Not two kinds. Not two types. Two. As in what’s sitting in your two car garage. In what must be the eclipse of brazenness, Tesla announced that “on Friday it signed a memorandum of understanding with Japanese automaker Toyota Motor Corp to deliver two electric vehicles to the world’s largest automaker by the end of month.” And then they sent the press release for that momentous event to all wire services, including Reuters. Read More >
Many of you don’t know this, but during my days at university, I supplemented my meager grant money (in the days when European governments gave grant money to students) by gambling said grant. The extra money came in useful for text books, science equipment, drinking lager till my head span, etc. The fruit machines and betting on horses was fun enough, but where I really excelled was poker. Texas Hold ’em, to be more accurate. I learnt many of life’s lessons that way, but the one which stuck in my mind the most was this little nugget: “When you play a bluff, be prepared to have that bluff called.” Words which certain Italian unions should have heeded. Read More >
The monthly Chinese car sales number confusion is finally over. The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers CAAM has spoken their official word on June 2010 motor vehicles sales in the Middle Kingdom. We nearly lost confidence, but again, our patent pending sales oracle has been proven right. A week ago, our oracle said “that the Chinese market will come in at a growth in the low 20 percentile range.“ And what says CAAM? Read More >
So far, the strikes in China were just small – but effective – sideshows. Strike at a small, but strategically important supplier, and whole car factories shut down. That, however, only led to wage increases at the small, but strategically important supplier. Until last Wednesday. Read More >
Did someone say that the Chinese are good at – how shall we put it – warming up to foreign ideas? Ray LaHood’s revenue-generating ideas must have impressed the hell out of the Chinese. I can just imagine the discussion: “Come on, the Americans raise the penalty from $16.4m to $200m, so why can’t we? It’s in the name of safety. Ni dong bu dong?” Now therefore, “the Chinese government is set to impose much stricter penalties on automakers if they hide problems with their vehicles to avoid recalls,” reports The Nikkei [sub].
So far, automakers got away with a financial slap on the wrist. Under current rules, introduced in 2004, covering up automotive defects can cost a pittance of $4430, max, no matter how many cars are affected. Under newly proposed rules, hiding a defect could downright wipe out an automaker in China. Read More >
I’m not sure when I first read an issue of CAR from the UK. I was still reading the American buff books in 1977 but American cars were ugly (5mph bumpers) slow (early emissions controls) and ran poorly (ibid). I was a Brit car fan but I sold my ’66 Lotus Elan to my dad. He wanted a car project to work on and I needed money so I could market an invention of mine (U.S. Patent # 4,253,475, The Hydraulic Bong). When I discovered CAR, not only was it a fix for my Brit car jones, but it was a revelation. They covered all kinds of cool cars, many not available in the US, and they had a superlative writing staff, including the incomparable LJK Setright. Read More >
Smart is such a nice little word. It has so many different meanings. So it’s fun to play with and show just how smart you really are. For example, I could have titled this post: Smart Makes Smart Car for Smart People with Smart Money. Or: Smart Makes Smart Car Move. Or even: Smart Makes Smart Marketing Moves. However, I´ll stick with the title as is since Smart is proving itself so smart in the Brazilian market. In more ways than one. One of the synonyms for Smart is “on the ball.” Read More >
What did the hippie say to the horse? Woooaahh. What the figurative hippie said to the car is an entirely more ambiguous matter…
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Volkswagen, Daimler, Audi, BMW: Despite tanking sales in Europe, they all report record numbers. Why? Exports and a weak Euro. It’s not just a German thing. Same across the Rhine: Agence France Press (via Google News) reports that Renault is very bullish on the back of strong sales in the first half of 2010. Renault is up an amazing 21.6 percent to 1.35 million vehicles. Growth of 21.6 percent is good in Renault’s eyes as they claimed that the global market grew 16 percent. Meaning: Renault gained global market share. Read More >
Frank Pajares was an amazing professor at Emory University. He changed lives… and in my specific case he would routinely kick me out of my philosophical foundations at will. “It takes a meaning to catch a meaning.” he would tell me along with the rest of his class during one of our many heated debates. The ‘act’ of putting yourself in someone elses shoes is always a difficult thing for any of us to do. Especially in academia where strong opinions and cultural isolation are the reality of the day. The same is true for the corporate world as well. Speaking of which…
Kia’s Soul didn’t have the most electrifying launch sales-wise, but with the release of its second buzz-worthy ad, the funky little box is becoming a major player in our A/B/Small Hatch segment. The Nissan Versa is clearly the dominant player here, selling nearly twice as well as the Soul. Meanwhile, there’s a tight pack of offerings that have moved at least 20k units this year, that ranges from the aged HHR to the MINI Cooper. Look for a big shake-up in this segment once Ford’s Fiesta production hits high gear.
We’ve devoted considerable bandwidth here at TTAC to the inevitable conflict between Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood’s campaign against distracted driving and the ever-increasing array of distractions offered by popular in-car electronic systems like Ford’s SYNC. While automakers are forever striving to offer more and more connectivity, politicians are waking to the realization that these systems prevent drivers from focusing on their driving. And now, it appears, Ford is finally getting on the same page as the pols. The DetNews reports that SYNC-equipped 2011 Fords will come with a “do not disturb” feature that
locks out capabilities “not relevant to the task of driving while the vehicle is in motion.” Ford also is barring any action that requires typing on a keypad and limiting lists of navigation and phone choices to fewer entries — like phone contacts or recent phone calls.
With this pre-emptive strike, Ford is trying to protect a system it says helps sell cars from regulation as a dangerous in-car distraction. Will a “do not disturb” button really help prevent accidents? Ford had better hope so, and it had better hope the data comes in looking mighty conclusive. Otherwise, systems like SYNC could find themselves on the wrong side of Washington DC in the near future.
Ohio’s second highest court on Thursday ruled that a constitutional challenge to photo enforcement should proceed. Attorney Jeffrey Posner had appealed a speed camera ticket he received from a private contractor operating in Cleveland on the grounds that the way the private firm handled the evidence undermined his right to due process. A three-judge panel of the Court of Appeals for the Eight Appellate District found merit in his concerns and reversed the Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court decision that previously had found no problem with the system of automated ticketing.
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