Automotive News [sub] reports that J.D. Power is introducing a Vehicle Launch Index, aimed at providing OEMs with data and feedback on product launches. For a nominal (sliding scale) fee, JDP will follow launches for the first 12 months of a model’s life, measuring ad effectiveness, consumer response, dealer gross profits and incentive spending. “There will be 88 new and restyled model launches in 2009,” JDP VP for research Dave Sargent tells AN. “Some of them will succeed. Others won’t, and frankly should never have gotten approval to see the light of day.” And JDP’s role will be to boldly proclaim vehicle program flaws during and after launches, because “it’s hard for people inside the company, especially if they want to get ahead in their career, to derail a project by saying, ‘This plan is flawed.'” Because what fixes dysfunctional product development like a highly paid consultant offering post-mortem bon mots?
Category: News Blog
And yes, as with TTAC’s Ten Worst, Detroit gets it between the eyes. From the Aveo (“if Fiesta is the iPhone of ‘minis, Aveo is a pair of polystyrene cups and a shoelace”) to the Sebring (“so bad, even the man at Hertz will wince apologetically as he hands you the keys”), to the Jeep Compass (“winner of the Not Going Down Fighting Award). But thanks to the wild diversity of the UK market, there’s plenty more to chuckle about. Asian oddities like the Ssangyong Rodius (“like the result of a genetic experiment by a blind, fingerless, sadistic scientist”) and the walking dead Nanjing/SAIC/MG F roadster (“it costs £16.5k. A last-gen TF can be had for £4k. Do they think we’re stupid?”). And weird Euro models like the 2CV tribute Citroen C3 Pluriel Charleston, the Mercedes CLC and the practical-to-the-point-of-horror Fiat Qubo. Bloated plutcratmobiles like the BMW X6 and Maybach Landaulet arelauded for representing rude hand gestures to “the environment, poor people and practicality.” Check out Top Gear’s Foreman blog for the full treatment, served up with trademark British acid wit. Meanwhile, the “iPhone of ‘minis” has won What Car?’s Car Of The Year award. The UK car buyers guide calls Ford’s Fiesta “the most complete small car we’ve ever tested.”
Engine: 2 liters, 4 cylinders, 138 hp,132 torques. Transmission: 4-speed auto. Weight: 4,950 lbs GVW, 3,000 kerb weight (est). Payload: 1,605 lbs, 4+ feet by 6+ feet cargo area. Mileage: 19 city, 24 highway. Body styles: 2, Van (no second row, side and rear glass optional) or Wagon (second row, side and rear glass standard). MSRP remains the independent variable.
That’s one Hell of a ROI. And in case you hadn’t figured it out, we’re talking about lobbying costs to score bailout bucks. The Wall Street Journal reports GM’s ’08 spend on D.C. power brokering totaled $13.1m. (The $3.3.m spend covers the period of bailout begging.) That’s down from ’07’s $14.3m, but times are tough. Hence the bailout. Anyway, GM spokespinner Greg Martin assured the WSJ that no taxpayers were hurt during the buttering-up of federal legislators. “Lobbying is the transparent and effective way that GM has its voice heard on critical policy issues… that companies should not be required to forfeit if they receive federal funding,” Martin said, endearing himself to taxpayers throughout the country. Martin added that no funds lent from the Treasury would be used for lobbying. Huh? I thought GM promised the SEC yesterday not to cook the books. I mean, from what “ring fenced fund” does the lobbying money come from, pray tell? Ready to listen a bit more of that song “Fool on the Hill?’ Then let’s talk about the recently nationalized GMAC…
TTAC used to have a writer who’d critique new car designs from the aesthetic point-of-view. Unfortunately, Carl stopped working at Starbuck’s, so I couldn’t hassle him for free coffee– I mean clean copy. So when I received an email update from Classic Driver promising a design analysis of the Porsche Panamera, I was well up for a professional’s analysis of what looks, to me, like another hideous Porsche. By the sixth paragraph, I knew Chris Hrabalek was prevaricating. And then he gets nasty, pulling rank on readers.
