Chinese National Radio recently reported that Tengzhong wouldn't be allowed to purchase Hummer due to environmental concerns. The company released a statement after that news broke saying that while there was no "definitive agreement," the CNR report wasn't based on facts from the government regulatory body in question, and Tengzhong is still working on the deal.

Last week, in a report titled "Tengzhong may get green light from the regulators for its acquisition of Hummer," CNR's take on where things appears to back up Tengzhong's view that the game is not yet played. The company's discussions with the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and the Ministry of Commerce -- it needs approval from both parties -- have begun, and three options for concluding a deal were proposed.

If Tengzhong can convince the authorities of its expertise and business blan, and gets approval from both parties, it wants to set Hummer up in Sichuan province. If there is resistance to setting Hummer up directly, Tengzhong could try to base the company in one of China's ten bonded areas -- harbor points where the vehicles aren't officially "in" the country until taxes and fees are paid -- but this could impact the company's ability to sell Hummers in China. Or, the company could simply become a foreign investor in Hummer.

It isn't clear whether those options are Tengzhong's take on the purchase, or if that was just more speculation from CNR. Hummer had no comment on the matter.

[Source: Hummer]

Industry analysts widely agree that one of the principal factors preventing Chinese automakers from succeeding outside of China is the local industry's fragmentation, with over 100 automakers vying for their slice of the proverbial pie. However, a merger announced Wednesday between two major Chinese automakers, Shanghai Automotive Industrial Corp (SAIC) and Nanjing Automotive Group, stands a stronger chance of succeeding in the international car market as a larger group.

The merger, which has been long anticipated, involves SAIC paying $285.7 million for Nanjing. In return, Nanjing's parent company acquires 4.9 percent of SAIC Motor Corp.

The products of SAIC's joint ventures with GM and Volkswagen Group account for 14% of the domestic market in China, selling 1.25 million vehicles in the first ten months of 2007. Nanjing, meanwhile, sold less than 80,000 over the same period, making the acquisition a merger in the same sense as Mercedes had "merged" with Chrysler. Nanjing, however, owns MG Rover, whose plants in England SAIC hopes to use as a foothold into the European market.

[Source: Automotive News – subscription required]

The upcoming Alfa Romeo 169 flagship sedan is slated to be based on a modified platform from sister-company Maserati, but a potential tie-in with Jaguar could provide an interesting alternative.

A report from British magazine Autocar recalls that Alfa's parent company Fiat initially expressed interest in acquiring Jaguar and Land Rover from Ford, but decided to pass in favor of focusing on the rejuvenation of its own divisions instead. However, Indian automaker Tata, which is tipped to have placed the winning bid for the English marques, shares close relations with the Fiat Group. The Italian auto giant advised Tata on its acquisition bid, and the partnership could stand to benefit the Alfa Romeo division.

Borrowing a platform and powertrain from Jaguar could, according to Fiat chief Sergio Marchionne, lead to a "stunning" rear-drive Alfa 169, while optimizing the cost to benefit ratio for the Italian automaker. As Autocar points out, Land Rover's existing American dealership could also prove an irresistible asset for Alfa Romeo's imminent return to the US market.

[Source: Autocar]

The latest in Porsche-Volkswagen relations is that the sports car maker has contingencies in place to raise its stake in the VW Group, but at this point is not planning an outright takeover.

As you may recall, when Porsche recently increased its ownership in Volkswagen AG, it was bound by German law to make an offer to purchase controlling interest. The offer Porsche submitted to Volkswagen shareholders was purposely low because Porsche didn't want to fully take over Volkswagen.

That law is now on the verge of being repealed, leaving the door open for Porsche to further increase its stake, but that doesn't mean that it will automatically take the opportunity to further entrench the anschluss between the two companies founded by Ferdinand Porsche. If, however, Porsche's position on the Volkswagen board is threatened, it could increase its stake up to 50-percent without any further bureaucracy and legal issues, but for now it plans on staying where it is.

[Source: Reuters]

There are so many people inside and outside of Ford saying so many different things about Volvo that it's entirely possible the Swedish brand will be sold and Ford won't realize it until weeks later. The London Times Online posted an article yesterday stating that Ford decided, "in principle," at a board meeting two weeks ago, to sell Volvo. That piece quoted unnamed "City sources." A bevy of press outlets got in on the story, including the New York Times, quoting "people with knowledge of the situation" -- but those people said the board meeting was last week, not two weeks ago. Not long after the London Times piece, though, the Detroit News posted a column saying that "Ford won't confirm a possible sale of Volvo." It quoted John Gardner, a Ford of Europe mouthpiece, as saying "We're not in discussions with any company in relation to selling Volvo Car Corp." It also quoted John Hoyt, an American Ford spokesman, as saying the board meeting was last week, but "he knew of no decision." Still, all of this has been followed up with an article on Monday morning, euro time, stating the same sale rumors again.

According to the French newspaper Le Parisien, Renault-Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn is on the hunt again for a U.S. partner. Considering that talks with General Motors about a possible alliance fell through last year when neither side could agree on what the other's partnership was worth, Ghosn has only Ford and Chrysler to consider now. Ford Motor Company is consumed with the task of turning itself around, and Chrysler is still on its honeymoon with Cerberus Capital Management after being sold by Daimler, so we're not sure either automaker is in a state of mind to talk alliances at the moment. However, Ghosn knows there are economies of scale to be had and excess production capacity to be utlized on U.S. soil, so the maestro of mergers will still be looking to hold hands with one of our domestic automakers in the near future.

[Source: Motor Authority]

In the ongoing struggle between magazines and websites, it should be immediately clear to anyone where we stand. With websites like ours getting constantly updated as the news emerges, magazines are increasingly becoming an outdated relic for delivering automotive news to enthusiasts (like yourself, reading this post).

There are, however, a few redeeming publications out there that deliver the kind of features that are best enjoyed in print, despite the stale news that precedes the juicy articles. Some of our favorite magazines come from across the pond, where members of the motoring press seem to have a better grasp of what makes for a quality publication. Among them are evo and Octane, two small-time magazines that consistently deliver quality content that rivals, if not exceeds, the offerings from the more established car mags on the news stand. (Check them out at your local magazine rack and you'll see what we mean.) evo consistently puts the most exciting cars through the paces while forgoing the boring minivan group tests, with a long-term test fleet that includes track cars and exotics. Octane, meanwhile, is a favorite of classic car enthusiasts and features regular columns from the likes of Jay Leno and Carroll Shelby alongside retrospectives and buying guides on the most iconic cars ever to grace asphalt.

Now these two quality publications will be coming under the same roof, as evo's parent Dennis Publishing has announced the acquisition of Octane Media. Dennis is an independent publishing house, where Octane joins its motoring division along with evo and Auto Express. The new synergy between these two top-drawer magazines should only help both continue to elevate the level of quality that will keep us reading even during those sad moments when we have to step away from our monitors.

Press release after the jump.

[Source: Dennis Publishing]

Toyota has been eying a takeover of Fuji Heavy Industries – Subaru's parent company – for some time now. When General Motors ditched its 20 percent stake in Fuji back in October 2005, Toyota snapped up 8.7 percent and the two have been undertaking a series of joint ventures since.

But that wasn't nearly enough for the Toyota Motor giant that's getting closer and closer to the #1 global automaker spot with each passing day. An acquisition of Subaru would bring them even closer, if only they could.

Continues after the jump.

[Source: Automotive News - sub. req.]