Volkswagen’s Finance Arm Squeezes Out A Record Profit, Somehow
Good morning! Welcome to The Morning Shift, your roundup of the auto news you crave, all in one place every weekday morning. Here are the important stories you need to know.
How To Set Up The Suspension On An F1 Car
Welcome to Must Read, where we single out the best stories from around the automotive universe and beyond. Today we've got reports from ScarbsF1, TTAC and Yahoo! Autos.
Chinese Carmakers Prepping For 2010 Dakar Rally
Given never ending concerns over Chinese quality, completing the punishing cross-continental Dakar Rally could send the right message. Both Greatwall and Geely are planning to enter the race as a proof-of-competency in vehicles that at least look like Pajeros. [ChinaCarTimes]
Chery-Chrysler Joint Venture Dissolved, Dodge Hornet Gets Stung?
According to Auto Sohu and China Car Times the joint venture between Chrysler and Chery has been dissolved before it was even consummated. What happens to the Dodge Hornet concept?
The Chery Eastar Convertible Drops Four-Door Top At Guangzhou
When the four-door Chery Eastar Convertible first hit the net we weren't sure if it was a one-off custom or a hint to something to come. Now it seems that all of our greatest hopes have been realized as the same vehicle seems to be sitting on the floor of the Guangzhou International Auto Show. These closeup shots show…
Chery Eastar Convertible, Cheapest Four-Door Convertible On Earth, Spied in China
By removing its B-pillar and extending its wheelbase, Chery hopes to make its mid-size Eastar sedan the last word in four-door convertible luxury. Little else is known about the vehicle, other than that it may be equipped with Chery’s patented FlexFrame™ ride improvement system. It's not known when the Chery Eastar…
Vehicle Sales In China Down 18% In July
China Car Times is reporting that vehicle sales in China were off 18% in July, compared to June. Big winners were General Motors' Chinese partner, Shanghai GM, and Volkswagen's FAW VW, along with home-market automaker Guangzhou. All other manufacturers, including Beijing Hyundai, Chery Auto and the Dongfeng-PSA…
Chery To Volvo: Let's Roll
Reports from China indicate that Chery is trying to raise the capital necessary (about $4.4 billion) to purchase Volvo, despite industry experts doubting the possibility of such a takeover. The purchase would be a major coup for the Chinese auto industry, since Volvo would represent the first major Western brand to be…
Chery Making Out-Of-Scale Kei Vans?
We just came across a set of new spy shots of what appears to be an as-of-yet-unknown new Chery van which to us looks a whole lot like a plus-size kei-type van. Aside from noting the dude smoking a cigarette in the drivers seat and — is that toilet paper on the dash? Whatever, we've got nothing on this one. As you may…
Dodge Breeze, The Chinese Dodge, Spotted In Detroit
We've been waiting for the front of an orange Dodge Breeze, which is the fruit of the Chrysler-Chery deal, ever since we saw the rear of the car in March. Based on the Chery A1, according to the good people at Automotive News this Chinese-built Dodge is supposed to be for the Mexican market only. Thankfully, someone…
Detroit Auto Show: Dodge Demon to be Based on Chinese Chery
Chrysler has announced that the production version of the Dodge Demon concept will be based on a front-wheel drive Chery platform. Chrysler is already planning a b-segment Chery based compact for 2009, expect the Demon to follow a year or two later. [Via eGM CarTech]
Chery Auto to Move Slooooooowly Into US
Chinese automaker Chery is ready to move into the country, but at their own pace. You can't rush it. It'll happen. They promise. Speaking at a J.D. Power and Associates forum, Chery General Manager Lin Zhang said "To be honest, we don't have a definite timetable yet for entering the U.S. Market." The plan is to have…
Chinese Automakers Go After African Car Market
So what do you do when you can't face the regulatory and marketing hurdles of the US market, but you still want to sell as many of your cheaply manufactured vehicles as possible? Why, you head right on over to Africa like Great Wall Motor Co and take over the European automakers dumping ground for used vehicles.…
The always-safety-first Russians are looking to Chery to pull the Amulet from the Russian market after it folds up in Russian crash test. Wethinks perhaps there's something more behind this. [Detroit News]
Fiat Announces A Chery-Flavored Deal To Build Cars For China Market
As it looks to continue to expand international sales, it looks like Alfa Romeo doesn't just have its eyes set on the US market. Big boss car-maker Fiat's just announced a deal with Chinese automaker Chery to build both Fiat and Alfa Romeo vehicles for sale in China. Fiat and Chery said today they intend to produce…
ArvinMeritor gets itself into a chassis venture with "Cherry." We were going to ignore the Detroit News misspelling of "Chery" but it was the only interesting thing about this article. [Detroit News]
Chery Claims Deal With Chrysler NOT Halted
It must have all just been a misunderstanding...yeah, that's it:
No Chery-Flavor For Cerberus-Owned Chrysler?
We've just heard the Chinese automaker Chery's halting the deal with DaimlerChrysler to build Chrysler-brand vehicles (like the horny li'l hornet) until they get a chance to talk to the three-headed dog that's soon to be owning the automaker. According to the AP:
