World Auto News & Reviews

Jack Roush, the co-owner of Roush Fenway Racing and chairman of ROUSH Enterprises, has been transferred to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, Wednesday evening.

Roush sustained serious injuries when the plane he was piloting crash-landed at an Oshkosh, Wisconsin, airport. Roush’s only passenger, Brenda Stricklin, was treated and released from the hospital on Wednesday.
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The Chrysler Group came out on top in 70% of the arbitration cases filed against it; having prevailed 73 times out of 105. Chrysler rejected 789 dealerships as part of last year’s bankruptcy, but was forced to establish an arbitration process, as was GM, in order to hear the arguments of those dealers seeking reinstatement.

Arbitrators generally deferred to Chrysler’s ‘Genesis Project’, whereby the company plans to consolidate all four of its brands in each dealership. “The decisions to select dealers for the company’s optimized dealer network were carefully considered as part of Chrysler’s Genesis Project,” the company’s statement said. “The decisions of a great majority of the arbitrators reflect the belief that the company’s dealer network decisions were not only appropriate but essential to its future success.”
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The AP reported that Geely Holding Group has received final Chinese government approval to acquire Volvo Cars from Ford Motor Co., the Commerce Ministry said Thursday.

Commerce officials approved the $1.8 billion deal Monday, said a ministry spokesman contacted by phone who refused to give his name. He said other agencies already have signed off on it.

“This was the final stage of the government approval,” he said. “There are no conditions attached.”

Geely agreed in March to buy Volvo in China’s biggest foreign acquisition in the auto industry. It would give one of China’s small but ambitious auto makers access to a prestigious brand and top-tier technology.
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The city of New York, prompted by an attempt by Mayor Michael Bloomberg, has been attempting to heavily regulate the fuel economy and emissions vehicles used for taxi service since 2007, but the latest step in the legal battle has the city going back to the drawing board.

In December 2007 New York city passed a ruling that sought to mandate a 25 mpg city rating by October 2008 – not just in New York, but nationwide. The ruling all called for all new taxi cabs put into service following October 2009 would have to obtain at least 30 miles per gallon during the city driving cycle, according to The Detroit News. The figure would almost double the city average of the most widely used taxi cab, the Ford Crown Victoria – and require a figure that no vehicle short of a hybrid or pure electric could obtain.
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Kia has had some nice success with the new Soul compact car, but remains unsure if it wants to venture into offering additional variants of the model. While sales of the Soul through June were up an outstanding 156.3 percent from a year ago, outpacing competitors including the Scion xB and the Nissan Cube, officials are unsure if additional derivatives of the model would make sense.

“The Soul tends to be a niche vehicle,” Orth Hedrick, director-product planning, told Ward’s at a media event. “There is very high appeal to a very narrow group of buyers.”
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