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Imagine: You head down to your friendly AutoZone or Pep Boys. While you shop for the latest “guaranteed 10 horses more” K&N filter, and the Manager’s Special floormats all the way from Ningbo, China, your incredulous eyes stare at a sign: “New cars at shocker prices! More than 30 brands! Up to 35 percent off!”
“We need to be able to make decisions faster.” Thus spake GM CEO Fritz Henderson to Automotive News [sub] at the National Business Summit yesterday. In what can only be termed a blinding flash of the almost obvious, he continued, “As part of the General Motors moving forward, you don’t normally think of us as speedy or fast, and that’s what we should be. But when you’re fast you do make mistakes. My view is if you’re slow, you make more mistakes. You just don’t notice it.” Huh? Anyway, what about organizational changes? What’s he waiting for?
TTAC reader and marketing consultant John Charles of Stockholm, Sweden, was gracious enough to send us some more info on investor Mark Bishop, the man who would be king of Saab.
Hi, I read your very interesting piece on Mark Bishop and SAAB. However you (unintentionally, I imagine) missed out a few details. I have found out that Bishop was involved as President of the rather shady Quick Loan Funding. It is understandable that Bishop chooses not to mention his time at QLF in his CV.
German PR people are my friends. This from abt:
A modern SUV must cut a good figure everywhere—and according to this motto, ABT Sportsline has successfully tuned the Audi models Q7 and Q5 as well as the VW Tiguan and Touareg. A particularly stylish element has now been added to the expressive, powerfully-dominant bodywork kits, which have been developed for the diverse quartet: the stainless steel ABT side step set. This silver design piece gives vehicles even more robust flair, without losing the overall elegant-sporty look. The integrated side steps are not just cool, and do not only perfectly fit the strong character of the Q7, Tiguan, Touareg and Q5, but they also offer maximum side protection against, for example, scratches. In addition the ABT side steps also increase the comfort when getting into the car, which makes sense for these comparatively high vehicles. On top of this the thorough cleaning of the windscreen is also made easier. And thanks to the anti-slip coating, secure footing is guaranteed.
Hmmm. One wonders about the veracity of LaNeve’s excuse for allowing “nearly” 60 dealers to avoid termination. Who created the “incorrect or inaccurately reported dealership financial data” upon which their second lease on life was—allegedly—based? Given that dealers fighting for their survival wouldn’t under-report their financial data, common sense suggestd GM’s auditors are responsible for the, dare I say it, mistake. So, how did GM screw it up for “nearly” 60 dealers? And surely that boner throws doubt on the rest of the dealer appraisals (view criteria here). Fuel for the fire for H.R. 2743. In short, GM is still run by the Gang That Couldn’t Shoot Straight. Make the jump for official dealer com from Dr. Death. [Thanks to you-know-who-you-are for the email.]
TTAC commentator Windswords writes:
Sajeev, My oldest son has been bitten by automotive wanderlust. He is about to go off to college this fall and has decided that his grandfathers’ hand-me-down 4 cylinder 2000 Accord with only 30,000-ish miles is just not cool enough. Also, it needs new tires and a battery.
So he has cast his wondering eyes on a 5-speed 2000 VW Golf GLS 2.0L hatch listed in AutoTrader. It looks like a nice enough car but then I start thinking about VW’s reputation for reliability vs Honda, not to mention the size of the potential repair bills and I start to do what any normal parent would do—worry. Should I be worried? If the B&B here can’t convince him to stay with Honda is there anything I should have him be on the look out for trouble-wise on the Golf?
Per AutoTrader Ad, here are some noteworthy facts on the Golf:
Representatives of China’s BAIC are on their way to Frankfurt, where they will pile in limos with the proper branding and go to nearby Rüsselsheim. There, they will receive entry to the inner sanctum of Opel: The due diligence room.
Opel will open wide and BAIC will be able to inspect books, trade secrets, business plans. The next step will be a binding offer, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung [sub] reports. In the coming weeks, BAIC Chairman Xu Heyi himself will land in Frankfurt and will present his plan to unions in Rüsselsheim and politicos in Berlin. Xu knows how to deal with the Germans. His company has a successful joint venture with Daimler.
Two items become apparent:
China Daily, widely regarded as the (English-speaking) voice of China’s central government is appalled:
All bankrupt US carmaker General Motors Corporation needs from the proposed sale of its Hummer brand to Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery is money, with experience and expertise in making vehicles not an issue in the deal.
“All I need is cash,” Hummer CEO Jim Taylor told China Daily in a recent telephone interview.
In a wild orgy of he-said-she-said-it-whispered, Chinese media, from China Daily, to Shanghai Daily, to car186.com, all the way to Motor Trend (with the help of the ever-so-reliable Google Translate), the MSM are busy reporting yesterday’s news of Geely buying Volvo. However, it’s no surprise of the connoisseur of the Chinese news cycle . . .
Earlier this afternoon, I filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request with Uncle Sam re: the Stimulus Package spending on 27,205 Chrysler, Ford and GM vehicles. What we want to know: the models purchased. Why we want to know it: is Uncle Sam spending U.S. bailout bucks to purchase vehicles made outside of the United States? And how fuel efficient are these vehicles? As saving jobs and the environment were the two rationales behind the authorization, we feel the government should reveal this information. So far the GSA, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senator Jack Reed (one of RF’s RI homies) have either ignored or flat out denied our request. So I’ve filed the FOIA request using my own name/address as follows:
The PT Cruiser tooling in Toluca, Mexico couldn’t be pawned off to an unsuspecting Chinese firm, so they’ll just keep selling the things to unsuspecting Americans (or die trying), reports Inside Line. Originally set to be axed or updated in 2004, the PT Cruiser (hated by many, loved by at least one) will live on until the summer of 2011 when production at Toluca will switch to the Fiat 500 and a Fiat Panda-based Jeep product. That means the PT will have been produced for 11 years by the time it finally, mercifully dies.
Ford CEO Alan Mulally, speaking at the Detroit Economic Club’s National Summit, expressed his concerns about the health of the auto industry’s supplier base. “The most important thing that we do now is help them consolidate because we have this overcapacity,” Mulally is quoted as saying in Automotive News [sub]. “Everybody is going to be really careful that we do that and that we don’t topple the supply base.” Too bad the White House doesn’t agree, and suppliers have been screwed over since the bailouts began. Mulally also admitted that US automakers have a long way to go in convincing Americans of the value of their businesses. “Some things have happened, disappointed a lot of people, but we’ve got to really polish the value of what business brings to mankind,” he said. “We’re fighting for the soul of design and manufacturing in the United States.”
That’s the early word on V-Vehicle Company, which will occupy the former Guide Corp. plant in Monroe, LA. In addition to Silicon Valley VC firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Automotive News [sub] reports that Texas natural gas baron T. Boone Pickens is also providing financial backing to the new company which “will produce a high-quality, environmentally friendly and fuel-efficient car for the U.S. market,” according to a statement. “The goal of the company is to provide the American buyer greater product value and a superior automotive experience.”
Our fine government is a model of efficiency. Why just a week ago, the statistics for year 2007 vehicle thefts were published in the June 10, 2009, Federal Register. I’d hate to think how long these stats would have taken to compile without the advantage of computerization. I digress. Let’s take a look at the data.
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