Automotive News - June 2, 2008 - (Page 58)

58 • JUNE 2, 2008 final assembly comment GM MEETING >> Get live coverage of the General Motors 2008 annual meeting from Wilmington, Del., at www.autonews.com. Can Camry catch F series? T he last time a car rather than a light truck was America’s topselling vehicle, you still could buy a new Sterling 827 or Peugeot Mi16. Nirvana’s “Nevermind” was the No. 1 album in the land, and a gallon of regular gasoline cost $1.08. That was back in October 1991. But when May sales figures are released today, a sedan again may be at the top of the charts. The car? Toyota’s Camry, of course. Ford’s F-series truck has been the sales leader in America since George H.W. Bush was president. But Ford’s big pickup has been withering in the face of soaring fuel prices, the collapse in home The Toyota Camry has been gradually narrowing the sales gap with the Ford F-series pickup. sales and the fact that a redesigned version will debut this fall. The gap between the F series and Camry has been shrinking gradually. In April 2007, the big pickup outsold the Camry by almost 19,000 units. In March of this year, the F series led by about 14,000 units. Then in April, the Camry took a huge bite out of the truck’s advantage. The F series posted sales of 44,813 to the Camry’s 40,016. Industry watchers say sales of big pickups took another plunge in May. By the way, the last passenger car to hold the top sales spot wasn’t the Camry or the oncedominant Ford Taurus. It was the Honda Accord. Year of the Small Car can’t come too soon Two years from now — 2010 — is shaping up as a pivotal year for more fuel-efficient cars in North America. That’s when Ford Motor Co. has scheduled its Fiesta for introduction in North America, even though it goes on sale in Europe and China this year. And 2010 is the year by which Italian automaker Fiat plans to be EDWARD LAPHAM producing cars in North IS EXECUTIVE America, EDITOR OF AUTOMOTIVE according to NEWS. Fiat Group CEO Sergio Marchionne. The most likely candidate for assembly here is the new 500 minicar that was introduced in Europe last year. Coincidentally, 2010 also is when General Motors execs say the automaker will begin selling the gasoline-electric Chevrolet Volt. It’s also a probable time frame for tiny vehicles designed in faraway lands to finally land on our shores. Yes, smaller cars — and smaller engines for larger cars — are being readied for market as soon as the industry can get them. Automakers — especially in Detroit — are scrambling. Still, two years seems like a long time to wait. With U.S. gasoline and diesel fuel prices soaring, Americans are on the verge of a feeding frenzy for the most fuelefficient vehicles they can find. And naming 2010 as Likely Year of the Small Car Cornucopia at least offers some hope that an antidote to higher fuel prices is just around the corner. That may be enough to keep desperate consumers from storming dealerships to scrounge around for any old stripped-down model with a four-banger that might be sitting against a fence collecting dust. And 2010 also has a nice, round ring to it. It’s not as apocalyptic sounding as 2001. Of course, the movie 2010, which was the sequel to 2001: A Space Odyssey, never measured up, either. But with a reasonable flow of fuel-efficient vehicles, 2010 could be remembered as a good year. I can hardly wait. Edward Lapham writes five commentaries each week for autonews.com. Read them at autonews.com/edwardlapham. NEWSCOM Jay Leno to the Detroit 3: Just follow Harley-Davidson’s lead. New wheels for the cop shopormer Ford exec William Santana Li continues stoking the fire under his latest venture to design, build and market a futuristic cop car. Li has attracted former Clinton administration drug czar Lee Patrick Brown to the board of his Atlanta-based Carbon Motors Corp. Also on Li’s board are former Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge and former Congressman Lee Hamilton, vice chairman of the 9/11 Commission. Li is developing the Carbon E7, an environmentally clean, 300-hp bulletproof concept car that he expects to unveil this fall. Brown, who once was Houston’s chief of police, will help represent the E7 to the Department of Homeland Features of the Carbon E7 include automatic license plate recognition and 360-degree external surveillance. Security and other potential customers. In its current concept, the squad car promises such Blade Runner-style features as automatic license plate recognition, 360-degree exterior surveillance, 180degree interior video and audio surveillance, integrated shotgun mounts and rear passenger compartment you can hose down after the occasional messy and/or stinky arrest. Leno’s words of wisdom for automakers J Nissan’s carbon credits ease global warming guilt N issan is offering Japanese drivers worried about global warming a way to reduce carbon emissions. For every March Collet subcompact Nissan sells, the automaker will buy one ton of carbon credits. That’s roughly the amount of carbon dioxide emitted from 5,000 miles of driving. The system lets customers drive guilt-free knowing that the carbon dioxide churned out by their Collets is being offset by projects elsewhere in the world that reduce carbon emissions. Nissan claims to be the first automaker in Japan to tackle global warming through the credit swap approach. So far, most manufacturers have emphasized cleaner technology inside their cars. Under the program, Nissan will buy carbon credits from a nonprofit organization called Carbon Offset Japan. That group gets its credits from carbonreducing projects such as hydroelectric dams in Brazil. Nissan then will transfer the credits to the Japanese government to help the country meet its target of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 6 percent by 2012 under the Kyoto Protocol. The Collet is an entry-level version of Nissan’s March subcompact, known as the Micra in Europe. It gets 19 kilometers per liter (45 mpg), based on Japan test standards. Nissan has no immediate plans to introduce similar carbon credits in other markets. ay Leno has some choice words for the Detroit 3 in the June issue of Portfolio magazine. The late-night comedian and car collector wrote a column full of advice to help General Motors, Ford and Chrysler kick-start sales. His admonition: It ain’t that hard, folks: Make better cars. “When you get in a cheap American car, like a rental, and the key is left in it, it goes plink, plink, plink. It’s just horrible. Every time you use the turn signal it’s like breaking a chicken leg.” Leno says consumers will buy American cars again if the vehicles are as good as the imports. “The classic example is HarleyDavidson. Throughout the ’70s, the motorcycle maker had huge quality control problems. Then Harley-Davidson said, ‘Look, let’s take our time. Let’s build fewer bikes. Let’s build them properly, so they don’t leak oil and they’ll run forever.’ Harley-Davidson won back the market share it lost, and it continues to dominate today.” Leno says not every American will buy a smaller car. “No matter what happens, do not expect all Americans to go Eurosize. American buttocks are not getting any smaller.” THE FINAL SAY Reckless initiatives like the Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep offer to subsidize gasoline for three years for people who buy its gas guzzlers are the moral equivalent of tobacco companies offering discounted cigarettes to teenagers. — Thomas Friedman, The New York Times, May 28 “ Automotive CEOs’ pay pales next to peers’ S hed a tear for the underpaid automotive CEO. Compared with his peers’, his paycheck is skimpy. Automotive News reported last week that the median compensation for CEOs of publicly held automotive companies was $4.1 million in 2007. CEOs of the companies in the Standard & Poor’s 500, covering all industries in the United States, pulled in nearly twice that much. Equilar Inc., an executive compensation research firm in Redwood Shores, Calif., says CEOs of S&P 500 companies had median compensation of $8.14 million and an average compensation of ” $14.6 million in 2007. Total compensation includes an executive’s base salary, bonuses, incentive plan compensation, exercised stock options, vested stock awards and other compensation. Auto CEOs fall short in bonuses, stock options and such. The median base salary of an automotive CEO at $1.0 million was close to the S&P 500 median of $1.025 million. The S&P 500 has these auto industry members: AutoNation Inc., Eaton Corp., Ford Motor Co., General Motors, Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., Illinois Tool Works Inc., Johnson Controls Inc. and PPG Industries Inc. http://www.autonews.com http://www.autonews.com http://autonews.com/edwardlapham

