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Choose a page number: 1 Automotive RSS FeedsFender and Defender - I'm a big fan of analogies and metaphors to help make points or draw lessons from history. The more creative or unusual they can be, still hanging together, the better (though you have to be careful with them; sometimes they can mislead). I enjoyed Mark Bursa's study of how Fender, under threat from low-cost competition, embraced that competition and contracted out manufacturing activity to the very people who threatened to put it out of business. Fender managed to carry on in business by going to where the cost is low and building its clever brand strategy on top of that. The parallels with the car business are certainly there. As Mark points out, this is the same low-cost manufacturing outsourcing model that the auto industry has been adopting. I guess the question is, how far do you take it? With reference to JLR and the Land Rover Defender, I suspect the idea of making that vehicle in India will be something Tata will be definitely looking at, along with a possible ...Feed Source: www.just-auto.com Funny ol' Friday - Today is a funny one isn't it? Some people are back at work, some are not. Some have holiday hangovers, some do not. If you are at work, there's maybe a sense of it being a bit quiet ahead of the main return to normality on Monday. It's a short week at least and today is perhaps a gentle way to ease yourself back into the world of work. I'll wish you a Happy New Year anyway.
The December US light vehicle numbers are out on Monday and another rough month is being widely predicted - the overall market number is likely to be 30-40% down on last year.
And as we look ahead to what this year has in store, it's not exactly the brightest of prospects. One silver lining in the general economic gloom: at least oil is cheap and likely to remain so. It looks like we won't have that pump price shock thing to contend with on top of the market downturn this year.
And another 'positive': the year-on-year trend in market numbers will be looking le... Good wishes to all - Well, that's almost it for this year. It just remains for me to sign off and wish you all the best for the festive season (should you get one) and the year to come. The just-auto editorial department will be having a festive break from tomorrow (December 24) and we'll be back in your inbox on January 2, 2009. At least we here are fortunate enough to get a voluntary holiday break. For some the break this year will be involuntary and indefinite. These have been - and still are - testing times for many and thoughts at this time are with those who have lost their jobs. As a contributor to the just-auto forums recently noted, the numbers themselves also represent more than just a cost saving. There's a human cost. Many lives, at the very least, are disrupted, livelihoods or careers lost or damaged. In this industry at least, many companies have displayed an admirable degree of humanity as they attempt to transform in these trying times... Toyota operating loss - If ever there was a sign of the collective nature of the immediate problems facing the auto industry generally, Toyota's announcement that it foresees an operating loss is surely it. Even the mighty Toyota is being buffeted by recessionary winds across the globe (okay, and a high yen).
What will Toyota's response be? Cost-cutting generally and looking to up the ratio of overseas to domestic production wherever possible are probably bankers.
But besides pulling back on new investments, it's still pretty unclear where markets are ultimately headed, where exchange rates will settle and therefore where you want to max out or reduce production capacity.
The industry forecasters have an unusually difficult task right now in trying to work out where automotive markets are going and on what timescale. How long will demand stay below trend and how much 'pent-up' automotive demand i... The credit problem - I have just been chatting with Michelle Krebs over in snowy Detroit about today's developments on the 'bailout' of GM and Chrysler. The loans buy some time. How tight is it? Well, the energy department loan finance is on top, so it's maybe much better than it looks. This should see Detroit through to March 31.
Michelle made a very good point, which is that the underlying problem is the need for the banks to get lending again in order for market volume to recover.
Edmunds.com estimates that December's US sales will come in at 38% down on last year with a SAAR of just 9.8m units. Yes folks, an annualised running rate under 10m units. In 2007, the market was over 16m units.
There's certainly plenty for Obama to think about when he contemplates what Bush is handing over in January. And that's when the looking beyond the 'bridge to a bridge' gets going in earnest. ... Aston Martin Routemaster - There has been a competition on to design a contemporary Routemaster bus (the classic red London double-decker bus that was phased out a few years ago and replaced with single deck articulated 'bendy buses'). A team from Aston Martin jointly won it.
If you follow the below link, there's a pdf that tells you more about the entries.
In the 'imagine' category kids have sent designs in, accompanied by short descriptions.
A ten-year-old apparently wrote this:
"I designed my bus to be eco friendly and comfortable for the passengers inside it. The bus has a hybrid engine powered by bio fuel. My bus has fuel saving tyres; the bus also has a lightweight aluminium streamlined body made out of recycled material."
Bright lad. Big red bus... JLR supply chain - I heard an interesting item on the radio this morning that very amply illustrates how the supply chain in the English West Midlands is being hit very hard and quickly by reduced output at Jaguar Land Rover (JLR). When Rover went belly-up a few years' back, suppliers knew the writing was on the wall for some time before it hit, and could prepare by diversifying their customer base.
