If human beings were truly rational animals, trends would be easy to predict. Given that we’re fickle, self-aware and subject to the influence of less predictable forces than pure reason, figuring out what is going to appeal to people is never easy. And few automotive examples prove the inconstancy of market trends like the minivan. On paper they just plain make sense, creating a huge amount of flexible interior room out of high-volume sedan platforms, making them relatively cheap, capable and efficient. But if consumer decisions were made based on such rational considerations, turtlenecks would be long overdue for a huge comeback. In short, the “image thing” killed minivans, with morethan a littlehelp from the marketing efforts of the very companies that profited off their (relatively) brief time in the sun. And really, the future of the minivan will be determined by the staying power of its modern replacement, the Crossover. Are CUVs an evolutionary step from the SUV dead-end of the 90s back towards minivans and station wagons, or will the needs of multiple-passenger consumers forever be doomed to be served by the in-between-mobiles? My totally unjustified belief in the basic sanity of consumers makes me believe that minivans make too much sense to not make a comeback, and concepts like VW’s Microbus show the way. What say you?
Sure, GM Sales and Marketing maven Susan Docherty is better at the webchat format than CEO Ed Whitacre (not to mention Mark “HOT DESIGN” Reuss). Docherty’s emoticon-free performance certainly beat Whitacre’s for sheer volume, but even when she’s talking a lot, Docherty isn’t really saying much of anything. Since GM is generally operating under radio though, today’s webchat is about all we have to go on for a taste of life in the RenCen as a turbulent year sweeps to an equally turbulent close. So let’s dig in, shall we? Read More >
Chrysler’s new advertisements may have been replaced by this video as the automotive marketing gaffe of the moment. When asked in a Fastlane webchat why GM had approved this questionable video, Sales and Marketing supremo Susan Docherty managed to come across as even more clueless and incompetent than she would have if she’d been prancing front and center:
I have to be honest I haven’t yet seen the Chevrolet Volt song and dance but it sounds like I need to spend some time tonight on the web viewing this. Thanks for the heads up. Do you have any suggestions for us?
Yeah, here are some suggestions: first off, it’s not the roaring twenties, Busby Berkeley. Kill the dance numbers. Suggestion number two: if you’re the head of sales and marketing, you should at least be aware of the existence of “promotional” materials like this. Third: if GM doesn’t take the Volt seriously, nobody will. Keep that in mind when approving marketing ideas.
Toyota’s Supra had a rather linear evolution, unlike the Datsun/Nissan Z-car, which lost its way and re-invented itself how many times? Starting out as a soft-sporty coupe with a lazy six borrowed from Toyota’s sedans, it became distinctly sportier and harder-edged with each of its four generations. The final iteration, the turbocharged Supra gen4, has become the stuff of legends and tuners, as in this recent TTAC review. We’re going to take a look at the first three generations this week, so things may start off a little slow, but should be moving pretty quickly by Friday’s wild-looking yellow gen3. Stay tuned! Read More >
The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) last month issued an official ruling that found red light camera “violation lines” illegal. A number of jurisdictions across the country paint four-inch wide white lines on the pavement at what is known as the “prolongation” of the cross street’s curb line in order to facilitate the use of automated ticketing machines. These are not the “stop bar” or crosswalk lines that most motorists expect, but a third set of lines that appear at the very edge of the intersection.
While Ford is slowly but surely gaining traction in North America and China, Europe is storming ahead. Over at paddocktalk.com there’s report on Ford of Europe’s latest sales, which jumped 19.8% in November. This marks Ford’s sixth consecutive volume increase, resulting in a 9.1% year to date market share. “November was another month with outstanding volume gains for Ford of Europe”, said Roelant de Waard, Ford of Europe’s Vice-President for Sales. “Having the right products at the right time is paying off, and this is why we’re continuing to strengthen our position as the clear No.2 choice for customers in the European auto industry.” A key point included how 63% of their sales went to retail customers, which was an increase of 13%. Increase in sales? Increase in retail customers? Increase in market share? It all sounds great! Until you dig a little deeper. Read More >
Here in the Pacific Northwest, the Subaru Outback has long been one of the most ubiquitous cars on the road. From soccer moms to weed dealers to weed-dealing soccer moms, drizzle-belt car buyers bought the jacked-up AWD wagons in droves, presaging the modern mass-market craze for all things crossover. But in the transition from rough-and-ready station wagon to mainstream crossover, the latest Outback seems to have lost the magic that made it the vehicle of choice for Northwest families looking to retire the old Volvo wagon.
