The recession has officially been over for a year now, with four quarters of economic growth reported. Leaders in the car business are finally now able to look ahead, and one man believes he found the timeline.
Mike Jackson, CEO of Auto Nation (the largest automotive retailer in America), believes it will be a four-year transition to get American auto spending to where it was before the recession. Freep.com quotes Jackson, “I see the process as a three-stage rocket. The first stage is the healing of credit, which is beginning to happen, but will take at least through 2011. Second, housing prices need to stabilize. Finally, employment must recover.”
The auto sale projections increase with each coming year. Many experts believe 12 millions cars will be sold in 2011.
Auto Shippers hopes Jackson is correct. While four years may seem like a long period for recovery, it is refreshing to see optimism from an such expert in the auto retail field.
While daily news still reports the closing of factories and plants, there is the occasional bit of news that gives hope for those in the auto industry. According to the Detroit Free Press, there may be some of this hope arriving in Michigan soon.
Governor Jennifer Graham is reportedly trying to sell Ford on the idea to produce the Transit commercial van in Michigan. The model was just launched in the United States in 2009. The Transit van is sold throughout Europe and produced in Turkey.
Nancy Gioia, the leader of Ford’s global electrification, says, “If the volume grows, we are going to have our manufacturing footprint match where that volume is.” Apparently, the amount of sales that might be possible in the United States is the real deciding factor in this equation.
Auto Shippers hopes to bring more business onto American soil, especially after Ford’s decisions to close several of their factories in the United States. We’ll keep our eyes on Michigan as the story unfolds.
Plans are being made for electric car batteries after their shelf life ends, even before the cars are on the road. Detroit Free Press reported on this phenomenon in late September.
General Motors plans to launch the Chevrolet Volt in November, using batteries as the main supply of energy for the car. Reportedly, GM is planning on the batteries lasting for ten years in the car before a new battery will have to be installed into the vehicles. After car use, there may be five to ten more years of use available from each battery.
GM will work with ABB Group, a Switzerland company that specializes in power technologies, to find new uses for these used batteries. There is potential for use in electric grid storage, according freep.com.
Auto Shippers applauds the forward thinking of General Motors in all aspects of the Volt effort – and is impressed by the plans to recycle these batteries.
Bentley announced a recall on several models of their fleet in late September -with an unusual reason.
The hood ornament, a script “B” outfitted with wings that sits on the hood of 2007 to 2009 Arnage, Azure and Brooklands models, is being recalled for safety reasons. The Bentley trademark is designed to fold into the hood during a crash in order to prevent injury of pedestrians. According to the Detroit Free Press, there is a mechanism in the ornament that is rusting. Therefore, the retracting option is not happening when the cars are involved in a collision.
A representative for Volkwagen’s luxury brand, Valentine O’Connor, says, “We do take it seriously. This is a precautionary measure.” So far, there have been no injuries reported due to the faulty part.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration investigated the case and discovered the corrosion of the “Flying B”. Auto Shippers trusts the Bentley brand will alleviate the problem swiftly and accurately.
Auto Shippers is always pleased to see companies going green – and we’re excited to see the automobile industry following the green trend in more ways than just electric cars.
Detroit Free Press reports the first green car show. Auto Week, a car journal founded in Detroit, is “sponsoring a virtual car show designed to promote environmentally friendly transit without the carbon footprint of a physical show.”
The Virtual Green Car Show happened on September 22, created by a San Francisco company called ON24 Inc. This company specializes in orchestrating virtual events.
The Virtual Green Car Show will showcase interactive sessions between professionals and those tuning in on various topics – some of these are recycling, the latest green technology, utilities and more. The Green Show will also incorporate networking opportunities for those interested in the topics, as well as hobnobbing with professionals in the featured fields.
During any adversity, people find ways to adapt – cutting corners or learning new tricks to get by. Americans have displayed this adaptability during our country’s recession, and it can be seen even in auto parts sales.
