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Toyota Racks Up Recalls as Automakers Adopt More Proactive Safety Stance

By , Associate Editor, Money Morning -

Toyota Motor Corp. (NYSE ADR: TM) added another set of recalls yesterday (Thursday) to its rocky year.

Toyota announced it needed to repair 1.66 million autos worldwide for brake-fluid leak issues. The newest development brings the total number of Toyota vehicles recalled worldwide in the past year to about 14 million. 

The company said it needed to fix rubber seals on about 740,000 vehicles in the United States and 599,000 in Japan, as well as some models in European markets, including Avalon and Lexus sedans and Highlander sport-utility vehicles. A small amount of brake fluid was able to leak from the master cylinder and gradually reduce braking performance and cause a "spongy" feeling in the brakes, according to a company spokesman. Cars affected have had factory-filled brake fluid replaced with brake fluid that is not "genuine" factory fluid.

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China Traffic Jam Just a Brief Bottleneck on the Road to Growth

By , Contributing Writer, Money Morning -

Besides recently being crowned the world's second-largest economy, China now has the dubious distinction of spawning the world's longest traffic jam. And it's all directly attributable to China's voracious appetite for energy and automobiles.

A line of cars and trucks 60 miles long (100 kilometers) has snarled the road along the Beijing-Tibet 110 Expressway for the past nine days.

The bumper-to-bumper gridlock, which finally began to ease yesterday (Wednesday), was created by a surge in trucks carrying coal from the province of Inner Mongolia to the suburbs of Beijing, where power plants continue to suck up and incinerate millions of tons of the black rock.

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With a 183% Gain on Ford Motor Co.'s Shares, This Money Morning Stock Pick Was Truly a "Better Idea"

By , Executive Editor, Money Morning • @privatebrief -

In late 1968, one of America's "Big Three" automakers adopted the slogan: "Ford has a better idea."

In July 2008, in his weekly "Buy, Sell or Hold" column, Money Morning's Horacio Marquezhad a better idea of his own: Buy Ford.

Investors who took heed of that advice have done quite well - Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) shares have soared more than 180% since they were recommended on July 28, 2008, at $4.75 a share. Ford's stock closed Thursday at $13.45 - for a gain of 183%.

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China Auto Sales Off to a Strong Start

By , Managing Editor, Money Morning -

China topped the United States in auto sales for the first time ever last year, and it looks poised to keep its crown as the world's largest auto market this year as car sales in China got off to a strong start in the first quarter - soaring 76% from 2009.

Some 3.52 million cars were sold in China in the January-March period, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers. The strong showing was partly the result of weak 2009 sales but it was enough to convince carmakers to raise their regional sales forecasts.

General Motors Corp., which leans heavily on its joint venture Shanghai General Motors Co. Ltd., said it would hit its target of 2 million sales in China this year, putting the company four years ahead of schedule.

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Number of the Day: With 13.6 Million Vehicles Sold Last Year, China Has Passed the U.S. as the World's Largest Auto Market

By , Managing Editor, Money Morning -

China dethroned the United States as the world's largest auto market in 2009 with 13.6 million vehicles sold. It's the first time since Henry Ford's assembly line created a mass market for cars and trucks last century that a country other than the United States led the world in auto sales.

China sold more cars than the United States every month last year, except for August when the popular "Cash-for-Clunkers" program bolstered U.S. sales. China's auto sales, which also were boosted by government incentives, nearly doubled in December, rising 92% from a year earlier to 1.41 million vehicles, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers said yesterday (Monday).

Roughly 10.4 million light vehicles were sold in the United States in 2009 - the lowest total since 1982 and a 21% decline from 2008. That number doesn't include the sale of heavy commercial vehicles, whereas China's total does. However, just 500,000 heavy commercial vehicles were sold the United States last year, CSM Worldwide analyst Yale Zhang told The Wall Street Journal. That would still leave U.S. sales short of China's mark.