I’m writing this as I sit in the service department of my Honda Dealership. My car (LINK: https://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/piston-slap-the-annoying-lazy-civic/) was due for a service, and I had enough: I was going to get results from the dealership regarding my lazy drive by wire system in my 2007 Civic. Long and short, they test drove my car against a new 2009 Civic, and (finally) found that there is definitely something wrong with my car.
Now that Nissan have their Leaf EV in the works, Mitsubishi have the iMiEV in development and GM are rushing out the Chevrolet Volt, Toyota seem to be feeling a little unarmed in the next stage of green motoring. The NY Times updates us on Toyota’s plans to sell plug in hybrids in about 2 years quoting Takeshi Uchiyamada, Toyota Executive Vice President, as saying “Toyota believes that plug-in hybrids are a realistic solution among vehicles using electricity.” Funny, because not long ago Toyota had a different stance on electrification. In any case, Toyota remains highly conservative in its approach to electric vehicles. In preparation for a mass market launch, Toyota are leasing and renting 600 plug-in hybrids: 230 for Japan, 200 for Europe, 20 for other countries and 150 for the United States. This will provide Toyota with much needed feedback on how to improve the vehicles, a process GM plans on doing with its Volt contemporaneously with its California consumer rollout.
As Ferrari leaves its traditional elegance aside in favor of expeditions to the limits of geek-gauche, few efforts by the Modena firm are as dismaying as its Special Projects one-offs. Jimmy Glickenhaus’s million-dollar Enzo-upgrade, the Pininfarina P4/5 set the pattern: one-off Ferraris must clearly signal that their owners have far more money than taste. Following in that bold tradition is this, the P540 Superfast Aperta, based on the 599 GTB. Though it looks like the buyer, Edward Walson, simply asked for a gold, targa-topped 599 with 250 GTO styling cues, the Aperta was actually inspired by the gold Fezza from Fellini’s Toby Dammit. Not that the pedigree keeps the Aperta from looking like a 1970s oil-sheik special. And considering this dismal re-working does such disservice to Ferrari’s best-looking car (plus the targa-top adds 50 lbs), it’s hard to see why they were so certain the project was “in keeping with the brand’s ideals,” as Autocar puts it. On the plus side, Walson gets the 540’s tooling to ensure uniqueness. Here’s hoping it stays as “unique” as it is “special.”.
UAW Boss Ron Gettelfinger plans to retire next year, and the search is on to replace the man who led the union through the political minefield that was the auto bailout. But the union’s support for Bob King, who led negotiations with Ford, could open up divisions within the union, reports Automotive News [sub]. King followed the Gettelfinger line, offering Ford many of the same concessions it granted GM and Chrysler during the government bailout that transferred large stakes in those companies to the union’s VEBA fund. Those concessions to Ford, which would have preserved the UAW’s decades-long policy of treating the Detroit automakers equally, were rejected by the same union rank-and-file that must now ratify King’s nomination.
We and most of the European press had reported that GM Europe would give up their strange headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland, and move the whole shebang to Rüsselsheim, Germany, where Opel resides. Not quite, said an Opel spokesperson to Germany’s Autohaus. From Rüsselheim “all functions of Opel and Vauxhall will be directed,” said Andfreas Kroemer of Opel. In Zurich remains the headquarters of Chevrolet Europe.
For all the criticism that’s been leveled at GM’s finance operation, the firm’s most recent CFOs have yet to pay much of a career price. Previous CFO Fritz Henderson was promoted to the CEO’s spot by the presidential auto task force, and Automotive News [sub] reports that current CFO Ray Young has just been named VP for International Operations. Young’s departure from GM’s finance unit has been something of a foregone conclusion since GM exited bankruptcy, with reports of his imminent departure in the Detroit papers of record going undenied, and a recent acknowledgment that a search was on for his successor. In light of GM CEO Ed Whitacre’s ongoing game of executive whack-a-mole, it was tempting to believe that Young was on his way out, but apparently GM CFOs are pre-sprayed with teflon.
Let’s get small: The new 50:50 joint venture between China’s SAIC and GM may plan to launch an entry-level low-cost car for the Indian market, say’s India’s Wheels Unplugged. Read More >
Responding to calls by Volvo’s unions for an investigation of Geely, Volvo management is calling the unions’ statements “almost xenophobic.” CEO Stephen Odell, and Personell Manager Björn Sällström of Volvo Cars have sent out letter to their empolyees, urging to modify their attitude towards their potential new employer, Geely. The letter is a response, not only to the unions’ public demand for a Geely investigation, but also the fact that these statements have sparked quite an anti-Chinese-business-methods campaign in readers’ letters to Swedish medias. Read More >
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