Plaudits and potholes2006 was a year of surprises in the auto industry - most of them bad. NEW YORK (Fortune) -- General Motors (Charts) announced a shocking $10 billion annual loss early in the year, and just so it wouldn't be lonely, Ford (Charts) and Chrysler (Charts) came along with their own billion dollar losses later on. Delphi (Charts), the bankrupt parts supplier, found some of its former top executives under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission for cooking the books. And Toyota (Charts) decided the Scion was too popular and put a lid on sales. That alone would be enough to make 2006 memorable. Here are some other events that won't soon be forgotten. ________________________ Filling the minivan gap: Ugly and unloved, these people movers are an endangered species. What is going to replace them? Ghosn drives Renault Nissan forward: Alex Taylor asks Nissan (Charts) CEO Carlos Ghosn about the failed GM alliance, global warming and the state of the auto industry. |
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