Detroit’s Doing It Again—Unfortunately

There is an interesting column in the November 1, 2009, Sunday [Detroit] Free Press about what Detroit’s auto companies ought to be doing vis-à-vis positioning themselves in the market. Free Press associate editor Ron Dzwonkowski points out that the American public essentially owns GM and Chrysler, with the U.S. government having invested on the order of $60-billion in their survival, with another $25-billion made available for loans for retooling or developing advanced technologies. A lot of money by any measure.

Dzwonkowski goes on to write that the only way car companies make money is by moving sheet metal, and the only way that they can move sheet metal is if we go out and buy it off the lot.  If this doesn’t happen, he posits, “a mountain of taxpayer money is going down the drain with them”—“them” being GM and Chrysler, not the cars and trucks at the dealerships.
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2010 Mazda3 S Four-Door Grand Touring

2009 Audi Q7 3.0 TDI

2009 Toyota Corolla XRS

2009 Nissan Cube 1.8 SL

2010 Chevrolet Camaro LT V-6

Driven Archives

Steeling to Unintended Consequences
To quote the legendary Roseanne Roseannadanna, “It’s always something.”

Or, to quote Jody Shaw, manager of technical marketing and product research for U.S. Steel, from a recent presentation to the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), “In order to comply with the tailpipe-only regulations, automakers may inadvertently select materials that increase the life cycle carbon footprint of the vehicle. – Read More

Ford: Read It & Smile
The headline says it all:
FORD POSTS THIRD QUARTER 2009 NET INCOME OF $1 BILLION; CASH FLOW TURNS POSITIVE; NORTH AMERICA PROFITABLE

The company is not out of the proverbial woods yet, but it sure has the clearing in sight. And they’re cutting the path to get there. – Read More

Ford: Hear One
Despite what you may think, that is not a bowling ball behind the wheel of that Ford sedan, nor is that an android in the passenger’s seat. That is actually part of what goes on inside the Ford Drivability Test Facility in Allen Park, Michigan. – Read More

VW: Shape of Things to Come
Not that there is a whole lot of information that we have at this point, but Volkswagen is building a plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, which will be opened—assuming the schedule holds—in 2011, for a late 2011 market availability of this, a yet-to-be-named (or at least they’re not sharing) mid-sized sedan. We’ve heard that it is supposed to compete with the Camry. – Read More

Upcoming Industry Events:
SPE Automotive Innovation Awards
Nov 12, 2009

Carbon Fiber 2009
Dec 9 –11, 2009

North American International Auto Show
Jan 11-24, 2010

Reviving Chrysler: What Are the Odds?
“It was like flipping a coin. It could have gone either way. Chrysler survives to build another day. Chrysler joins the ranks of the companies that used to be.

The Obama Administration had to make the call. And it was a close one.
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