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TOKYO--It has been a tough run for U.S.-Japan joint automaking ventures in North America.

They once were hailed as learning labs where ailing Detroit manufacturers could assimilate the wisdom of the East. But in recent years they have crumbled under financial stress and shifting alliances.

In 2009, General Motors walked out on its 25-year-old joint venture with Toyota, New United Motor Manufacturing, in Fremont, Calif. Later that year, Suzuki bailed on its CAMI joint plant with GM in Canada.

Now Mazda Motor seems poised to pull out of its longtime manufacturing partnership with Ford.

At issue is the … Read more

General Motors isn't in the business of city buses, but an investment announced today in electric bus maker Proterra opens up the possibility

Proterra said that GM Ventures and venture capital company Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers have put $30 million into the Golden, Colo.-based start-up. Kleiner, Perkins led the round, which also brought money from Japanese industrial conglomerate Mitsui, Vision Ridge Partners, and 88 Green Ventures.

The investment will allow Proterra to further develop and market its all-electric bus, which the company has designed as a replacement for typical diesel municipal transit buses. The buses are already … Read more

General Motors said today that dealers in all 50 states can take orders for the 2012 Chevy Volt, which will come in a model priced just below $40,000.

The plug-in hybrid Volt is now available in six different models, rather than three, with the lowest listed at $39,995, or about $1,000 less than the 2011 price. The high-end model with leather, backup camera, navigation system, and other features is $46,265. Prices include the destination fee but not other taxes and fees.

Buyers can benefit from a federal tax credit of $7,500 for plug-in vehicles with … Read more

General Motors is eyeing its hometown of Detroit [as a place] to test its so-called EN-V personal mobility concept.

In a speech last week to Michigan business and civic leaders, GM North America President Mark Reuss called Detroit a "perfect" spot to test the futuristic machines.

EN-V, which stands for Electric Networked Vehicle, is GM's answer to improving transportation systems in congestion-choked cities such as Beijing. The EN-V was unveiled in 2010 at the Shanghai auto show. It is a battery-powered, enclosed two-wheeled vehicle that seats two, based on the two-wheeled Segway scooter. It reaches speeds of … Read more

DETROIT--Chevrolet's redesigned Corvette will debut by the fall of 2013 as a 2014 model, according to a Chevrolet source.

The current Corvette will be offered for the 2012 model year and possibly an abbreviated 2013 model year, the source said.

Enthusiasts have eagerly awaited the redesign. The current version has been on the market since the 2005 model year, and sales have been slow in recent years.

A shortened model year would give the plant in Bowling Green, Ky., ample time to retool for the redesigned 2014 model.

Last year GM denied speculation that the redesigned car would have … Read more

Nissan began construction on a 30-car solar charging station outside of the future Smyrna Vehicle Assembly Plant in Tennessee. The solar charging port is expected to be completed in July, and will use renewable energy to charge the Nissan Leafs that will be produced there in 2012. The Nissan Leaf and its 24 kWh lithium ion battery pack are currently manufactured in Japan.

When the solar car ports aren't being used to recharge EVs, the excess solar energy will help power Nissan's manufacturing facilities, according to a Nissan spokesman. Nissan did not release details about the energy capacity … Read more

Lutz's memoir gives an insider's view of a dysfunctional culture and counterproductive process.

Even before he rode into General Motors as the product-development savior in 2001, Bob Lutz found himself being recruited for plots to take over the company.

There was Heinz Prechter, the ASC sunroof king who proposed that Lutz and ex-Chrysler executive Steve Miller join with him as a pre-assembled management team to buy shares and get the board to clean out management.

There was J.T. Battenberg, the former GM executive who undertook the thankless and ultimately impossible task of making money at Delphi Corp., … Read more

General Motors said yesterday that it will make 60,000 Chevrolet Volt and Opel Ampera plug-in hybrids in 2012, up from its previously announced 45,000 production outlook.

GM also said that its Volt and Ampera production will be 16,000 in 2011, up from a previous forecast of 15,000.

The plant in Detroit that makes the two plug-in hybrids will shut for four weeks starting in early June, which will crimp already tight supplies, GM said.

Volt, the poster car for GM's effort to tilt its model lineup toward fuel-efficiency from gas-guzzling, will experience delays in dealer deliveries this summer as gasoline prices could soar over $4 per gallon, GM said.

"Already in tight supply, the number of Volts available for delivery to retail customers will be further restricted over the next three months before production resumes and the Volt and the Opel Ampera begin being exported to Europe and China," GM said in a statement.

Volt sales are to be especially reduced in June and July, GM said.

In April, Volt U.S. sales were 493, and for the first fourth months of this year sales were 1,703. It debuted late last year. … Read more

After enjoying a healthy lead with Sync, Ford may finally have to watch its back. GM officially debuted MyLink and IntelliLink at the 2011 New York International Auto Show, and its new smartphone-integrated infotainment platform could be a game changer for the industry.

Badged as IntelliLink in Buick and GMC vehicles, MyLink uses Bluetooth or USB to sync the occupant's smartphone with the vehicle, and integrate certain entertainment applications with the head unit. If you don't own a smartphone, don't worry--you still have access to all the standard entertainment system features, such as CD player, audio inputs … Read more