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Apr 12, 2007

AUTOS' COMMENTS

* China - Will export -- for other brands
Shanghai,China -Automotive World (UK), by Alysha Webb -12 April 2007: -- China is often called the world's workshop... now, it looks set to become the world's workshop for low-cost vehicles. But those vehicles won't necessarily have Chinese names on them. They would be badged General Motors, Ford or Chrysler... Much depends on the outcome of the Chery-Chrysler experience, Chery Automobile Co. has agreed to make cars for the Chrysler group to export worldwide... His argument makes sense. Chinese automakers' production quality is rising quickly. The smart ones are hiring the likes of J.D. Power and Associates and McKinsey & Co. to help them figure out what needs fixing... Roland Berger Strategy Consultants recently sent me a study, "The Early Bird Catches the Worm." It estimates the market in the United States for cars costing less than $10,000 (77,369 yuan) will be 700,000 by 2012... The study suggests that Chinese manufacturers will meet the demand. But I bet a lot of them will have familiar brand names in the United States and Europe...


Health * USA - How Germy Is Your Car?

NY,USA -Forbes, by Allison Van Dusen - 5 April 2007: -- If you're like most people you spend at least a few hours a day in the car--whether it's commuting to and from work, running to the grocery store or picking up the kids from a soccer game, you probably don't think too much about your car's cleanliness... Research shows otherwise. Charles Gerba, a professor at the University of Arizona who has been researching germ hot spots for years, showed in a 2006 study that our cars are littered with bacteria--and in a few places you might not expect... The dashboard, for instance, turned out to have the second-largest amount of microorganisms present. While often untouched, its vents may draw bacteria via the air circulation system. The fact that it's usually the warmest spot in a car, since the sun shines directly on it, also promotes germ growth, says Gerba, who worked on the study with University of Arizona research specialist Sheri Maxwell... (Pictures: How Germy Is Your Car?)

* Germany - It's Rush Hour for Germany's Auto Industry
Philadelphia,PA,USA -KnowledgeThe Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania -April 2007: -- For the last couple of years, auto analysts and others have focused most of their attention on the troubles in Detroit, home of General Motors and Ford, two American car companies that have been struggling to regain their footing in the auto industry. But what has been going on in Wolfsburg, the headquarters of Volkswagen, a quintessential German automaker, and in Stuttgart, headquarters of DaimlerChrysler, a German-American hybrid? Quite a bit, actually... Knowledge@Wharton looks at the situation at VW, now that Porsche has upped its ownership stake in the company, and also at Chrysler, acquired by DaimlerBenz nine years ago in a partnership deal that may finally be coming to an end...

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posted by Unknown @ 9:47 AM  0 comments

Feb 9, 2007

AUTOS' COMMENTS * USA - Toyota’s Troubles

Money, Metal and Memogate
USA -The Truth About Cars, by Frank Williams -Feb 9th, 2007: -- For decades, Toyota has balanced superb management, impeccable quality, exemplary financial discipline and flawless product planning. As other manufacturers chased market trends and neglected core models, Toyota made incremental improvements to existing models and introduced new models slowly and carefully. Their perseverance has paid off; they’ve elbowed Ford aside and are nipping at GM’s heels... But as Toyota prepares to replace The General as the world’s largest automaker, they’re finding out that getting to the top is one thing; staying there is something else altogether. No doubt about it: Toyota’s on a roll... They posted a record $3.6b third quarter corporate earnings and hope to exceed $13b profits for this fiscal year. In spite of growing profits worldwide, the picture isn’t so rosy on this side of the globe. Although their revenues in North America were up 17.3 percent, their North American operating profits were down 22.4 percent in the third quarter. Part of Toyota’s American problem relates to federal contract-sized cost overruns on their new truck plant in Texas... These issues pale in comparison to one problem that could make or break Toyota’s North American operations: their relationship with their hourly workers. In a confidential memo that accidentally ended up in workers’ hands, Seiichi Sudo, president of Engineering and Manufacturing in North America, discussed the cost of American labor and the steps they need to take to control those costs... The memo, which was inadvertently stored on a shared computer drive, states the US auto industry pays some of the highest manufacturing wages in the world. It compares American wages to those in France and Japan (50 percent higher) and Mexico (500 percent higher). They project their American labor costs will increase by $900m over the next four years... This memo could do more to damage Toyota’s future than any other factor. Toyota got a lot of press when the (non-union) workers at their Kentucky plant made more than union workers on average last year. Now they want the same workers to take a pay and benefit cut. Is that the UAW I hear knocking at the back door?... Ironically enough, Toyota is in the roughly the same position (re: its labor relations) as GM during the ‘70’s. Of course, GM basically rolled over and played dead for the UAW, burdening itself with an unwieldy labor force and an unsustainable cost structure. Will Toyota make the same mistake? It’s not likely. But it is possible... (Photo: Tundra factory's Texas-sized cost overrun)
* USA - What would a car-free city look like? J.H. Crawford thinks he knows
USA -AutoblogGreen, by Sebastian Blanco -8 Feb 2007: -- ... J.H. Crawford, though, has another idea: why not think of a future without any cars whatsoever, at least inside of cities. His book and website, both titled Carfree Cities, offer a detailed look at what's possible for people living in an urban area without individual transportation (public transportation and things like that would still exist). Crawford doesn't hide what he thinks about what cars have done to our world. From his introduction: "The industrialized nations made a terrible mistake when they turned to the automobile as an instrument of improved urban mobility. The car brought with it major unanticipated consequences for urban life and has become a serious cause of environmental, social, and aesthetic problems in cities. The urban automobile: * Kills street life * Damages the social fabric of communities * Isolates people * Fosters suburban sprawl * Endangers other street users * Blots the city's beauty * Disturbs people with its noise * Causes air pollution * Slaughters thousands every year * Exacerbates global warming * Wastes energy and natural resources * Impoverishes nations... The challenge is to remove cars and trucks from cities while at the same time improving mobility and reducing its total costs"... Whether or not you agree that cities should be carfree (I'd give living there a try, sure), the site is full of specific how-to plans and reasons why we should ditch our cars. It's well worth some of your time...

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posted by Unknown @ 12:51 PM  0 comments