Toyota Stirs up Chaos

The most recent auto scandal to note would be the crisis with Toyota. Complaints have been filed my customers with issues that there has been sudden acceleration of vehicles, issues with brakes, and steering problems. This has created uncertainty as to whether or not Toyota is maintaining its image for building reliable cars. Concern has also stemmed from Toyota’s corporate response stating that these problems are due to driver error. In fact, this was a fallacy and there were in fact mechanical errors with the vehicles that Toyota was manufacturing. Toyota’s denial of these issues demonstrates that they did not take full responsibility for the safety of their products.

Consumers were weary of buying Toyota vehicles because of the response given by Toyota when this issue became public. To retain as many clients at possible, Toyota had major advertisement campaigns showing customers’ loyalty to their products and their commitment to producing cars with care. While this has become a quite famous example of a company acting unethically, consumers have accepted the fact that Toyota admitted to the mistake after serious consequences and is now doing everything in its power to deliver customer satisfaction.

Toyota is dedicated, “To attract and attain customers with high-valued products and services and the most satisfying ownership experience in America.” I believe that the rough patches that Toyota has experienced lately will ultimately not alter future sales of their cars because they have had a historically strong reputation for building dependable vehicles. I am sure that they will remain successful and respected in America and they will continue to be one of the best top selling brands of automobiles in the U.S.

Chevy Volt Misconceptions

Chevrolet was planing on releasing its newest model, The volt, in 2011. It will be their first car that is mostly electric, not to be confused with a hybrid. A hybrid uses both electric power and gasoline at the same time, but the Volt is different. It uses them at separate times.
Chevy owners claim that it can run up to 40 miles on battery power alone, then it will begin to use the reserve gas tank. In theory, this sounds like a great idea. But those who have every owned a lawnmower, or a motorcycle for example, know that there are flaws in this strategy. Anyone who has owned any sort of seasonal gas-powered equipment knows that after a certain amount of time, the gasoline (if unused) will no longer work.
This initially presented a huge problem for Chevrolet. But after time they figured out a way to fix it; they wired the car in such a way that once it starts to sense that the gas is getting old, it will begin to use it instead of the electricity in order to rid the tank of the unusable gas. Then it will force the driver to fill up their tank again with newer gas. Initially you can override the car's attempt to use the old gas, but by the third try the Volt will take over and eliminate the "bad" gasoline out of the tank whether you allow it to or not.
This brand new car for Chevy seems like a great idea, and that it should sell great amounts upon release, but there is a huge problem; Nissan is also releasing a brand new fully electrical model into the market, but it can run up to 90 miles solely on electricity instead of just 40 like the Volt. it will be difficult to see which car will sell better because some may want the back up tank of gasoline since it is what they are used to, while others may feel that the fully electric 90 mile range of the Leaf will be more beneficial. Time can only tell what the consumers will want.

Source: http://wsj.com/drivers-seat/2010/09/15/chevy-volt-electric-car-what-if-the-gas-gets-stale/?mod=rss_WSJBlog&mod=WSJ_Autos_Driversseat

China At a Glance

In order to better help the "less affluent but growing [Chinese] market," the Nissan Motor Co. is preparing to start a China-only brand. This new brand named Qichen, pronounced "chee chen," will begin production starting in 2012, with Nissan's joint venture Dongfeng Motor Group Co. The aim is to supply low income earning individuals, "in China's inland markets," with affordable cars. The development of the model will begin with Chinese engineers and designers because they cost less than the Japanese workers. Also, to save money, "global auto makers, such as Honda Motor Co., have transferred older existing technology" to their Chinese partners. Hopefully, by the end of the year, the Chinese will reach their goal of selling 600,000 vehicles.

After reading the article, I found it to be interesting, yet thoughtful that the auto industry in China is willing to create an automobile, primarily for those who make an annual salary of $7000. It shows that they really care about their people and are willing to make adjustments to better their lifestyle. It's a good way to help bring a nation together when they are going through difficult times.

Hopefully, the Chinese market will be able to achieve their goal and sell more cars by the end of this year, as they begin the process of constructing the new vehicle. Many other nations should take notice of what China is doing because it could be beneficial to other countries as well. I think that by 2014 the global economy will be able to see how well the Chinese are doing, and decide to help their citizens in a similar, if not the same, way.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704362404575479441663502752.html?mod=WSJ_auto_IndustryCollection

What Labor Day can tell the auto industry

About 34.4 million Americans were expected to take road trips this past Labor Day Weekend. AAA expected the number of people taking trips to increase by nearly 10% over last year. An estimated 9 out of 10 travelers were driving to their destination. More than 12,000 highway projects are taking place due to the federal stimulus program. States were doing what they can to reduce traffic congestion by moving around construction times, but delays were expected in many areas.