And the ultimate impact of that failure on the UK automotive supplier industry was much less severe than feared.
The current business crisis, on the other hand, has hit much more suddenly - in Britain's manufacturing heartland, as elsewhere in the world.
The radio clip is a reminder of the reason why the British government will feel compelled to act: jobs. This is about managing the economy so that the immediate impact of the recession is minimised and - more importantly - that long-term damage to Britain's economic health is kept to ... Festive cards - I expect the practice of sending out Christmas cards and diaries to fellow professionals will be down this year, an easy low-hanging saving to be made from marketing or PR budgets. And I guess the e-cards that you receive via email will be more numerous than ever.
There's one thing I think every year and the thought has just hit me again after opening a particularly bland festive card (from people I don't actually know at a major international company) in the email: do it properly or don't bother.
If you do it, please put a modicum of thought into it so that it makes an instant impact with some style or humour. Maybe inject some simple personality into it (get the digital camera out and let's see the team eating mince pies, santa hats on - how difficult is it?). Or use the opportunity to get some sort of halfway useful message across.
Or just forget it (and there is really nothing wrong with not bothering).
But the half-ar... Volvo S60 - The Volvo S60 concept certainly looks good. I wonder how much will make it into the production car
The lack of a B-pillar and the LED headlights on the front (designed to look like little Viking long boat sculptures, according to Volvo) are a couple of touches it would be nice to see make the cut.
Will this car cause ripples of excitement among possible buyers for the company?
DETROIT PREVIEW: Volvo concept heralds S60 redesign... Would you invest in a hedge fund run by Mr Made-Off? - You just couldn't make it up could you? Bernard Madoff's hedge fund attracted investment funds from some pretty respected sources but it was all a bit, as we like to say in England, dodgy. In fact, it was a gigantic fraud, all smoke and mirrors. And his surname is pronounced as 'made off'. Only it's not a comedy sketch.
Our collective faith in the financial world is chipped away at a little bit more. Let's hope the regulators are on a steepish learning curve, past mistakes duly noted.
But, startling figures I have seen on the BBC website suggest that the ability of (or should I say failure of) businesses to be able to negotiate funding from their banks will bring the credit crisis storming to the front of the agenda once more in 2009.
The figures, reported by Robert Peston, the BBC's business editor, are from the Bank of England's quarterly bulletin and show that, in 2009, there will be a massive bulge in the value of bonds issued by European companies that have... Rescue packages - Tata-owned Jaguar Land Rover is said to be seeking a big loan from the British government to get it through next year and the squawking everywhere for government loans to aid liquidity for embattled auto firms is an interesting one isn't it?
Governments may feel obliged to offer 'rescue packages' for local auto firms and auto firms will feel that they shouldn't waste any time in lobbying/applying for available credit that is likely to be on much better terms than anything they can get privately.
And national governments will feel that they need to act to ensure that it's not their country that loses out in the industrial restructuring that the recession will inevitably cause. Why should, for example, the jobs disappear in Britain rather than in Germany or France? And the local units of auto firms will play on that fear of the recession and its long-term impact being disproportionately felt without the cheap credit and support that 'everyone else is... George Bush legacy - I guess George Bush is perhaps in a strange limbo at the moment.
Although he is still the President of the USA for a few more weeks, the pressure is mainly off. It's a time for valedictory speeches, tying up loose ends and maybe enjoying the trappings of office without some of the burdens. The difficult and taxing stuff is about to be handed over en masse to the new guy, so now's not a time for policy initiatives.
Did you see the footage of that press conference in Iraq yesterday at which a local journalist removed his shoes and threw them, one at a time, at George Dubya? The shoes moved through the air at pace and George had to react pretty smartly to avoid them - especially the first missile which also carried the element of surprise. (Impressive evasive action by GB - I wonder if he plays dodgeball?)
The guy who threw his shoes was making a serious point, but it was a little lost in the slightly comedic slapstick of the moment.
What struck me thoug... Bailout rejected; where next? - I am a bit surprised that the $14bn emergency loan package for automakers was rejected in the Senate. Of course, the likely vote numbers didn't look good for the bill's backers to start with. But I thought enough pressure would be brought to bear (especially from the White House) and that there would be a sense of not wanting to take the risk of not doing it, that would have got it through.
