In an interesting report that’s surfacing right now, Germany in 2010 produced 5.5-million vehicles compared to America’s 2.7-million while spending an average of $67.14/hour versus America’s average of $33.77/hour. That means Germany is not only producing twice as many cars as America, but also paying twice as much.

The article, published by Remapping Debate, states that “the salient difference is that, in Germany, the automakers operate within an environment that precludes a race to the bottom; in the U.S., they operate within an environment that encourages such a race.” In other words, IG Metall – the equivalent of America’s United Automobile Workers (UAW) – strive to guarantee high wages and good working conditions for autoworkers. Literally all of Germany’s car workers are members of IG Metall and even though they can strike, they hardly use the right because of a thorough conflict resolution system.

So really what’s the major difference? The fact that German manufacturers are able to get away with so much more in America, since union-management relations in the US are adversarial while in Germany they’re collaborative. Volkswagen‘s Chattanooga plant for example pays their non-unionized employees $14.50/hour, which increases to $19.50/hour after three years. And BMW, who has an operating plant in Spartanburg, South Carolina, had no difficulties adapting to the Spartanburg business culture.

[Source: Autoblog]

After a decade of success, Lexus has been thoroughly dethroned by the Teutonic duo, BMW and Mercedes-Benz, whom are the new kings of the United States premium car market. However, after months of fierce sales competition, it still isn’t clear which German automaker will come out on top.

The last tally at the end of November indicated that BMW has sold 221,073 units in the U.S. market, only 1,582 more than Mercedes-Benz. Now down to the wire, both premium carmakers are now using all discount strategies imaginable to sway buyers.

According to TrueCar.com, BMW and Mercedes-Benz are offering approximately $4,800 USD in discounts by way of subsidizing interest rates (as low as 0.9 percent), lease payments have been waived for the initial months, an increase in the residual value of vehicles when the lease expires, as well as giving further incentives to returning customers.

No matter who eventually wins the title, the year has been positive for both automakers. BMW saw a 12.3 percent increase while Mercedes-Benz enjoyed a 11.8 percent increase in auto sales this year. Overall, sales of premium vehicles in the U.S. increased by 35%.

[Source: CarScoop]

Lost in the news regarding Saab‘s bankruptcy is the impact on US dealerships as they were forced to sell all vehicles as is and with no warranty since December 19th, 2011.

Many dealerships are looking for ways to liquidate their inventory as all 188 US dealerships were also notified that all factory incentive programs and payments to dealers have been suspended. But as expected, the biggest hurdle for these dealerships to jump over is the fact that there’s no warranties offered with the sale of Saab vehicles.

Some dealerships are taking matters in their own hands by offering their own warranty out of the store’s pocket. The 36,000-mile/three-year General Motors Protection Plan warranty has an estimated cost of $2,000 to $2,500 per vehicle sold. Other dealerships are turning towards aftermarket warranties, but it’s still not a manufacturer’s warranty.

As of last week, there were about 2,400 Saab vehicles left in US inventory with the majority of dealerships focusing on liquidating their inventory as quickly as possible. Saab of Troy in Detroit has been the nation’s largest Saab dealership and had roughly $4-million in inventory last week.

[Source: Automotive News]

The upcoming 2013 Dodge Ram 1500 refresh will also be getting some new tweaks to its suspension, employing the services of Jeep‘s Grand Cherokee.

The new truck will be getting the air suspension setup found in the Jeep Grand Cherokee, giving the truck a whole new level of riding comfort. The 2013 Ram 1500 will be getting plenty of new goodies with Dodge looking to enhance the trucks’ luxury department as well as some new tech toys. It’ll be making its debut at the 2012 New York Auto Show.

[Source: Auto Evolution]

Initial estimations for electric vehicle sales may have been a tad too optimistic, as a new report is coming out that EV sales may total half of what was originally expected by 2025.

It’s probably too early to tell given human nature – who would have thought the Prius would be a hard to get vehicle – but Morgan Stanley now expects electric vehicles to account for 4.5-percent of total auto sales in 2025 instead of the initial 8.5-percent figure.

Automakers are still optimistic however, Renault-Nissan still expects electric vehicle sales to account for 10-percent of the global market by 2020.

The skepticism towards the originally inflated figures comes from the fact that without government assistance, electric vehicles will be too expensive to meet those forecasts. Electric vehicle sales are currently heavily subsidized by various governments but that’s not expected to last.

Analysts believe that sales will increase once the battery technology on electric vehicles becomes less expensive, but that’s not expected until 2025. We’re a little more optimistic though, given how technology has improved exponentially over the years.

GALLERY: Nissan Leaf

[Source: Left Lane News]

The Chrysler 300 is getting a face-lift that will take direct aim at the luxury brands. This newest edition of the Luxury series 300 will offer some pretty swanky features that you would expect from a Benz or a BMW.

The Luxury series will come dressed with Italian Poltrona Frau leather which will cover the instrument panel, front and rear door panels as well as the center console side panels. Premium Nappa leather will cover the arm rests and front and rear seats and come with a choice of two color options; black or two tone Mocachino. The seats themselves have 12-way power position adjustments as well as heating and cooling features to ensure that everyone can find a comfy seating arrangement. A very nice touch added to the interior as well is real natural Pore Mocha wood accents.

