Northstar

Can the Honda Civic be cool again? Automaker plans to spend big to attract youthful buyers By Kathy Jackson Automotive News / September 05, 2005 CHICAGO -- Honda is offering the usual goodies on the redesigned Civic - more power, a fancier stereo system and side curtain airbags. But what the automaker really wants to add to the car is youthful image. "We're trying to make Civic cool again," says Jeff Conrad, vice president for advertising and public relations at American Honda Motor Co. Inc. "The last-generation Civic was vanilla, no emotion." The four Civic models range from a hybrid to the nearly 200-hp sporty Si. The sedan and coupe go on sale Sept. 15. Although the sedan clearly will be the sales leader, Honda is counting on the Si to bring excitement back to the Civic nameplate. "The purpose of the Si is to reclaim compact-car leadership and to be a halo for the entire Civic line," Mark Pafumi, assistant large-project leader for the coupe models, said at a press event here. Reclaiming leadership New four-cylinder engines power all four models. The engine will provide a 17-hp increase in the hybrid, a 25-hp increase in the base sedan and coupe, and a 37-hp increase in the Si. The Si is fitted with a six-speed manual transmission, the first of its kind sold by Honda in the United States. Safety advances include a body structure that Honda says minimizes damage in vehicle-to-vehicle collisions, side curtain airbags and antilock brakes. Sound systems range from a 160-watt audio system with an MP3 player in the lower trim models to a 350-watt system in the EX coupe and Si. XM Satellite Radio and a navigation system with voice recognition is an option on the Si, hybrid and upper-level EX models. The Civic launch will be one of the most expensive in Honda's history, Conrad said. Cable TV exposure Three TV spots will begin airing Sept. 15 for the Si, sedan and hybrid. Honda will advertise on the Cartoon Network for the first time to reach 18- to 24-year-olds. It also is hosting a contest on MTV aimed at young buyers. The launch includes "Civic Live" promotions in six undetermined major cities that will include parades and concerts. "We're taking a risk because we're putting a lot of money behind MTV and Civic Live," Conrad says. "We don't know how to measure it, but we've got to be edgy and emotional. In the past, we may have said let's not spend that money." Dan Bonawitz, vice president of auto operations for American Honda, says the company projects at least 300,000 sales for the Civic in the United States, of which more than half will be sedans. Honda sold 331,780 Civics in 2001, its best year in the last five years. Last year, the company sold 309,196 Civics. Bonawitz says Honda is targeting young professionals and young families in their late 20s to mid 30s for the sedan; both young and older high-tech professionals for the hybrid; and twentysomething men for the coupe and Si. Vehicle prices will range from an estimated $14,500 for the entry-level DX sedan and coupe to about $21,500 for the hybrid, Bonawitz says. The Si will be priced under $20,000, he said. Mario Murgado, CEO of Brickell Honda in Miami, is enthusiastic about the redesigned car. "The fit and finish is nicer, and the interior is very special," he says. "I'm glad they made the Si a coupe. Americans love coupes; they don't like hatchbacks." The hybrid goes on sale Oct. 5, and the Si on Dec. 1. A natural-gas version debuts next spring.