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Automotive News - June 2, 2008

Automotive News - June 2, 2008 Gas prices fuel industry's new era Chrysler faces tricky dealer mergers Honda may crank out more Civics in N.A. Mercedes will move into Chrysler Pacifica studio Ford to offer hatchback version of Fiesta Prestige Automotive sells stores but keeps Black Enterprise top spot Dealership marketers take to text messaging Senate to hear personal pleas on roof crush rule Magazine: Chrysler, Fiat are talking Former Fla. dealer gets jail for bilking bank That guy Alfred had possibilities Ford will make next Mustang look smaller Pontiac subcompact may come to U.S. GM: Battery glitch cuts hybrid sales Porsche exec: CAFE 'will not change our nature' Japanese rivals race for lithium batteries Jatco boosts CVT capacity in Mexico for N.A. vehicles Mercury deserves a better chance Rising gas prices have changed the U.S. market Marketing and sales: Context and content Mexico's Nemak grows beyond North America Buyers didn't quit GM; GM quit on its buyers Brand perceptions change slowly Bloggers are journalists, too Nice HQ, Nissan, but where's Nobe? Chrysler's Chernoby: Growing up gearhead Picture this Mitsubishi hopes new gearbox widens Evo's appeal Openlane gets funds Obituaries Survey: Going green can get your auto ad noticed Inrix: Router can reduce traffic delays Mazda6 gets own platform for U.S. ... sort of Mazda6 set to take on mid-sized sedan heavyweights Troubled or not, the United States still beckons What's next? More transplant models headed this way Exports help as Mitsubishi sorts things out Irma Elder: 'This is one of the toughest times we have had' Fitzgerald: Dealers, consumers need alliance Can Bertone design a comeback? Family-owned business struggles for survival Some design houses fall on tough times Hughes: Not a subscriber? No problem American Axle lines up new non-U.S. business GM think tank works to boost service business Toyota offers gas card as tire incentive VW turns to common software to develop products Continental's Calif. office targets Asian carmakers ZF sees chassis, axle opportunities in N.A. Flex: A new Ford image ... or just over the top? Ford targeted Flex interior quiet, ride Ex-dealership managers say firings were over religion Dealers Genesis in Toledo: It's a long story Back woes sideline Nardelli GM: 19,000 take buyouts Panama to head Nissan Mexicana Wilhite jumps to Jumpstart Dauch sons move up, out Kozyra leaves Continental Ford to lay off salaried staff More small cars to arrive in 2009-10 Even on used market, big trucks go begging Auto advertisers adopt mpg mantra Industry to motorists: We're here to help Diesel prices hit suppliers' Mexico sites Can Camry catch F series? Leno's words of wisdom for automakers Nissan's carbon credits ease global warming guilt Automotive CEOs' pay pales next to peers' Year of the Small Car can't come too soon Foreign suppliers adding capacity in Southeast From cows to kimchi: Making Alabama sweet home for Koreans After light-truck push, cars are king again Mexican suppliers expect sales record in '08

Automotive News - June 2, 2008

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