And as is often the case, maybe some concessions would be made at the last minute to appease opponents - and that seems to be where Bob Corker came in - to carry the day (and Corker's apparent conversion from being pro-Ch 11 to favouring a deal speaks volumes). Is the UAW really to blame? I don't know enough about the politics going on there, but I note that some are claiming the UAW stuff identified a convenient bogeyman for those who had other reasons for not wanting ... Latest proActive is out - The latest issue of the e-magazine we produce on behalf of Lotus Engineering, proActive, is now available for download. There are a couple of very interesting pieces concerning the new Lotus Evora as well as an interview I did with Ian Foley, MD at Williams Hybrid Power. The Williams Hybrid story has more to it than you might think. While the folks there are working flat out on getting the new KERS technology ready for the 2009 F1 season, they also have an eye on future road car applications for their powered flywheel and there have already been discussions with relevant parties.
Anyway, Issue number 29 (crikey, are we really at 29 already? - seems like only yesterday we were having exploratory meetings to chew over the idea) is available for download. If you're signed up, you will already have received an e-mail. proActive... GM, bailout, Corvette and Jay Leno - Well, it looks like a deal has been cobbled together between leading Democrats and the White House for some 'tideover' loan finance that should stave off immediate crisis at least. I wonder who will get the 'car czar' overseer role. To have credibility, it has to be someone with a reputation for financial prudence, or good business sense who is clearly not a 'car guy'. Paul Volcker's name has been mentioned. I wonder if I can lay a bet at Paddy Power yet? Jack Welch? What's Bill Gates up to now?.
As far as I can see, this $15bn deal takes us into Q1, when a whole lot more discussion gets under way on what happens next, the new Obama administration's attitude a key element.
There's some chatter on various websites about what might happen to bits of GM in the Ch 7 break-up scenario. There's even a suggestion in some quarters that Toyota might be a good home for Corvette. Yes folks, it's a crazy world we are living in.
I believe Jay Leno is something... Volvo and Changan? - Would Volvo Car look attractive to a Chinese car manufacturer? You betcha. As Tata did with Jaguar Land Rover, you effectively put your global strategic development on fast-forward by acquiring an established Western automaker - especially if it comes with a respected prestige brand. There's all that deep engineering knowledge, off-the-shelf products and major component systems, distribution networks and manufacturing plant assets to think about for starters.
And Volvo ought to be eminently turnaroundable (is that a word?), financially. The purchase price might be a slight sticking point though. And even the Chinese are likely to be a bit cautious at the moment, a downturn of uncertain magnitude on the cards for the Chinese economy and vehicle market.
The Changan news flurry is a curious one though. So, Ford thought it should tell its Chinese partner Volvo is for sale as a matter of 'courtesy'. Really? That's very polite indeed, isn't it? Beca... $1 salary illegal? - The leading execs of big companies sometimes live like rock stars and are pretty well compensated with both salary and stock options. So, they won't exactly be on the breadline if they take a pay cut to $1 a year. Don't spend it all at once guys. Maybe you can't
One has to take one's laughs where one can in these economically challenged times. Is a symbolic $1 annual salary actually illegal? It must be under the minimum wage, eh? And how would you get paid the $1? In monthly instalments? Would it be processed like any other payroll sum? This from the Slate.Slate... BMW's Michael Ganal - I was sorry to hear of the death of BMW board member Dr Michael Ganal yesterday, following what BMW described in its release as a 'severe' illness. Sounds like it was quick. He was only 54. I last saw him at the BMW Annual Report press conference at the end of March and I last interviewed him late last year at a BMW 1 Series Coupe event in Copenhagen. He was very good value for money, happy to perch at each table to answer journalists' questions long after dinner - and he had a good command of the varied subject matter. He seemed like a very 'safe pair of hands' and I'm sure he'll be much missed by colleagues.
DENMARK: BMW targets US with 1 Series Coupe
GERMANY: Former BMW CFO dies... An engineer writes - There's an interesting perspective here from someone who apparently worked as an engineer in the auto industry with wide experience - enough experience to offer some insight into Detroit's problems, as well as its hidden assets. There's also an interesting observation on the perception gap, consumers with long memories and the difference between big ticket and small ticket items in terms of consumer behaviours.Former Insider on the Auto Bailout: Never Underestimate Brainpower in Detroit... The state of modern capitalism - There were more grim statistics on the UK vehicle market yesterday, with November's car sales down by over a third on last year.
The French certainly don't mess about when it comes to government support and a scrappage scheme has just been announced.
Scrappage schemes bring forward sales and that sounds like a simple policy instrument that deserves serious consideration as a low-cost goverment support option (that also helps to clean up the parc). Is the UK's government taking note? Does a 2.5% reduction in VAT really make much difference to anything? (If you're going to cut VAT why not cut it by much more and maybe create a smaller window - imagine if they had said that just for the month of December VAT would be 0% and the consumer spending lift that would have resulted in )
And massive interest rate reductions don't make muc... Copyright © 2009, QualityHosting4U's Link Exchange. All Rights Reserved. |
