EXPLORER GETS TOP MARKS FROM CONSUMER REPORTS
A redesigned Ford Explorer has received the top nod from Consumer Reports magazine, in effect changing the “beleaguered” label into “best” with its long-anticipated September issue. Up to this point, the Explorer’s future, at least in the mind of the motoring public, was somewhat uncertain, mostly due to a recall of some 6.5 million tires made by Bridgestone/Firestone and a wider recall by Ford itself. The residual effect seemed to have stalled the redesigned vehicle’s launch. Even so, the Explorer’s chief rivals have struggled as well. How key is the Explorer to Ford? The old model accounted for roughly one-third of company profits, according to Wall Street estimates.Feds Launch New Explorer Study by Dan Carney (8/6/2001)
TCC's award-winning coverage of the Firestone recall
THIRD-ROW SEAT IN SUV
COMING, GM SAYS
General Motors will add third-row seats in
its midsize sport-utility vehicles, extending the SUV’s wheelbase and raising
the roof in order to accommodate seven passengers. Gary Cowger, group vice
president of GM manufacturing labor relations, said vehicles should be available
sometime in 2002. GM had waited to put the third-row seating in because of
concerns of passenger comfort. He said the extended wheelbase and higher roof
solves the problem. He made the comments at the Management Briefing Seminars in
Traverse City, Mich.
MERCEDES UNVEILS FIFTH-GENERATION SL
2002 Mercedes-Benz SL
GM GIVING UP TO $1500 ON
‘02s
In an effort to boost its U.S. sales of new model year
2002 cars and trucks, General Motors says it will offer incentives of up to
$1500 per vehicle. Only the Chevrolet Tracker gets the largest amount, although
incentives on Oldsmobile vehicles are in addition to a $1500 cash back for
current owners of the soon-to-be-discontinued brand. GM’s overall sales,
excluding Saab, are down 6.7 percent this year, but car sales are off about 11
percent in the seven months of 2001 compared with
2000.
GM’S NEW MATH MAY MAKE FUEL
CELLS AFFORDABLE
GM says it intends to go into the
stationary fuel cell business, using the “green” machines to provide power for
home or office. The appeal might be strong for California businesses worried
about power shortages, but making the case to the average consumer may be
another matter entirely if the price isn’t right. Other stationary fuel cell
suppliers such as ONSI Corp. and Plug Power are targeting a cost of $3,500-5,000
per kilowatt of generated electricity, a huge premium over conventionally
generated power. GM officials are talking $350-500/kw, which would make fuel
cell-generated electricity competitive with what comes out of the plug. That
seems a huge leap considering the state of today’s fuel cell technology. How to
meet this aggressive target? GM insiders hint some major manufacturing
breakthroughs could be on the horizon. If they’re right, it could be a
transformation on the order of the invention of the assembly line, which cut
vehicle costs by at least an order of magnitude.
GM Driving Fuel Cells Home by TCC Team (8/7/2001)
WILL BALLARD’S FUEL CELL
TAKE A BACK SEAT TO GASOLINE OPTION?
While it may be the week
of the fuel cell, it isn’t necessarily a positive one for Ballard Power, the
Vancouver-based pioneer in which Ford and DaimlerChrysler both have ownership
interests. The reason? GM’s announcement that its stationary fuel cell concept,
meant to ramp up technology (and bring in cash) before the automaker transfers
the idea to its vehicles, will run on gasoline as well. Indeed, as Larry Burns, GM’s vice-president of
research and development explained, “it allows us to use the existing
infrastructure of filling stations around the country.” The GM announcement came
as Ballard reported widening losses in its second quarter, partly due to a
70-percent increase in research and development spending. Ballard reported losses of
$41 million on revenues of $20.7 million.
GM PUSHING FOR WEAKER AIR
RULES?
Even in the wake of an
industry victory over possible tightening of fuel economy standards, General
Motors is reportedly getting ready to lobby for looser clean-air rules allowing
wider use of diesel engines, possibly arguing the diesels will save fuel over
gasoline engines in light trucks. The reports appeared in the Monday online
editions of The Wall Street Journal. The newspaper said GM would be
taking its pro-diesel campaign public as part of a report by the Diesel
Technology Forum, a Virginia-based trade group made up mostly of makers of
diesel engines and diesel-system components. Exxon Mobil Corp. is also a member.
GM is the only automaker in the group.
Diesels:
Clean, Green, Illegal? by Bengt Halvorson
(4/30/2001)
HONEST: DEALERS ARE TRUSTED
BY MOST CAR BUYERS
Most car buyers believe their selling
dealer is honest and courteous, according to a study by J.D. Power and
Associates. The 2001 Sales Satisfaction Study showed new vehicle buyers overall
give their selling dealers an average rating of 8.5 out of a possible 10. The
study also showed the power of a customer’s feet: more than one million shoppers
each year decide not to buy a particular make of vehicle because they didn’t
like the way they were treated by the dealer when
they walked
into the showroom.
CONSUMERS CHOOSE TO LEASE
VEHICLES OVER LONGER TERMS
Continuing the trend that began in
1998, the average length of new vehicle leases increased to more than 39 months
in the year 2000, according to a new study of the leading leasing industry
association. In 1997, the average lease length was just over 32 months,
according to the Association of Consumer Vehicle Lessors (ACVL). The
association's members write four out of five consumer vehicle leases in the
United States each year. "The day of the 24-month lease is virtually gone, and
48-month leases are the most popular term for most leasing companies," said
Randall Brown, President of ACVL. Security deposits are also required less
frequently than a few years ago, the ACVL survey showed. In 2000, security
deposits were required on just over half of new leases written by ACVL members.
ACVL has conducted the annual survey of
its members since 1993.
NEW VEHICLE SHOPPERS TURN TO
INTERNET IN INCREASING NUMBERS
According to a forecast from
J.D. Power and Associates, approximately 58 percent of consumers in 2001 will
use the Internet when shopping for a new vehicle. This is up from 54 percent in
2000 and 40 percent in 1999, according to the firm's New Autoshopper.com study.
The primary reason new-vehicle shoppers go online is to find price-related
information to help them in
their negotiations at the dealership.
GRAND CHEROKEES MAY HAVE A
PROBLEM STAYING PUT
A probe by the National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) may be shifting into higher gear
after reports of problems related to the Grand Cherokee SUV allegedly lurching
into reverse without warning. A number of incidents have been reported, the
Los Angeles Times reported on Friday. The paper said
DaimlerChrysler AG has entered into confidential settlements in at least four
lawsuits. Three had involved injuries and a fourth, a death, the paper's report
said. The NHTSA investigation was prompted by consumer complaints, not an alert
from DaimlerChrysler, although the carmaker says it is fully cooperating with
the investigation, the newspaper reported. The paper's report also said NHTSA
has received 144 consumer complaints of "inadvertent rollaway in reverse"
involving 1995-1999 Grand Cherokees, including an estimated 100 accidents and
some 40 injuries.
QUIETER TIRES IN THE MAKING
AS SCIENTISTS POINT TO SOURCE OF NOISE
Engineers have
developed a new way of reducing tire noise, responsible for most of the nuisance
sounds on the Interstate highways. Researchers at Purdue University in
Lafayette, Ind., have developed a mathematical model to identify which parts of
a tire produce the most noise, creating a visual representation that they liken
to a fingerprint of each tire’s vibration pattern. Knowing what produces the noise may lead
to designs to limit the highway noise factor.
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