Business Intelligence Group's Automotive NewsWire

Toyota owners began showing up a dealership repair facilities late last week, many waiting in line for what appears to be a quick fix to the unintended acceleration problem plaguing eight different Toyota models.  The fix consists of inserting a metal shim on the accelerator pedal assembly and is reported to take about 30 to 45 minutes to complete.  The paperwork involved may take longer as Toyota is keen to track every vehicle that is repaired.  Most Toyota dealers have agreed to extend their hours to accommodate car owners and while they are requesting that owners make appointments, one dealer told us that no one was being…

Len Nunnery, v-p of Marketing, Worldwide for Bulk Molding Compounds, and the Division Chair of the Society of Plastics Engineers Thermoset Division, has announced that the Division's 2010 Topical Conference (TOPCON) will be held at the Trump International Hotel and Tower in downtown Chicago on April 6-7. 

A highlight of the conference will be a Leadership Panel represented by Tom Merrel, CEO of Industrial Dielectrics; Tom Meola, president of Premix; Mike Huff, COO of Citadel Plastics Holdings/BMCI; Phil Beesley, general manager & president of Durez Canada/Sumitomo Bakelite; and Mike Brotz, CEO of Plastics Engineering Co.  Mr. Nunnery will moderate the session.  …

It has been a long time in coming, but Tier I supplier Continental AG and the Schaleffler Group, which executed an unfriendly takeover of Conti two years ago, have successfully developed and are near ready to begin manufacturing a new turbocharger for gasoline engines that offers cost benefits to engine builders.  "This collaboration is the result of Continental's successful search for a strong partner to complete the final development phase and put the turbocharger into series production," noted Dr. Peter Gutzmer, head of the Engine Systems Business Unit in the Powertrain Division.  Conti hopes to be manufacturing some 2 million of these turbochargers by…

From the Green Car Congress comes word of a new prototype multifunctional structural composite material composed of carbon fibers and a polymer that can store and discharge electrical energy but at the same time serves as a structural component in an automobile. 

Researchers from Imperial College London working with Volvo Car Corp. and other interested parties in Europe, believe this material could be used in hybrid electric vehicles where some, or perhaps even all of the batteries could be eliminated, making the vehicles lighter and more energy efficient.  The $4.7 million project is focused on further development of the material that could be used to produce the…

While the entire mess concerning multiple recalls of what appears to be most of the Toyota Motor vehicles made over the last decade continues to play out, the reclusive chief executive of Japan's leading auto manufacturer finally came out of seclusion earlier today and apologized for the mess his company has caused.  In a statement made at a press conference in Negoya, Japan, Mr. Toyoda said, "I'd like to offer a heartfelt apology for causing so much trouble to many of our customers."   He said he decided to make the statement because he "thought many of our customers were worried." 

The abatement of the attractive 2009 scrappage incentive program in Germany has led to a significant drop in German auto sales, in Germany, but exports of German-made cars appear to have come to the rescue. 

According to reports, orders for German-made vehicles in Germany dropped 16% last month, compared to orders one year ago, and the drop is blamed on the discontinuation of the nation's scrappage program.  January 2010 represented the worst year for sales in Germany over the last 20 years.  According to the VDIK (Association of International Motor Vehicle Manufacturers), only 181,500 new registrations occurred in Germany during January.  Volkswagen was t…