June 2008 Archives

Today's Wall Street Journal has a very pragmatic, "on point" article about what Detroit (or any car maker, for that matter...) should be building

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121460124671411777.html?mod=hpp_us_inside_today

Especially on point is the following note:  "...They first need to regain relevancy with their customer base – people who like larger vehicles, who have families and who need to drive long distances...."

And, I fully agree with Author White's premise that woe to Detroit should an Asian manufacturer get to these three markets first.

Just a few days ago I pointed out a couple of articles on home-town companies Ford and GM...both containing some bad news.

Here's another set today...

http://money.cnn.com/2008/06/26/news/companies/GM_drop.ap/index.htm?postversion=2008062610

http://money.cnn.com/2008/06/25/news/companies/taylor_ford.fortune/index.htm?postversion=2008062609

As an aside, I've been a fan of Alex Taylor's writing about the auto industry for many years, and he most often "gets it right".  This thoughts in the second article carry special weight.

As I reflect back on what I've noticed in the advertising world recently, there's not a bush you can shake a stick at that isn't advertising how "green" it is.  Cars.  Yogurt.  Homes. Cleaning fluids.  Charcoal briquettes (!).  Heck, even as a former pilot, I read Flying Magazine, and Gulfstream is advertising "green" G-Vs!  Think about that....it carries 41,300 pounds of Jet A and they're 'thinking green'!

Even rental car companies are offering carbon offsets, advertising the ecological merits of GPS units so you "save gas by not getting lost", and all sorts of other stuff.

Below is a good article about the "selling of green".  Do I detect a bandwagon we can all jump on?

http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2008/fsb/0806/gallery.plot_save_planet.fsb/index.html

Is this the future of the SUV in the US?

Quirky, yep.......and we'll see if it gains a 'cult following' like the Element or the Scion Box...

http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2008/autos/0806/gallery.nissan_cube/index.html

You all know I'm a "home town cheerleader" about GM, Ford and Chrysler.  How bad could the business get for GM?  Read here...  http://money.cnn.com/2008/06/19/news/companies/taylor_gm.fortune/index.htm?postversion=2008061910

...and at the same time, the article above speaks to the issue of what the "floor value" of a share of GM stock might be...which leads us to ...   http://money.cnn.com/2008/06/19/news/companies/kerkorian_ford.ap/index.htm?postversion=2008061907  ....and how Kerkorian continues to, in some ways, "prop up" the stock of Ford.

Who says the car business can't be interesting?

I wrote about the Challenger SRT-8 a while back - back, as a matter of fact, before gas even hit $2.50 per gallon, much less $4.19, like it is here in Detroit.

Here's an article the opines less enthusiastic about that car now that "the world has changed" in gas prices.

http://thewheeldeal.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2008/06/18/dodge-challenger-srt8/

Honda is on the cutting edge when it comes to another weapon in the "let's leave carbon-based fuel cars behind" race...read on...

http://money.cnn.com/2008/06/16/autos/honda_zev.ap/index.htm?postversion=2008061609

One thing I do find depressing, though, is why are these first few units going to actors, celebrities, or folks who are famous for being famous?  Why are these units not being distributed to individuals or companies who are (probably) better prepared to give valuable feedback and input to the manufacturer, so they can actually get the units into production faster?  Not knocking some B-or-A List celebrity for being able to get new technology first, but, would true 'customer feedback' come better packaged if rendered by an engineer, a transportation executive, or a somebody who actually runs a company and understands more of the 'ins and outs' of car and fleet operation than somebody who acts, sings, or gets photographed for a living?

I spent my high school and college years, along with the first ten years of my career, in St. Louis.  All the time "The Bud Brewery" was an icon in St. Louis and surrounding areas, lending great jobs, great panache, and great product to the area.  Now it looks like that icon could get picked up by somebody else!

http://money.cnn.com/2008/06/11/news/companies/anheuser_busch/index.htm?postversion=2008061204

Not exactly car-related, but, who doesn't like beer?

All of us in the industry have been keenly observing what's happened to the value of 4-cylinder units.  Further, we've been amazed at what has happened to the used-market value of hybrid units, particularly Toyota Prius.  Here is an intersting USA Today article on hybrids...enjoy!

http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/2008-06-10-hybrids_N.htm