Automotive News - January 28, 2008 - (Page 12) 12 • JANUARY 28, 2008 opinion The North American International Auto Show, the nation’s premier auto show, has just concluded in Detroit. It was a great show as always, and it was surprising just how many top manufacturing executives were in town from Europe and Asia. But there were a few newcomers as well. For the first time, representatives of five Chinese automobile companies were on hand, as was the newest electric car from Fisker — a boutique company in California that showed its new hybrid: a handsome, highly styled four-door. As we catch our breath this week, we can get ready for another important show that is quite different and yet the same. I’m talking about the annual National Automobile Dealers Association convention in San Francisco in a couple of weeks. DAILY AUTO NEWS >> You can get the news you need every day. Go to www.autonews.com/signup and sign up for our daily e-mail newsletter. Everyone benefits China tests the waters at Detroit, NADA from GM-Toyota race to be greenest Competition between General Motors and Toyota Motor Corp. for environmental bragging rights could be just what the industry needs to turbocharge its green progress. GM has boosted its environmental image since it unveiled the Chevrolet Volt at the 2007 Detroit auto show — even though the vehicle isn’t ready for serial production. At this year’s auto show in Detroit, Toyota CEO Katsuaki Watanabe fired back. He boasted that Toyota will crack the 35-mpg CAFE requirement well in advance of the 2020 deadline. Watanabe also listed specific Toyota initiatives ranging from introducing more gasoline-electric hybrids to launching a demonstration fleet of plug-in hybrids by 2010 and building clean diesel versions of some trucks. As Toyota and GM vie for environmental superiority, it should spur other automakers and suppliers to boost their efforts, too. The interesting commonality about both those shows is that the Chinese are testing the waters. I don’t think they were much interested in what consumers thought about their products — at least not yet. But they were interested in what the global press thought, and I am sure they also are testing the waters to see whether automobile dealers are interested. Regardless of what we think about the Chinese automobiles, one thing is certain: They will need a dealer network to sell and service their vehicles. Even Fisker, with its far more modest goals, will need dealers. The Chinese won’t arrive tomorrow, but there is no doubt that they are on their way. Certainly anyone who looked closely at the Help GM dealers consolidate GM’s vision for retail megastores that sell all or most of its brands in metropolitan markets makes some sense. Having fewer dealerships would mean that GM dealerships could compete with other brands and not just among themselves. There is risk in the plan because there is no guarantee that ganging a half-dozen brands at one location will increase their individual presence in the market. GM is late in coming to the consolidation party. And if the automaker is serious, it must offer support and be prepared to spend to help dealers consolidate their operations. vehicles they had on display would not have been excited about retailing them. But we all know that this is just the beginning. When the Chinese brands show up in the United States, their products will be a lot more sophisticated than what we’re seeing today. The Chinese have learned that it’s tougher and takes more time to meet U.S. emission and safety standards, but they are a fast study. Anyone who goes to the Beijing show this year will be surprised to see the progress they will have made since the last show two years ago. When the Chinese arrive in the United States, they will take market share away from everybody: the Detroit 3, other Asians and the Europeans. Each new player will take a little from everyone. First Detroit and then NADA. It’s building the retail network. That always comes first. Chrysler’s Campi has right ideas John Campi gets it — or so it appears. Chrysler’s glib new purchasing boss says all the right things when talking about the need for less contentious relations between suppliers and the Detroit 3. Indeed, Campi has an impressive track record as a supplychain executive in multiple industries. He’ll learn quickly about the complexity of the auto business and its unique and demanding brand of supplier relations. He’ll also learn that it’s not easy to purchase parts from low-cost countries to the degree he wishes and still maintain good cooperation with traditional partners. But Campi seems to grasp the importance