This is “sip Bacardi like it’s your birthday” news in Chryslerland. Seriously, big up yourselves, ChryCo. Single-digit declines in the house (if only when compared to last summer’s dismal showing)! Having paraphrased the monthly press release, let’s get down to the numbers, shall we?
Automotive News [sub] dug deep for its latest piece on the Volt project, a sprawling opus which fills in a number of the missing pieces in TTAC’s own Volt Birth Watch. From the birth of the concept (“I was getting so pissed off about reading about how the wonderful, far-sighted Toyota is the only one who understands technology”) to its design (“Within 15 minutes, [John Lauckner] had the vehicle basically laid out”) GM’s Bob Lutz takes us inside GM’s moonshot. So what’s the view like from that tin can now, Major Bob?
The Alliance of Automotive Manufacturers has declared the $1 billion-and-counting Cash for Clunkers (a.k.a. C.A.R.S.) program a success. The org doesn’t want any prospect of limited government (the “where do you draw the line” argument) to derail the four-wheeled gravy train. In fact, the Alliance wants the feds to re-up like a coke addict wants that third line. No surprise there. Still, there’s some interesting new info in their latest press release:
Automakers and automobile dealers have seen a significant increase in vehicle sales and dealership foot traffic since the launch of the CARS or “Cash for Clunkers” program. This increase in vehicle sales is generating important tax revenue for communities where in some cases roughly one-quarter of sales tax revenue is dependent on receipts from auto sales. And while the program has provided much need economic stimulus to the auto industry, it has also yielded significant energy security and environmental benefits.
Amongst Alliance members Ford reports a 9 MPG increase from trade-in vehicle to new vehicle purchase; GM reports a 54 percent increase in small car sales since the CARS program was launched; 57 percent of Mazdas sold so far under the program were highly fuel-efficient Mazda 3’s; 78 percent of Toyota’s CARS sales volume consists of the following vehicles — Corolla, Prius, Camry, RAV 4 and Tacoma, which average a combined 30 MPG; and Volkswagen reports over 60 percent of its CARS sales are clean diesel Jetta TDI’s which get an EPA combined 34 MPGs.
Ford’s press release (PDF) makes no bones about the source of relatively high demand for its products. “The U.S. government’s Car Allowance Rebate System (“Cash for Clunkers”) enabled Ford to post the first sales increase of any major manufacturer in 2009,” is the word from Dearborn. And though Ford’s year-on-year sales for July did climb by 2.4 percent, July marks the first such increase since November 2007. Most of that growth came from Ford’s more fuel-efficient vehicles, as Fusion/Milan was up 66/60 percent, Escape/Mariner up 94/71 percent, Focus up 44 percent and Ranger up 65 percent. So, government-stimulated models aside, how are things looking for the Blue Oval Boyz?
The Associated Press provides an update on the fallout from the 2007 Ford Explorer rollover suit. When all’s said and done, the plaintiffs’ lawyers received $25 million for their time. The clients, not so much. “In exchange for dropping the lawsuit that alleged rollover problems unfairly diminished the resale value of Explorers, Ford customers could receive a $500 discount coupon toward the purchase of a new SUV or a $300 coupon to buy another Ford vehicle. Consumers had until April 29, 2008 to apply for the coupons . . . A report filed with the court in June showed just 75 coupons have been redeemed for a combined $37,500.” Ford spokeswoman Kristen Kinley said the settlement prevented the company from discussing the case. “We are pleased to have finally settled this case with the plaintiffs and to finally put this behind us,” Kinley said. “We are also pleased to hear that some people took advantage of the vouchers to purchase a new Ford Explorer.” I bet they are. Ford dodged a $500 million bullet, back when $500 million was real money. [thanks to The Walking Eye for the link]
Automotive News [sub] reports that GM Ad Czar Bob Lutz is large and in charge of the nationalized automaker’s ad campaigns. The combative former Car Czar has a favorite ad [this one] and . . . a plan! From now on, New GM will—
— Change the way it works with its agencies. Lutz will take an early and active role in directing the creative work.
— Shift to more product-driven advertising.
— Give vehicle designers a powerful influence over the look of advertising.
— Develop viral ad campaigns that rampage through the Internet. “It’s got to be a funny story; it’s got to be humorous; it’s got to be unexpected,” Lutz says.
— Conduct high-level weekly meetings to decide budgets and spark marketing ideas. The meetings will include brand leaders; Ed Welburn, the global design chief; Chris Preuss, the head of public relations; Betsy Lazar, the executive director of advertising and media operations; and a top finance executive.
And if that doesn’t do it, nothing will! Just kidding. I’m no Ad Czar, but even I know something is better than nothing. If only just.
This evening, at 6pm local, the board of directors of General Motors will meet and discuss whether they should sell Opel to Magna or to RHJ. You won’t hear a decision. They will have to ask their overlords in Washington first. The German government, which is supposed to finance the deal, doesn’t take the meeting seriously anyway. Tomorrow, Tuesday, the German government will continue talks with both suitors, to get a better deal. When a final decision will be made, is anybody’s guess. “If you ask me what will happen when, then I won’t be able to give you an answer,” said a speaker of the German economics minister to Automobilwoche [sub]. Can anyone?
