Notice a difference between these two pictures? No, not the fact that one is a sexy press shot and the other is a bush-league amateur snap. Both pictures show the 2011 Volkswagen Jetta, but one of them has a torsion beam rear axle, the other has a variation of the Golf’s multilink setup. One has a 2.5 liter blunt instrument of an engine and a slushbox, the other has a high-tech “twincharger” engine that won the International Engine Of The Year award two years running, mated to a dual-clutch ‘box. One has a nasty, plasticky interior, the other offers “higher quality materials and trim.” By now you’ve probably guessed that the less desirable of these two Jettas is the US version, and the fancy-pants version has just been announced for the European market… (Read More…)
A laid-off worker at General Motor’s Orion Assembly plant has filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board in Detroit against the UAW for negotiating a deal to employ 40% of the workers at a lower wage rate.
Nick Waun, 31, of Lapeer said the UAW negotiated the agreement without giving workers a chance to consider it.
“The main thrust of this is to try to get a vote on the agreement, because they denied us a vote,” Waun said.
You don’t say? Didn’t see that one coming. No sir. But will the NLRB be sympathetic to the UAW’s well-reasoned position that some union brothers are more equal than others? Or is the union’s nominal ownership (by way of its VEBA benefits trust) of some 60 percent of GM’s equity possibly, just possibly, incompatible with the duties of a union? It’s a head-scratcher all right.
This is America man… you can have your electric car and your freedom too.
There’s no doubt about it, the Chevy Volt sounds best when you’re just selling the concept. And no wonder: the concept came was born of Bob Lutz’s unique insight into the American psychology… not to mention a psychologically-charged desire to rub the Prius’s nose in some mud. But what nobody seems to be pointing out is the fact that the flip side of being “all things to all people” is fundamental compromise. And in the case of the Volt, the risk is that it won’t be as good of an electric car as the Leaf and it won’t be as good of a gas-powered car as any other hybrid. If GM’s pitch that Volt equals EV plus Freedom doesn’t take, the car will go nowhere fast… so how does the first attempt strike you?
As surveys go, the Morpace Omnibus Study [full results in PDF here] isn’t perfect. But even though it’s based on only 1,000 online respondents, it’s chock full of provocative insights. Of course Automotive News [sub] misses the best one, in its haste to trumpet the headline
Buyers usually don’t consider loyalty when choosing dealerships
Fine, that pulls uniques out of the dealership bullpen. The real news: when asked to rate how “influential” different media sources are on their “likelihood to visit a dealership,” respondents gave the category “magazines” the weakest scores. A mere three percent rated magazines as the top rating “high influence,” the lowest such number in the survey. A whopping 32 percent gave it the lowest “low influence” rating, the highest result in the test. And all this from a sample in which only six in one thousand rated “an effective marketing/advertising campaign” as the most influential factor in their dealership selection process, while giving top marks to “best deal offerings” (40%), “positive prior experience” (20%) and “referrals from family and friends (10%). But here’s the twist: respondents were asked to assume they already had a brand and model in mind. The plot thickens…
No automaker has more to gain –and lose– in the early-adopter EV game than Renault-Nissan, and CEO Carlos Ghosn knows how the game is played. Nissan is investing $4b to rollout electric cars in the US, Japan and select Western European markets at the end of this year, but despite being committed, Ghosn insists that EVs aren’t ready to stand on their own yet.He tells Automotive News [sub] that
These are mature markets where governments give incentives to consumers. Two years of government support are needed to jump-start these markets and then the products will grow on their own and take off
As the über-ridiculous Aston Martin One-77 approaches final production-readiness, watching the thing run hot laps is finally becoming as much fun as wrapping your head around its €1.4m ($1.9m) pricetag. Especially because we’re extremely unlikely to ever see one of these things on the street. According to Auto Motor und Sport, Aston has already received a $14m offer for ten of the One-77’s 77-unit production run, apparently from a single Gulf State collector. So unless you live in one of the tonier neighborhoods of Dubai, you’re unlikely to get any closer to the One-77’s 760 horsepower V-12 than this. Enjoy the taste, peasants.
