After reports last week that General Motors may sell its midsize truck production to Isuzu Motors, Isuzu Motors Ltd have decided not to purchase General Motors' midsize pickup truck production. Isuzu stated it aims to make a net profit this year and said "It will be difficult to achieve the net profit target but we will do everything possible to achieve it". Isuzu also stated they will not raise their stake in General Motors' diesel engine production, "We have no plan to raise our stake in DMAX". Reported by Reuters.
General Motors Corporation is speaking with Isuzu Motors over the sale of their mid-size truck production, which constitutes most of their truck business, for a reported "tens of billion of yen". Isuzu responded with (they) "would consider an offer positively". Last month GM's tentative agreement with Navistar International Corp had expired, ending without a deal closed between the two companies. In response to GM's offer, Isuzu may also bid on DMX ltd, a diesel engine company in Ohio. No further details have been reported. Referred by Forbes.
In research conducted by the Specialty Equipment Market Association (also known as "SEMA"), even after a 32% drop in new-pickup truck sales last month, SEMA found a one percent increase in automotive enthusiasts' demand for customizing their pickup trucks. This just means that owners are keeping their trucks longer due to the increase in price for new pickup trucks, as well as fuel costs. More importantly, the light-truck segment of the automotive market has been on the rise for several years, accounting for 42.3 percent of manufacturer sales in 2007 alone. Maybe there really is light at the end of the tunnel?
Reflecting upon last week, we at Truckblog delivered news about Ford's new Work Solutions line-up, a new recall from them regarding 225k vehicles, and posted information about a new lift kit for the 2007 and 2008 Toyota Tundra. Then, Suzuki stepped up into the truck relm with their new concepts, we talked about a crazy Honda Civic tractor, another hybrid truck was announced, new information about a unibody truck from GMC was released, and finally, a slick LED lightstrip was installed on Project Truckblog. Whew, what a week! Below is a list of last weeks top stories:
Isuzu Motors America, Inc. announced today that, effective January 31, 2009, it would discontinue distributing new Isuzu passenger vehicles in North America. The discontinuation of passenger vehicles results from the prospective cessation of production by General Motors Corporation of the Ascender sport utility vehicle and the i-290 and i-370 pickup trucks.
ACI (Agri-Cover, Inc.) manufacturer of the ACCESS®, LORADO™, LITERIDER®, VANISH Roll-Up Covers and the all-new ACCESS® Roll-Up Cover & Rack are excited to announce their model-specific covers are available for 2008 Chevy, Dodge, Ford, Toyota, Nissan, Mazda, and Isuzu pickups. Click the "Full Story" link for more information.
The Insurance institute for Highway Safety reports, that some sport utility vehicles do not provide enough protection in side crash tests. The IIHS gave good scores to the 2008 versions of the Ford Explorer, Toyota FourRunner, Jeep Grand Cherokee, Nissan Pathfinder and Nissan Xterra. The Chevy Trailblazer, GMC Envoy, Isuzu Ascender and Saab 9-7X, all received an "Acceptable" score for frontal offset crash testing, seperating themselves from the group. The Institute's senior vice president, David Zuby, stated "People often think they’re safer in one of these vehicles, but many cars hold up better than some of these midsize SUVs in this test".
Inside Line reports, "As Isuzu's pickup sales dwindle in North America, the company is increasing capacity at its Thailand manufacturing plants to 350,000 units this year. This was announced at the launch of the revised D-Max truck."
"General Motors and Japanese truckmaker Isuzu have agreed to set up a joint venture to develop pickup trucks together for emerging markets around the world, the companies said Tuesday. Based in Fujisawa, Japan, it will be running by September to design and develop next-generation Isuzu and GM pickups. Its board of directors will include three members from each company," according to Detroit Free Press.
MSNBC reports, "Cash-strapped General Motors Corp. is selling the shares it holds in truckmaker Isuzu to two Japanese trading companies and a bank for about $300 million to fund its turnaround in North America, the U.S. automaker said Tuesday. Disposing of the Isuzu stake marks the latest retreat for a company besieged by staggering losses, labor problems and mounting competition from Asian automakers."
Manufacturers are known for debuting new vehicles at the big auto shows that happen throughout the beginning of the year across America, of which the Detroit, Chicago and New York Auto shows are some of the biggest. True to fashion, Isuzu debuted their oddly familiar i280 and i350 mid-sized truck at the New York auto show, just last week.
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If you follow our Friday Beerblogs, you'll remember last week we posted what we now call "The Before Picture". This is the after photo, and note the improper use of the Isuzu transport truck compared to the sturdy Mercedes trucks featured last week. Mercedes wins!
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Inside Line reports, "As Isuzu's pickup sales dwindle in North America, the company is increasing capacity at its Thailand manufacturing plants to 350,000 units this year. This was announced at the launch of the revised D-Max truck."
"General Motors and Japanese truckmaker Isuzu have agreed to set up a joint venture to develop pickup trucks together for emerging markets around the world, the companies said Tuesday. Based in Fujisawa, Japan, it will be running by September to design and develop next-generation Isuzu and GM pickups. Its board of directors will include three members from each company," according to Detroit Free Press.
MSNBC reports, "Cash-strapped General Motors Corp. is selling the shares it holds in truckmaker Isuzu to two Japanese trading companies and a bank for about $300 million to fund its turnaround in North America, the U.S. automaker said Tuesday. Disposing of the Isuzu stake marks the latest retreat for a company besieged by staggering losses, labor problems and mounting competition from Asian automakers."
Manufacturers are known for debuting new vehicles at the big auto shows that happen throughout the beginning of the year across America, of which the Detroit, Chicago and New York Auto shows are some of the biggest. True to fashion, Isuzu debuted their oddly familiar i280 and i350 mid-sized truck at the New York auto show, just last week.
If you follow our Friday Beerblogs, you'll remember last week we posted what we now call 
