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AUTOS' COMMENTS & OPINIONS WORLDWIDE
* Can China Gear Up to Sell Its Cars to U.S. Consumers? Quality Is Key
USA - By Knowledge@Wharton -Sept 20, 2006: -- First it was textiles and consumer electronics. Next may be cars. China is once again looking to target a key consumer market in the U.S. Yet while low wages and government support could ultimately make China a powerhouse in the global automotive industry, Wharton faculty and industry analysts say it will take some time to reach that goal... China needs at least another decade, according to these analysts, to overcome a long list of obstacles, including poor quality, high costs, weak design and a lack of distribution networks, before Chinese companies can compete with Japanese and Korean carmakers... So far, Chinese exports are only trickling out to a few spots in Europe, Southeast Asia and the Middle East, but the chairman of DaimlerChrysler has confirmed that the company is in negotiations with companies in China and elsewhere to manufacture DaimlerChrysler models abroad for export to North America... China's first problem in becoming a major exporter is quality. Last year, the European New Car Assessment Program, which monitors auto safety for governments on the continent, gave its lowest score ever -- zero -- to a Chinese SUV... Still, Susan Helper, an economics professor at Case Western Reserve University's Weatherhead School of Management and an IMVP researcher, says expects demand to continue in China, despite Western concerns about the environment. "China quite rightly has said, 'You shouldn't ask us to not develop because you have messed up all the air,'" she says. "There are going to have to be drastic changes made in terms of how we use energy, and the transportation sector is a big piece of that. It's going to affect total auto demand and will, to some extent, affect where the cars are made."...
* USA - Experts: GM-Ford Talks Sign of the Times
USA -The Associated Press, by DAVID N. GOODMAN -Sept 18, 2006: -- I don't see it from a business standpoint... General Motors' talks with Renault and Nissan on a possible alliance and reports Ford may be pursuing a big deal with one or more of the three are examples of how today's automakers constantly look for ways to collaborate even amid fierce industry competition... GM and Ford declined comment Monday on an Automotive News story that their high-level executives discussed a merger or alliance. Ford Motor Co. also declined comment on last month's Wall Street Journal report that Ford proposed its own deal with Renault and Nissan... In July, General Motors Corp., Renault SA of France and Nissan Motor Co. of Japan announced a 90-day review of a possible alliance among them... Auto executives talk frequently about 'what-if scenarios' and possible deals large and small, said David Cole, chairman of the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor... 'These kind of discussions go on all the time,' Cole said. 'Collaborating ... is part of how they're doing things.'...
* USA - Alliance talks bog down
USA -autospies.com -21/2006: -- The teams from Renault SA and Nissan Motor Co. arrived in Detroit on Aug. 28, ready for the first face-to-face alliance talks with their counterparts from General Motors Corp... But instead of generating momentum, the meeting demonstrated just how far apart GM and the Renault-Nissan partnership are from forming the world's largest auto alliance... These talks have yielded a growing number of joint efforts on everything from hybrid vehicles to better automatic transmissions, he said... two of the eight areas being studied, Renault, Nissan and GM are assessing fuel-cell and hybrid vehicles, developing markets such as China, India and Russia, and engines and powertrains -- an area where GM already has several successful joint ventures... GM and Renault-Nissan are also examining whether underutilized GM plants in North America could be used to build Nissan models. Ghosn has said Nissan may need more production capacity in North America, and could subcontract some vehicle production to underutilized GM factories, lowering costs for both automakers...
* USA - Is Chrysler next? - First GM restructures, then Ford, now everyone wonders
Detroit,Mich,USA -The Detroit News, by Josee Valcourt -20 Sept 2006: -- Three years since its last turnaround, DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler Group will make deep production cuts and consider more restructuring moves as it braces for big losses... DaimlerChrysler Chairman Dieter Zetsche said Tuesday that the automaker will cut output by 90,000 vehicles in the third quarter -- up from previous estimates of about 75,000 -- and another 45,000 in the fourth quarter to bring dealer inventories more in line with consumer demand and make room in showrooms for new models that will roll out later this year... Zetsche also said the Auburn Hills-based automaker may have to take more drastic cost-cutting measures in the wake of last week's announcement that Chrysler will lose $1.5 billion in the third quarter, more than double its July estimate of $600 million in red ink, and report a loss of $1.2 billion for the year...
* USA - Japanese makers give ethanol a gander
McLean,VA,USA -USA TODAY, by Chris Woodyard -21 Sept 2006: -- While Detroit ballyhoos ethanol, Japanese automakers are quietly positioning themselves in case the gasoline alternative becomes more popular... Nissan just introduced its second flex-fuel vehicle capable of burning either E85 ethanol or gas. Toyota says it is studying "very seriously" whether to ready its first flex-fuel entry. Honda has announced it has found a breakthrough in making ethanol out of plant waste... For now the three biggest Japanese makers' efforts are puny compared with the major ethanol campaigns being mounted by General Motors, Ford Motor and DaimlerChrysler. Detroit has built nearly all of the 6 million flex-fuel vehicles capable of consuming E85, a mix of 85% ethanol and 15% gas. But more flex-fuel vehicle choices from the Japanese likely would encourage the building of more E85 filling stations... There are now 971 E85-equipped fueling stations nationwide, says the National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition. The greatest concentration is in the Midwest, close to most of the facilities that distill ethanol from corn...
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