Tudor Raiciu
136 ARTICLES
Favorite “game” quote: “War... war never changes” (He's also an avid Fallout fan, as you might have guessed)
Aston Martin Can't Get Enough Dealerships, Opens in Prague
29 Apr 2009, 15:41 UTC · By: Tudor Raiciu / After two quite recently opened dealerships in Safenwil, Switzerland and Zagreb, Croatia, Aston Martin seems to have a thirst for more. A thirst that can only be quenched with yet another dealership, this time in the Czech Republic. According ...
Michelin Records Mild Q1 Losses, but China Is Still OK
29 Apr 2009, 14:47 UTC · By: Tudor Raiciu / You'd think that tire manufacturers were severely hit by the declining sales posted by automakers around the world, except China of course. They are not doing great, but truth be told, they don't seem to be suffering that much either. ...
US Government Slowly "Crawling" Towards "Cash for Clunkers" Bill
29 Apr 2009, 13:37 UTC · By: Tudor Raiciu / The US seem to be once again one step behind other countries in helping the automakers boost their disastrous sales. After failing to react in time to the soaring gas prices, the US lawmakers are taking way too long to adopt a "cash for clu...
Seppuku Warning: Honda Posts First Loss in 15 Years
29 Apr 2009, 10:58 UTC · By: Tudor Raiciu / This shouldn't be a consolation for Daimler AG who are these days learning the word “loss”, but Honda are likely to join them in the classroom. The Japanese yesterday announced their financial results for the fiscal fourth qua...
Troubled by Pontiac's Axing Holden Eyes US Police Force
29 Apr 2009, 08:57 UTC · By: Tudor Raiciu / With General Motors phasing out Pontiac, the Australians from Holden forgot for a moment about the shrimp on the barbie and realized that they were in deep... misfortune. As strange as it might sound, the Pontiac G8 was not manufactured in the Uni...
Renault-Nissan "Infects" Seattle with the EV Virus
29 Apr 2009, 07:51 UTC · By: Tudor Raiciu / Like an octopus spreading its tentacles, the Renault-Nissan Alliance continues its zero-emission offensive in yet another city in the United States. After Phoenix, the Alliance yesterday announced that Nissan and the City of Seattle are forming a p...
Indian Plant Buzzes with German Excitement, Begins Volkswagen Polo Production
28 Apr 2009, 15:46 UTC · By: Tudor Raiciu / What do Volkswagen and India have in common? Apart from the new Pune plant, we can safely say that absolutely nothing. But since the aforementioned plant was inaugurated on March 31, there's enough reason for us to report that Volkswagen India...
2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid Drives 1,445.7 Miles on a Single Tank
28 Apr 2009, 14:08 UTC · By: Tudor Raiciu / Last Wednesday we reported that Ford was attempting to drive the 2010 Ford Fusion for 1,000 miles (1,609 km) on a 43 hour endurance test by using only one tank of fuel. The Dearborn based company yesterday announced that the 2010 Ford Fusion Hyb...
Kia's 6-Speed Automatic Tranny, the World's Most Compact
28 Apr 2009, 13:08 UTC · By: Tudor Raiciu / Though regarded by many German-lovin' fanatics as some poor Asian people who can barely put together a car, let alone develop technologies, Kia have managed to come up with their very own 6-speed automatic transmission. The reason why we&#...
Sprechen Sie 'Loss'? Daimler Posts Poor Q1 Results
28 Apr 2009, 11:00 UTC · By: Tudor Raiciu / If they are not “sprechen” already they will have to learn it as the Daimler AG people are feeling the stinging effects of the economic crisis. How stinging? Well, last year, about the same time (read first quarter) they had an EBIT of ...
Autoevolution Poll Shares Apocalyptic Vision: GM Will Go Bankrupt
28 Apr 2009, 09:34 UTC · By: Tudor Raiciu / Things are not looking good for the once sales leader in the automotive world and our readers seem to think the same. Following the numerous reports last week concerning General Motors and the bleak Chapter 11 bankruptcy law, we decided to find out...
Honda Is Optimistic, Launches Acura-Branded Financial Service
24 Apr 2009, 12:06 UTC · By: Tudor Raiciu / Probably motivated by the forecasted improvement in the US vehicle demand this summer, Honda is giving its luxury focused customers the necessary tools to lift the company's sales as it yesterday launched its Acura-branded financial services. ...
US Car Sales, the Worst in 30 Years, but It's All Stable
24 Apr 2009, 10:08 UTC · By: Tudor Raiciu / While communist China celebrates brilliant production figures and record sales, capitalist US looks at its car industry and you can almost see a tear slowly making its way around the pores of a worn out figure. And things don't seem to get bet...
Ferrari Dealership Sues Rival for Corporate Espionage
24 Apr 2009, 08:45 UTC · By: Tudor Raiciu / We've heard about espionage cases between two companies or two F1 constructors, but this is a bit too much to digest. A Long Island, New York, dealership that sells Bentleys and Aston Martins is being sued by a rival one that specializes in F...
British GP in Doubt, Donington Park Operator Sued by Owners
23 Apr 2009, 15:39 UTC · By: Tudor Raiciu / Things just don't seem to be working out for the Donington Park circuit and its track operator, Simon Gillett. We were almost 100% percent that Donington Park would re-enter the F1 circuit in 2010 when we found out that Donington Park's o...
Hormonal CEO Marti Eulberg Quits Maserati US
23 Apr 2009, 14:36 UTC · By: Tudor Raiciu / Something must have gone hormonally wrong with Maserati North America's CEO Marti Eulberg as she stepped down as the company's CEO after less than a year in that position to “pursue other opportunities”. “We deeply v...
Brilliant! BMW Brilliance to Build a Second Plant in China
23 Apr 2009, 13:23 UTC · By: Tudor Raiciu / Probably overwhelmed with enthusiasm by the booming sales, BMW's China partner Brilliance Auto were perhaps too quick to announce that a second plant would be built in the Communist Republic to meet the solid demand of luxury cars there. Th...
The Anti-Democracy Truck or How to Benefit from the Crisis
23 Apr 2009, 12:52 UTC · By: Tudor Raiciu / Crises lead to protests and protests can sometimes lead to riots or even small revolutions. Protests and riots have to be quelled by the authorities, be them democratic or communist. This is where shrewd entrepreneurs come into play. A midsize f...
China Ahead of Germany and US in 2008 Car Production
23 Apr 2009, 09:30 UTC · By: Tudor Raiciu / We wouldn't want to point any fingers, ok... maybe just one, but you know we are living in some murky times right now when you look at production figures in the car industry. Chinese communist leaders must be rubbing their hands and grinni...
Is the Slovakian Factory Up for Volkswagen?
23 Apr 2009, 08:16 UTC · By: Tudor Raiciu / Apparently it is, as the German manufacturer yesterday confirmed early April reports that the future small family model, or Up as it is known in the industry, will be manufactured at the company's Bratislava plant in Slovakia. The Volkswag...