Daddy-O

Foreign Trucks to Take on Detroit’s Last Stronghold
Detroit executives are understandably nervous about the billion-dollar
investments foreign brands have made in Southern U.S. assembly plants.
>From full-size pickups and SUVs to minivans, the new vehicles coming
from those plants are poised to attack Detroit's last stronghold. But
the Japanese and the Germans are nervous, too. Trucks are Detroit's best
products, which is why careers are riding on vehicles like the
segment-straddling Mercedes-Benz GST crossover wagon, which goes into
production in Vance, Ala., late next year or in early 2005. That's just
part of an expansion that also will double the number of M-class SUVs
the plant can build to 160,000 a year. Nissan freely admits that it
enters the full-size pickup wars with no credibility. Because of that,
it's going to make sure the 305-horsepower Titan full-size pickup is
such a bargain that buyers will be willing to overlook the fact that
Nissan never built a big truck before. For years, GM, Ford and Chrysler
have bragged about improved quality, greater efficiency and the hot new
products they have coming. They've said their trucks are second to none
in the world. We're about to find out whether consumers agree.
(Source: Detroit Free Press)


Nissan Continues its Profitable Drive
Nissan Motor Co. continued to rev up domestic production in July even as
Japan's other big auto makers hit the brakes at local factories. Toyota
Motor Corp., Japan's biggest car maker, second-ranked Honda Motor Co.
and smaller rivals Mazda Motor Corp. and Mitsubishi Motors Corp. all cut
output in July, partly reflecting weak domestic sales and sluggish
exports. Bucking the industry downturn, Nissan Motor, which is 44%-owned
by France's Renault SA, boosted domestic production 6.3% in July from a
year earlier, to 139,099 units, the 17th straight month of increases.
Its domestic sales were up 1.1%, supported by the launch of its new
Presage minivan model in July and robust sales of its Cube compact car.
The data provide further evidence of the turnaround that Nissan has
achieved in the past three years under the leadership of Carlos Ghosn,
who slashed costs, cut debt and sold off marginal assets. Nissan, which
was careening toward bankruptcy as recently as the late 1990s, is today
one of the world's most profitable auto makers. Nissan has become a more
aggressive competitor in the U.S. Its U.S. sales of cars and light
trucks rose 1.7% in the first seven months of this year, even as total
industry sales declined 2.2%, according to Autodata. That boosted
Nissan's U.S. market share for the period to 4.6% from 4.1% a year
earlier.
(Source: The Wall Street Journal)


Ford Names Europe Chief
Ford Motor Co. has named Lewis Booth, president of Mazda Motor Corp., as
the new head of its struggling European operations, the company
announced Tuesday night. Booth, 54, becomes president and chief
operating officer of Ford of Europe, replacing Martin Leach, who
resigned earlier this month. Cologne Germany-based Ford of Europe,
touted as one of Ford's greatest strengths as recently as last year, has
become a serious threat to the automaker's turnaround goals. Booth will
report to Executive Vice President David Thursfield, who has been
working intensively in recent weeks to revive Ford of Europe. "Lewis
Booth has had broad experience in many regions across the Ford world and
is no stranger to our operations in Europe," Thursfield said. "Lewis is
in a great position to address the challenges we face in Europe and to
spur us back into a position of sustained profitability."
(Source: The Detroit News)


Driver Habits Steadfast Unless Gas Sticks at $3 a Gallon
Gasoline prices could keep setting daily records into September, fueling
increasingly strident complaints that nevertheless are unlikely to
change what or how most people drive. Gas would have to hit $3 a gallon
and stay there permanently to get people out of big vehicles into small,
fuel-efficient ones, according to studies by automakers and
auto-industry consultants. Even so, stubbornness remains. "Our data show
that 57% of new car and truck buyers would not change the type of
vehicles they drove at any price," says George Peterson, head of
consultant AutoPacific. "Hard to believe that," he acknowledges, adding:
"We understand, anecdotally, that the price at which they would change
is around $3.50 to $4 a gallon." The issue is important to car companies
because they take two or three years to develop a model. Automakers
don't want to hit the market with big V-8 engines just as fuel shortages
occur, or offer only fuel-sipping four-cylinders when gas is cheap and
plentiful and rivals are selling powerful V-6s and V-8s.
(Source: USA Today)


Pump Lets Natural Gas Civics Go to Market
Honda next year will begin mass-marketing natural-gas-powered Civics
that will come with a device to fill the car's tank in the owner's
garage. It's the first time an automaker will sell a natural-gas vehicle
broadly to the public. Up to now, sales have been mostly limited to
specialized fleets such as airport vans and university campus vehicles.
Honda has sold 500 to 1,000 natural-gas Civic GX models a year since
1998 to customers such as the New York Department of Transportation,
which owns 400. They are popular for commercial fleets that travel short
distances and have their own designated filling stations. "What's kept
natural-gas vehicles from driveways is an easy, reliable way to refill,
and we've got that now," says Stephen Ellis, head of Honda alternative
vehicle sales. Honda will sell an appliance, called a "Phill," with each
Civic GX to fill the car's tank from the homeowner's gas line. Phill
will cost $2,000, but tax credits may knock the end-cost down to $1,000.
Civic GX will cost $20,000, about the same as a hybrid gas/electric
Civic. Honda views the market as mostly second and commuter cars. Ellis
expects Civic GX sales, which will start in California, to follow the
pattern of hybrid Civics. Honda sold 13,000 hybrids last year, and that
many through July this year. "We know we can eventually sell tens of
thousands a year, but it wouldn't be possible without a home refueling
option," Ellis says.
(Source: USA Today)

Jmai22

cliff notes?