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Next week, Kia Motors Corp. will become the first automaker to introduce a North American competitor to Ford Motor Co.’s voice-controlled Sync infotainment service. The Kia product will be called UVO.

Tags: Automaker, Competitor, Ford, Ford Motor, Ford Motor Co., Kia, Kia Motors Corp, Launch, Sync, Sync Technology

Saab dealers in the United States say they have been uninformed bystanders to General Motors Co.’s on-again, off-again negotiations to sell the Swedish premium brand.

Tags: Bystanders, General Motors, General Motors Co., Negotiations, Premium Brand, Saab, Saab Dealers, United States

General Motors Co. today named two former ATandT executives to head its government relations activities. John Montford will be a senior adviser to GM Chairman Ed Whitacre Jr., who formerly headed ATandT.

Tags: Adviser, Ed Whitacre, Ed Whitacre Jr., General Motors, General Motors Co., Gm, Government Relations Activities, John Montford, Lobbyists, Montford

Unsecured creditors of bankrupt auto-parts supplier Visteon Corp. want to probe the company’s claim that its Korean unit, Halla Climate Control Corp., cannot send more cash back to its parent company.

Tags: Asia, Auto Parts Supplier, bankrupt auto-parts supplier, Climate Control, Halla Climate Control Corp., Parent Company, Unsecured Creditors, Visteon, Visteon Corp

GMAC Financial Services said today it will get $3.79 billion in additional aid from the U.S. government, on top of the $12.5 billion already received since December 2008.

Tags: Gmac, GMAC Financial Services, Government Aid, U.S. government, United States, USD

At least four suitors are in the race for insolvent German supplier Karmann’s roof business, a source close to the situation said, with Canada’s Magna International Inc. leading the pack.

Tags: Canada, German Supplier, Karmann, Leads, Magna International, Magna International Inc, Suitors

GM has extended a Dec. 31 deadline for bids for Saab, which will restart some production lines in January, Saab said today.

Tags: Bid, Gm, Resume, Saab

Next year Ford Motor Co. will be the first automaker in North America to offer HD radio technology and the ability to tag songs on iTunes in the vehicle for later purchase. The technology initially will be available only on certain vehicles.

Tags: Automaker, Ford, Ford Motor, Ford Motor Co., Ford Radio, Hd Radio, North America, Radio Itunes, Radio Technology, Tag

Standard and Poor’s lowered its opinion of Ford Motor Co. stock to sell from hold — citing and#8220;valuationand#8221; reasons — after Ford’s shares rose above SandP’s target price of $9. In a statement issued Dec.

Tags: Ford, Ford Motor, Ford Motor Co., Ford Stock, Rose, Shares, Standard And Poor, Target Price, USD

The Canadian Auto Workers union said today it is pushing Ford Motor Co. to put its new 5.0-liter V-8 engine, which will be made in Windsor, Ontario, into more vehicles than just the Mustang GT.

Tags: Auto Workers Union, Canadian Auto Workers, Canadian Auto Workers Union, Ford, Ford Auto, Ford Engine, Ford Motor, Ford Motor Co., Ford V-8, High Hopes, Liter, Mustang Gt, New Ford, Ontario, Windsor, Windsor Ontario

General Motors Co. is recalling Chevrolet Corvettes from the 2005 through 2007 model years because the roof panel may blow off. The recall covers Corvette coupes with the removable roof panel.

Tags: Blow, Chevrolet, Chevrolet Corvettes, Corvette, Coupes, General Motors, General Motors Co., Gm, Gm Recalls, Vettes

Auto sales will gain momentum worldwide in 2010 on the back of better access to credit and a return to 3 percent growth in the global economy, setting the stage for record volumes in 2011, according to the latest industry forecast from Scotia…

Tags: Auto Sales, Global Auto, Global Economy, Global Set, Momentum Worldwide, Record Volumes

Daimler is in talks with Renault and other potential partners to forge a compact car cooperation by mid-2010, CEO Diter Zetsche said. “But it could certainly also go faster than that,” Zetsche told a German newspaper.

