UBS has cut Fiat’s rating from “buy” to “neutral”. UBS cites its cautious views on car demand in Europe and Brazil as well as heavy trucks and machinery, the areas is which Fiat are strongest. UBS notes that Sergio Marchionne’s grand scenario of spinning off Fiat’s auto division is still the company’s goal, and PSA

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Fiat Downgraded: Marchionne Eying PSA?

China’s SAIC, which had bought Britain’s MG and Rover in a roundabout way, is expected to unveil a production version of the MG 6 at the upcoming 2009 Guangzhou auto show next week, Gasgoo writes. The five-door MG6 was shown as a concept at the 2009 Shanghai auto show in April. Production versions, complete with fake

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SAIC Readies MG6

After the sales plunge in the auto market began in earnest in the fall of 2008, automakers scrambled to reduce production schedules, sell off swollen inventories and otherwise deal with a drastically contracting U.S. market. Now, after months of production cutbacks orchestrated by many automakers and the summer's outsized demand from the $3-billion Cash for Clunkers rebate program, bloated inventories are a thing of the past. Now, data researchers at Edmunds.com say the coming months may be a tug of war between still-cautious buyers and right-sized-but-cash-strapped automakers anxious to hold the line on pricing. It could be a battle that sees winners and losers on both sides as uncommon market and industry forces collide in what will be an unpredictable sales environment.

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As ‘09 Inventories Deplete, Who Will Blink First – Carmakers or Customers?

In order to prod soccer moms across the nation to plug a visit to the BMW dealership into their Blackberrys, BMW North America Inc. this week nonchalantly announced the price for its first “full” hybrid-electric vehicle, the ActiveHybrid X6: $89,725. Welcome to hybridization as seen by German luxury marques, who, given their choices for showcasing hybrid technology, seem to be more intent on using their new hybrids to prove why their diesel-powered models make much more sense in terms of actually appealing to consumers. At nearly $90,000, the ActiveHybrid X6 has a total of 485 horsepower, weighs more than 5,600 pounds and still has plenty of extra-price options. In the spring, BMW will follow up with the ActiveHybrid 7, the hybridized version of its 7-Series flagship. The car is certain to crack the 6-figure price barrier.

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Latest Hybrids Probably Won’t Help Build the Market

This according to the National Taxpayer’s Union report “The Auto Bailout: A Taxpayer Quagmire,” authored by Rochester Institute of Technology Professor of Economics, Thomas D. Hopkins. That number includes the $52.9b taxpayer “investment” in General Motors, as well as GM’s portion of the GMAC bailout, which brings GM’s taxpayer tab to over $60b. Chrysler’s GMAC-inclusive

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Bailout Watch 573: GM Bailout Cost Taxpayers $12,200 Per Car

“There is no other area in the field of human communications that is as rife with disinformation as the story on Chrysler quality,” then Chrysler President Bob Lutz once famously said. Some things never change. According to today’s Detroit News, Chrysler is claiming that they will be a (though not “the”) quality leader by the

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Chrysler: Quality Leader By 2012?

Concern among some taxpayer and environmental groups that Chrysler's recent decision to downplay development of fuel-efficient electric vehicles violated a pledge used to gain federal bailout funds are unfounded, an administration official says. ———- Chrysler, which based part of its federal bailout on promised development of electric vehicles such as this “EcoVoyager” concept, has pulled way back on electrification plans since emerging from bankruptcy. ——— “We obviously would be very happy if Chrysler and GM were making lots and lots of high mileage cars [but] it's not a prerequisite. It's not an obligation” of the bankruptcy bailout funding, auto industry restructuring task force chief Ron Bloom said

“U.S. encouraged by Fiat plan for Chrysler,” runs Reuters‘ headline, attributed to car czarlet Ron Bloom. After commenting extensively about GM, in which Bloom controls a 60 percent taxpayer stake, he had only this to say about the eight percent government owned Chrysler and its recent plans: We see management with a huge sense of urgency.

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Bloom More “Encouraged” By Chrysler Plans Than Most

The first time John McCain ran for the U.S. presidency, his aggressive, occasionally angry style didn’t sit well with voters. As we saw in 2008, he’s managed to dial it down a bit during public debates, but the senator is still as feisty as ever. Yesterday, he told the press that Chrysler is doomed, despite receiving government support to the ..

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McCain Hasn’t Met Anyone Who Thinks Chrysler Will Survive

Not long after Fortune’s long time auto writer Alex Taylor III finished his apology to Ford he went on to write a love letter to Sergio Marchionne. Taylor starts with parallels to Ghosn’s myth making success at Nissan, then ups the ante: “The other day in Auburn Hills, Mich., Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne took a

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Editorial: Sergio Marchionne: Savior or False Prophet?