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China's Exports to Return to Growth Next Year, but How Much Will It Matter?

By , Associate Editor, Money Morning -

Shipments from the Red Dragon were hit hard in the first 11 months this year, falling 18.8% compared to a year earlier, but are expected to bounce back and grow 6% in 2010, China's State Information Center said today (Tuesday).

However, exports from China, which is largely considered to be the world's manufacturing floor, are becoming less and less relevant as the Red Dragon moves toward a more balanced economy.

For instance, imports are expected to grow 11% next year, reflecting a shift toward more domestic consumption. And while the country is known for its massive spending on infrastructure, its service sector is growing twice as fast as its construction and infrastructure sectors, according to Money Morning Chief Investment Strategist Keith Fitz-Gerald, who says exports account for only 20% of China's gross domestic product (GDP).

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Has Asia Dethroned Detroit as the Auto Sector Leader?

By , Global Investing Specialist, Money Morning -

Back in May I recommended that readers should buy shares in Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) on the grounds that the U.S. carmaker would gain market share from the bankrupt General Motors Corp. (OTC: MTLQQ) and Chrysler Group LLC. Ford’s third-quarter profit and healthy October sales growth show I called that one right. One doesn’t like to blow one’s own trumpet excessively, but if you’d followed my advice in May, you would today be sitting on a profit of nearly 50%.

However, while I admire Ford for its brilliant strategic decision not to cave in and accept government-sponsored bankruptcy, and wish it well in its future battles with GM and Chrysler, I’m not sure the company that Henry founded represents the future for the global automobile industry.

More likely – while Chrysler will become a money-pit that is closed only by political means, and GM will limp on as a smaller and marginally profitable U.S. and European producer – Ford will slim down to become a specialty producer of cars tailored to the tastes and needs of the U.S. market. It’s well known that the auto preferences of U.S. consumers differ greatly from those of their European counterparts.

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Investment News Briefs

By , Money Morning -

With our investment news briefs, Money Morning provides investors with a quick overview of the most important investing news stories from all around the world. AIG Selling Taiwan Life Insurance Unit; Source: Comcast Proposes NBC Universal JV; China Auto Sales up 78% in Sept.; Whitney Cuts Goldman to Neutral; Bank of America Turns over Merrill […]

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Investment News Briefs

By , Money Morning -

With our investment news briefs, Money Morning provides investors with a quick overview of the most important investing news stories from all around the world. Alcoa Earnings Rallies Stock; Retailers Post Strong September; Initial Jobless Claims Hit 9-Month Low; ECB and BOE Leave Rates Unchanged; PepsiCo Beats 3Q Estimates; CEO: China Auto Market to Cool; […]

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Chrysler CEO Gearing Up to Reveal Five-Year Plan That May Include Roads Into China

By , Associate Editor, Money Morning -

Chrysler Group LLC Chief Executive Officer Sergio Marchionne has designed a five-year plan that outlines the path to recovery after the automaker was forced into bankruptcy earlier this year, he said yesterday (Wednesday). A recent report showed this path may lead to China, which has supplanted the United States as the world's largest auto market. […]

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China Exports Drop, but Production Rises on Domestic Demand

By , Associate Editor, Money Morning -

August exports in China plummeted 23.4% from a year earlier as the global economic crisis continued to take its toll on developed countries. However, industrial production in the Red Dragon still managed to grow, indicating the best is yet to come for the world's third largest economy. Boosted by a $586 billion (4 trillion yuan) […]

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While the Rest of the World is Stuck in Reverse, the China Auto Market Zooms Ahead

By , Chief Investment Strategist, Money Map Report • @kfgtotalwealth -

[Editor's Note: Money Morning Investment Director Keith Fitz-Gerald is one of the world's leading experts on Asia, especially China. Right now, Fitz-Gerald is leading an investment tour of the Red Dragon, and he'll be sending along regular investment travelogues to update Money Morning readers on his latest observations. This is the second installment of that […]

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