CAC Auto

Russia Set to Invest in Cleaning Up Car Pollution Again

The United States government made headlines with their Cash for Clunkers program that was part of a vision of taking older model vehicles off the road by providing an incentive for consumers to opt for more fuel efficient and less polluting vehicles in order to help keep the air quality higher in the US. Other countries have emulated this plan and one of the largest is the nation of Russia which has already done one run of a similar program intended to help better the air quality in the country and also improve fuel efficiency on the road to help Russia preserve its petro based natural resources. Now, the nation’s government has announced that they will spend the equivalent of $330 million, 10 billion rubles, to run a second leg of the program to subsidize the program to get ‘clunker’ cars and trucks off of Russian road ways. The trade in project is a big one for Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who expects it to be a major success for his country.

He announced only days ago that the government signed an order to assign the money for the program through Viktor Khristenko, the Trade and Industry Minister of Russia. The program grants 50,000 rubles for those who want to trade Russian made cars that are 10 years or older, and has definitely helped the local auto industry recover from some rough times, according to experts in the nation. Over 200,000 vehicles will be scrapped under this plan which is the same number that were processed in the first leg of the program.

Ford Now Able to Pay Back Company Chairman

Things have begun to look very good indeed for the Detroit, Michigan based car maker Ford Motor Company. Only a few days ago, the top auto maker in the United States announced that they are going to be able to pay their own executive chairman for the first time since 2005. William Clay Ford Jr., the chairman in question, has not been paid since then because Ford has not had a profitable year since that time. As the great grandson of the founder of Ford Motor Company, Henry Ford himself, Ford Jr. will be able to receive a little over $4 million in cash in 2010, as well as stock options that he has which are worth a total of just under $12 million. These new details have come courtesy of a filing that the company gave to the Securities and Exchange Commission.

That figure, posted half a decade after Ford’s great grandson was first unable to be paid, also show compensation that he earned since 2008. Ford Jr. agreed to defer that money until the company was able to return to profitability in its auto making operations and he voluntarily went without pay in the years 2006 and 2007 in order to help his company achieve that goal. The compensation committee for Ford Motor decided that now is the time to give Mr. Ford what he is owed because the company is in such sound financial shape said Mark Truby, the spokesman for the auto maker. In order to arrive at this decision, the group took a look at the most recent profits the company has earned, in addition to the outlook for 2010 and 2011 alike. They came to the conclusion that the growth of Ford Motor Company will be able to be sustained without any problems. This is great news for those who own stock in the company and it may help raise the value of used cars bearing the Ford mark, as well.

In response to the news, Ford Jr. notified his employees that he very much appreciated their efforts to get the company back to a profitable state via email and let them know that he would be paid, in the interest of doing business in a fair and open way.

This is ironic news for some, considering that in 2005, Ford Motor was considered to be in the worst shape of all the big three Detroit car makers, but after 5 straight quarters of profitability, few critics will argue with the company’s decision.

Whitney Automotive Group Bought Out

It was recently announced by US Auto Parts, a provider of after market auto parts and accessories for vehicles which operates on the web, that the company has acquired Whitney Automotive Group for a total purchase price of just under $28 million. In the deal, US Auto Parts will take on payables and other trade related debts that total $11 million, and the deal is said to be closing some time in August 2010. Experts say that this will be a major boon for the 95 year old Whitney Automotive Group which was best known for the JC Whitney brand. The company has made a name for itself by distributing after market auto parts that are aimed at the Do It Yourself niche customers in the accessories market. The company owns a varied collection of web sites that cater to truck styling, car parts, motor bikes and of course its flagship business JC Whitney. All told, the web sites have managed to bring in more than 3 million visitors each month and the deal is expected to bring a lot of name recognized brands to US Auto Parts while offering their customers many more options to help them expand their work in selling auto parts over the web. The expanded customer reach, say analysts, should go a long way in helping US Auto Parts really establish dominance in their markets of choice.

Chief Executive Officer for US Auto Parts, Shane Evangelist, has cited the acquisition as a major move that will build his company’s power to better serve its core customer base, as well.