Automotive News - January 28, 2008 - (Page 39) JANUARY 28, 2008 • 39 Kuzak: Fast changes to freshen Ford vehicles Richard Truett rtruett@crain.com Derrick Kuzak Title: Group vice president, global product development Company: Ford Motor Co. Main point: Ford is reducing product development costs while increasing speed to market and improving fuel economy. Quote: “One way to differentiate yourself and bring people into the showroom is with great design. You don’t design for the masses; each vehicle has a target audience.” driven, Kuzak said. “One way to differentiate yourself and bring people into the showroom is with great design,” he said. “You don’t design for the masses; each vehicle has a target audience.” Kuzak also said Ford is working to reduce the number of its global platforms and engine architectures. In a presentation to auto analysts this month at the Detroit auto show, Kuzak said that by 2012, about 70 percent of Ford’s global volume will be built on eight platforms. Ford is also driving the cost out of its product development system, Kuzak said. The company is relying on more powerful computers to design and test virtual vehicles and components, which reduces the need for expensive prototypes. On other topics, Kuzak said: The Ford Verve small car generated enormous buzz at the Detroit auto show and will change perceptions about small cars when it arrives in 2010. But there’s no chance that the DETROIT — Ford Motor Co.’s product development mantra will be fresher, faster, simpler, Derrick Kuzak, Ford’s group vice president of global product development, said last week at the Automotive News World Congress. Ford will update its vehicles with major face-lifts, technical improvements and other changes in threeyear cycles, Kuzak said. The changes will be ones that customers notice, he said. They will be aimed at keeping vehicles fresh and drawing consumers into Ford and Lincoln Mercury showrooms. By 2009, the average age of Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles will be reduced 35 percent, bringing the average age of the automaker’s vehicles in line with the best in the industry. Many of the updates will be design- car could be brought to North America sooner. Ford’s EcoBoost performance and fuel economy engine system will be used on 43 nameplates in North America by 2012 and account for 500,000 units of volume. Worldwide, EcoBoost could be on as many as 750,000 units per year by 2012. When used with an electronically shifted manual gearbox, EcoBoost could improve fuel economy by 20 percent and pay for itself in 30 months. Ford will continue rolling out the Sync infotainment system on Ford vehicles and updating the software. Coming improvements include a 911 emergency calling feature and realtime traffic information. Kuzak said Sync’s goal is to make using electronic devices such as cell phones and music players “seamless between the home and the car.” c JOE WILSSENS Derrick Kuzak says that by 2012, about 70 percent of Ford’s global volume will be built on eight platforms. EPA’s Oge urges industry to face emission challenge Leslie J. Allen Lallen@crain.com JOE WILSSENS Mark Templin: “We’re trying to create a feeling in our car dealerships more of a luxury hotel than a car dealership.” Lexus exec: We’ll add stores, but not dealers David Barkholz dbarkholz@crain.com Mark Templin Title: General manager, Lexus Division Company: Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. Main point: Lexus dealers are investing in facilities and Internet capabilities to enhance the buying experience Quote: “Go to the people and interact with them in their own environment. It can work wonders.” Lexus dealers also are enhancing their Web sites to appeal to young and more mature buyers alike, he said. They are making their Web sites more interactive, including virtual tours of the dealerships, their vehicles and even staffs, he said. “Today, DETROIT — In the coming years, Lexus will add stores but not dealers, said Mark Templin, Lexus general manager. Lexus has enough dealers — 178 — he said. Those dealers own and operate 224 outlets across the country, Templin told the Automotive News World Congress here last week. Lexus will stick with dealers who have made a commitment to continuous improvement of the vehiclebuying experience, he said. In the past three years, Lexus dealers have spent $1 billion on new stores and upgrades, Templin said. “We’re trying to create a feeling in our car dealerships more of a luxury hotel than a car dealership,” Templin said after his presentation. the Internet is the shopping tool for everybody,” he said. The dealerships also want to have creature comforts so that buyers and prospective buyers can “hang out” if they like, Templin said. Maintenance and service also are important, he said. Almost all stores have a price menu for repairs and maintenance so customers can feel assured they’re paying the same as everybody else for service, Templin said. Templin predicted U.S. vehicle sales will hover around 16 million units in 2008, slightly down from 2007. And looking ahead three years, he’s bullish. He said sales should rise to 18 million vehicles by 2010, driven in part by about 4.5 million new young drivers getting on the road annually. c DETROIT — By developing green technologies, automakers can be the spark that ignites the next industrial revolution, says EPA official Margo Oge. Oge, director of the EPA’s Office of Transportation and Air Quality, told the Automotive News World Congress last week that the political, economic and regulatory landscape facing the industry has changed dramatically over the past year, and “the pace of change will not be letting up any time soon.” Just as the auto industry changed the automotive landscape by developing the catalytic converter in the 1970s, it can help now to address climate change, she said. “I believe history will judge all of us on how we choose to confront this great challenge,” she said. “Will we choose to do the minimum to get by, taking small, timid, incremental steps to comply and make it even harder for those who will follow? Or is now the time for this industry to once again save the world, just as you did in World War II, and pursue a grand vision?” Oge (pronounced Oh-gay) said transportation accounts for twothirds of oil consumption and about a third of greenhouse gas emissions. Global oil demand is expected to surge in the next two decades, pushed by growth in China and India. “The world’s best scientists are saying that by 2050, we globally must reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50 to 80 percent from the 2000 levels to avoid the worst effects of climate change,” Oge said. She said President Bush gave the agency a mandate to examine ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from automobiles and transportation fuels. The EPA found that by using current automotive technologies and plants, automakers could achieve a fleet fuel economy average of 35 mpg by 2018. Oge said no turf war exists between the EPA and the National Highway JOE WILSSENS Margo Oge: “The pace of change will not be letting up any time soon.” Margo Oge Title: Director, Office of Transportation and Air Quality Organization: EPA Main point: By taking on the challenge of reducing greenhouse gases, the auto industry can ignite the next industrial revolution. Quote: “I believe history will judge all of us on how we choose to confront this great challenge.” Traffic Safety Administration over fuel economy. She said the U.S. Supreme Court had given the EPA authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles but not fuel economy, which is still NHTSA’s responsibility. Oge said the EPA and NHTSA have been working together. The EPA is impressed by the work that automakers have done with clean diesels. Oge said diesels will be competitive with other powertrains in the United States. Because of concerns about the food supply and land use, Oge said, the EPA sees corn-based ethanol as only a “bridge” solution for environmental concerns. The agency sees more promise in ethanol developed from cellulosic or nonfood sources. c
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