rorty:::tort: DAILY: Obama bailout hurt auto industry more than helped, Romney says | Dealers must exercise caution in expanding as per-store sales rise | Asbury: Inventories back near normal by spring

DAILY NEWSLETTER

February 14, 2012

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Obama bailout hurt auto industry more than helped, Romney says

DETROIT (Bloomberg) -- President Barack Obama used the bailout of U.S. automakers to enrich union supporters, and that action marred the industry’s recovery, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney said today in an op-ed column in >> story Published: Feb 14 12:12 pm U.S. Eastern time

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Dealers must exercise caution in expanding as per-store sales rise

DETROIT -- A projected rise in U.S. auto sales per dealership to record highs this year will test dealers' ability to continue the practices that helped them survive the recession.
Sales per dealer increased 9.6 percent to 719 vehicles last year, ... >> story Published: Feb 14 10:49 am U.S. Eastern time / Last changed: 2/14/12 2:12 pm ET

Asbury: Inventories back near normal by spring
Inventory at Asbury Automotive Group Inc.'s Japanese-brand stores should return tonear-normal levels by the end of March, setting the stage for a strong spring selling season, company executives said today.
"All in all, we're thinking 2012 will be a ... >> story Published: Feb 14 9:47 am U.S. Eastern time / Last changed: 2/14/12 4:09 pm ET

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... Asbury rises after Q4 profits quadruple ... mixed performance for automakers, dealers, suppliers ... Dow finishes ahead following late surge ...

	Price	Daily change	52-week high / low
General Motors	25.40	+0.24%	36.84 / 19.00
Ford	12.48	-0.48%	16.39 / 9.05
Top Performers	Price	Daily change	52-week high / low
Asbury	26.50	+7.46%	25.32 / 14.96
Tesla	33.17	+5.34%	35.00 / 21.11
Penske	24.77	+2.52%	0.000 / 0.000
Group 1	54.30	+2.13%	57.71 / 33.31
Bottom Performers	Price	Daily change	52-week high / low
Denso*	15.38	-2.20%	0.000 / 0.000
Volkswagen*	33.60	-2.13%	0.000 / 0.000
AutoNation	35.15	-2.09%	41.55 / 30.46
BMW*	30.47	-1.93%	0.000 / 0.000
Superior Industries	18.75	-1.26%	26.34 / 14.17

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SHIKHA DALMIA
GM profits, but taxpayers are still on the hook

Three years after being rescued by a taxpayer bailout, General Motors last week announced some rather ambitious profit targets for 2012.
But even if it meets these targets -- a big if -- taxpayers should not wait on one foot to recover their remaining "investment" in the company.
There is no doubt that GM has returned from the brink. It made $8 billion last year, a record high, and regained enough global market share to once again become the world's biggest automaker, a title it had lost to Toyota.
More impressive, it ... >> Read the column Published: Feb 14 12:01 am U.S. Eastern time

Lindsay Chappell is the Mid-South bureau chief for Automotive News
For troubled Fisker, the problem is not with EVs

Things are not going well for Fisker Automotive, the electric-car startup being launched in Los Angeles by former BMW designer Henrik Fisker. ...

Read the blog Published: Feb 14 1:19 pm U.S. Eastern time

David Sedgwick is a Senior Writer for Automotive News
Auto gadgets lag computing power of smartphones

Every time the mobile phone industry sports a cool new app -- such as the Siri voice technology used in Apple's iPhone 4 -- automakers lumber into action with their own version three or four years later. And that's a problem for which there's no quick fix. ...

Read the blog Published: Feb 14 12:01 am U.S. Eastern time

Kia wants to make some noise in motorsports

RICK KRANZ: Win on Sunday, sell on Monday. As part of Kia's push to attract more buyers, the South Korean brand wants to be known for motorsports success and for building credible performance vehicles. ...

Read the blog Published: Feb 14 4:21 pm U.S. Eastern time

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