Automotive News - April 7, 2008 - 4

4 • APRIL 7, 2008 Suppliers: Restraints must play big role in small cars Harry Stoffer hstoffer@crain.com Small but safe Features intended to protect occupants of the Smart ForTwo Tensioners that tighten seat belts during rapid deceleration Load limiters that ease belt pressure on the chest during a crash Modular seats with integrated headrests Source: Delphi Corp., smartusa.com Restraints group has new chief ➤ 44 making vehicles smaller to improve fuel economy. By setting different economy targets for vehicles of different sizes, the rules are expected to force manufacturers to make all cars and trucks consume less. “The only thing that is going to drive downsizing is consumer demand, not the regulatory framework,” said Ron Medford, NHTSA’s senior associate administrator. NHTSA is responsible for fuel economy rules. In an era of sharply higher fuel prices, consumers increasingly will demand more small vehicles, safety experts told suppliers of restraints at their annual meeting. But the experts think the industry can make vehicles fuel-efficient and safe. PALM COAST, Fla. — The tiny Smart car could be a sign of things to come — not because of its size or looks, but for the way it is engineered to protect occupants in crashes. That’s the prediction of Madan Gopal, senior development engineer for safety systems integration at Delphi Corp. Delphi supplies the restraint system for the Smart ForTwo. U.S. sales of the car began in January. “The airbags and seat belts are doing much more work” when a Smart crashes than do restraints in a larger vehicle, Gopal told Automotive News. Gopal spoke here last month at a meeting of restraints suppliers. The 2008 ForTwo’s structure is designed to compensate for the lack of crush space in front of occupants, Gopal said. It helps that the engine is behind the occupants, he added. Last week, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration issued its first safety ratings for the ForTwo. Out of five stars, the car got four for driver front impact, three for passenger front impact, three for rollover resistance and five for driver-side impact. The scores generally are at the upper end of the rating system. But increasingly, all vehicles are recording four or five stars in most categories, prompting the federal government to overhaul the testing program. Airbag and seat belt suppliers are looking at the two-door Smart as an example of how to protect occupants better in vehicles being developed to use less fuel. The issue is important in part because a new federal law requires fuel economy to rise about 40 percent over the 2011-20 model years. Market rules The law, passed by Congress and signed by President Bush last year, instructs regulators to design rules so automakers don’t rely chiefly on Safety prescriptions “Both can be done,” said Joseph Kanianthra, NHTSA’s associate administrator for vehicle safety research. For restraints, Kanianthra called for more automatic tensioning of belts when likely crashes are detected. He also proposed more tailoring of airbag deployments to different kinds of crashes and occupants and for integration of seat belts into seats. Adrian Lund, president of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, said making smaller vehicles safer in crashes with bigger vehicles only addresses part of the problem. Smaller cars and trucks also are less safe in single-vehicle crashes, said Lund, whose institute does research for auto insurers. Lund said fuel economy regulations should be designed to force cuts in horsepower. The trend toward higher horsepower not only has increased fuel use but also has led to higher speeds and more serious crashes, Lund said. NHTSA’s preliminary draft of rules for new fuel economy standards for the 2011-15 model years is expected to be made public within weeks.c Rick Suzuki says he will resign soon “to bear responsibility” for American Suzuki’s disappointing sales results. Big challenge for Ford’s quality guy Bennie Fowler takes on 6 crucial vehicle launches Amy Wilson awilson@crain.com Suzuki tells U.S. dealers: Don’t fret Kathy Jackson kjackson@crain.com LOS ANGELES — American Suzuki sought to calm dealers last week after Chairman Rick Suzuki’s surprise announcement that he would step down because of faltering sales. Executives held a telephone conference with dealer council members on Wednesday, April 2. The meeting was meant to address concerns about a memo Rick Suzuki sent to employees March 28. The memo, which was not sent to dealers, referred to Suzuki’s sliding sales and growing operating losses in the United States. It also said the company will reduce its U.S. work force of 674 by 55 employees through a voluntary retirement plan. Rick Suzuki, 60, also said he would resign soon “to bear responsibility” for the results. He has led American Suzuki Motor Corp. since 