“Although one could hardly call the styling of the new Panamera revolutionary, neither can one accuse it of having anything but pure Porsche DNA. While it’s certain that numerous sofa-referees will judge the styling as too conservative and unimaginative, it is far removed from the Aston Martin DB9 LWB (akaAston Martin Rapide). Also, while the Panamera shares common parts with its siblings, none are too obvious. Visually, it is a far more distinct model than, say, the products of the Porsche 996/Boxster era.” Where’s the beef? “It leaves us in no doubt that, were the front badge to be removed, this car would still be readily identified as a true Porsche. It’s true that, unlike the Porsche 928, it does not take a stylistic risk.”
That’s it? Sigh. OK, over to you, TTAC’s Best and Brightest. What do you make of the new Porsche Panamera?
Tesla Motors recently caused a kerfuffle amongst its earliest and most faithful supporters by raising the price of its Roadster. More precisely, the Silicon Valley automaker turned some of the car’s standard features into options, and then raised the prices on those (e.g. the fast charge power cord). Customers who’d provided Tesla with hefty deposits– up to $50k– were none-too-pleased to discover that their “locked-in price guarantee” wasn’t worth the paper it was printed on. Uh, it was printed, yes? Anyway, to quell the ensuing PR shit-storm, self-appointed (anointed?) Tesla CEO and Product Architect Elon Musk has emailed an explanation to his rapidly aging customers [full text after the jump]. Musk has also scheduled a town hall-style meeting for the 26th and 27th. In short, to ensure federal teat suckling for the WhiteElephant sedan, Tesla has to prove that it’s “viable” (there’s that word again). As Tesla was losing $31k per car, something had to change. In other words, take a hit for the team guys, Oh, and Musk points out that there’s a $7500 tax credit for customers who take delivery of their Roadster between January 2009 and March 2027. Just kidding. I think.
Chrysler is hoping against hope that it can move the moribund metal with an employee pricing incentive interest free what about leasing financing sale. Yes, it’s the kitchen sink of car deals, with every gimmick the freshly capitalized (thank you America) Chrysler can muster. More specifically, Auburn Hills is offering buyers employee pricing– whatever that is– plus $6k off ’08’s, or zero percent financing or low-cost leasing for up to 48 months (for somewhat qualified buyers). Customers who fancy an ’09 Chrysler, Dodge or Jeep product “only” get $3500 off the employee price. No matter what you call it, the reality is that Chrysler continues to drop its prices in the hopes that someone will buy its products. Residuals be damned.
AZcentral.com reports that the Arizona House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee has voted 5-2 to recommend approval of House Bill 2106, banning the use of speed cameras on state highways. (The bill does not preclude cameras from city streets.) “This was done in the name of revenue,” pronounced an indignant Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Gilbert. Meanwhile, Pinal County County Supervisors voted to end their dalliance with Redflex’s mobile speed cameras. This after their top cop, Sheriff Paul Babeu, declared “I’m against photo speed enforcement completely. Here in Pinal, it’s failed miserably.” Babeu told the panel that the two cameras were activated 11,416 times, from September 2007 through December 2008. The result: 7,290 citations. Of those, only 3,711 were paid. “Babeu said most of the total $134,199.43 in fines and fees from the paid citations covered administrative and operational costs, leaving the county with a net profit of $12,391.58 that Babeu dismissed as paltry. Moreover, Babeu said, total motor-vehicle accidents increased by 16 percent in the same time period, and fatal collisions in the Queen Creek area doubled from three to six.”
