Flybrian

GM Europe Exec Seeks Improved Margins GM Europe Executive: Pressure Means Further Cost Savings Inevitable Tuesday December 12, 11:30 am ET FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) -- Fierce pressure in the automotive industry has made more cost savings measures inevitable, the president of General Motors Corp.'s European division said Tuesday. "At a company like ours, you have to reach $500 million per year in overall cost savings" to stay competitive, Carl-Peter Forster said during an industry conference. Forster said the efficient management of individual brands within one parent company is crucial and described demand for mid-size cars as lackluster, whereas demand for vans, convertibles and coupes has risen in past years. Automakers "will have to offer a broader variety" of different models to customers in the future, Forster said. GM Europe posted earnings of $196 million in the first three quarters of 2006 after a $183 million loss a year earlier, boosted by lower costs and higher revenue per car. "We want to improve our margins further," Forster said. Last week, he said the Zurich, Switzerland-based unit was aiming for higher earnings in 2007 with its revamped Opel Corsa model and rising sales in Russia. The improvement at GM Europe came after a painful restructuring program including slashing around 12,000 jobs. Like its parent's operations in the United States, GM Europe faces fierce pressure from competitors. "The pressure from Asian manufacturers won't ease," Forster said. "Chinese automakers will take less than 10 years in their effort to catch up to international quality standards. They'll be faster for sure." http://www.gmeurope.com

The Chronos is sex on wheels. God, what a beautiful vehicle. How that fascia was mutated into the 300, I don't know, but this is how you make a real sedan, folks. This has Imperial written all over it. Sadly, we'll never see it on the roads.

The Camry is off-center, unintegrated, and looks like there's a bench seat option. Add to that the fact that the '02 Camry is garbage. No, but it has a vehicle info center. My point was that the Murano I had for a rental has this big pretty screen in place of a navigation option. I know alot of people love it for some reason because its 'classy,' but it was junk. It had two tripometers, an average economy indicator, a distance-to-empty function, compass, outside temp gauge, and a convoluted 'maintenance reminder' program, which is actually a primitive mileage countdown...you had to set at what interval you wanted to change your oil and rotate your tires. Also, when you reset the tripometer, it also reset the average fuel economy reading.In comparison, my little display gives me avg/inst economy, fuel range, fuel used, date readout, average speed, and a computer that allows me to enter a distance in miles and it will give me two ETAs (":30 min" or "5:30") and distance remaining, and an engine monitor that tells me voltage, transmission fluid life, and GM's well-working oil life monitor. It also takes up 2"x3.5" instead of a giant screen that does...well...not that much.

If this is a Lambda pickup, I'm curious as to what division it would fall under. I also don't see the need for a Ridgeline-sized car-based pickup (if this what it may be).

Remember the benchmark...

2007 Mazda Ryuga Concept Another zoom-zoomer, this time with gull wings. by Marty Padgett (2006-12-12) Link to Original Article @ TCC Mazda says it's bringing a concept to the 2007 Detroit auto show that's built around the concept of flow. Included in that flow are, if the accompanying sketch is to be believed, a pair of gullwing doors. The new concept has been dubbed the Ryuga. Paired with the Nagare concept unveiled at last month's Los Angeles auto show, the Ryuga will emphasize richness and luxury. Mazda promises "rich fabrics, engineered fits and hidden details" in the new concept, "portraying unique Japanese beauty." Chief designer Laurens van den Acker says the new car combines "vibrance, confidence, fun and youth all in one ingenious package." ************************************ And in this episode of "so that's why Mazda gets a new Tribute..." With the 2008 Ford Escape Hybrid already rolling on to the Los Angeles auto show floor, you just knew Mazda's Tribute hybrid wouldn't be far behind. In fact the 2008 Mazda Tribute HEV will be coming to the 2007 Detroit auto show in January. Mazda says the new gas-electric crossover will be its first vehicle "dedicated to clean air." The concept will join the Ryuga gull-wing concept car on the show floor at Cobo. The Japanese automaker, one-third owned by Ford, says the Tribute HEV will be one of the least-polluting vehicles on the road. Its four-cylinder gas engine and battery pack will combine to produce 155 horsepower while meeting PZEV and SULEV-II emissions standards, the strictest applied to any vehicle sold in the U.S.

Element? A youth-oriented versatile Saturn small box thing?

FWD POS!!!!!

Speaking of cars named Lancer, whoever color-keyed that grille is a retard.

