Toyota said it will end vehicle production at its 25-year-old joint manufacturing plant in California with General Motors Co next March 31.

This is likely to lead to the first-ever shutdown of a factory of this scale by the world’s biggest automaker.
Toyota’s decision to end production at the plant, called New United Motor manufacturing Inc, was anticipated as GM said it will withdraw from the NUMMI operation after it emerged from bankruptcy in June.

With the pullout from the factory in Fremont, California, Toyota will move the manufacturing of the Tacoma pickup truck to a Texas factory while the Corolla car will be temporarily produced in factories in Canada and Japan.

Vehicles

The all-new 2010 Acura ZDX four-door sports coupe will arrive this winter at Acura dealerships with dramatic styling, outstanding performance and the latest in advanced technology. The segment bending ZDX features stunning coupe-like styling with the added benefit of a commanding presence and flexible utility. Staying true to the prototype model that debuted at the 2009 New York International Auto Show in April, the production ZDX will feature the key design highlights of a panoramic glass roof, hidden rear door handles and bold fender flares.

“The ZDX is like nothing you have ever seen before from Acura,” said Jeff Conrad, Vice President of Acura sales. “It combines the best attributes of a coupe, a sedan and a sport utility - all wrapped in a beautifully sculpted package - that will attract an entirely new luxury customer to the Acura brand.”

Designed, developed and manufactured entirely in North America, the ZDX breaks new ground for Acura in many ways. The ZDX is the first vehicle to be styled from start to finish in the new, dedicated Acura Design Studio in Torrance, CA, allowing exterior and interior designers to work closely together throughout the entire design process. Staying true to the original sketch from Acura’s first female designer, Michelle Christensen, the ZDX features sensuous curves, deeply sculpted shoulders and strong character lines.

Inside, the ZDX exhibits the highest levels of refinement and sophistication ever offered from Acura. Every ZDX interior will feature Acura’s first hand-stitched leather dashboard, door panels and sculpted center console. The rich leather appointments give the ZDX a warm and inviting feeling while creating an intimate cockpit for the driver and front passenger. The cabin is well lit thanks to extensive use of LED lighting along with the light from the unique moonroof that is an integral design aspect of the longest glass roof in the industry. The panoramic glass roof has dual automatic sunshades that open and closes at the touch of a button.

Source: http://world.honda.com/news/2009/c090816New-Acura-ZDX/

Japanese Used Vehicles for Sale

New car registrations in Germany have shot up in the first five months of 2009, thanks largely to state incentives to scrap old cars to buy new ones. The surge in Germany has driven up sales across Western Europe.

The Federal Statistical Office said on Monday that new registrations rose by 22.8 percent in the January-May period.

The Wiesbaden-based office said that this surge was a result of the government’s car-scrapping program, which pays consumers $3,520 for trading in a car trading in a car that is at least nine years old for a more efficient one. Germany imported nearly 12 percent more cars during the period than in the first five months of last year.

Vehicles, Toyota, Honda, Trucks,

American automaker Chrysler, which has partnered with Italian Fiat as part of its bankruptcy plan, is considering producing Fiat 500 subcompact cars at its plant in Mexico, The Wall Street Journal reported recently.

Chrysler is looking at making a small Fiat engine for Fiat 500 at a Chrysler plant in Trenton, Michigan, the report said.

Chrysler and Fiat sealed a deal in June to create a new global auto giant in a milestone for the world industry after the Italian champion stepped in to salvage the bankrupt US firm.

Fiat will at first hold 20 percent of Chrysler Group, with its equity stake rising to 35 percent and eventually to a majority stake as long as targets mandated by the deal are achieved and US government funds are repaid.

Vehicles

Government incentives likely pushed U.S. auto sales to 20-month high in August, leaving analysts and the industry guessing how hard a landing to expect with the “Cash for Clunkers” program now exhausted.

Automakers could see the U.S. seasonally adjusted rate of sales, a closely watched indicator of demand for big-ticket item, jump to nearly 16 million vehicles in August under the “clunkers” program, analysts said. That would be the highest monthly sales rate since December 2007.

But with the incentive program ended and only heavily picked over vehicles left in inventories, September is expected to be a much leaner sales month, with the severity of the pullback dependent on the U. S. economy’s health.

Automobile

Mitsubishi Motors Corp. has closed its Venezuelan car assembly plant, blaming labor conflicts that slowed production. Mitsubishi says operations in the eastern city of Barcelona have been hampered by “indiscipline”, anarchy and violence.” The company’s workers staged several strikes over the last year.

One of the conflicts turned violent in January, when clashes between police and workers protesting outside the plant left two people dead.

During another conflict, workers seized control of the plant for 120 days, In a statement, Mitsubishi said it had reached assemble at least 60 cars a day, but they only managed to produce 33 cars a day. The plant employed about 1,400 workers.

Vehicles, Trucks

After a dramatic three-and-a half -year battle to take control of much larger Volkswagen, German sports carmaker Porsche has given up the chase and agreed in principle to a merger with its one -time rival. Porsche announced the u-turn recently after a series of intense meetings between Wolfgang Porsche and Ferdinand Piech, the patriarchs of two iconic German companies.

Now, VW and Porsche will enter weeks of intense talks to thrash out the final structure of a merger that will add Porsche as a tenth brand to stable of VW, which already includes Audi, Bentley & Czech manufacturer Skoda, as well as the VW brand.

Vehicles, Cars

Toyota plans to raise its global output target for fiscal 2009 by about 200,000 units from its projection in May, to about 6.5 million units, according to recent media reports in Tokyo.

The company believes it has completed its inventory adjustments in key countries and that auto sales are recovering thanks to government assistance markets, company sources said.

Trucks, Vehicles, Buses, Minitrucks

HIROSHIMA, Japan—Mazda Motor Corporation will donate a vehicle modified to assist people with special needs to a local social welfare organization in order to mark the one-millionth visitor to the MAZDA Zoom-Zoom Stadium in Hiroshima, which occurred on August 1. As part of its submission to Hiroshima City authorities for the acquisition of naming rights to the new municipal baseball stadium and to give back to the local community, Mazda pledged that it would donate one special needs vehicle to a social welfare organization in Hiroshima for every one million people who visit the new stadium.

By mid-September 2009, the Hiroshima City Council of Social Welfare will select which social welfare organization in Hiroshima will receive the donated vehicle. The special needs vehicle model to be given will depend on the requirements of the organization.

The special needs vehicle will be presented to the chosen organization at a special ceremony to be held prior to a Central League professional baseball game at MAZDA Zoom-Zoom Stadium Hiroshima at the end of September.

As a good corporate citizen, Mazda intends to positively and continuously carry out corporate social responsibility activities to better engage with local communities and the people who live there.

Source: http://www.mazda.com/publicity/release/2009/200908/090807a.html

Japanese Used Vehicles for Sale