By Jason Stein Automotive News / September 05, 2005 http://www.autonews.com/article.cms?articleId=54388 DETROIT -- Fill 'er up? Maybe not. In some U.S. cities last week, regular unleaded gasoline was selling for $3.49 a gallon. That means filling a three-quarter-ton Chevrolet Suburban's 37.5-gallon tank cost a wallet-whopping $130.88, or $62 more than in January. Hurricane Katrina's short-term impact on fuel prices highlighted a worst-case scenario for Detroit's automakers: As gasoline prices rise, the product mix could shift away from big SUVs - and profits could shift with it. The timing is bad for General Motors, which is preparing to launch its next generation of full-sized SUVs next year. GM's pretax profit on its full-sized SUVs nearly equaled its overall net income in 2004, one Wall Street analyst says. Even before Katrina pushed gasoline prices past $3, fuel costs were rising. And large SUV sales in the United States were taking a beating. Through the first five months of the year - before employee pricing incentives cleared out 2005 inventories - GM's SUV sales were down 19.7 percent, compared with the same period a year earlier. Changing mix GM's large nonluxury SUV sales - the Chevrolet Suburban and Tahoe as well as GMC Yukon and Yukon XL - were off 27.2 percent. Gasoline prices weren't the sole cause for the decrease. GM's full-sized SUVs are losing sales appeal in their last year before the arrival of restyled, re-engineered versions. And gasoline prices haven't hurt pickups. With the help of sizable incentives, sales of full-sized pickups built on the same architecture, GMT800, rose in the first five months of this year. What segments benefited? Small cars and more fuel-efficient vehicles such as the Chevrolet Equinox sport wagon and Colorado pickup. Even the Japanese automakers were not immune to the changes. Through eight months this year, U.S. sales of the large Toyota Sequoia SUV were down 15.3 percent from the same period a year earlier. But sales of the Prius hybrid car rose a staggering 132.0 percent, from 31,406 units to 72,849 units. Shane Sanders, Internet sales manager at Antwerpen Toyota in Clarksville, Md., says demand for the Prius and hybrid version of the Highlander mid-sized sport wagon started to rise the third week of July. Last week he sold five Highlander hybrids. "It's absolutely hit the roof," Sanders says. GM delayed some mid-sized car programs in order to speed the launch of its full-sized SUV and pickup programs, code-named GMT900. When GM redesigned its GMT800 architecture six years ago, the automaker watched profits roll in as the U.S. full-sized truck segment mushroomed from 3 million to 3.5 million units annually. Deutsche Bank analyst Rod Lache estimates GM earned at least $5 billion in pretax profit from its GMT800 architecture last year. That included $2 billion from large pickups and $3 billion from SUVs. Total corporate net income for 2004 was $3.69 billion. Last summer, Paul Ballew, GM's executive director of global market and industry analysis, said that if gasoline prices topped $2.50 a gallon, it could affect the mix in the long run. He said GM's research showed that gasoline prices must rise to $2.50 to $3 a gallon for a sustained period to change vehicle-buying decisions. A change in tone As gasoline spiked above $3 a gallon last week across the country, Ballew said GM doesn't see sales of full-sized SUVs returning to "peak levels." But he's unconcerned about the launch of GM's SUVs next year. "We're not anticipating it will be at $3," he said. "But anytime we're in the $3 a gallon range, it gets our attention." In a research note last week, Himanshu Patel, an auto analyst at JPMorgan Chase & Co. in New York, expects "roughly a 15 percent reduction" in volume levels on the GMT900. Last year GM sold roughly 1.52 million large pickups and SUVs. GM is not alone. With a redesigned Explorer SUV coming this fall, Steve Lyons, Ford Motor Co. group vice president for North America marketing, sales and service, said gasoline prices are an immediate concern. The solution? "We'll learn how to make more money on cars," Lyons said. "We have to."

By Jamie LaReau Automotive News / September 05, 2005 http://www.autonews.com/article.cms?articleId=54362 DETROIT -- General Motors will make fuel efficiency a key marketing theme, company executives say. "We need to go on the offensive," says Paul Ballew, GM's executive director of global market and industry analysis. "The facts support a very good claim on our part." GM will not increase its advertising budget to spread the fuel-efficiency message, Ballew says. Instead, he says, GM and its brands will incorporate the message in ads that promote the company's value pricing program. GM offers 20 vehicles that get 30 mpg or better, according to Tom Stephens, GM group vice president for global powertrain. UAW President Ron Gettelfinger says GM and Ford Motor Co. offer consumers fuel-efficient vehicles. "It's just a matter of getting people to look at" the vehicles, he says. "These incentive programs have done that."