The luxury package will be outfitted with the all new ZF eight speed automatic transmission paired to either the Pentastar V6 engine or for the real power the 5.7L HEMI V8. While the transmission will no doubt help the car with fuel economy and smooth power delivery, this make over is all about the aesthetics of the car both inside and out.

The exterior will be packed with chrome accents on the door handles, around the grille, and on the mirror caps to give the 300 the luxury look and depending on whether the car is AWD or RWD it will come with 19 or 20 inch painted pocket aluminium wheels.

This new luxurious 300 will be arriving at dealerships in the first quarter of 2012. The pricing for the 300C will be as follows: Chrysler 300 Luxury Series (RWD) $40,145; Chrysler 300 Luxury Series (AWD) $42,495;  Chrysler 300C Luxury Series (RWD) $42,895;  Chrysler 300C Luxury Series(AWD) $45,245.

GALLERY: Chrysler 300 Luxury Edition

Toyota of Japan has released the first official photos of their 2012 Land Cruiser refresh, the first major update since the SUV first hit the market in 2007.

On the outside, the bulk of the Land Cruiser’s styling remains the same, but it does get outfitted with a sportier front bumper, new headlights with LEDs, new front grille with chrome accents, and the taillights got a slight revamp. Toyota also gave the 2012 Land Cruiser a collection of new tech goods including a multi-terrain monitor that utilizes four small cameras mounted around the vehicle to show road conditions on a screen in the dash.

Drivers will also be able to choose through a multi-terrain select system, modifying the traction control and brake settings on the Land Cruiser. Modes include rock, rock & dirt, mogul, loose rock and mud & sand.

Lastly, at very low speeds, the Land Cruiser can turn on a turn-assist function helping decrease the turning radius of the SUV.

Out in Japan, the 2012 Land Cruiser will be powered by a 4.6L V8 powerplant with 318-hp and 339 lb-ft of torque mated to a six-speed sequential transmission. Pricing based on today’s conversion rates is around $56,500.

It shouldn’t be long until America gets their peek at their version of the 2012 Land Cruiser, we don’t expect any major changes from the Japanese variant.

GALLERY: 2012 Toyota Land Cruiser

South Korean automakers have been on a roll for the past two years and there are no signs of letting off. A radical departure from Hyundais of the past, the new Hyundai Veloster earned GOOD DESIGN award in the transportation category. Held at the Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design, GOOD DESIGN awards are handed annually to the most innovative designers in a broad array of industries– not just automotive.

According to Hyundai Motor America director of Product Planning, Scott Margason, “With Veloster, we want to show consumers that high style, fuel efficiency and affordable pricing can all be found in one vehicle. Veloster stands out from the crowd with a stylish yet functional design. We’re honored that GOOD DESIGN is recognizing the beautiful design and unique personality of the car.”

Highlights of the Veloster’s design are its three-door layout. While this design has been adopted by the and Saturn SC-2 3-door coupe in the past, the third door is opened conventionally rather than suicide, retains a B-pillar for structural rigidity, and has its own exterior door handle rather than needing to rely on the front door to open first. What’s more, designers compliment the Hyundai for its bold design statement and its distinctive forms including black A-pillars to give the sports coupe an aggressive motorcycle helmet visor appearance. A distinctive glass hatch in the rear and dual centered chrome exhaust tips carry the edgy design to the rear. Inside, the center console is designed to resemble a sport bike fuel tank while HVAC air vents are heavily influenced by motorcycle tailpipes.

Click here to read Autoguide’s review of the 2012 Veloster.

GALLERY: Hyundai Veloster

The 2011 Porsche 911 Speedster always stands out, but the one outfitted by world renown artist Miguel Paredes will stop onlookers in their tracks.

This art car, which made its debut at Art Basel, was created by the urban realist who dabbles in New York graffiti art. Taking inspiration form trippy retro Japanese style, Paredes’ vision is a wonderful bouquet of colorful flowers. Finishing this automotive work of art is a lovely geisha on the hood.

Considering that the 911 Speedster is a limited edition, with only 356 being made, Paredes’ art car (which is number 176 of this model) is probably the most eye-catching one so far. And just like the rest of the limited edition, this one is powered by a 3.8-liter flat six engine, so it will be a blur of color as it passes you on the road. No word if this particular beauty is for sale, but we think that at some point, it will be hitting the auction block. We’ll let you know when that happens and how much it sells for.

[Source: Top Speed]

Daimler got caught with their pants down this year when Audi passed Mercedes-Benz for the first time in history to become the world’s number two luxury car maker. That won’t be the case if they have their way next year.

According to internal documents obtained by Automotive News, Daimler is spurring Mercedes to increase output by 13 percent next year to more than 1.4 millon passenger vehicles. Those numbers don’t include their Smart or soon-to-vanish Maybach brands. With those figured into the mix, the company projects 1.52 million vehicles next year, though a Daimler spokesperson declined to comment on the goals.

“Mercedes-Benz is going on the attack,” Daimler board member for manufacturing and procurement Wolfgang Bernhard said in a press release. “We are securing our path to the top by extensively investing in the expansion of our high-performance production network.”

Mercedes fell to third place this year despite breaking company records by selling 1.25 million cars and SUVs.

[Source:Automotive News]

GALLERY: 2012 Mercedes-Benz C Class

[Source: Automotive News]