Automotive News - April 14, 2008 - (Page 46)

46 • APRIL 14, 2008 final assembly comment TEST DRIVE >> Log onto www.autonews.com during our Open House week through April 20 and have free full access to our premium news and data resources. Racy scandal for race exec M ax Mosley, racing bigwig and participating in a sadomasochistic unwitting star of an orgy, with alleged Nazi S&M sex video filmed with overtones, in what the a camera hidden in the tabloids are calling a brassiere of one of the London sex “dungeon.” participants, is under fire News of the World, a to resign. But he says he’s British scandal sheet, not whipped yet. broke the story and posted Mosley, president of a video online showing the Federation Internationale sex session involving de l’Automobile, the Mosley: Session Mosley, 67, and five sanctioning body for was “harmless” prostitutes. Tonier Formula One and other publications such as the international racing circuits, is Sunday Times of London and the taking a flogging in the press for New York Times soon added reportorial firepower to the fray. The Times of London, for example, turned up the hidden-camera tidbit. And the New York Times noted that the video showed Mosley counting, in vigorous German, the number of lashings he was administering to one of the women with a leather strap. “She needs more of ze punishment!” he says in German-accented English. A naked Mosley was bound facedown and lashed more than 20 times by a dominatrix, the newspaper said. Mosley — whose father was a 1930s British fascist leader whose Can the Greens slow down the autobahn?on’t look now, but Bremen town is back in the news. And this time it isn’t about four runaway farm animals and the adventures they have on the road to getting a gig as musicians in the German city-state of Bremen. This time it’s about politicians who have imposed a 120kilometer-per-hour (about 75 mph) speed limit on 37 or so miles of autobahn that run through their part of the world. The speed limit EDWARD LAPHAM may not be as IS EXECUTIVE well-known as EDITOR OF the fairy tale AUTOMOTIVE written by the NEWS. Brothers Grimm nearly 200 years ago. Nor is it the first section of the autobahn with a speed limit. But when freedomloving Porsche and BMW drivers get wind of it, you can bet the fur will fly. Traditionally, the only things that limit your speed are how much money you have to spend on a powerful car — and your nerve. Not everybody drives flat-out on the autobahn. Sometimes, especially around cities, there is just too much traffic to get up a head of steam. But my experience has been that even when conditions are good, most drivers seem to keep it under 100 mph. Or maybe just a little over. Heck, that’s how fast some folks drive in the wide open spaces of the western United States, where the speed limit may be only 70 mph. Bremen’s environment minister was quoted as touting the speed limit by saying it will be good for highway safety and send a signal about the need to protect the environment and reduce CO2 emissions to protect the climate. That figures. According to Reuters, he’s a member of the ultraleft Green Party. I don’t think party rules permit Greens to own a vehicle with more than one cylinder, which means he probably can’t even imagine going fast. The Greens would jump for joy if they could impose their will — and a restrictive speed limit — on all German roads. That idea seems stalled because German Chancellor Angela Merkel won’t go along for the ride. But here’s a tip: The next time you’re driving though northern Germany and see a donkey, a dog, a cat and a rooster walking along the side of the autobahn, slow down. It might be a speed trap. Edward Lapham writes five commentaries each week for autonews.com. Read them at autonews.com/edwardlapham. wedding was held in the Berlin home of Nazi propaganda chief Joseph Goebbels and attended by Adolf Hitler — admits participating in the session but denies the Nazi motif. (A Mosley associate, trying to be helpful, said: “The scenario was more Alcatraz than Auschwitz.”) Critics want Mosley to resign, but he says his afternoon play date was a private matter, “harmless and completely legal.” New Ford ads tout quality improvementsord will trumpet quality improvements in an ad campaign designed to get people to reconsider its vehicles. Ford says a companycommissioned survey found that initial quality of its vehicles is now on par with Honda and Toyota. Quality is one virtue Ford touts in the “Drive One” campaign, launched last week. “In the last three or four years, we’ve really built a strong case to go out to customers and present them with how we’re doing on quality,” says Mark Fields, Ford’s president of the Americas. Ford says its domestic-brand vehicles showed an 8 percent improvement in the survey, conducted by RDA Group, of suburban Detroit. RDA surveyed vehicles registered from September through November 2007. Ford posted a combined average of 1,284 problems per 1,000 vehicles during the first three months of ownership. That compares with about 1,250 problems for Honda and Toyota — a difference Ford calls a statistical dead heat. The new ads urge: Reconsider the Ford brand. Ford also has received kind words from independent analysts. David Champion, director of Consumer Reports’ auto test center, told Automotive News: “They’ve been making incremental improvements in their reliability year after year.” In the publication’s latest survey, 93 percent of Ford models had average or better reliability, up from 63 percent in 2007. Fields said the RDA results are consistent with findings of the initial quality study by J.D. Power and Associates. Results of the annual Power study will be released in June. The Taj Tashi, in Thimphu, Bhutan, is one of the hotels owned by Tata. Tata dealers must be handy with a wrench O ne way an automaker can cut costs: Turn dealers into assemblers. Tata Motors has done just that as part of its effort to hold the factory price of the Tata Nano to $2,500. Tata figures it can train dealers to be manufacturers, thanks to its history of owning hotels across India and elsewhere. If you can train people to run hotel room service and get all those little bottles of shampoo and lotion in the right place, the thinking goes, you can teach people to screw on a mirror. Tata plans to assign the assembly of “mirrors, wipers and other such accessories” to dealers, says Roland Berger Strategy Consultants GmbH, of Munich. “This will reduce Tata’s manufacturing costs as well as manufacturing taxes,” the consulting firm said in a recent report. So if hotel management skills prepare a company for factory-floor operations, what’s next? The Holiday Inn-line 6? THE FINAL SAY M I had become a pinata for organized labor and demagogues unconcerned with complex realities. Making me the bogeyman was just unnecessary. — Delphi Chairman Steve Miller, in his new book, The Turnaround Kid: What I Learned Rescuing America’s Most Troubled Companies “ ” id-sized cars are getting safer, says the outfit that smashes them up. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety says all seven midsized 2008 models it tested earned top marks in frontal tests, and six of the seven got the top ranking in side-impact tests. Getting the top mark of “good” in both tests were the Chevrolet Malibu, Dodge Avenger, Infiniti G35, Mitsubishi Galant, Nissan Altima and Saturn Aura. The Kia Optima got the second-highest ranking, “acceptable,” in the side test. The reason for the improvement: better design — and standard side airbags on all the models, the institute says. In the last mid-sized tests in 2004, the safety group says, all 10 cars tested without side airbags rated “poor” in side tests. With optional side bags, the Honda Accord, Toyota Camry and Chevrolet The Dodge Avenger: Top marks Malibu tested “good.” “A major change is that side airbags are standard in every one of the seven mid-sized cars we tested this time,” says institute Vice President David Zuby. “Auto manufacturers have been moving quickly to make side airbags standard.” Rear-impact results this year were less impressive. Only the Kia Optima got a “good” rating, and the Dodge Avenger was “acceptable.” The Mitsubishi Galant was rated “poor” and the four others were ranked “marginal.” Echoes from the grave: Olds still has cachet O ldsmobile may be dead and buried. But it isn’t forgotten. The Web site Brandchannel.com recently asked Web surfers which interred brand they wanted to see brought back. General Motors’ Oldsmobile brand, which bit the dust in 2004, came in at No. 6 — the highest of any automotive brand on the list. MG followed at No. 9, and Studebaker was 11th. Plymouth followed at No. 14. Other brands that some people want to see back include 1970s videogame pioneer Atari and airlines TWA and Pan Am. ISTOCKPHOTO Side airbags boost rating of mid-sized cars in crash tests ISTOCKPHOTO http://www.autonews.com http://www.Brandchannel.com http://www.autonews.com http://www.autonews.com/edwardlapham

