Automotive News - June 23, 2008 - (Page 14)

14 • JUNE 23, 2008 Roofs, rollovers and reckless driving The surest way to keep our kids safe is to train them well Edward Lapham I have been in crashes but, thankfully, never a rollover. That certainly has been by the grace of God, who knows I did some risky stuff in cars in my youth. Two of my closest friends from long ago survived rollovers in the 1960s. Cliff rolled a Volkswagen Beetle on an interstate. He was almost 18 at the time. John was a couple of months past his 18th birthday when he rolled his Sunbeam Imp while negotiating twisties in lake country. Like me, my friends got older and wiser. So we can still get together and talk about the days when we may have let testosterone, inexperience and a youthful sense of invulnerability put our lives in peril. Some 18-year-olds aren’t so lucky. Edward Lapham is executive editor of Automotive News. dards, millions of teenagers will be at risk in the heartland because of the way they drive. EDITORIAL STAFF 313-446-0361 E-mail autonews@crain.com Web site www.autonews.com Keith E. Crain Publisher and Editor-in-Chief Peter Brown Associate Publisher and Editorial Director DETROIT 313-446-0361 Fax: 313-446-0383 1155 Gratiot Ave. Detroit, MI 48207-2997 David Sedgwick Editor dsedgwick@crain.com Edward Lapham Executive Editor elapham@crain.com Richard Johnson Managing Editor rjohnson@crain.com John K. Teahen Jr. Senior Editor Mary Beth Vander Schaaf Deputy Managing Editor Charles Child International Editor David Kushma Retail Editor Dave Guilford News Editor Philip Nussel Special Projects Editor James B. Treece Industry Editor Jesse Snyder Senior Writer Karen Faust O’Rourke Insight Editor COPY EDITORS: Bob Allen, Tom Fetters, Patricia C. Foley, Kenn Jones, Gregory Skwira Susan Zavela Bamford/Graphics Editor Rick Kranz/Product Editor REPORTERS: Leslie J. Allen, David Barkholz, Mary Connelly, Ralph Kisiel, Jamie LaReau, Arlena Sawyers, Robert Sherefkin, Richard Truett, Bradford Wernle, Amy Wilson Mary Raetz Director, Automotive News Data Center Debi Domby, Camille Pippen Research Assistants Dan Jones Office Manager Robertta Savage Editorial Assistant Corinne M. Price, Michael Garrison Information Center LOS ANGELES Mark Rechtin/Bureau Chief 310-739-8009 Fax: 310-832-6362 Kathy Jackson/Reporter 323-370-2481 Fax: 323-655-8157 Alysha Webb/Reporter awebb@crain.com 6500 Wilshire Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90048-4947 NEW YORK Diana T. Kurylko/Reporter Phone/fax: 908-273-6059 dkurylko@crain.com WASHINGTON Donna Harris/Reporter 540-668-7295 Fax: 540-668-7296 Harry Stoffer/Reporter 202-662-7212 Fax: 202-638-3155 814 National Press Building Washington, DC 20045-1801 MID-SOUTH Lindsay Chappell/Bureau Chief 615-371-6654 Fax: 615-371-6655 April Wortham/Reporter 615-371-6617 104 East Park Drive, Suite 315, Brentwood, TN 37027 TOKYO Hans Greimel/Asia Editor +81-3-3828-9060 Fax: +81-3-3828-9061 hgreimel@crain.com Yurakucho Denki Bldg., 20th Floor 1-7-1 Yurakucho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-0006, Japan TURIN Luca Ciferri/Reporter lciferri@craincom.de +39-011 961 0194 Fax: +39-011 961 0113 Viale Cavaglia, 8 10029 Villastellone (TO) Italy STAFF CORRESPONDENT: Eric Freedman/Legal file, 517-337-0269 www.autonews.com DETROIT Victor Galvan/Web Editor vgalvan@crain.com 313-446-0345 Scott Kennedy/Multimedia Editor comment Teach your children well All states have some form of graduated licensing system that eases teen drivers into the mainstream. According to the AAA Foundation, 43 states and the District of Columbia have more advanced three-stage programs. Typically, those programs limit driving times and circumstances until drivers are more experienced, usually at age 18. But death totals suggest teenagers may need more training. To that end, AutoWeek magazine, which also is published by Crain Communications, last year sponsored a Teen Driving Safety Summit in partnership with Dodge. “Our passion for the car is something that we want to relay to our children in a safe manner,” says AutoWeek Editor Dutch Mandel. It’s something manufacturers should care about, too, he says. As parents, we need to teach our children about driving safely and sensibly in whatever type of vehicle they