No Edmunds review is complete without at least a paragraph devote to bitching about something inconsequential... I remember them bitching about the controls on Buicks being too large. Whatever.Good review overall, though.

Fell on its Asimo.

Please note that we updated the HOT TOPIC description to reflect this situation more accurately as soon as the new info was gathered. Its now clear why this wasn't caught before; likely because this is a cold climate problem and the vehicles just went on sale.

Nope. 1st gen Aurora and Intrigue are made, though.

About 65 percent there: General Motors making progress Posted 12/11/2006 1:00:00 AM by Todd Lassa Link to Full Article @ Motor Trend Community Even on its own, GM looks much better now than it did last year, when it lost $10.6 billion. The automaker drove home its reasons for cautious optimism at a media event I attended last Thursday night. Product chief Bob Lutz talked of how the company is returning to a culture of great cars and trucks in order to survive, even thrive. But first, CEO Rick Wagoner (pictured speaking at the recent L.A. auto show) spoke of impending financial results. This time last year, GM was $2.3 billion in the hole. Much of the remaining $8.3 billion apparently recorded in the fourth quarter (and, actually afterward, since GM re-calculated its ’05 loss a couple of months into ’06) was the result of restructuring and of some bailout money paid to parts supplier spinoff Delphi. For the first nine months of ’06, GM has made a profit of $1.9 billion, an improvement, Wagoner notes, of a bit more than $4 billion. Most of that comes from improved North American business, Wagoner says, which is up $3.4 billion for the first nine months of ’06, versus the first nine of ’05. GM also set sales records in Latin America and the Middle East, and its sales in China rose 37 percent for the first three quarters. The auto business in China is up generically by 25 percent overall for that period, Wagoner says. GM has ‘a little over’ $20 billion in cash reserves, he says, and it raised another $14 billion by selling 51 percent of financing arm GMAC last week. North American operations have improved ‘faster than people thought. Over the last 14 months, we’ve taken a lot of action on the cost side of the business, and now we’re on track to get (a) $9 billion cost reduction’ by the end of the year, Wagoner says. “Those are big numbers, big reductions for us, and for anybody. And they’re going to play a big role in our competitiveness and profitability.” Profit is as important as cost-cutting, Wagoner notes. GM has cut sticker prices, reduced incentives and improved residual values, all for better profitability and more development cash to build better cars and trucks in the future. His marketing chief, Mark LaNeve, says the GM 5 year/100,000-mile powertrain warranty adds $2,000 to the perceived value of each car and truck sold, according to an internal study. “We do believe that consumer perceptions of GM quality are out of date and really need to change, and this is one thing that will contribute to that,” Wagoner says. “The most important aspect…of the turnaround plan and indeed the long-term success of our business, is great cars and trucks.” Wagoner made only a veiled reference to former GM shareholder Kirk Kerkorian’s gambit to replace him with Nissan/Renault’s Carlos Ghosn. “Despite all the distractions that we faced at GM in recent months, really great cars and trucks remain the first and foremost thing we talk about, our absolute number-one priority. In fact, despite the financial difficulty of recent times, we’ve actually raised our annualized capital spending on new products by some billion-and-a-half dollars over the past few years…” Thirty percent of 2006 retail sales come from “launch” products (all-new models), and GM expects that to rise to 40 percent next year. Lutz says the press doesn’t seem to fully grasp the level of cultural change at GM. Besides spending tons of future development money on the “electrification” of the automobile, via its plug-in hybrid and fuel cell programs, GM has streamlined its product development. John Smith leads global product planning. Ed Welburn is in charge of design from every GM studio around the globe. Jim Queen leads global engineering. And Jonathan Lauchner is in charge of global program management. And various development facilities are in charge of specific kinds of cars and trucks. Teams of designers from around the world may work on any new car or truck, but all front-wheel-drive mid-market sedans, like the Chevy Cobalt and Malibu replacement and Saturn Aura replacement are centered in Germany. Small cars, like the Chevy Aveo, Opel/Vauxhall/Saturn Astra and smaller, are located at GM/Daewoo, light pickups and small and midsize sport/utilities originate out of Latin America, primarily Brazil, and GM North America gets full-size sport utilities, full-size pickups, Corvettes, Solstices and Skys. Australia is in charge of rear-drive sedans. Next up in GM’s restructure is reduction of platforms. The goal, Lutz says, is to have the best cars and trucks in all segments. He places a lot of emphasis on Welburn’s task. “When GM was in this period of absolute market dominance and maximum greatness…design ran the place. Design did the offices. Design did the GM show stands. Design did the interiors of the corporate airplanes. Design did the brochures. Design did the street signs. Design just wasted colossal amounts of money on such things as … Bill Mitchell one day decided he wanted to show engineers how sports cars should sound. And he decided to put … acoustics were really part of the design. They were part of the sensory experience. So, Ferraris sounded a lot better than a Pontiac Firebird. “So he purchased a Ferrari V-12, which today’s equivalent price would be about $75,000, and had it installed in the Pontiac Firebird. All the engineers leaned over, and he fired it up and said, ‘this is how a Pontiac Firebird should sound.’ Nobody in those days asked who authorized the (Ferrari V-12 money), who’s doing that thing. Today, we would.” So the moral of this story is that GM has guys like Lutz trying to figure out how to make good, interesting cars, and has guys like Wagoner who understand why this must be done. They’re not buying Ferrari engines, but they understand the importance of knowing what a Ferrari sounds like. GM still has some way to go before most of its cars and trucks are at or near the top of their categories, but most everything it builds is a credible competitor in its class. GM followed this up with an off-the-record look at some upcoming stuff. And there were some hints revealed at the event that I can, and will, talk about, in my next post. Has GM turned itself around? I asked one insider at the Rick & Bob Show what he thinks. “We’re about 65 percent there,” he said. That seems like a good estimate. While that means GM still has far to go, it’s a number Ford and Chrysler would kill for.

