfield
Clark Westfield grew up fixing up and driving past-their-prime American cars, including various GM and Mopar V8s. He has ghostwritten auto news for the last few years, lives in Farmingdale, New York, and can be reached at +1.516-531-4021.
11/08/2019
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Never fear, Chrysler lovers, PSA’s Tavares wants to keep you
FCA may have an absurd number of brands, and PSA may have one more than it really needs, but PSA CEO Carlos Tavares believes they all have a purpose. In a television interview, PSA’s leader said that all the brands would probably survive a merger. FCA’s portfolio includes Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, Jeep, Maserati, […]
11/05/2019
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What’s in store for Chrysler and FCA after Peugeot (PSA)?
Chrysler has had a rough time over the past 30 years. After nearly going bankrupt, it became one of the most successful automakers in the world, only to be acquired by Daimler-Benz and spit out, a small shadow of its former self, less than ten years later. Then another bankruptcy under the greedy leadership of […]
10/29/2019
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GM’s doing well, thank you, and is ready for recession
GM shares shot up today, after the company announced, in a morning conference call, profits of $2.3 billion in the past quarter, good for a 38¢ per share dividend. GM Financial had earnings before taxes of $700 million. Gross revenue was $35.5 billion. Automotive operating cash flow for the quarter was $5 billion, double the […]
10/28/2019
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China’s Tesla trap
China built a Tesla trap, and Elon Musk dove in with both feet. One thing American and European manufacturers, from chips to cars, have noticed about China is that it doesn’t take long for their products to be duplicated. Local construction companies, seeing plant blueprints, have even helped build clone plants in other towns or […]
10/18/2019
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GM keeping US plant to end strike
General Motors is keeping a Detroit plant open, investing $3 billion to convert it to electric pickups, vans, and batteries, as part of its efforts to end a long United Auto Workers (UAW) strike. The union had demanded greater fairness with regard to treatment of newer employees, including reduced use of temps; unchanged health insurance […]
10/15/2019
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GM inventories falling enough to deal with UAW
GM stocked up on cars and parts before going into negotiations with the UAW, readying themselves for the long haul. Now, the company is starting to make concessions—one of which may affect its chief American competitor more than itself. That one is health benefits. GM had tried to raise hourly workers’ share of medical insurance […]
10/14/2019
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Local paper shoots Rivian electric truck, SUV chassis
Rivian held an open house for the city of Normal, Illinois, where it is setting up to build its electric cars and trucks. As part of that event, local newspapers were able to photograph the Rivian “skateboard” chassis and get other new shots of the innovative trucks. The Rivian design includes a “tunnel” behind the […]
10/04/2019
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Camaros and Challengers and Mustangs, oh my: Which sells best?
With the last quarter’s sales reports behind us, we can answer the question of who wins in the United States’ muscle car sales races. There’s not really a surprise year-to-date, though: you knew it would be the Mustang, and it was. The Mustang has a smart, up-to-date series of powertrain options, and the best publicity […]
10/02/2019
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GM strike hasn’t hurt sales, has it? Ford falls, FCA doesn’t, and Tesla hits a record
The GM strike isn’t hurting sales so far, if we can generalize from the company’s U.S. sales over the last quarter. GM had a gain of 6.2%, while Ford fell 5.1% and FCA stayed just about the same. Not surprisingly, GM kept its lead over Ford, with sales of 737,270 for the quarter vs Ford’s […]
09/30/2019
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GM has plenty of cars, but parts may be a problem
Over the past months, GM has boosted its inventory so it could be tough with the United Auto Workers union. The UAW is demanding a greater share of GM’s good fortune, and the maintenance of three plants which GM wants to close (or has closed); and GM wants the UAW to pick up a much […]