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EU formally questions French government assistance of Peugeot's finance arm

Recently, the finance arm of PSA/Peugeot-Citroën was in such debt trouble that it was pricing itself out of the car loan market. The rates it was paying to service its debt, which was rated one step above junk, were so high that it was forced to charge car-buying customers higher rates than they could find elsewhere. This was adding to Peugeot's already impressive woes by sending revenue out the door to competitors.
Two months ago a deal was worked out with the French government whereby the state would provide 7 billion euro ($9 billion USD) in bonds to guarantee the finance arm's loans. The French government could nominate someone to join the Peugeot board, Peugeot would guarantee more French jobs, and on top of that deal, other banks would provide non-guaranteed loans. The government would take no equity stake in the car company.
Although not yet finalized, the arrangement is meant to create some breathing room for Peugeot Finance to lower its interest rates for customers, and a government-nominated board member, Louis Gallois, was recently named to Peugeot's supervisory board. The arrangement was also openly questioned by at least three competitors: Ford, Renault - which is 15-percent owned by the French government after it received state aid - and the German state of Lower Saxony, itself a 15-percent shareholder in Volkswagen.

Ford blows up Takata airbag recall by over 447k vehicles

Ford is the latest automaker to announce an expansion to its Takata driver-side airbag inflator recall, and the latest increase adds an additional 447,310 vehicles to the nationwide total. The company says that this expansion comes at the request of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The expanded recall campaign covers: The 2005-2008 Ford Mustang built between August 18, 2004, and June 25, 2007, at the at Flat Rock Assembly Plant The 2005-2006 Ford GT built between February 11, 2005, and January 30, 2006, at the at the Wixom Assembly Plant As of December 18, Ford knows of a total of 502,489 vehicles in need of replacement driver side inflators. Of those, 462,911 are in the US, 27,516 in Canada, 7,578 in Mexico and 4,484 outside of North America. The automaker is aware of one injury that may be related to these exploding parts. Earlier in December, the automaker issued an expanded recall covering passenger side Takata airbag inflators for the Ranger pickup and Ford GT. When taking this into account, the grand total of Ford products with inflators that need replacement for the driver or passenger side is 538,977 vehicles. Scroll down to read the company's full announcement of this enlarged safety campaign. FORD EXPANDS TAKATA DRIVER-SIDE AIRBAG INFLATOR SAFETY RECALL DEC 18, 2014 | DEARBORN, MICH. At the request of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Ford is expanding its recall on Takata driver-side airbag inflators. This recall includes approximately 502,489 vehicles, an addition of approximately 447,310 vehicles. This brings the total number of Ford vehicles being recalled for Takata airbag inflators to approximately 538,977. This expanded recall includes 2005-2008 Ford Mustang vehicles built Aug. 18, 2004 to June 25, 2007 at Flat Rock Assembly Plant and 2005-2006 Ford GT vehicles built Feb. 11, 2005 to Jan. 30, 2006 at Wixom Assembly Plant. As of Dec. 18, 2014, Ford is aware of approximately 462,911 vehicles in the United States and federalized territories, approximately 27,516 in Canada and approximately 7,578 in Mexico affected by this recall. Approximately 4,484 additional vehicles outside of North America are also included in this action. Ford is aware of one accident with an injury that may be related to this condition. Dealers will replace the airbag inflator at no cost to the customer.

Watch live as Mark Fields is officially named Ford's next CEO

We've heard rumblings of a changing of the guard at Ford, and this live stream from The Blue Oval itself is set to confirm the rumors: Alan Mulally will be succeeded by the automaker's current Chief Operating Officer, Mark Fields.
Mulally, who is 68 years old, has served at the head of Ford for eight years, and his official retirement date will be July 1st, 2014. Fields, who is 53 this year, has been with Ford for 25 years and has been groomed to take the helm from Mulally for the last several of those years.
There's an official press release that you can read, but if you're more of a visual person, you're welcome to watch the live video feed of the announcement down below.