FOR RELEASE: 2006-12-11 GM Investing $225 Million in Tennessee Plant in Preparation For Future Vehicle Production SPRING HILL, Tenn. – General Motors today announced it plans to invest approximately $225 million in its Spring Hill manufacturing complex to renovate the plant’s paint shop in preparation for future vehicle production. The investment is contingent on GM securing incentives from the state of Tennessee. Based on the strong performance of the Spring Hill team, General Motors’ pending investment affirms the company’s commitment to its Tennessee operations. “GM’s planned $225 million investment in Spring Hill is proof that this facility remains an important part of GM’s North American manufacturing plans,” said Tim Lee, GM vice president for Manufacturing and Labor Relations. “This project is instrumental to GM’s efforts to strengthen its core manufacturing capabilities in the United States and also demonstrates the value GM places on working together with our UAW partners to improve our manufacturing operations.” GM’s Spring Hill manufacturing complex built its first vehicle on July 30, 1990. Since then, the complex has built and shipped more than 3.4 million vehicles. It currently builds the Saturn ION passenger car and Saturn VUE compact SUV. Production of the ION and VUE will be discontinued in late March 2007. With the investment, the plant will be idled for several months for renovations, beginning in April 2007. The company is finalizing the timing of when the hourly workforce will be called back to work and when production will resume at Spring Hill. The Spring Hill assembly plant employs approximately 3,500 UAW-represented team members and 230 salaried team members. UAW Local 1853 represents hourly employees throughout the complex.

Weirdos...

These ads have to be approved anyway, so someone at Chrysler dropped the ball. Anyway, the 'Planet' spot employs the same absurdism some HUMMER ads do and the 'Jump' ad is just great. They convey that the Nitro is strong, tough. I would argue that the Nitro actually doesn't live up to that image in certain trims, but the problem would, again, not be the advertising. And finally, does this guy not have a problem with the Aspen spots? Or the Compass ads, which are the f@#king dumbest Chrysler ads ever?

Next step: Rename the RL 'Legend' and make it look like its worth $50,000. Next step: Murder the Acura's Calfornia Design Studio members who did that stupid concept.

Continued here

Pontiacs had more cohesive design. They may have been obnoxious, but the parts matched. Nothing matches here, especially that rear bumper, which I plain don't understand.

Looks better. No dumb spoiler.

Bonnie - Six years, two months Aurora - Two years, two months

Prepare to see it in school math and economics books. Too bad they aren't overbuilding good cars.

How anyone can find that attractive is beyond me. You guys must've taken some niiiiiice pills this morning. What the f@#k is the deal with the Lancer and massive, ugly-ass rear bumpers? And that spoiler? The pointlessly-bulgy hood? The IS knockoff taillamps? TL knockoff groove? tC knockoff grille? Mitsubishi has no class whatsover and this proves it. I'll look forward to seeing these pile up outside the local Mitsubishi double-wide...I mean, dealership.

Yeah, K-car with two rear doors that are broken