Der Spiegel has it on good authority that Porsche’s Wendelin Wiedeking is history. The Porsche/Piech families sent Wendy packing. A new successor is already found: Michael Macht. He is director of production, and has a good reputation in the business—for producing cars. This indicates in which direction the board meeting on July 23 will go.
Your automotive industry bailout probably just became a little more expensive. Automotive News [sub] reports that the House of Representatives has passed a spending bill including provisions to reinstate dealers culled during GM and Chrysler’s restructuring. The measure now moves to the Senate, where 24 co-sponsors of a similar bill should have little problem rounding up votes (although Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid tells the NYT that the bill is not at “the top of the agenda in the Senate at this time”). The problem is that President Obama has urged congress to dump the reinstatement bill, indicating that he will almost certainly veto it. Meanwhile, a non-legislative “solution” to dealer grievances is still being touted as the ideal solution. Which indicates that GM and Chrysler will have to pay off dealers, a move that would likely cost taxpayers even more money.
Or, as the Man Of Maximum puts it at Fastlane, “It Seemed Like A Good Idea At The Time.” “It” being the idea of rebadging the Pontiac G8 as a Chevy Caprice.
“With my new “marketing” hat on, upon further review and careful study, we simply cannot make a business case for such a program. Not in today’s market, in this economy, and with fuel regulations what they are and will be. I know that we’ll get a lot of complaints from G8 lovers, because I’m one of them. And the product guy in me is complaining as loudly as anyone. But the marketing guy says there’s no case. With budgets being what they are for the time being, the resources must be allocated elsewhere.”
Here’s the real auto sales stimulus: your choice of a gas or gun voucher. Max Motors owner says the deal generates a lot of publicity (oops!) and “really angers liberals.” Check out the broad range of reactions to this sales gimmick at Max Motors’ website (via USA Today).
I just had to put the page break in there, somewhere.
I purchased a 2006 Honda Civic and loved the vehicle right up until I went over a speed bump now the car is NOT the same and I am so frustrated and heartbroken. I went over a speed bump this month and as soon as I went over it there was a horrible grinding noise that appeared to be coming from the sterring rack. Then to my horror, the car was NOT in Drive but somehow, having gone over the bump caused the vehicle to go into Neutral. When I tried to steer, the wheel did NOT have the tightness but rather was very loose! The steering would not go in the direction that I wanted it to. Immediately, I put the car in Park turned the ignition off and just sat in shock. My car is only 3 years old and it only has 18,400.00 klm on it. I thought to myself, how can this be happening? I haven’t had a problem before! The very next day, I took it in to the Honda dealership. They had it on the rack and also took it out for a test drive. The service person who took all my information looked into the computer and said I have the extended warranty for 5 years and this should be covered. It was a relieve to have the 5 years. However, the service guy told me that they can’t find anything wrong with my vehicle. I can’t believe that! I again was in shock! I know I am NOT loosing my mind! The car slipped into Neutral from Drive and a horrible loud griding noise from the sterring wheel could be heard OVER MY MUSIC! The steering wheel would not turn in the direction I wanted it too. I explained to the service guy what I had experienced from the car and that there is something terribly wrong and what I went through with this car is NOT NORMAL! The serviceman said there is nothing more that they can do for me! I asked what was done to the car. He said the mechanic looked at the brake line and all underneath the vehicle and that they went on a test drive with it and it appears to be FINE! At this point, I did’nt know what to do. In shock, frustrated and very upset, I drove home. The steering was way off! I had to oversteer just to do a basic right and left turn. Before the speed bump incident that was NOT THE CASE! I can differentiate between tight steering and a loose steering wheel. The steering wheel does not sit in center nor does it go back smoothing. Instead, it goes back in increments as if something is caught, broken, holding it. I have to bring the wheel back myself. Yet, I am NOT a MECHANIC and the mechanic and staff can’t see the problem. I can’t help but ask myself if I didn’t have the extended warranty would they be able to find the problem, fix it and how much $$$$ would I be out of pocket?
Last night, I watched a Flood Automotive Group TV ad touting “Cash for Clunkers.” The message was simple: Uncle Sam’s got $1 billion for clunkers. Come get $4500 for your clunker. Not a single word about which vehicles qualify for the money. It didn’t even refer viewers to a website for details—like this ad for C4C “designated” dealer Phil Fitts Ford. A quick ring ’round twenty dealers nationwide shows a definite “reluctance” to discuss the particulars of the CARS program over the phone. “I’m sure your vehicle will qualify,” a Chrysler dealer told me re: my theoretical 2005 Chrysler 300. “Bring it down and we’ll have a look.”