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Automotive News - April 14, 2008

Dealership jobs hit 8-year low GM is the wild card in axle war Service contracts: Hard-sell tactics plague dealers, customers TV auto ads shift to online, mobile venues At seminar, marketing execs to discuss new ways to reach customers Better get to know the Nano — it's set to change the world Veteran Detroit 3 dealer: 'The future is quite bleak' Poll: Dealers scrounge for cuts Locals closer to GM strike Scion xB price rises $100 Valeo CEO: No breakup Tata Nano changes low-cost development Hyundai tailors TV, Web ads for Hispanics Study: Ads focused on vehicle qualities won on Oscar night Post-Celine, Chrysler ad guru seeks right note Chrysler's quest for quality lured Nissan exec Betts Search starts for in-vehicle alcohol detectors After S. Calif. success, Honda may fund ad groups Computer images gain ground in TV ads Web TV offers automakers new ad, sales options BMW: X6 will bring brand new buyers Diana T. Kurylko Chrysler fields 'dream' ads Nissan seeks dealerships for trucks Honda will export Alabama-built Pilots to Russia Toyota, Subaru work on 'affordable' sports car Cadillac's ad agency savors the sweet life Some stores may not sell Chrysler hybrids GM hybrids get off to a slow start in first quarter Lexus adds a personal touch to pamper owners, prospects What they're buying — and what they're not The age of fuel innovation is here Approaches to r&d vary Nano brings credibility to Indian engineering Honda must revisit online dealer sales of service pacts Chrysler got it right Mandates, markets and buyer demand For Detroit, some things never change Buick: As Chicago goes, so goes the nation Auto industry has lost a good man Accentuate the positive Ex-Porsche CEO: Cayenne spiced up sales Green programs shape battle for engineering grads Tata rewards suppliers with ties to India Bill aims to set minimum sound levels for vehicles Industry lobbyists step up emissions fight Seeking wider market, Nissan equips sports car for snow New chief of SAE has D.C. skills China and GM's answer to Nano — sort of $2,500 car is Ratan Tata's personal quest NADA offers training in risky credit Donna Harris Deal's goal: Widen appeal of dent-repair coverage Title committee created Vehicle loan delinquencies rise from 2007 Suppliers to the 2009 Tata Nano Odd China combo: Fuel sippers, SUVs Pontiac Vibe: A sporty hauler with Toyota touches Dealers J.D. Power III named tracking company partner Toyota will buy back rusted Tacomas 100,000 Flex sales a year? Farley: 'Absolutely' Ford wants word-of-mouth campaign Small suppliers feel the pain of axle strike Plastech tries to sell 2 units TRW plant will build Ford gears Toyota plans 2nd India plant Dodge launch goes digital Toyota, GM recall 660,000 vehicles for window flaws Lear announces white-collar layoffs March output drops 23.6% New Ford ads tout quality improvements Tata dealers must be handy with a wrench Can the Greens slow down the autobahn? Racy scandal for race exec Echoes from the grave: Olds still has cachet The Final Say

Automotive News - April 14, 2008

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