The recent bailout of America’s auto industry began with approval of so-called “Section 136” loans to help automakers retool factories for higher-efficiency automobiles. Ford, Nissan, Tesla and Fisker have already received their portions of the Department of Energy loans, but GM and Chrysler have had their payouts delayed due to the program’s strict “viability” requirements. But now Reuters reports that Chrysler’s request for $10b in low-cost government retooling loans is nearing approval. It’s not clear how much of that $10b will be approved, but according to Pentastar spokesfolks
Our application covers a wide variety of technologies including electric vehicles, (gasoline/electric) hybrids and advanced gasoline engine technology
Chrysler still owes some $5.7b to the US Treasury, and the cost of servicing that debt (interest on ChryCo’s existing government debt ranges from 7.22 to 14.33 percent) is considered a major reason for Chrysler’s second-quarter loss this year. GM is also seeking over $10b in 136 loans, but with only $16.5b remaining in the $25b 136 fund, either Chrysler or GM will have to receive less than their entire request. GM’s request will reportedly be approved sometime after Chryslers.
The truth tends to be a more subtle animal than many imagine, and nowhere is this more true than with the Chevy Volt. Although today’s review was long by any standard, a number of key issues were under-addressed, and on the whole it seems to raise more questions than answers. Accordingly, I will take to Coveritlive tomorrow at 4pm Eastern (1pm Pacific) to answer as many questions about driving the Volt and touring its production facilities as I can manage. No need to create a new account, just check in on TTAC tomorrow at 4 pm Eastern and join in the conversation immediately. I won’t be able to explain exactly how the Volt’s drive unit operates at all times, and I can’t tell you exactly how well it will sell, but if you’re looking for closure on a persistent Volt question, stop by and ask it. Every question of relevance that I’m not able to answer will get forwarded on to GM for official reply, so we should all be able to end the week with a much better understanding of this enigmatic automobile.
Toyota’s been talking about adding to the Prius family for some time, and a plus-sized MPV has been rumored as the first addition. Now Autoblog.it [via Jalopnik] thinks it’s found the first images of the Prius MPV, which might take the name Prius Verso in Italy, and may be called the “Prius Alpha” in other markets. These images show a vehicle that is unmistakeably Prius-related, but boasts a longer wheelbase and a higher roofline at the rear. But does it differentiate itself well enough from the Prius, or would even more length and sliding doors help make its case?
I had the pleasure of spending part of a dinner at last week’s Volt press launch chatting with GM’s marketing honcho Joel Ewanick, better known for his work as “marketer of the year” at Hyundai. Ewanick’s a confident, engaging guy, and when the “Don’t Call It Chevy” mini-embroglio came up over desert, his eyes took on a mischievous twinkle. As other GM communications and PR staff recounted their stories of the 24-hour madness that followed the release of a memo which indicated that the term “Chevy” was no longer a welcome marketing feature, it became clear that neither Ewanick nor any of his staff had any regrets about accidentally launching a full-blown public debate over the value of the term Chevy. The very debate, it seems, reconnected the brand that had tried everything marketing-wise with its hidden core: consumers care enough about Chevrolet to have a popular and affectionate nickname for it. And what started as an unnecessary PR blunder seems to have given birth to Chevrolet’s newest marketing tagline: Chevy Runs Deep. Or, as Chevy’s ad man Jeff Goodby puts it
It’s such a deep, wide, connected brand in America. All things being equal, Americans want to buy Chevys. And we have to put them in that position
Ford’s profitability outstripped even yesterday‘s $1.37b estimate, coming in at a whopping $1.68b, as Ford made mad money in the North American market in the 3rd Quarter of this year, for a fifth consecutive profitable quarter. Global revenue was down by about $1b, but excluding Volvo from Q33 2009 results, revenue was actually up $1.7b. $1.6b of Ford’s profitability came from North America, as its most crucial market carried the company over weak overseas results. And with $900m in positive cash flow, Ford says its “automotive cash” will equal its debt by the year’s end, sooner than it had previously forecast. Ford paid of $2b of its revolving credit line last quarter, and plans to pay off the final $3.6b it owes the UAW VEBA trust in Q4. By the end of the year, Ford estimates it will have reduced its overall debt by $10.8b over the course of 2010. Hit the jump for a few key slides from Ford’s Q3 financial presentation.