Tags: Ceo, Compact Car, compact car cooperation, Cooperation, Daimler, Diter, Diter Zetsche, Partner, Potential Partners, Renault, Zetsche

GM is prepared to wait beyond the end of this week before deciding on the future of Saab as it reviews remaining bids, Bloomberg News reported.

Tags: Bloomberg, Ceo, Gm, Hopeful, Saab, Saab Reviews, Spyker

General Motors Co. is offering huge incentives to its dealers to speed up the sales of leftover inventory from its Saturn and Pontiac brands, that can push up the automaker’s December sales, The Wall Street Journal said.

Tags: Automaker, General Motors, General Motors Co., Gm, Gm Dealers, Incentives, Pontiac, Saturn, the Wall Street Journal, Wall Street, Wall Street Journal

Faurecia Interior Systems USA Inc. must pay $10 million plus interest to Multimatic Inc. over a component of the instrument panels in two Chrysler vehicles, an appeals court has ruled.

Tags: 10 Million, Appeals Court, Chrysler, Chrysler Vehicles, Faurecia Interior Systems USA Inc., Instrument Panels, Interior Systems, Multimatic Inc, Systems Usa Inc, USD

Norwegian automaker Think, with production under way in Finland for its electric Think City, is firming up its proposals for a plant in the U.S. A public hearing is set for Jan.

Tags: Car Maker, Car Sites, Finland, Green Car, Norwegian, Proposals, Public Hearing, Think City

Ford Motor Co. today said the 2011 5.0-liter V8 Mustang GT will deliver 412 hp and 390 lb-ft of torque. The engine produces 83 hp per liter yet will return 25 mpg on the highway and 17 mpg in the city, according to Ford marketing boss Jim Farley.

Tags: 17 Mpg, Ford, Ford Boss, Ford Motor, Ford Motor Co., Ford Mustang, Hp, Jim Farley, Lb Ft, Liter, Marketing, Mustang Ford, Mustang Gt, Pumps, Torque

Unsecured creditors to bankrupt Visteon Corp. have asked a court to force the auto-parts supplier to provide documents about its reorganization plan, which they said leaves them “dramatically short-changed.”

Tags: Auto Parts Supplier, Reorganization Plan, Unsecured Creditors, Visteon, Visteon Corp

Global automakers will unveil a slew of cheap, compact cars at India’s Auto Expo next week as they turn to one of the few remaining growth markets to keep their engines humming.

Tags: Auto Event, Auto Expo, Auto Week, Automakers, Cheap Cars, Compact Cars, Growth Markets, India, Slew, Small Cars

The Delhi Auto Expo, which runs Jan. 5-11, is set to host 10 global launches, all in the small car segment. Below is a sampling of models to be exhibited:

Tags: Auto Expo, Auto Show, Car Segment, Factbox, India, Launches, Models, Sampling, Small Car

Russian state-controlled lender Sberbank has said General Motors Co. should compensate it for an aborted attempt to sell a stake in Opel or it will sue, the Associated Press reported on Friday.

Tags: Aborted Attempt, Associated Press, General Motors, General Motors Co., Gm, Opel, Russian State, Sberbank, Stake

Toyota Motor Corp. expects a 17 percent increase in its 2010 global production, excluding units Daihatsu and Hino Motors, from this year to about 7.5 million units, Japanese media reported.

Tags: 5 Million, Daihatsu, Global Production, Hino Motors, Japanese Media, Toyota, Toyota Motor, Toyota Motor Corp, Toyota Production

General Motors Co. emerged from a 40-day bankruptcy in July with a newfound zeal that things at the top U.S. automaker would never be the same.

Tags: Automaker, Bankruptcy, General Motors, General Motors Co., Gm, United States, Zeal

Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez has threatened to expel Toyota Motor Corp. unless it produces an all-terrain model of 4×4 vehicles used for public transport in poor and rural areas.

Tags: 4x4 Vehicles, Chavez Venezuela, Hugo Chavez, President Hugo Chavez, Public Transport, Rural Areas, Terrain Model, Toyota, Toyota Motor, Toyota Motor Corp, Toyota Venezuela, Venezuela