of working closely with suppliers, something Toyota and other foreign automakers have made a key part of their success. We hope he can make his ideas stick. didn’t win the military war, but it has won the economic war. North Americans sat back and let it happen. Americans wonder why their economy is in the tank with manufacturing decreasing every month and oil prices going sky high. Guess what? Canadians and Americans are buying vehicles and any number of products in department stores, etc., produced overseas — and we can’t figure it out? Our governments can’t figure it out? Pretty soon there won’t be a Canadian or U.S. economy. The only good thing about it is I will be out of here. I feel sorry for my children and grandchildren as we let the rest of the world take over our countries. BOB OWEN President Roy Nichols Chevrolet Courtice, Ontario V-8s: Maybe Ford had foresight Why won’t media give GM a break? To the Editor: I am a third-generation car dealer and second-generation Chevy dealer. I read Rick Kranz’s Dec. 10 column about the Chevrolet Malibu and, though I like his style, I am getting a little tired of hearing journalists bad-mouth General Motors (“Don’t be too quick to crown the Malibu”). Today, GM builds some of the finest vehicles in the industry and was the first manufacturer to offer many of the safety items most cars have today. GM should be shown some respect for its contributions. When GM does something significant, there is always someone standing by to nitpick the product. Yet when an import does something wrong, the media seem to cover it up and make it appear that it’s not as bad as it is. I have often wondered why and, thanks to Kranz’s column, I think I finally understand. People like Kranz and his friend, who are over 50, have a bias. That was Kranz’s word. It is because of that type of writing that GM is having a difficult time overcoming negative public perception, not because of its product. I get so frustrated because it’s not a level playing field. If we removed all the biases and did side-by-side comparisons I think the import buyers would be very surprised and impressed with GM. BARRY NICHOLSON Chuck Nicholson’s GM Superstore Millersburg, Ohio To the Editor: Maybe the folks at Ford know more than we thought. I read your Jan. 7 front-page article about the Cadillac V-8 being an endangered species. Yes indeed, it is hard to picture Cadillac without a V-8 in almost every car it sells. It is what it is. I did want to point out the verbal beating that Senior Editor John K. Teahen Jr. gave to Lincoln when Lincoln dropped plans for a new-generation V-8, opting instead for efficient V-6 powerplants (“Lincoln quits the luxury car field/Without a V-8, Ford’s premier brand falls back,” Aug. 28, 2006). Could it be the folks at Ford had a bit of surprising foresight in making that choice? Teahen might consider mentioning this in his bid to wash down the crow he should be eating. TOM OLSON Service Manager Ford of Kirkland Kirkland, Wash. THE WEEKLY NEWSPAPER OF THE INDUSTRY Established in 1925, published every Monday by Crain Communications Inc. Keith E. Crain, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief Peter Brown, Associate Publisher and Editorial Director David Sedgwick, Editor Edward Lapham, Executive Editor HOW TO REACH US Web site: www.autonews.com Editorial staff autonews@crain.com Phone: 313-446-0361 Fax: 313-446-0383 Circulation Advertising subs@crain.com lschlagheck@crain.com Phone: 888-446-1422 Phone: 313-446-6790 Fax: 313-446-6777 Fax: 313-446-8030 Editorial data/research To locate information that has been published in Automotive News, call 313-446-1662. Customer service To start or renew a subscription or to report an address change or a delivery problem, e-mail subs@crain.com or call 888-446-1422 (in the U.S. or Canada) or 313-446-1662 (in all other locations). AUTOMOTIVE NEWS (ISSN 0005-1551) is published weekly at 1155 Gratiot Ave., Detroit, MI 48207-2997. Periodicals postage is paid at Detroit, MI and at additional mailing offices. Postmaster: Send address changes to AUTOMOTIVE NEWS, Circulation Department, 1155 Gratiot Ave., Detroit, MI 48207-2912. Canadian Post International Publications Mail Product (Canadian Distribution) Sales Agreement #40012850, GST#136760444. Canadian return address: 2-7496 Bath Road, Mississauga, ON L4T 1L2 Printed in the U.S.A. ‘Japan triumphant’? We let it happen To the Editor: I am reading the Jan. 7 headline “Japan Triumphant.” I sit here thinking how dumb we North Americans are. Japan http://www.autonews.com/signup http://www.autonews.com
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