Automotive News - June 2, 2008 - (Page 8)

8 • JUNE 2, 2008 advertising OUR DEALERS ARE GROWING Porsche exec: CAFE ‘will not change our nature’ Diana T. Kurylko dkurylko@crain.com AND SO CAN YOU! “With Zimmerman as a partner we have grown to be the # 1 GM Dealer in Albany, NY.“ Kara DePaula DePaula Chevrolet NEW YORK — Proposed fuel economy standards in the United States won’t force Porsche to change its vehicle range or brand characteristics, the new CEO of Porsche Cars North America said. “We will make our cars more fuel efficient, but we will not change our nature,” said Detlev von Platen, the French-born German executive who previously headed Porsche’s subsidiary in France. “Our customers expect a certain characteristic to our cars.” But Porsche has no plans to produce smaller vehicles, small-displacement engines or even to introduce diesel engines — which are up to 30 percent more fuel efficient than Porsche Cars North America CEO Detlev von Platen: “Our customers expect a certain characteristic to our cars.” gasoline powerplants, von Platen said. “We thought about diesel, but it does not make sense, especially since the United States is 39 percent of Porsche’s market, and we do not see any potential for it,” von Platen said during a luncheon here with journalists, his first since taking the top U.S. post two months ago when predecessor Peter Schwarzenbauer left to become an Audi AG board member. BMW, Volkswagen and MercedesBenz are all launching clean 50-state diesel engines in the United States this year. Those companies say diesel is better than hybrids for boosting fuel economy because hybrid savings come mostly in lowspeed city driving. Porsche will launch a hybrid Cayenne SUV, jointly developed with Volkswagen and Audi, in the United States by the end of 2010. Porsche isn’t prepared to disclose volume or pricing plans. The Panamera four-door car that goes on sale next year also will have a hybrid powerplant, von Platen said. Von Platen, 44, said none of Porsche’s vehicles sold in the United States has to pay the gas-guzzler tax. The fuel economy of its vehicles has improved dramatically in the past decade, he said. But it wouldn’t be feasible, von Platen said, for Porsche to meet proposed regulations from the National Highway Traffic Safety Association that would require its corporate average fuel economy to rise to 41.3 mpg by 2015 from its current 26 mpg average. Porsche paid $4.5 million in CAFE fines in 2006, the last year the fines were levied. Even more unrealistic is the federal government’s proposal that the 911 sports car meet a fuel economy level higher than that of the Toyota Camry because of its footprint, von Platen said. The footprint is the area bounded by a vehicle’s wheels. Said von Platen: “We need a regulation that is stable and fair.” c GM: Battery glitch cuts hybrid sales Jamie LaReau and Richard Truett jlareau@crain.com RESULTS! • KEYES AUTO GROUP • IRA MOTOR GROUP • TOM WOOD AUTOMOTIVE • CHECKERED FLAG • AUTONATION • DIEHL MOTOR COMPANY • CORAL SPRINGS AUTOMALL • RUSTY ECK FORD • AUTOLAND • HENDRICK CARY AUTOMALL • PATRICK AUTO GROUP • HUBLER AUTOMOTIVE • PLEASANTON AUTOMALL • DEPAULA CHEVROLET • WALLACE NISSAN OF KINGSPORT • SUPERIOR CHEVROLET Dealers Prove Our Advertising Gets DETROIT — With gasoline at $4 a gallon and the Toyota Prius flying out dealership doors, General Motors’ mild hybrid vehicles are stuck in neutral because of battery-pack failures. GM had to use 9,000 battery packs to replace leaking ones it recalled, a company spokesman says. GM diverted those batteries from new hybrids for sale this year. GM planned to sell about 27,000 mild hybrid vehicles this year, possibly more given the sharp rise in gasoline prices. But insiders say GM will fall far short of that goal because of problems with its Michigan-based battery maker, Cobasys, a joint venture of Chevron Technology Ventures and Energy Conversion Devices. GM discovered an internal leak in the nickel-metal hydride batteries that Cobasys made for GM’s 2007 model hybrids. The leak caused the hybrid powertrain to shut down. The vehicles could still be driven, but not with the hybrid system. The vehicles affected were the 2007 Saturn Vue Green Line and Saturn Aura Green Line hybrids. A GM spokesman says the company recalled about 9,000 vehicles to replace battery packs. That slowed the launch of the 2008 Saturn hybrids and the new Chevrolet Malibu Hybrid. Slow sales GM’s April sales of mild hybrid vehicles APRIL 2008 APRIL 2007 Custom-built batteries