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Japanese spark plug giant NGK pleads guilty to price fixing, to pay $52M fine

The ongoing investigation by the Department of Justice into price fixing in the automotive industry has nabbed one more company breaking the law. Japanese parts giant NGK Spark Plug Company agreed to plead guilty to a felony count of pricing fixing and bid rigging in the in the US District Court in Detroit. Its punishment is a $52.1 million criminal fine and to continue to cooperate with the DOJ's sleuthing into the problem.
According to the DOJ, NGK conspired to fix prices on spark plugs, standard oxygen sensors, and air fuel ratio sensors on vehicles from major automakers in the US, including the former DaimlerChrysler, Honda and Toyota, in a scheme that ran from at least January 2000 to July 2011. The charge claimed that the company and its co-conspirators held meetings where they agreed on bids and price quotes that were submitted to the automakers.
With the latest plea, the DOJ has caught 28 companies and 26 executives for price-fixing and bid rigging in the auto parts industry, and they have collected $2.4 billion in criminal fines. In 2013, the feds brought nine Japanese suppliers down at once, to collect $740 million. Scroll down to read the DOJ's complete announcement of the case.

Honda rolls out production S660 roadster in Japan

Honda doesn't do convertibles often, but when it does, they tend to be pretty small. No Cascadas or Continentals here; just nimble little two-seat roadsters like the S2000, del Sol and the legendary Beat. That's the line into which it tapped with the reveal of the S660 concept at the Tokyo Motor Show late in 2013, and now it's rolling it out in dealerships across Japan. Picking up where the Pininfarina-designed Beat left off in 1996, the S660 is heir to a proud tradition of Japanese roadsters like the Suzuki Cappuccino and Daihatsu Copen – two-seat convertibles designed to Japan's Kei car specifications and even smaller than the Mazda MX-5 Miata or Toyota MR2 Spyder. The new S660 joins Honda's minicar lineup alongside the N Series and adopts the same 660cc inline-three, but spins it around to mount it amidships and adds a turbocharger. It's got a roll-up canvas roof and a two-tone cabin that gives driver and passenger seats of different shades. 45/55 front-rear weight distribution promises to keep it fun but friendly, with brake-based torque vectoring to keep it all under control - all wrapped in a package that has barely changed any on the road to production. The Japanese automaker has still yet to reveal full specifications, including overall dimensions, output and performance. But while it won't be outperforming the Civic Type R or new NSX anytime soon, the combination of turbo power and compact dimensions promise to deliver what we can only imagine will be a fun ride. And imagine is what we'll just have to do, because for the time being, Honda will only offer the S660 in its home market. There buyers will be able to choose between a six-speed manual or continuously variable transmission, two trim levels, six paint colors and even a Concept Edition that adopts a similar color scheme as the show car. The manufacturer expects to move 800 of these little roadsters every month, but no more than 660 examples of the special edition. Related Video: Honda to Begin Sales of All-New S660 Open-top Sports-type Mini-vehicle TOKYO, Japan, March 30, 2015 - Honda Motor Co., Ltd. will begin sales of the all-new Honda S660, a 2-seater open-top sports car, on April 2, 2015, at dealerships across Japan. In addition, on the same day Honda will begin sales, in a limited quantity, of the S660 CONCEPT EDITION, a special model that commemorates the market launch of the S660. Only 660 units of this special edition will be sold in Japan.

British automakers take costly precautions as Brexit 'no deal' fears grow

LONDON — Carmakers in Britain have triggered some Brexit contingency plans, such as certifying models in the EU, and are working on redrawing production schedules and stockpiling more parts to defend against any loss of unfettered trade after Brexit. The moves are aimed at ensuring plants, which rely on the just-in-time delivery of tens of thousands of components, can keep operating after Brexit on March 29, but will add costs and bureaucracy which could risk their long-term viability. London and Brussels hope to agree a deal by the end of the year to avoid tariffs and trade barriers, but Prime Minister Theresa May's proposals have been criticized by both Brexiteers, who want a cleaner break from the bloc, and the European Union. McLaren Automotive is looking at having its cars certified by both a British and an EU agency to smooth sales. It is also planning to stockpile critical components and change shipments into the EU around Brexit if there is disruption. "I will sell a little more in January and February and plan to pick the volume up in May and give us a leaner period through the change point," Chief Executive Mike Flewitt told Reuters. BMW, which said last week it would move the annual summer-time shutdown of its British Mini plant next year to April, is looking for lorry parking areas and warehousing on both sides of the channel and is seeking to sign contracts to lease certain locations, a spokesman said. It is also investing in IT systems to handle any new red tape as carmakers estimate tens of thousands of new documents could be needed if tariffs and customs are imposed. The German carmaker's Brexit plans are costing millions of pounds, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters. But Honda, which builds 10 percent of Britain's 1.67 million cars at its Swindon plant in southern England, is not in the market to buy "huge amounts of warehousing space," its Europe boss Ian Howells told Reuters. "It's been a very precise calculation or estimation of what components need to be brought in," he said, adding the firm could also alter its output to sell more into the EU at the start of next year. Waste of money? Many British carmakers have also asked suppliers to look into how they would handle delays at ports, executives told Reuters, as thousands of parts, engines and finished models move between Britain and the continent every day.