use on whatever road surface they drive — and make sure they get enough training. We also must remind them over and over that they are not immortal — so that they will have enough training, practice and nagging to survive being 18. You may e-mail Edward Lapham at elapham@crain.com Too many die In 2006, the most recent year for which data are available, 5,156 teenagers died in motor vehicle crashes in the United States, according to the Department of Transportation. The number of teen fatalities has continued to trend downward from 9,940 in 1978. But there are still too many. As the father of three grown sons, I can’t begin to imagine the horror and pain of losing a child in a crash the way Veronica and Kevin Moody did. Their 18-year-old son, Tyler, died in January 2003 when he tried to pass another vehicle in a no-passing zone. He was speeding in a curve and lost control of the 1995 Ford Explorer Sport he was driving. It rolled. The roof collapsed. He was killed. Tyler Moody was one of 5,718 teenagers who died in motor vehicle crashes in 2003. In May, the Moodys settled a lawsuit against Ford Motor Co. for an undisclosed amount. The suit charged that the Explorer had insufficient protection against roof collapse, even Veronica and Kevin Moody and their daughter, Michelle, were in Washington recently urging lawmakers to push for a tougher roof strength standard. The Moodys’ son, Tyler, 18, was killed in a rollover crash in 2003. though Ford said it exceeded federal standards. It was a contentious case. Initially, in November 2006, a federal court jury in Tulsa, Okla., found in favor of the Moodys and awarded them $15 million. But a judge later threw out the verdict and the award, ruling that Ford didn’t get a fair trial because of improper behavior by plaintiff’s’ counsel. The Moodys and Ford settled the suit only weeks before a new trial was scheduled to start. Highway Traffic Safety Administration to come up with a tougher roof strength standard. It will, though the Moodys and some safety groups have lobbied hard to get Congress involved in forcing NHTSA to go even further than what the agency has proposed so far. Interestingly, NHTSA wants to limit product liability lawsuits against automakers that meet the new standard. The plaintiffs’ bar and its political allies in Congress oppose that provision because limiting litigation would stymie lawsuits like the one filed by the Moodys. But no matter what happens in Washington with roof-strength stan- Millions at risk My heart goes out to the Moodys. Never having lost a child and never having been in their painful position, I don’t know whether I would have sued the automaker, knowing that my son almost certainly had caused the fatal crash by driving recklessly. Congress has told the National Edward Lapham writes five commentaries each week for our Web site. You may read them at www.autonews.com/edwardlapham. autonews.com Detroit could have owned the green market This editorial appeared in the June 16 issue of Advertising Age, also a Crain publication. The Advertising Age Green Conference had taken place the week before. You’d think Detroit would have learned a lesson back in the 1970s. Reading the coverage of the Advertising Age Green Conference, one notices a host of companies — some surprising, some not so surprising — that have been toiling away for years on green efforts. Conspicuously absent from the list of marketers making serious green efforts are U.S. auto manufacturers. This isn’t a shame just for vague green reasons. It’s a shame for obvious business reasons — doubly so because the comment writing was on the wall some 30 years ago. It doesn’t take an economic historian to remember how Japanese imports got a toehold during an earlier fuel crisis in the States. Detroit eventually caught on, but it’s not clear it learned from the experience. U.S. automakers are finally rolling out hybrids and talking about electric cars — years after Toyota and others established a lock on the category. The automakers will claim that they have been exploring vehicles with alternative-fuel options. Sure, if by exploring they mean halfheartedly researching their options every time the federal government gave them a kick in the shins — or stumbling to get