VW has set a hefty goal for itself: to displace Toyota as the world's No. 1 car company. The German automaker is actually within reach, thanks mainly to its huge lead in China. To overtake Toyota, however, VW will need to really ramp up sales in the American market.
Toyota Motor is once again defending itself against claims that it sought to cover up vehicle defects after it reportedly bought back cars that accelerated unintentionally but failed to disclose the problem to federal safety officials.
Although Honda and Toyota remain the benchmark of reliability in the U.S. automobile industry, General Motors has made considerable strides in improving the quality of its cars and trucks, according to the magazine's 2010 Annual New Car Reliability Survey.
Toyota Motor is issuing another recall -- this time it involves 740,000 cars and sports-utility vehicles in the U.S. and nearly 600,000 units in Japan to repair a seal on the vehicles' brake master cylinder that may leak fluid and impair braking performance.
Toyota may build another factory in Mexico to produce small cars as the world's largest automaker shifts more capacity outside Japan to remain competitive. The yen's strength on world markets is said to be prompting the move.
Vehicle sales have been less than stellar in recent months, disappointing some analysts. But the industry is gradually improving in a broad trend that is benefiting nearly all automakers -- including the Big Three, which have returned from the brink.
Toyota says complaints by its cars' unintended acceleration have dropped 80% compared to April, , as the world's largest automaker continues to make strides in repairing the nearly 8 million vehicles recalled in the U.S. to over sticky gas pedals and accelerators that get hung up on floor mats.
Demand for new cars and trucks should be better than it was a year ago. But expectations now are for lower sales than in August, itself unimpressive. That would leave autos stuck in a four-month-long rut.
In a bid to better compete against European and Japanese luxury makes, Ford reportedly may seek to reduce the number of Lincoln dealerships in the U.S. Nearly 1,200 dealers sell Lincolns, five times more than sell Toyota's Lexus nameplate, the nation's leading luxury brand.
"Fewer brands means you can put more focus into improving the quality of engineering," CEO Alan Mulally said Monday. The second-largest U.S. automaker has been surging ahead in both sales and honors over the past year.
U.S. auto sales started off strong over the Labor Day holiday weekend, but have since dropped significantly, according to analysis by car-buying guide Edmunds.com.
As expected, automakers Wednesday reported sluggish sales for August. The nation's anemic economic recovery kept consumers away from dealerships, despite generous end-of-model-year incentives on the part of many manufacturers.
Auto sales braked sharply in August, starting out strong, then slowing to a level that may be the lowest in 28 years. The weak economy made nervous consumers hesitant to buy, despite the bevy of end-of-model-year deals.