So I’m hearing that some of y’all may feel that Cash for Clunkers is your opportunity to to trade up. Your chance to lose the clutch and make a run for the hands-free hype of automatic transmission technology. To which I say, NSFW please. That clutch stood by you. That clutch was your friend. The ability to change your own gears was the only thing that kept you from driving that Tercel off a cliff out of sheer boredom. And now you think that just because you’re upgrading to an Elantra, a slushbox is suddenly more befitting your station in life? Yo, that logic is the sodium silicate of the mind. So if your clunker had a manual transmission, pour out a bottle of Synchromax for the departed. And if you replaced it with a CVT, you better watch your back.
Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood is feeling expansive. And why wouldn’t he? The man’s got the hottest stimulus on the block this summer. And even though there might be more C4C deals than money left in the program, LaHood wants to keep the sodium silicate flowing. Even though the Senate still hasn’t approved more money. “We will continue the program until we see what the Senate does, and I believe the Senate will pass this,” LaHood boasts to Automotive News [sub]. Does this mean there is definitely still money available for the deals that LaHood personally guarantees through Tuesday? Not necessarily. This is much more of a way of putting pressure on the Senate to approve another $2 billion. And LaHood’s play for more money hasn’t convinced everyone. “I take the secretary at his word, but we still urge dealers to use caution when doing cash-for-clunkers transactions,” say NADA spokesfolk. Because appointed officials aren’t actually in charge of appropriations, no matter how quickly they can make a billion bucks disappear. Unless LaHood cares to put up his $191K salary towards getting Americans into a new Cobalt.
Consumer organization Which? surveyed more than 84,000 drivers in The Land of Hope and Glory to establish which new cars suffered the fewest breakdowns, faults and niggles. In the process, they established which vehicles suffer the most breakdowns, faults and niggles. While we wonder about the exact definition of “niggle,” if not the survey’s complete methodology, here’s the bottom of the list. In the perverse dark lining in the silver cloud way of this site, see the winners after the jump. [thanks to G Arlt for the link]
The 10 least reliable new cars
112. Hyundai Santa Fe 82.2%
113. Jaguar S-type 81.2%
114. Volvo XC90 80.6%
115. Land Rover Freelander 80.1%
116. Ford S-Max 79.9%
117. Land Rover Discovery 79.5%
118. Alfa Romeo 159 79.0%
119. Jaguar XF 78.0%
120. Ford Galaxy 76.3%
121. Audi A5 75.8%
Frequent Piston Slapper and TTAC Commentator HEATHROI writes:
A while back I wrote-in with a question about the back end of the Ford Focus wandering about at higher speed. Well, it turned out the bushings through the rear suspension were all worn out. Managed to fix that, but do you suggest replacing the fronts? Not because there is anything wrong, but fixing the rear was fun. Anything I should look out for?
RSA’s Saturday Star reports that a set of speed cameras in Johannesburg accused a Geely automobile of reaching impossible speeds. On April 26, a camera on the N12 South flashed the Chinese import belonging to motorist Francisca Al-Halaseh near Canada Road Bridge. Just 19 seconds later, according to the tickets, she was flashed driving 102km/h (63 MPH) in an 80km/h (50 MPH) zone at Randshow Road Bridge. The only problem is that those locations are 2.9 miles apart, meaning Al-Halaseh would have to have been traveling 549 miles per hour.
We sounded the alarm on the cost of cleaning-up abandoned automotive manufacturing sites before the bailout began. We sounded the alarm after the feds instructed GM set aside $1.1 billion to clean its 14 closed plants (so far). Although $78,571,428.60 per plant seems more than merely adequate, it may not be so. Reporting on the clean-up of GM’s Mansfield-Ontario Stamping Center, The Mansfield NewsJournal does a little comparative analysis. “At Ohio Brass, which, at 10 acres, was a small fraction of the size of the 270-acre stamping plant, that number [for the cost of the cleanup] was $2 million.” Extrapolating, that would be a $54 million laundry bill. BUT, it’s dwarf apples to “Rainy with a Chance of Meatballs” sized oranges. Many of GM factories stretch back decades, before there was anything remotely resembling environmental awareness or, more to the point, an EPA. Of course, a description of the pollutants at the plant would be very helpful in making a cost assessment. New “transparent” GM says uh-uh.
A month ago, a diagram of the just-announced Nissan Leaf EV appeared on the web. Unlike the Tesla S, the Nissan EV appears to be a fairly conventional front motor/front drive (FF) vehicle, with the battery pack in front of the rear axle. A shovel nose appearance, thanks to the small electric engine, results in a aerodynamically advantageous tiny frontal area. A degree of crush space is maintained for the pedestrian-cum-hood-ornament that will inevitably occur with the Leaf’s quiet powertrain. The distinctive snout, combined with some distinctive curves at the beltline and rear, give the Leaf a, ahem, unique visual identity. If Nissan was trying to create the Prius of EVs, they’ve succeeded. Now, if they had only stamped plant-like veins in the sheet metal . . .
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