Qvale, nearing 90, sees life after crash for U.S. industry

The troubles roiling Detroit's automakers are familiar to Kjell Qvale, the legendary importer and dealer in San Francisco. Qvale, who turns 90 on July 17, has seen this movie before. For instance, many of the British automakers that Kjell Qvale (shel kah-VAH'-lee) depended on for sports and luxury cars collapsed in the 1970s.

Future products: Toyota lineup gets an 18-month makeover

Toyota plans to move into new product segments over the next 18 months, as well as redesign several mainstream models. By the spring of 2012, Toyota will launch all-new versions of the Camry, Yaris, Tacoma and RAV4. Also, the new FT-86 sport coupe, developed with Subaru, should arrive on these shores by that time.

Saab struggles with bills – Vladimir says it’s all fine

The Saab production line grinds to a halt as components run out I think we all hoped that after the long, painful transition from GM ownership in to new hands at Spyker that things would settle down and Saab would get back to making cars instead of headlines. But it seems not. Just a few days ago we had news that lifetime Saab man and CEO of Saab Jan Åke Jonsson is to step down in May, together with the news that Saab lost €140 million in 2010.