American taxpayers have loaned Chrysler $4b. The Auburn Hills automaker has their hand out for an additional $3b. And what do the taxpayers get? A full newspaper page ad thanking them and a bunch of IOUs. Meanwhile Fiat is looking to pick up a third of Chrysler from Cerberus for little more than blue sky and a business plan. Political and economic ideologies aside, it doesn’t seem fair. Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) agrees. During the confirmation hearings for the incoming administration’s Treasury Secretary, Sen. Bingaman asked Timothy Geithner what’s up with that. “It’s hard to explain why the American taxpayer shouldn’t own Chrysler,” the Senator asserted. True dat. When Daimler bought Chrysler, they didn’t ask U.S. taxpayers to finance the deal. When the Germans off-loaded ChryCo on Cerberus, no taxpayer subsidy was involved. If Fiat isn’t anteing up any cash– which it isn’t– somebody’s got to pay for adapting the Fiat platforms for the American market and retooling the plants. (At least in theory.) Cerberus, Chrysler and Fiat are hoping that the Italian job is compelling enough to obscure what’s really happening here: U.S. taxpayers are being fleeced. Again. Still.
Indeed. Now that General Motors depends on Uncle Sam for its survival, why would the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) levy a fine against the ailing American automaker? Answer: it wouldn’t. Under the terms of the deal with GM [full press release after the jump], the SEC ends its investigation into the company’s bookkeeping without a GM admission of guilt or a cash fine. Oh, and GM pinky swear promises it won’t ever do it again. The settlement and dispensation adds to Rick Wagoner’s growing rep as the industry’s Teflon Don. Lest we forget, Wagoner was GM’s Chief Financial Officer from 1992 to 1998, before becoming Chief Operating Officer (2000) and then CEO (2203). His career at GM (the only career he’s ever had) began as an analyst in the treasurer’s office. If Wagoner didn’t know the books were cooked, why didn’t he?
The man who knows how to get something for nothing (Fiat’s Sergio Marchionne) has “absolutely no intention” of running Chrysler as part of the two firms’ automotive axis, reports Automotive News [sub]. Marchionne will fill one of Fiat’s three seats on Chrysler’s seven-seat board, as he attempts what he describes as the “mission impossible” of turning Chrysler around. But before the dramatic-but-overplayed theme music cues a Fiat-led revamping of the ailing automaker, Chrysler’s stakeholders will have to make meaningful concessions, including debt-for-equity swaps. But will Marchionne accompany ChryCo CEO Bob Nardelli for future rounds of bailout beggary? Of course not. After all, the Fiat deal confirms the suspicions of at least one US Senator, that injecting cash into Chrysler would simply invite a takeover. And sure enough, Automotive News [sub] reports that officials concede that giving U.S. taxpayer money to an automaker tied to an overseas-based company will raise red flags in DC. Chrysler spokesfolks insist that the Fiat deal is consistent with the “stipulations and obligations” of the U.S. Treasury Department loan, but then they wouldn’t be insisting if there weren’t some question, would they? As Farago reported earlier, the promise of more federal money is what got Fiat sniffing around in the first place. And now there’s trouble afoot.
Autoexpress has been saying for some time that Jaguar’s rumored new sportscar will be more XJ220 than F-Type concept. Now, they say they are “lifting the lid” on an Audi R8-fighting sportscar that Jag still refuses to aknowledge. The highlights? A 500+ hp supercharged V8, Ian Callum styling (hinted at here in a rendering by beyond-form), light weight construction on an all-new aluminium platform, and a concept debut pegged at about 18 months from now. Bloody good, but does it mean they can’t build the F-Type too?
Our illustrious Editor-in-Chief predicts the death of the manual transmission. The “stick-shift is toast,” Farago says, in his own special way. I disagree. If you want to go fast, get a paddle shift automated manual, a la Nissan GT-R. Time and again, the little levers have proven to be the fastest way to get around a track. Want easy breezy beautiful Orange County commuting? Get a traditional automatic. But if you want to maximize the man machine interface, nothing beats a manual. Three pedals can enliven the most leaden of automobiles. To wit: the Mercedes-Benz C300 Sport.
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