Cobasys’ batteries are specifically designed for GM’s mild hybrid system. That means GM cannot switch suppliers until it brings out the next generation of mild hybrids in 2010, a source familiar with GM hybrid engineering said. Chevrolet Malibu Hybrid Saturn Aura Green Line Saturn Vue Green Line 260 65 304 N/A* 42 954 *GM did not sell a Malibu Hybrid before the 2008 model year. Source: General Motors GM initiated the recall in late December when it began receiving reports of battery failures. Cobasys halted production for at least a month while it fixed the problem and revalidated the batteries, a GM source familiar with the mild hybrid program said. “I don’t know how many hybrids we could have sold, but we would have had at least 9,000 more batteries for the see HYBRIDS, Page 53 2008 Saturn Vue hybrid: Launch was slowed. © GM CORP. GET A COMPLETE MARKETING PROGRAM! Guerrilla TV Marketing Radio Print Hispanic Direct Mail Web Design Japanese rivals race for lithium batteries Hans Greimel hgreimel@crain.com The battery pack Here’s a breakdown of Japan’s lithium ion battery teams. Sanyo Electric Co.: Working with Ford, Honda and, soon, Volkswagen. Mass production to start in 2009 with annual output of 20,000 battery packs. Matsushita Electric Industrial Co.: Working with Toyota, which plans lithium ion plug-in hybrid for 2010. NEC Corp.: Working with Nissan and Renault. Mass production to start in 2009 with initial output of 13,000 vehicles a year. GS Yuasa Corp.: Working with Mitsubishi Motors. Mass production in 2009. um ion batteries, mostly for such devices as laptop computers and mobile phones. Last week the company said it will build a plant in western Japan’s Tokushima prefecture to make the batteries for hybrid vehicles. The plant will open in March and aims to supply 20,000 units a year. Several companies, including Toyota and General Internet Website Optimization In-Store CALL OR E-MAIL THE AGENCY THAT WILL WORK FOR YOU 24/7 (SERIOUSLY) 1-888-878-ZADV zauto@zadv.com or visit www.zadv.com TOKYO — The race to develop lithium ion batteries is shifting into high gear. Last week Japanese electronics giant Sanyo Electric Co. was the latest to say it will start mass-producing the advanced hybrid-vehicle batteries next year. It also said it has added a partner: Germany’s Volkswagen AG. The move stokes a race among several Japanese companies for the lead in green vehicles. Just a week earlier, not only did Nissan Motor Co. and NEC Corp. announce their plan to start making lithium ion batteries next year, but Toyota Motor Corp. said it will build two hybrid-vehicle battery plants with its partner, Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. Lithium ion batteries will significantly boost the market for low-emission gasoline-electric hybrid and pure electric vehicles. The vehicles are lighter and more powerful than those powered by the nickel-metal hydride batteries now used in hybrids such as the popular Toyota Prius. Hybrids use an internal combustion engine and one or more electric batteries to power the wheels. Sanyo is already a world leader in making lithi- Motors, plan to roll out vehicles equipped with lithium ion batteries starting in 2010. But the batteries themselves have been dogged by safety concerns about overheating and by technical and cost hurdles. Sanyo envisions savings through economies of scale. The company is spending ¥80 billion ($776.7 million) on new lithium equipment. The target is total production capacity of 10 million cells a month by 2015. Sanyo said it also is ramping up development of a lithium ion battery that can be used in plug-in electric hybrid vehicles. The company aims to start selling those in 2011. The batteries of plug-in hybrids can be charged with home current. In addition to Volkswagen, Sanyo works with Ford Motor Co. and Honda Motor Co. on lithium ion batteries. GM has not selected a supplier for the lithium ion batteries to be used in the Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid. GM has awarded two development contracts. One went to Compact Power Inc., of suburban Detroit, a subsidiary of South Korea’s LG Chem. The other was awarded to Continental Automotive Systems, which will assemble battery packs using cells made by Johnson Controls-Saft Advanced Power Solutions and other suppliers. c http://www.zadv.com http://www.zadv.com

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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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