Autoline Daily

Renault’s Carlos Ghosn and Patrick Pélata have apologized profusely for the company’s bungled espionage caper and Ghosn is giving up his bonus. Of automakers in the American market Toyota is the most vulnerable to production disruptions because it imports more models from Japan than any other. Our colleagues at Edmunds Insideline put together an unusual comparison test, pitting the hot new 2011 Dodge Charger R/T against the General Lee. Yes, that General Lee. All that and more, plus a look at how Visteon is integrating cars and consumer electronics.

We know a little bit more about the new CFO at General Motors, Daniel Ammann and here's the best part, he owns a '61 Cadillac convertible and drives a CTS-V wagon. General Motors announced it will bring the Chevy Captiva Sport to the U.S. to sell to fleet customers. BMW just revealed its redesigned 6 Series which features numerous upgrades. All that and more, plus John shares his impressions of how Ford's EcoBoost technology performs with smaller engines in bigger vehicles.

Japan got pounded by an 8.9-magnitude earthquake yesterday afternoon and not surprisingly, automakers and suppliers are shutting down factories because of the disaster. If you add up the value of all the stock and options Ford CEO Alan Mulally has earned since joining the company, it’s now worth over $300 million! BMW reported record profits for 2010 with revenues increasing nearly 20%. All that and more, plus a look at Nissan's new light commercial vans.

In a bombshell of an announcement this morning, General Motors said that its Chief Financial Officer, Chris Liddell, is leaving the company. The espionage case at Renault just keeps getting more and more fun to watch and now the company is going to exonerate and rehire the three execs it fired. Going against the grain, one industry analyst is urging car buyers to NOT worry about gas prices. All that and more, plus a design tour of the new Chrysler 200 convertible.

Fiat held the top spot in sales in Brazil for the last 11 years but for the first two months of this year Volkswagen is number one. Chrysler will sell a couple of Fiat’s small commercial vehicles in the U.S. but they're not here yet, in the meantime the company will offer a utility version of its popular minivan, called the Ram Cargo Van. Pixar just released a new trailer for the upcoming Cars 2 movie that's in theaters this June. All that and more, plus John answers your questions about Ford, Chinese car companies ripping off designs and much more in the "You Said It!" segment.

There's a gold rush in Dearborn! Ford CEO Alan Mulally earned $56 million in stock last year while Chairman Bill Ford made off with more than $42 million. The internal-combustion engine is under attack in Europe where the EC wants to ban them from cities by 2050. Sergio Marchionne wants to build more Fiat models at Chrysler's plant in Toluca, Mexico. All that and more, plus we take a look at the 2012 Mazda5's flowing design.

Chinese automaker Brilliance is coming out with two new vehicles that are blatant rip-offs of the BMW 5-series and Nissan NV 200. Speaking of China, car sales fell last month for the first time that we can remember. Even though there are more cars sitting on dealer lots, the day’s supply has gone down because the daily selling rate is so much stronger. All that and more, plus a look at how Ford's EcoBoost is different from its competition from a technical standpoint.

An Acura executive hints that the curiously-styled ZDX may not be for this world much longer. Raw material prices have been going up, up, up, but only now are automakers feeling the pain. The Renault espionage saga only gets more complicated. All that and more, plus the first-ever automotive recall to be caused by a spider.

Curiously, French automaker Renault is backpedaling from its claims that it was a victim of industrial espionage. Something fishy is going on here. Autoline Daily has learned how much the battery packs in the Chevy Volt and the Nissan LEAF cost. Hint: a lot. COBO Hall, home of the Detroit Auto Show, is getting some significant upgrades over the next three years as part of a $211 million investment. All that and more, plus McElroy responds to your questions and comments in the ever-popular “You Said It!” segment.

New car sales shot up by more than 27% in the American market last month, falling just shy of one million units. General Motors and Toyota put in a blistering sales performance in February amongst the major manufacturers. Cadillac had the most shocking sales performance with sales up 70%. All that and more, plus John test drives the new Mazda5 which is in showrooms right now.