Auto Zone, an auto part chain, just saw its fourth quarter of profit in the double digits –this time at 14%. As the U.S. still struggles to get back on its feet economically, people choose to repair their own cars. People are also holding onto their vehicles longer, fixing problems instead of replacing the faulty vehicle like they might have in the past.
Auto Zone reports opening 80 new stores in this past quarter, bringing the total number of stores close to almost 5,000 venues. Besides the economy, experts claim the unusually warm summer we experienced this year lend to deterioration of parts – creating a need for replacement parts.
Auto Shippers is always happy to see growth and profit in any automobile sector, and we applaud our fellow Americans for finding new ways to solve old problems.
Ford is not afraid to make changes, nor are they afraid to end one brand to better another. We see this aggressive attitude again as Ford made the announcement to discontinue their Mercury brand in order to focus on their Lincoln line.
As the Lincoln brand moves forward, Mercury is not the only faction of Ford to crash and burn. Since the beginning of the century, Ford stopped production of two of the Lincoln models and plans to follow suit with the Lincoln Town Car in 2011.
To replace these models, Lincoln added four new models. Reviews on the street aren’t so subtly, with critics claiming “Lincoln looks a lot like Fords.” Lincoln only represented 5.7% of luxury sales in the United States over the last year. Plans to change these numbers include model overhaul, giving Lincoln a facelift that will differentiate the luxury brand from Ford.
Auto Shippers is excited to see the changes that will be made to the Lincoln brand, and wishes Ford good luck in its endeavors.
As of 2011, an old favorite will no longer be available stateside.
Ford announced mid-September that the next model of the Ford Ranger pick-up truck will not be sold in North America after 2011. While this model was very popular in North America in the late ‘90s, sales dwindled since then. Ford is trying to “simplify its global lineup” according to the Detroit Free Press, and the decision to discontinue the Ranger was made some time ago. Ford plans to fill this gap left by the Ranger by improving on its existing F-Series pickup. Production will end in the Ford Plant in St. Paul, Minnesota at the slated 2011 date.
The new model of the Ranger will be introduced at an auto show in Australia on October 15th. The truck will be available in all markets besides North America for purchase at this time.
Ford planned to close the plant that produces the Ranger in 2008, but decided to wait until 2011 to do so. Despite a press conference with the government of Minnesota, Ford will not budge. Auto Shippers wishes the 750 employees good luck as the factory edges closer to its end date.
As more lives are being lost, laws are being tightened to keep all drivers on the road safer. Obama spoke in late September on the new laws going into affect to address distracted drivers on the road. Talking on cell phones is banned in eight states; now thirty states have banned texting while driving.
Deemed as “distracted drivers”, Detroit Free Press reports almost 5,500 people were killed in car crashes because of texting. Different suggestions are being explored by government representatives as concerns about technology being implemented into more vehicles are on the rise. One cause for concern is talk of devices being installed into trucks so drivers can check their e-mails and Facebooks while on the road.
One representative is pushing for warning labels to be placed on cell phone packages. Another claims that voice-activated technology will help keep drivers’ eyes on the road.
Auto Shippers is devoted to safety, with our drivers and all drivers on the road. We hope all drivers make safety their priority and keep their eyes on the road.
Surviving the crash – and making it out even better than before. Famed quarterback for the New England Patriots, Tom Brady, is getting the celebrity treatment.
Known for his looks and his love life almost as much as his athletic abilities, Brady crashed his Audi S8 sedan in the middle of September. Reportedly, nobody was hurt in the crash, but the car itself didn’t make out as well as the passengers.
According to an article in the Detroit Free Press, U.S. Audi Chief, Johan de Nysschen said, “We put him a new car.” Brady was supplied with a brand new Audi – due to the fact that he is a known client of the car company and he has also contributed to Audi’s charity efforts.
First Jessica Simpson, then supermodel Gisele, now a free Audi. We at Auto Shippers aren’t sure how this may rate in fairness, but we do know one thing for certain – the grass is greener on the Brady side.