By Richard Truett Automotive News / September 05, 2005 http://www.autonews.com/article.cms?articleId=54359 The new Saturn Vue Greenline gasoline-electric hybrid coming next summer will add a twist to the hybrid equation: a more affordable price. Value, along with better fuel economy and lower emissions, will be the key selling points of the vehicle, says Tom Stephens, GM's group vice president of global powertrain. The 2007 model will be GM's first high-volume gasoline-electric hybrid. Stephens says GM won't charge as high a premium for the hybrid Vue as some competitors ask for their models. GM has not released the price. Ford Motor Co. charges a premium of about $3,300 for the Escape Hybrid; Honda Motor Co. tacks on about $4,000 to the price of the Civic Hybrid sedan, and Toyota Motor Corp.'s Lexus Division charges more than $5,300 for the hybrid powertrain in the Lexus RX 400h SUV. The Vue hybrid is less expensive to produce because, unlike Ford and Toyota hybrids, the Vue's electric motor won't propel the vehicle by itself at low speeds and won't require expensive drivetrain modifications. The Vue is a mild hybrid, which uses the electric motor for start/stop and for a boost upon acceleration. The Civic Hybrid operates in the same manner. Although GM will save money on the Vue's powertrain, the fuel economy gains are not as big as they are on full or strong hybrids. GM expects the Vue hybrid to deliver between 12 and 15 percent, as opposed to the 20 percent gain of a full hybrid, which uses an electric motor to propel the vehicle at low speeds. But Stephens says GM believes there are customers who want hybrids but won't spend extra money to buy one. GM is working on a full hybrid system with DaimlerChrysler AG for its larger SUVs that will be available in the 2007 model year. Two other hybrid vehicles are in limited production at GM. The company has made fewer than 500 diesel-electric city buses and plans 2,500 gasoline-electric pickups this year.

Chevy HHR stars in offbeat TV ads Division also will push HHR, Impala on Web, in print By Laura Clark Geist Automotive News / September 05, 2005 http://www.autonews.com/article.cms?articleId=54379 DETROIT -- Chevrolet is taking product placement to new lengths in its advertising launches of the new HHR and re-engineered Impala. To launch the 2006 HHR small wagon, the brand is sponsoring a contest that invites consumers to shoot videos or photos that use the letters HHR in creative ways. Winning entries will air during the Sept. 22 episode of NBC's "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno." Chevrolet is buying all of the ad time on that night's show. As part of the 2006 Impala launch, Chevrolet will display a digital image of the mid-sized sedan's logo in the scenes of five CBS prime-time shows from Sept. 19 to Sept. 23. Chevy will spend 21 percent of the HHR's advertising budget on digital media, says Kim Kosak, Chevrolet's general director of advertising and sales promotion. That's more than double the digital share for a typical launch, Kosak says. The target customers for the HHR indicate "a reliance on nontraditional media," she says. The Impala campaign represents the biggest digital launch in General Motors history, she adds. Kosak would not disclose Chevrolet's total spending on the two ad campaigns. The Chevrolet Web site hhrya.com has received more than 1,000 HHR contest entries. The winner will receive a customized HHR. Starting this month, Chevrolet also is sponsoring "The Biz" on America Online. The Internet reality show features 10 contestants who compete to run a music label for a year. The contestants will drive HHRs and use the vehicle in a show task. By contrast, nearly 90 percent of Chevrolet's spending on the Impala campaign focuses on traditional TV and print ads, Kosak says. The Impala emblem, which has been the car's symbol since 1958, also will appear in premiere-week episodes of the CBS series "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," "Yes, Dear," "NCIS," "How I Met Your Mother" and "Threshold." The image will appear in each show's content for about eight seconds, Kosak says. Viewers who spot the logo can log on to the Web site cbs.com.impala to enter a contest to win an Impala. Andrea Wells, executive vice president of Chevrolet's advertising agency, Campbell-Ewald in Warren, Mich., says the Impala campaign "takes advantage of the big traditional media consumption, but it does it in a big disruptive way."

