Partnership

Connaught's getting help from a fellow British sports car maker to get the Type-D to market next year. Caparo's vehicle engineering division, which does much the same thing as Lotus - supplying parts and engineering services to customers, will build the steel and composite chassis for the Type D. Caparo will also supply the body panels to Connaught, and production is planned to begin in June 2008. Connaught's original plan was to have a supplier based outs

"We started off building and selling cheap cars, but now we are changing," says Geely Automobile Holdings Chairman Li Shufu at at Tokyo press conference. Geely is the purveyor of some of the most inexpensive cars in China, and now it's looking to sell in other markets. Citing Geely's great respect for Japanese manufacturers, Li expressed a desire to collaborate with them as Geely follows the trail they blazed over a generation ago. Competition in the Chinese auto market is cutthroat, and Geely h

Ghosn was quoted by Automotive News as saying "Renault needs new products, new technologies. It does not need a new brand." He also said that Ford's asking price was too rich for Renault's taste, but no numbers were revealed.

Dating on the rebound is rarely a good idea, and the soon to be former DaimlerChrysler appears set to prove it again. From a purely business standpoint, the marriage of Daimler Benz and Chrysler should have been a good thing. Both companies would have expanded their reach with relatively little product overlap to begin with. The killer was a culture clash between Americans and Germans that prevented them from playing nicely together.

Ford is looking for ways to pack their automobiles with innovative technology that achieves the seemingly impossible goal of using smaller, more efficient engines while still delivering the performance wallop customers are demanding. Not only is the Blue Oval seeking more involvement from their suppliers to push new technology and techniques forward, but the automaker's also looking outside the typical realm of automotive OEMs.

Auto Bild is reporting that Mercedes and BMW may consider collaborating on subcompacts in the coming years. BMW's keeping an eye on the MINI plant in Oxford, England. If the factory doesn't run at full-tilt, BMW takes a monetary hit. Shacking up with Mercedes to build the next generation A-Class at MINI's facility and on the MINI platform would keep production humming right along. Other potential partners have been mentioned as well, such as Honda and PSA. Mercedes and BMW are working o

Right now luxury carmakers are doing booming business, and rivals BMW and Mercedes are faring better than ever. Both auto manufacturers produce in excess of one million vehicles annually, and profits are coming in by the fistful. At the same time, Audi is growing faster than both luxury stal

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 Da

It looks like teeny tiny (and tinny) Pentastars could be coming. They could even be good. Tme will tell, as the DaimlerChrysler supervisory board has given its blessing to teaming up with China's Chery Motor Company. The Chinese government still needs to sign off, but that appears to be a formality at this point. What Chrysler gets out of the deal are Chery products to sell here and in Europe with Chrysler branding. This sort of harks back to the 1970s and '80s, when Chrysler was rebadging Mitsu

Recently Ford CEO Alan Mulally and US Boss Mark Fields flew to Tokyo to meet with some top people from Toyota. The industry rumor mill immediately spun with speculation about a possible tie-up between the two companies. Ford, however, said the meeting was just so that Mulally could get to know his new pe

We just received an official statement from Ford regarding the hoopla surrounding Ford CEO Alan Mulally visiting Japan last week with President of the Americas Mark Fields in tow and meeting with executives from Toyota. Here it is.

The old saying goes that if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. Ford has long since resigned itself to the fact that the #2 automaker in the U.S. will soon not be wearing a Blue Oval for a badge. Instead, Toyota is expected to occupy the numero dos position as soon as January, with Ford's market share continuing its slide down into the low teens and Toyota's moving every upward.

It struck us as an odd pairing when BMW and PSA Peugeot-Citroen formed their initial partnership. BMW, a German conglomerate building premium performance and luxury automobiles and controlling a couple small but iconic British marques, and PSA, a grouping of two run-of-the-mill mass-production French brands. Their products don't overlap much, but the all but total lack of competition is probably what helps them get along. No competition means no threat.

Speculation is further being fueled that a possible alliance between General Motors and Nissan/Renault could become a reality with news coming yesterday that Rick Wagoner, the embattled yet persistent CEO of GM, and Carlos Ghosn, the superstar CEO of Nissan and Renault, will meet in Detroit later this month to, you know, catch up on things.

Here's Nissan's official response to the flurry of speculation caused by Tracinda Corp., Kirk Kerkorian's investment company, when it sent a letter to General Motors suggesting the automaker immediately explore joining Nissan and Renault's alliance.