1998. In the memo, Suzuki wrote that in 2003, the company announced a fiveyear plan to reach sales of 200,000 automobiles and 300,000 motorcycles and ATVs. Poised for growth “The five-year plan ended far from its goals, with sales of only 100,000 automobiles and 190,000 motorcycles/ATVs,” Rick Suzuki wrote. Suzuki sold 100,990 vehicles in the United States in 2006, the first time it topped 100,000 here. Last year, Suzuki sold 101,884 vehicles. Sales in the first three months of this year were down 4.9 percent to 26,430. Rick Suzuki said the mid-sized XL7 SUV, “our flagship model in automobiles, was expecting annual sales of see SUZUKI, Page 46 DETROIT — In November 2006, Ford Motor Co. quality chief Bennie Fowler and two fellow executives left a meeting three hours before they were to give the OK to ship several thousand Ford Edges to dealers. The 2007 Edge was a brand-new crossover, Ford’s most significant new vehicle of that year, and dealers were eagerly anticipating it. But then came a call: Someone driving the Edge in a customer evaluation fleet reported a problem. Fowler and the other executives, manufacturing chief Joe Hinrichs and engineering Vice President Paul Mascarenas, regrouped with the Edge launch team. Remembering several botched launches early this decade, they decided to tell their bosses the vehicle wasn’t ready to ship. The response from Ford product chief Derrick Kuzak and Americas President Mark Fields was a departure from past regimes. The pair said, “We’re going to hold, and we’re going to do what’s necessary to make it right,” recalls Fowler, who became Ford’s group vice president of global quality on Tuesday, April 1. Now, with that kind of backing and greatly increased use of digital simulations, Fowler says he is confident in facing perhaps the biggest test of his career. Ford needs to launch six new or substantially revamped vehicles, including the crown jewel F-150 pickup, in 2008 without quality hiccups (see box at right). The 51-yearold longtime manufacturing executive calls it Ford’s biggest launch year in the past five. JOE WILSSENS Bennie Fowler: Confident of success with Ford’s upcoming launches of six new or revised vehicles Launch lineup Ford will launch 6 new or revised vehicles this year, followed by 2 more in early 2009. May: Lincoln MKS sedan Ford Flex crossover July: Ford F-150 pickup December: Ford Fusion sedan Mercury Milan sedan Lincoln MKZ sedan Early 2009: Ford Mustang coupe Ford Taurus sedan This year’s manufacturing launches are the new 2009 Ford Flex and Lincoln MKS this spring, the re-engineered and restyled 2009 F-150 this summer and the reskinned 2010 Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan and Lincoln MKZ at the end of the year. Launches of new versions of the Ford Mustang and Taurus follow early in 2009. Overcoming past problems Much is riding on the 2008 launches. Strong sales of the new vehicles, along with Ford’s ability to achieve its goal to cut $5 billion from 2005 cost levels by the end of this year, will largely determine whether the automaker makes a profit in 2009. That’s a key goal in Ford’s turnaround plan. Ford goes into this year’s launch cycle with a third fewer salaried workers than it had earlier this decade. Even with the bigger staff, launch problems and quality glitches spiked with past introductions, such as the 2001 Escape crossover and the notoriously problematic 2000 Focus small car. This time around, Fowler and other Ford executives are relying on a combination of renewed discipline, new digital planning tools and weekly reviews with CEO Alan Mulally to get the launches right. A growing record of quality improvement from notable third parties such as J.D. Power and Associates and Consumer Reports indicates that Ford is on the right track. “They’ve been making incremental improvements in their reliability year after year,” said David Champion, senior director of automotive testing for Consumer Reports. Champion praised Ford’s 2006 de- cision to hold off on shipping the Edge: “That was a very wise idea (so Ford wouldn’t) live through another Focus and Escape fiasco.” Recently launched vehicles such as the 2007 Edge and the 2006 Fusion have shown “excellent reliability right out of the box,” he said. Consumer Reports now recommends 64 percent of Ford vehicles tested, up from 54 percent last year. And 93 percent of Ford’s models had average or better reliability in the publication’s latest survey, up from 63 percent in 2007. If Ford can maintain that performance with this year’s launches and broaden its reliability marks across the breadth of its product lineup, Champion said, the company has a chance in a few years of winning Consumer Reports’ much-coveted see LAUNCH, Page 41

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Automotive News - April 7, 2008

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