Automotive News / September 05, 2005 Pontiac's new Solstice is sure getting a lot of buzz. Mostly, it's good buzz, but not all. After Solstice buyers openly complained on General Motors' FastLane Internet blog about slow shipments of their convertibles, GM responded. In a posting titled "About the Solstice" last week on FastLane, Tom Kowaleski, GM's vice president of communications, apologized to Solstice buyers for delays in delivery. "Sorry if we are frustrating you; believe me: We are just as eager to get these cars on the road as you are," Kowaleski wrote. He said GM is taking extra time "to make sure all is just right. We're paying special attention to fits and finishes, interior materials and trim, and all elements of the car's operation." GM has been slowly increasing production at its plant in Wilmington, Del. "The Pontiac marketing team … continues to communicate with owners, particularly the first 1,000," wrote Kowaleski. "But they can't get the cars out of Wilmington any faster." One Solstice customer, who said his dealer just delayed delivery of his car by two additional weeks, had a reply for GM: "Something is a little fishy here."

GM will build 7,000 Solstices this year Pontiac has 13,000 orders; Del. plant will speed up line By Jamie LaReau Automotive News / September 05, 2005 http://www.autonews.com/article.cms?articleId=54368 PORTLAND, Ore. -- Nearly half of the customers who have ordered the new Pontiac Solstice won't get the roadster until next year. General Motors expects to build 7,000 units this year, Lori Queen, GM's vehicle line executive for small cars, said at a press event here. GM has 13,000 orders for the car. Queen says production should speed up in the next 30 days. Solstice production started in mid-July at GM's Wilmington, Del., plant. The automaker had built 1,840 units through Thursday, Sept. 1. "Now that we're building in higher volumes than we did in the early, early phases, we're seeing bottlenecks and areas that aren't building as smoothly as you'd like them to build," Queen said. Initial problems with roof leakage and front-end fit are fixed, though. Pontiac debuted the car on the April 14 episode of NBC's "The Apprentice" TV show. During that show, 1,000 customers placed orders for special versions of the car. Queen said about 750 of the "Apprentice" orders have been filled. The Solstice is the first vehicle on GM's new rear-wheel-drive Kappa architecture. GM uses the term "architecture" to signify a common set of components, performance characteristics, a common manufacturing process, a range of dimensions and connecting points for key component systems. GM has said it developed the Kappa vehicles to be profitable at low volumes by using existing GM parts and innovative production. For example, the company set up a small body-shop module rather than a mainstream automated body shop. The car's chassis and underbody are hand-welded. "If you want to do more volume, you have to put in more modules for the body shop," Queen says, adding that GM doesn't intend to do that. GM will build the Solstice and eventually the Saturn Sky roadsters on Kappa architecture, producing between 20,000 to 30,000 of the two cars annually, she said. Pontiac Marketing Director Mark-Hans Richer said from 17,000 to 18,000 of those cars could be Solstices. GM also will produce a Kappa roadster for its European brand, Opel, in Wilmington.

By Jason Stein Automotive News / September 05, 2005 http://www.autonews.com/article.cms?articleId=54370 DETROIT -- General Motors is moving quickly to realign its Buick-Pontiac-GMC retail channel, GM's top marketing executive says. Mark LaNeve, GM's vice president of vehicle sales, service and marketing in North America, last week told a group of Wall Street analysts that GM wants 80 percent of its Buick, Pontiac and GMC sales volume to be handled by one channel. "We've accelerated plans by two years to get there," LaNeve said. He did not disclose GM's time frame. As part of its restructuring plan in North America, GM has said it will encourage dealerships to put Pontiac, Buick and GMC under one roof. GM says 56 percent of its Buick, Pontiac and GMC volume is sold by stores carrying all three brands, up from 51 percent last year. LaNeve said the automaker is trying to match buyers and sellers case by case. "It is not being done by a specific program where we align certain dollar amounts," LaNeve said. "Every market is a separate story. Every dealership is a separate story. But we're moving very steadily down this path." As of Jan. 1, Buick had 198 stand-alone dealerships, GMC had 168 stand-alones and Pontiac had 110. There were 784 Buick-Pontiac-GMC stores and 245 Pontiac-GMC stores. Lynn Thompson, co-owner of Thompson Pontiac-GMC-Cadillac-Saab in Springfield, Mo., says he has spent years trying to negotiate with a single-point, family-owned Buick dealer in his town. Both parties are still too far apart on price. Thompson has not been contacted by a GM mediator, but he would be interested in trying to make the deal. "If I could add Buick to my store, along with GMC and Pontiac, I would really be able to cover everybody," he says. "Without Buick, I'm not dealing with all of the market."