production models on the road after Japanese hybrids started gobbling up market share. (They might also point out that they have engaged in other green initiatives involving their manufacturing facilities, which they have in some cases.) Their most salient argument, of course, is that they were just giving U.S. consumers what they wanted. Those gas-guzzling SUVs weren’t driving themselves out of the dealerships. Even Al Gore has been spotted riding in the back of a shiny black land yacht. Indeed, pickups and SUVs have been one of the few strong areas for General Motors and Ford Motor Co. in the past years. But it puts us in mind of a group of Neanderthals stumbling across one last herd of woolly mammoths and figuring, “Hey, we’re going to survive after all.” As Detroit feasted on the cash brought in by SUVs, other automakers overtook it in more fuelefficient offerings. Before it gets overly defensive, Detroit should consider this: How much of the market would it own right now if it had brought out hybrid or electric Tahoes, Hummers and Expeditions — as well as a fleet of small, zippy gas sippers — three years before gas reached four bucks a gallon? http://www.autonews.com http://autonews.com http://www.autonews.com/edwardlapham http://www.autonews.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Automotive News - June 23, 2008

TRW exec: We're in the 'sweet spot' for growth 'Like house of cards,' used trucks fall Detroit 3 a big drag in global supplier race Ford rethinks big-block V-8 plan Looters and broken levees Plastech's Brown stands to get $9.25 million Lawmakers: Redo roof rule Hunt takes job at Gallup Lawmakers urge roof rule rewrite Webinar offers tips on going green Lawmakers: Redo roof rule Webasto sees more demand for retractable hard tops Why small isn't always big To move metal, hire an Ironman Chevy limits ZR1 Corvette to top dealers Lithium ion battery is key to hybrid growth With Russia hot, Ford will boost Europe production BMW exec: We can grow in U.S. The man who put the wind in GM's sales GM's parts ordering comes down to Earth More Fits for U.S. in fall GM: Volt buyers deserve tax credit Mercedes exec seeks more exclusive technology from suppliers Bosch, Mahle execs to lead turbo venture Supplier personnel ZF moves steering operations in Ky. Slowing Volvo, Saab add to Sweden's industry woes Feds: Drivers don't have to hang up phones Magna eyes new growth strategy: Powertrain-driveline modules Alleged sales scam snares Ohio dealers GM center troubleshoots IT in plants around the world Senator: Plants have capacity for plug-ins Lots of talk but little to show Going green pays off The Detroit 3 are smart to cut sales to fleets Drop Mercury? No; Ford needs it Awareness isn't GM's problem Leno was off base in bashing U.S. cars Roofs, rollovers and reckless driving Big-truck sales fall 15.2% in May Serra deal reflects GM channel strategy No. 2 vehicle hauler to go out of business Chinese company's car looks a lot like a Mini Honda taps star power for fuel cell car Dealer wanted media attention — and got it Dealers European sales dip 7.8% in May Merger gives Hughes Telematics a cash boost Mexico sales bounce back in April Suzuki dealers test system to turn Web leads into sales Bosch-Samsung venture to make lithium batteries Hyundai plans Elantra hybrid for Korea in '09 RV sales drop 8.5% in April Japan’s best-kept secret Utilities join automakers for plug-in r&d Ford likely to build '11 Focus at 2 plants Glut of '08 Ford F-150s delays launch of '09s '09 Porsche SUV prices rise Ford calls off Ohio plant sale Ford idles Mich. truck plant CarMax net earnings decline Dodge Journeys recalled 2009 Chrysler hybrid SUVs start at $45,340 GOP: Climate bills would make $4 gas look cheap EVs on eBay: It's all the rage In terms of market value, the General is a buck private Sign of the times: Hummer store to be used-car lot Bob Stempel's legacy is the future Flying 1 series? It's BMW's joke Dealer hurt in sky-dive navigates the road to recovery Opel car recognizes signs; BMW plans similar system JCI, Magna unit buy main parts of Plastech The little engines that could Suppliers to the 2008 Dodge Viper

Automotive News - June 23, 2008

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