Author: Automotive News Feed

TOKYO — The redesigned Nissan Rogue crossover scheduled to arrive in showrooms next month is a watershed vehicle for Nissan Motor Co., the first product of a new modular development strategy that aims to slash costs.

Public retailers said last week that profits on used cars and finance and insurance operations drove increases in their third-quarter earnings.

There have been several stories recently about General Motors’ plan to use the Internet to sell cars with the help of franchised dealers. This could be the beginning of a slippery slope for GM.

What has Ford executives crowing is that Ford’s three global regions — South America, Asia Pacific and Africa and Europe — posted a combined profit for the quarter for the first time since the second quarter of 2011.

If you have read the news lately, you may have noticed a troubling trend in auto safety.

Tiny recalls are growing across the industry, experts say, as automakers, like drug companies and food manufacturers, build sophisticated data-mining operations to guard against costly and reputation-crippling recalls.

From all the vehicle safety recalls that get reported on the nightly news, you might think that cars and trucks are becoming more dangerous.