Auto Sector Stocks (Page 87)

When major car companies were seeking bankruptcy protection, Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) skillfully avoided Chapter 11. Today the company plans to announce a strategy to increase its production growth by 50 percent.

Has the earthquake and tsunami forced Toyota Motor Corporation (NYSE:TM) to rethink it relationship to the power grid? According to the BBC, thousands of solar panels are now being installed at Toyota's Derbyshire manufacturing plant in a bid to bypass the grid, cut bills and save energy.

While GM, Ford and Toyota are focusing most on electrification, Fiat and Chrysler Group LLC are poised best to disengage America from expensive gasoline and gradually switch to natural gas as an alternative fuel of choice. Think dual-fuel option here.

This is the beginning of the “Green Highway,” a vision for safe and consistent charging infrastructure spanning the West Coast, allowing EV drivers to travel with confidence from San Diego to Vancouver, B.C; and AeroVironment (Nasdaq: AVAV) will be the company to provide its DC Fast Charging Stations.

Attention on deck! Since the IPO of the new General Motors Company (NYSE: GM), the stock has failed to meet investor and analysts expectations, with the latest route to a new low, breaking below $29. (Monday, June 6, 2011 Morning Update: GM stock still languishing)

A chart of the Dow Jones US Autos and Parts ($DWCAUP) shows major segments of the auto stock sector following the general market’s downward direction today; in this case, just 37 points from its 200 day moving average.

Unlike the pre-bankruptcy days, General Motors (NYSE: GM) must be careful not to rearrange the corporate deck chairs just for the sake of rearranging. Any change has to be cognizant of global markets; and Bryan Nesbitt has the confidence of GM’s management.

Do not count lead-acid batteries out of the energy picture yet, especially for the micro-hybrid vehicle market featuring stop-start. The Axion PbC® technology represents the first major advance in lead-acid battery and electrode technology in 30 years.

In 2003, the breakeven for Saudi crude oil was $30 per barrel. It’s now reported to be $85 and expected to rise to $110 by 2015, according to the latest MarketWatch article.

You may have missed it. China’s Development and Reform Commission released a draft of guidelines last month for foreign investments into the Chinese market that limits foreign capital to 50% of any investment in certain electric vehicle component technologies.

In March, A123 Systems (Nasdaq: AONE) stock traded very shaky after an annual net earnings loss of 1.56 loss per share. A few month’s later, the stock chart reveals it has broken every price support since its IPO.

Stephen Odell, Chairman and CEO of Ford of Europe, accepted two Euro NCAP Advanced awards from Dr. Andre Seeck, President of Euro NCAP, a first in the history of Euro ENCAP.

When a special report on 5/13 by CNBC brought Sirius XM Radio stock (Nasdaq: SIRI) to the forefront of investors’ minds, the charts which told the story were looking for a possible retest of some swing lows. Today, it may be communicating the start of testing swing highs by completing the test and closing higher at $2.325 while hitting a $2.42 high, a level not seen since July, 2008.

In a shock to auto stock sector readers at Torque News, Mark Haines, founding anchor of CNBC’s morning Squawk Box program and later co-anchor of Squawk on the Street passed away Tuesday evening at age 65.

Like the motion-capture technology covered by Torque News at SAE World Congress, Ford is using similar but more sophisticated, multinational avatars like Ford's North American virtual workers, Jack and Jill, and now reflects the sizes and shapes of workers at assembly plants across the globe.

From the Nissan Leaf to the Chevrolet Volt, the Ford EV and the Tesla Roadster, manufacturers are still in uncharted territory. Their reliance on early adopters, those who are the first to buy the electric cars, is crucial to going forward.

Toyota stock (NYSE: TM) is still finding its way after the carnage of multiple recalls and a slowdown from the earthquake and tsunami. This swing action, though, is ideal for swing traders and option traders.

Despite all the hoopla by GM marketing, one visit to GM and Chevy on Facebook tells it all. The public response is NOT overwhelmingly in love with replacing spare tires with inflators.

Imagine getting a flat tire on the freeway. Now imagine reaching into your trunk, not for a spare, but for an inflator; and all because some automotive marketer says it’s faster and supposedly enables better gas mileage.

When production of the fuel-efficient 2012 Chevrolet Sonic and Buick Verano begin this fall, 40 percent of the energy to power the General Motors Orion Assembly Plant where they are built will come from burning landfill gas created nearby.

Although LinkedIn's initial public offering price was raised from the initial $32 to $35 range to $45 a share, the stock ticker LNKD soared above that on the open at $83.00 on the New York Stock Exchange. [Market Close Update: LNKD hit a high of $122.69, corrected and closed at $93.86]

AeroVironment (NASDAQ: AVAV) today announced that the BMW Group has selected it as the preferred provider of electric vehicle charging equipment, accessories and installation services supporting the introduction of the all-electric BMW ActiveE.

Reading between the lines of the recent survey by Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies, entitled "The New Retirement: Working", how will auto workers who perform physical labor and the auto companies who provide the jobs meet the challenge of a higher retirement age when the auto industry does not support working longer?

Honda Motor Company Ltd (NYSE: HMC) stock has suffered the effects of the earthquake, the tsunami and the resultant nuclear hazards, but is still trading just above its 200-day moving average. Question is, how long with this hold in light of the conditions? UPDATE: HMC closed today at 38.36.

AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ: AVAV) announced today that it has been selected by TXU Energy to deploy electric vehicle (EV) charging stations to support a public charging network in the Dallas Metro-plex area beginning with a historic installation in the City of McKinney.

The Patent Board has ranked General Motors as the No. 1 innovator of 182 companies in its quarterly automotive and transportation industry scorecard.

A special report today by CNBC brought Sirius XM Radio stock to the forefront of investors’ minds, but the charts have been telling the story all along.

General Motors’ CEO Dan Akerson purchased 30,000 shares of company common stock this past Wednesday, with a price of $31.33 per share bringing his total for that transaction to $939,000.

Raytheon engineers are addressing the need for an alternative power source for military use through the use of external combustion engines and monopropellant fuels. Enter its arrangement with Cyclone Power.

Despite a lousy Q1 report where Toyota Motor Corp. posted a 77 percent drop in net profit, the stock opened trading in New York on an even keel on Wednesday due to net profit for the full fiscal year. By the close it was up.