Automotive News / September 05, 2005 For the first time in more than two years, the people at Mitsubishi Motor Sales of America could cheer instead of cringe as they reported their monthly sales numbers. August sales were 2.1 percent higher than in the year-ago month. Mitsubishi's last gain was in June 2003, when sales were 1.1 percent higher than in the year-earlier period. And the 2.1 percent upturn in August was the best since a surge of 10.3 percent in August 2002. In August, Mitsubishi dealers sold 8,160 cars and 2,785 trucks for a total of 10,945 new vehicles. Year-to-date sales of 87,074 are down 29.6 percent from last year.

Cool Variance. I was actually making the rear of mine into a coupe, but I haven't decided what to do to the front yet. Just so everyone knows, if you do two chops (front and back) they don't have to be related.

Is it the Banshee?

Looks good. What happened to your '04 GP?

Maybe AH-HA has heard something more than other people about the Camaro, and maybe it used to be on and now it's not. We'll just have to wait until January or until Red Planet says for sure that it will be there. I know he's hinted at it, but just because he said "you rillly rilly should be there" doesn't necessarily mean it's going to have a Camaro, it could just be something really cool.

I don't much like the idea of a 4 banger Camaro. Some of my friends don't like the Solstice because it has a 4 cyl. If you want really good mileage, just use the 3900 DOD which should be out and ready by the time the Camaro debuts.

This very thread is the reason why we don't have post counts in the lounge any more http://www.cheersandgears.com/public/style_emoticons//AH-HA_wink.gif Posting in Chevrolet will up your count because the post counter is still on there (and everywhere else for that matter).

Then what is the point of Pontiac? If they're just going to be rebadged Chevies then they're clearly just a marketing division and nothing more save the Solstice and GTO. I'd like to see Pontiac survived, but I could care less if their entire lineup consists of rebaged Chevies in the near future.

If Pontiac is to get something economical it should be based on Kappa. I will be pretty mad if the Pursuit is basically just a Cobalt clone when it comes to the US, and I won't be happy even if it's not. If GM is serious about Pontiac being a performance division then they won't give them any sort of Cobalt clone other than maybe an SS/SC clone.

Changing the Monte Carlo to Chevelle would do nothing but ruin the Chevelle name if GM ever wanted to use it on something else, IMO.

Well if it has a reserve maybe they are trying to meet the reserve so they can actually buy it. Another thing could be that they are trying to knock each other out of the auction by seeing who wants to pay more. They also would probably get rid of people who have a certain limit they want to spend if they go over that limit. But yes, for the most part it is pointless and only raises the price at the end of the auction.

Is the 4.4L based on the SC Northstar?

This was a tough decesion, it took me a while to decide. 5 11

Alright, the contest is over. Voting will begin in about 1 min.

Ok, looks good fuel, glad you got it to not be pixelated. Ted, thanks for the encouragement bro, if you ever want to have some input on what pic is used go right ahead since you're still the official Concepts mod in my book; I just help you run the show :).

fuel sipping, I resized your image to the right width, but since it was smaller to begin with it got a little pixelated. Here is what it looks like: I could just make an exception and use the smaller one this time since you are having difficulty I suppose because I think it's somewhat unfair to have yours all pixelated when it shouldn't be.

Yep, I should still be up for a little while longer. Plus I'm still waiting for fuel sipping to post his larger image.