How many of you would pay $400 a month for a Ford Ranger? How about $600 and change? Not you? I didn’t think so. But you would be surprised how many actually do. As a remarketing rep for Capital One, it was my job to deal with the failures—over 10,000 per year. Good people. Bad people. Mediocre people. It didn’t really matter in the end because none of them could make the sub-prime car payments. It’s a vicious cycle at the auctions. Retail cars are sold to wholesale buyers. These cars are then sold with cheap credit and inflated prices to an ever clueless public. Here’s today’s question: “What’s the alternative?”
Up until 2007, rural freeways in the Northern Territory, Australia had no speed limit. Claiming that speed limits were essential to saving lives, the state government imposed a 130km/h (80 MPH) limit on the Stuart, Arnhem, Victoria and Barkly highways and a 110km/h (68 MPH) speed limit on all other roads, unless otherwise marked lower. Despite the best of intentions, however, the number of road deaths actually increased 70 percent after the change — despite worldwide drop in traffic levels (view chart).
Dave writes:
While I understand that recommended tire pressure is located on the door jamb in a car, what happens when the factory tires are replaced, upgraded, down graded, replaced with used or even recaps where available (are re-treads even available?), different tread and wear and heat ratings?
What I am trying to ask is: are the manufacturer’s recommendations applicable only to the factory tires, or to non- original brand replacements as well?
Buickman writes:
Today GM marketing announced another $1,000 rebate on old invoice units. To check eligibility the dealer enters the VIN into a website. A dealer who has properly managed his inventory will not have any units in stock that qualify, and is thereby less competitive and penalized. Dealer trades become difficult at best and the customer is confused when told that the car they want is more than the identical car sitting next to it that they don’t want.
GM claims to be calibrated to break even at a Seasonally Adjusted Annual sales Rate (SAAR) of 10m sales. Which assumes that GM’s portion of those sales will remain steady. As we’ve learned today, that’s not likely. GM’s market share is being pummelled by bad news, bailout backlash, and (according to the Merrill Lynch report) poor product replacement rates. While GM talks up the Volt, discusses a Prius fighter and touts an American-made compact, its major product push has been centered around a single dying brand (Buick) and its single new product, the LaCrosse. Yes there’s a new Equinox, but has anyone noticed? Camaro may be the choice of bold, audacious lemmings everywhere, but for how long? It’s gut check time . . .
Bank Of America-Merrill Lynch have released their annual “Car Wars” report, and it predicts slumping sales for GM and Chrysler. GM’s market share of 22 percent last year is seen shrinking to a mere 15 percent, which is significantly lower than the 18 percent number that GM admits to. The real butt-clencher? Merrill Lynch based its calculations on a 14m unit SAAR, which is much higher than the 10m SAAR that we’ve been seeing through the first half of the year. Which means GM’s losses could be even worse if we don’t see a return to those sales numbers soon. Even at a 14m SAAR though, the three percent discrepancy between GM’s numbers and Merrill’s would amount to GM selling half a million fewer autos than expected. The report places blame on weakness in GM’s new-product pipeline for the projected drops. GM’s Tom Wilkinson fires back at the Freep, arguing “we understand that analysts get paid to try to predict the future… but that doesn’t necessarily mean they are going to be right.” Gosh, can’t anyone just trust GM?
America’s traditional method for clunker-culling was to load old cars onto a truck and ship them to market in Mexico. That changed last year when Mexico banned the importation of vehicles built before 1998. Now, Mexico’s president Felipe Calderon has announced a scrappage scheme for his country, in hopes of jumping on the car sales bump bandwagon. According to El Universal [in Spanish, Hat Tip: Gato Negro], the program
“will grant 15,000 mexican pesos [about $1,000] towards the purchase of a new car. The clunker must be 10 years old at minumum. Initial budget will be 500 million pesos, expandable to 1,000 million. The cost of the new car should not exceed 160,000 pesos. Also: The car must be assembled in Mexico [or another NAFTA country] or imported by one of the seven brands that have a car factory in Mexican territory.”
Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal quotes analysis which shows that Europe’s 6.8m oversupply for 2009 will grow to 7.2m in 2010, because “scrappage schemes are significantly distorting the dynamics of the European market.”
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