David Bailey, Birmingham Post, 18th August, 2009 Whilst GM and Saab’s prospective bidder Koenigsegg Group AB reached an outline agreement over the sale back in June, talks dragged on over the latter’s financial muscle. This appears to be now resolved, with the two parties agreeing a deal. The handover of Saab may even take place [...]

Keith Adams I’ll say one thing – there’s certainly plenty of variety in my driving life at the moment. The week started with a Ferrari 599HGTE and Lamborghini Murcielago LP670-4 SV, which provided some entertainment – but this morning the nice people at Hyundai left a Rover Metro 1.4LD at the office for me to [...]

The Economic Times, 18th August, 2009 MUMBAI, India — Tata Motors may not join the race to pick up a majority stake in Italian car design firm Pininfarina, contrary to expectations that the Indian carmaker will make a bid to fulfil its plan to have a specialised design company. The Tatas are not keen because the [...]

Yang Jian, Managing Editor, Automotive News China, 18th August, 2009 In my column last year, I suggested domestic Chinese automakers should take as focused an approach as Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp. has done towards building a respected brand. Today, most of these companies are still struggling on that front. Most of their efforts are focused [...]

Graeme Brown, Birmingham Post, 18th August, 2009 Hopes for a sale of stricken van-maker LDV have risen after the Administrators said they were in exclusive talks with a potential buyer. PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) confirmed talks with an unnamed party over the sale of the business and assets of LDV Group Limited and Birmingham Pressing Limited. The [...]

Keith Adams Oh dear… I couldn’t resist, could I? Someone posts that they have a Lancia Dedra for sale on the AROnline forum and, after too little thought, I go and buy it. Well, the good news is that the seller, Andy Freeman, is a bloody good bloke and as badly afflicated with CHPD as me… [...]

Sam Skelton What you see above is a genuine image of the new Bentley; a car I predicted certain elements of in my blog, a fortnight ago. I was wrong on some matters, yet not far off on others. The name, for instance, I got wrong. I suggested in my blog that the new car [...]

Tom Scotney, Birmingham Post, 17th August, 2009 Sources close to Jaguar Land Rover owner Tata Motors say the Indian company is furious at the actions of the Government, after financing talks between the two fell through – with Tata putting the blame squarely at the door of Business Secretary Lord Mandelson. The bitter fallout comes [...]

Clive Goldthorp Italy’s two most famous, but currently troubled, Automotive Design companies, Bertone Group and Pininfarina S.p.A., have both been in the news during the last week or so: Fiat S.p.A’s. bid for the Bertone Group’s dormant Contract Manufacturing unit, Carrozzerio Bertone S.p.A., was approved by Italian Industry Minister, Claudio Scajola, on the 6th August, [...]

Jon Griffin, Birmingham Post, 13th August, 2009 A new MG is being produced at Longbridge to commemorate 85 years of one of the best-known sports cars in the world. The MG TF 85th Anniversary model, a limited-edition car due for launch this month by Chinese firm MG UK, marks a marathon eight and a half [...]

Jon Griffin, Birmingham Post, 13th August, 2009 The row between former MG Rover Directors and Lord Mandelson has escalated amid claims the ex-Longbridge bosses could face disqualification as Directors. The Business Secretary appeared to jump the gun yesterday by questioning the fitness of the Phoenix Four – John Towers, Nick Stephenson, John Edwards and Peter [...]

John Cranage, Birmingham Post, 12th August, 2009 Tata looked to have won the “awkward, unnecessary and ridiculous” battle with the Government over funding for Jaguar Land Rover with yesterday’s announcement that it had secured fresh capital from commercial sources, it was claimed last night. Business Secretary Lord Mandelson appeared to claim victory when he said [...]

John Cranage, Birmingham Post, 12th August, 2009 The threat of closure still hangs over one of Jaguar Land Rover’s three assembly plants despite yesterday’s announcement that the luxury carmaker’s Indian owner had secured bank funding to help it through the recession. Tata Motors, which bought JLR from Ford for £1 billion in June 2008, would [...]

Graeme Brown, Birmingham Post, 12th August, 2009 The Serious Fraud Office has announced it will not begin a criminal investigation into the collapse of car maker MG Rover, paving the way for a four-year-old report into the collapse to be published. The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has now promised to publish the long-awaited [...]

Namrita Chow, Automotive News China, 11th August, 2009 SHANGHAI — A new, longer, turbocharged version of the MG 7 was launched in China in July to boost sales and strengthen the car’s image as a luxury car. The MG 7L has a longer wheelbase of 2949 mm and stretches to 4949 mm in length. But [...]

Jon Walker, Birmingham Post, 11th August, 2009 Business Secretary Lord Mandelson faced demands for the immediate publication of a long-awaited report into the collapse of MG Rover after it was revealed the Birmingham carmaker’s bosses will escape prosecution. The Serious Fraud Office announced it had ruled out a criminal investigation into the management of the [...]

Birmingham Post, 11th August, 2009 The Serious Fraud Office has announced that it does not intend to begin a criminal investigation into the sale of car-maker MG Rover. The decision came after the SFO conducted a review of documents sent by the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills. The Government is now expected to come [...]

Birmingham Post, 11th August, 2009 Jaguar Land Rover’s owners Tata have secured private sector funding for the company’s short-term financial needs and UK Government support for the manufacturer is not now needed, the Government said today. Tata Motors of India bought JLR from Ford last year and first approached the Government for funding last September. [...]

Graham Ruddick, Sunday Telegraph, 9th August, 2009   An open and shut case? The Serious Fraud Office will confirm this week whether it will launch a full investigation into the collapse of the British car maker, which folded in 2005 with the loss of 6,000 jobs Photo: Daniel Jones The SFO, led by Director Richard [...]

Marc Reeves, Editor, Birmingham Post, 3rd August, 2009 Birmingham Post Editor, Marc Reeves, who has met Tata’s top management both in India and the UK, assesses their stewardship of Jaguar Land Rover. The future is bright for Jaguar Land Rover – that is the word coming out of Indian parent Tata. The company insists its [...]