Ohio Republican Reps LaTourette and Boehner have officially requested that President Obama suspend GM’s dealer wind-down agreements until the Special Inspector General for TARP (SIGTARP) completes an investigation of the government-approved GM and Chrysler dealer culls. The representatives focused on the fact that SIGTARP’s initial report on the dealer cull, which had criticism for GM, Chrysler and the government task force, wasn’t publicized until after arbitration for culled dealers ended. WKYC quotes the representatives’ statement as saying
There is too much at stake to proceed in an atmosphere where dealers were denied so much crucial information in a process rife with secrecy. As the findings of this investigation may shed much needed light on the proceedings affecting hundreds of dealerships nationwide, we believe it is necessary to thoroughly analyze its results before continuing with the closures of hundreds of dealerships, and the potential loss of thousands of jobs.
And Republicans aren’t alone in urging a halt to wind-down proceedings pending the SIGTARP’s latest investigation… Democrat Dennis Kucinich has already staked out the position now occupied by the House Republican leader. And did the artist sometimes known as “Government Motors” blink in the face of bipartisan pressure?
For a vehicle named after a unit of measure, the Chevrolet Volt is a difficult car to pin down. From its drivetrain to its efficiency rating, the Volt defies categorization. From price point to performance, it defies comparison. It’s a rolling contradiction, this car, part electric car and part gas-burner, part high-concept moonshot and part […]
The 2011 Dodge Charger’s unofficial debut came in the form of a police cruiser which mixed things up at the Michigan State Police trials this year. And though they’ve showed off a few teasers of the new full-sized Dodge, the updated Charger’s official debut won’t come until the annual Las Vegas tuner-fest known as the SEMA show. Which begs the question: when will Dodge start marketing this car to consumers that are neither law enforcement officers nor criminals? We kid… sort of. Meanwhile, this rendering gives you some idea of what Dodge’s less-classy customers might do to their own 2011 Charger. Still interested?
With Mercury going the way of Olds and Pontiac, Ford has made much of its intentions to turn its struggling Lincoln brand around. Ford has promised a $2b investment in Lincoln’s product line, and is pushing for the closure of 200 or so Lincoln dealers in order to concentrate the brand’s weak sales at its most successful dealers. But that’s not all. Ford is requiring the surviving Lincoln dealerships to invest heavily, as much as $2m per store, to stay on board the Lincoln Revival Express. But, according to Automotive News [sub], the Lincoln dealers are starting to wonder if they’re being asked for too much. One dealer tells the industry paper
They told us there would be no new products for about 24 months. I don’t know how the stand-alone Lincoln dealers are going to make it, especially those dealers who have to spend $2 million on their upgrades.
Ford has offered several Lincoln stores between $300k and $1.5m to give up ideally-located franchises that they refused to upgrade, but it seems that few dealers are simply rolling over. In fact, the dealer who was offered $1.5m rejected Ford’s offer, calling it “very low” for his profitable franchise. And that’s the polite response. A dealer who was offered less tells AN
“Insulted” isn’t a harmful enough word to describe it. It’s asinine. I’m getting my numbers together and going back. I’m not going to accept this.
Ford, for its part, says the “status quo is not an option,” a position that puts the factory and dealers in place for a nice round of brutal negotiations. And since Ford lacks to the tools to force its entire network to update, it will either have to pay up or live with at least a few remnants of the status quo. And as long as Lincoln’s products remain largely status quo, that’s probably the way it should be.
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