The Freep has dubbed Chevy’s Next Big Small Thing a “hit” on the grounds that it’s big in Australia. The only problem? It’s not really selling all that well. Towards the bottom of its write-up, the Freep reveals that GM’s Holden division sold 4,826 of the US-bound Cruze in the last three months. Center for Automotive Research president David Cole reckons those numbers “kind of give you a clue as to what the potential could be” when the Cruze arrives stateside. If that’s true, the Cruze is a loser. Not only has Toyota sold 7,550 Cruze-class Corollas in the last two months, the Mazda3 and Hyundai i30 are also the segment’s fastest growers.
Your car is made up of thousands of components, manufactured all over the world and assembled in many places by humans and robots. There is simply no such thing as a 100% “domestic” car anywhere in the world. When (not if) artificial barriers are placed on the manufacture, sale and movement of parts and the eventual manufacture, sale and movement of the resulting vehicle, there are two common outcomes. The best-case scenario is you’re going to pay more—effectively stealing from you and everyone in the global economy. Unfortunately, the typical result is that you cannot buy most of the cars made on this planet in your local market.
The Detroit News is reporting that Ford is in a legal battle to control key patents related to its Sync hands-free information system. John Berry, who was let go by Ford in July, developed Sync’s cell phone connectivity system, which allows features like 911 Assist, Vehicle Health Reports and Traffic, and Directions and Information Services. Ford wants Berry to sign off on the company’s application for patents related to these functions, but Berry won’t play ball. He says he’s “happy to license” the technology to Ford, but other automakers are rumored to be sniffing around as well. There’s plenty at stake in this squabble: if Ford loses these Sync capabilities, it loses one of its primary advantages in the marketplace. Not to mention its “anti-distracted-driving” leadership.
Here’s an excerpt from the CARS.GOV website, spotted by one our eagle-eyed readers:
Do I get any money for my trade in vehicle in addition to the CARS credit?
YES. The law requires your trade-in vehicle be destroyed. The dealer must disclose to you the scrap value of your vehicle. The dealer is entitled to keep up to $50 of the scrap value for administrative fees. You are entitled to negotiate about who keeps the remaining scrap value. For example, you may use that money toward the price of your new car separate from the CARS credit.
How many customers received this federally-mandate disclosure from their dealer? Not many, I’d wager. TTAC writer and used car guru Steve Lang reckons the average clunker was worth between $300 and $350 in scrap. So let’s call it $250 per car. Multiply that by the estimated 700,000 crushed clunkers and you’re looking at some $175,000,000 that may have been left on the table. Oops! Our tipster reckons that money should have gone back to taxpayers, anyway. I reckon he’s right.
The year was 1997. As a bright eyed, recently minted med school graduate, I had two glorious weeks in Europe before the torture of internship began. One very memorable moment was in the parking lot of the MB museum in Stuttgart, where I spotted a prototype 1998 E50 AMG sulking behind a security gate. That […]
One of our Best and Brightest over in South Korea got the inside line on the new Hyundai Sonata. Here’s what he knows so far . . .
The car was officially released today [Hyundai press release HERE] in front of about 200 invited guests (I was NOT one of them). The car has been available for pre-sales for about 2 weeks and has, according to the salesperson I spoke to, sold over 20,000 units. For comparison, in August, the ‘old’ Sonata sold about 7,000 units. That number was probably down a little as people were no doubt waiting for the new model. In July, the ‘old’ Sonata sold about 9,000 units. So the new model has ‘pre-sold’ more than the last two months of sales of the old car. (These sales numbers of the ‘old’ model are official numbers from the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association).
Speaking in Frankfurt, Fiatsler boss Sergio Marchionne warned the world that post-Cash for Clunkers American auto sales are a “disaster.” Like you didn’t see THAT one coming. Sergio reckons the industry benchmark—the Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate (SAAR)—will fall below the “conservative” 9.5 million SAAR estimated for September. Folks, that’s after August’s 14.1 million number. “Even GM’s Fritz Henderson has thrown in the towel,” iStock Analyst reports, “saying that September will be a ‘very weak’ month.” Me, I’m with Sergio. The September numbers will be so bad that Michael Moore’s rendition of Bob Dylan’s “The Times They Are a Changing” may even be on Bob Lutz’s iPod. Just kidding. But seriously, what now?
The outsourcing v.v. insourcing debate has been waged for decades in the auto industry. GM just realized there is one. “The balance of power has shifted. The profits are made by the people who have the technological know-how, and that’s the suppliers,” quoth GM Europe VP Carl-Peter Forster last night, while Focus was taking notes.
Forster is expected to take over the CEO job of Opel, owned by the Magna/Sberbank/GM cabal. Is he just pandering to the new guys in charge? Oh no. Just the opposite . . . (Read More…)
Some of you were around earlier today when TTAC went dark. Our main man Marshall was bringing the site up to code after a disastrous pre-VerticalScope encounter with Estonian programmers alienated us from WordPress compatibility (go figure). Well, we came back from the other side of the moon relatively intact. But there’s a bannage bug that’s sent out an error message to the multitudes saying you’re banned. Well, you’re not. Well, some of you are, and those of you who are know who you are. The rest of your aren’t and I apologize for impugning your good name. We’re sorting this out STAT. Meanwhile, the plugin is deactivated. If you WP pros see any suspicious code lurking about—when and how the bug manifested itself—I’d be most appreciative if you dropped Jeff a line. The good news: the upgrade clears the way for our redesign, one that you will enjoy. RF
Just be prepared to pay for them. Audi USA honcho Johan De Nysschen explains to Automotive News [sub] that “there certainly is a price premium [for diesel offerings], which we are partially recovering but not totally.” Audi CEO Rupert Stadler adds, “I think the problem is that we don’t really have an honest discussion.” So here it is, America: Audi’s going out on a limb so that you can enjoy some of the finest oil-burners Europe has to offer. Now it’s up to us to buy tons of them at exorbitant prices so that Audi doesn’t look stupid for taking the risk. That’s just how these things work, America. Now go grab those checkbooks and start learning about the difference between low-sulfur diesel and ultra-low-sulfur diesel. And don’t forget to refill that urea tank!
Better Place founder Shai Agassi brags that his firm’s purchase of 100,000 Electric Renault Meganes is the first such mega-buy since the Ford Model T. Better Place’s cell phone-inspired battery leasing infrastructure hits Israel and Denmark next year, and Agassi insists that “real customers will be driving real cars” by the 2011 Frankfurt Auto Show.
We were surprised by how little had been done in the past 24 months. It will be a slow progress in the beginning but we will see significant improvement in 2010…. If the numbers end up being as we see today, there is a good chance we will have to put additional stress on the manufacturing system. But it’s too early to tell.
-Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne in Automotive News [sub, available sub free at CNN]. Is Marchionne just blaming the most convenient possible scapegoat, or did he really take Chrysler on a taxpayer-funded platter because he actually thought Cerberus was doing a bang-up job?
The NYT covers some of the advancements in the steel that goes into cars. One surprise? “North America doesn’t have to take a back seat to anyone,” when it comes to steel content, according to an analyst who specializes in automotive steel. Apparently the steel industry has been feeling the heat from aluminum, composites and other materials, and they’re fighting back with super-strong high-tech alloys that can still be stamped or molded. Still, the pull between high-quality components and cost-cutting never ends. And as thestreet reports, a looming trade war with China could soon make the steel game even crazier.
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