Fiat’s expansion plan is not just limited to buying 20 per cent stake in Chrysler but they have gone beyond it. The Italian Auto makers are looking forward to acquire. General Motors’ European operations, including Opel, Vauxhall and even Saab – this is the latest news in the auto industry.

If the reports are true, the Fiat, along with Chrysler and GM Europe, are going to become one corporate entity worth about 106 billion dollars, which means they become the second largest automakers in the world after Toyota.

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Environmental-friendly and fuel-efficient vehicles

Considering the higher fuel prices and increasing rates of environmental pollution, most of automakers are leaving no stone unturned to produce some really fuel efficient vehicles that may serve as the best alternative to better fight when gas prices are on rise again.

Almost all big automakers like Honda, Nissan, Chevrolet, Ford, Toyota, Lexus and GMC are introducing more and more energy efficient vehicles with every passing day and  doing really worthwhile to protect environment from pollution and save considerable amounts of energy resources.

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On Monday Nissan has recorded its first loss in almost a decade. This economical crunch has forced Nissan, the third biggest automotive in Japan, to slice down 20,000 employees.

The expected net loss of Nissan Motor Co. is 265 billion Yen i.e. $2.9 billion for the fiscal year across March. Nissan is facing a yearly loss for the first time in the past 9 years. Carlos Ghosn, Chief Executive Nissan said, “The global auto industry is in turmoil, and Nissan is no exceptional.”

In an effort to subside the loss impact, Nissan is expelling a large number of employees. By March 2010, Nissan will reduce the number of employees from 235,000 to 215,000. The board directors too will not enjoy their bonus for the year, ending in March.

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On Tuesday in Detroit, it was claimed by the auto industry analysts that the auto industry should not expect a rise in consumer demand so quickly.

The analysts have also predicted that the economical conditions of the auto industry analysts could lead to some consolidations.

Rod Lache Deutsche Bank analyst said, “The industry really needs to brace itself for an extended period of weak demand”.

He also told the Society of Automotive Analysts that a turnaround can be expected due to some encouraging signs. He further said that the turnaround would be timely.

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The U.S. Treasury has clarified guidelines for its auto industry rescue plan. The treasury says that there is a possibility to invest in debt, warrants or equity that would be determined as troubled assets of some automaker company.

According to the treasury, these guidelines for Auto Industry Financing Program will be applied to all those auto firms that it will reckon important for the industry including Detroit automakers and other auto finance companies.

Under these guidelines, a proper structure has been offered to a $17.4b rescue plan for GM and Chrysler LLC that was rushed into effect by the Bush administration on Dec.19. The plan was supplemented with $6b for finance companies aid later on.

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Hyundai is no more the butt of ridicule in auto industry

There was a time when Hyundai was the real butt of ridicule and satire in the auto industry, but with the launch if their new impressive and stunning 2010 Hyundai Sonata, they have proved how serious they are in this game and can compete with any big player of the auto industry.

Mid-sized family vehicles like Sonata have played a great role to make Hyundai a real serious player of the auto industry.

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Detroit auto crisis now has began to affect global auto industry, as week demands of auto-parts are being observed in many European countries including Czech Republic where auto industry serves as the backbone of the economy.

According to the figures presented by the Czech government, there was a 7.6 percent drop in production during October 08, while it saw 8.9% expansion in September.

Similarly, there was a 15% drop in the auto exports of the country and it became the cause of deficit in the external trade balance of the country.

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The struggling Detroit automakers GM, Chrysler and Ford will receive a $14b loan as rescue package as it has been approved by the American House of President with a 231-170 vote on Wednesday.

Whether the loan will lead the big three to a lasting feasibility and competitiveness or not it was discussed by Republicans in the Senate and the House throughout the day.

Richard Shelby, a Senate Republican and the one of the top GOP member of the Banking Committee, has suspected to delay the legislation with filibuster.

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Bugatti Veyron

Drivers, who loved riding fast and furious machines, often, had to pay big bucks to satiate their speed thirst. But these days, speed has become a right for consumers rather than a privilege.

Photo by erdero

Though many carmakers admit it, they do not provide similar performance as one can have in the Veyron whose various models attain as fast as 60 and cost is just $100,000.

Mike Omotoso, who is senior manger at Global Powertrain Forecasting, says in this connection: “We can see that every new generation of performance cars seem doing a bit better than previous ones.

They were supercars that used to cover 0-60 in just 4 seconds, but now 3.5-4.0 seconds is the price just to admit in that segment.”

Now with the passage of time performing segment is also broadening and it’s not limited only to low-riding, angular sports cars to go for the speed, as there are many bold-power big sedans to come up with more speed.

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If fully charged, this BMW Mini E electric car can cover 150miles with 95mph top speed. Isn’t coolly impressive?

It is cool as well as whisperingly quiet, but you would find the British classic without back seats as they have been replaced with the battery pack of 250kg.

Similarly, you would find a dial instead of the rev counter to find out how many miles your mini E can cover before plugging this Mini E at the mains.

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