All this might have been bad for travelers, but this is a glimmer of hope and chance for the auto industry. If Americans are driving more, that means they have more disposable income that they could potentially use to buy cars. The article also mentions that many new luxury cars have navigation systems with traffic feeds. Think of all the times you were stuck in traffic and how agonizing it was. Time spent waiting in the car is time you could have spent relaxing or earning some money. Navigation systems are becoming more prevalent, so if traffic feeds were attached to this and sold to every day cars, there is a lot of money to be made. Car companies can use all this summer traffic congestion as a selling point for traffic feeds that could save drivers countless hours.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704421104575463521832020654.html?mod=WSJ_auto_TopRightCarousel_1

Saving the American Name

In a recent survey, several brands of cars built by Ford and General Motors have had the top vehicle satisfaction. Ford’s Lincoln-Mercury was at the top with 89% customer satisfaction, while GM’s Buick was directly behind taking second place with an 88% satisfaction rate. BMW, Cadillac, and Mercedes-Benz were tied for third. These results differ greatly from five years ago when U.S. automakers were gathered at the bottom of the vehicle satisfaction survey.

To remain at the top, Ford will eliminate the Mercury line by the end of 2010 due to its declining sales. Lincolns will still be sold and accounted for most of the Lincoln and Mercury brands’ ranking.

On the other hand, Chrysler did not perform as well. The Jeep brand finished last out of 19 ranked brands and Dodge was second to last. Overall, Chrysler vehicles finished 15^th in this survey.

Collectively, it looks as though U.S. automakers are trying to revitalize their image and become known for quality and durability once again. After the government bailout of GM, the company has been progressively performing better. This trend is most likely going to continue and help the auto industry.

Source : http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704554104575435371215706004.html?KEYWORDS=auto

Nissan Leaf Changing the Auto Market Forever

Nissan is introducing the all-new 2011 Leaf; it’s just like any regular 5-seat, 5-door car. It has a 0-60 acceleration of 10 seconds, a top speed of 90 mph, Bluetooth, a navigation system, and many other features common to cars currently on the market. Except for one factor; it is electrically powered. This will be the first completely electrically run car the world’s market has ever seen.
Although on the outside it may seem just like any other car, many things differ when one compares a gas-powered car to an electrically powered vehicle. To begin with, the brakes use a regenerative breaking system, which prevent jolts or bumps in the ride. Furthermore, the steering is serviceably directional, allowing soft turns. Also, the engine makes virtually no sound. It is so quite that Nissan had to create noise for when the car is in motion as a safety precaution for pedestrians nearby. Ultimately the Leaf just provides a smoother ride; when a test driver was asked for his feelings towards the overall experience, he claimed that even a Ferrari pales in comparison. So one might ask, what is the downfall to the Leaf, which appears to be the perfect vehicle?
Many people are concerned about the look of the car; it has ridiculous headlights, a hatchback, and an overall frumpy look. But besides the superficial downfalls, the biggest problem is the known as “range anxiety.” People seem to stress out excessively about whether they will have enough battery power to make it to where they need to go.
Granted its flaws, I still believe that the Nissan Leaf will be a huge selling success. People will get over their “range anxiety,” because after the test driver traveled 80 miles in one day, the car still had over 20% battery life left. I also think the market will be able to looked past a less than perfect exterior because once they do purchasing the Leaf will lessen our imported oil dependency, diminish air pollution, and the drivers will ultimately get to experience a superior drive.

A Beautiful Stranger.

     It's a bird! It's a plane! No, It's the new Maserati GranTurismo Convertible! Maserati's newly designed convertible has a otherworldly allure. This new car has the curves of a women while maintaining the rigidness of a man.
     Maserati is hoping that in 2011 after the release of the GranTurismo Convertible sales will rebound back to normal, after a 43 percent drop from 2008. Part of the reason sales had dropped so much could be contributed to the poor reputation the company is getting. Maserati seems to show up to the worse parties in the worse hands, and the brand is bring shown in shows like "Entourage" and "The Real Housewives of New Jersey". Maserati is also known for the car Mel Gibson drives away in after he gets into a drunken argument or the car Lindsey Lohan drives when she flashes the world. These product appearance are making the general public think of Maserati as a narcissistic, gum- smacking, dysfunctional car.  No one wants to be associated with those numskulls who poorly represent Maserati.
   Despite all of the bad reputations, Maserati is recalibrating their brand positioning and sales are on the rebound. They are trying to make Maserati the "Prada pumps of european luxury cars" not the "cheap clear heels you buy at the airport" .  After the release of the GranTurismo Convertible overall sales will be back to normal, if not higher. The GranTurismo has a 4.7-liter, 433 horsepower V8 and six speed ZF transmission with paddle shifters. The GranTurismo Convertible comes in 8 different colors and retracts in less than 30 seconds.  Each of the eight color options gives the GranTurismo a completely different personality, the white brings out the feminine side while the gray brings out a sinister one. This is also the longest car, 192.2 inches, with the most rear leg room, 30.1 inches. Finally, the biggest selling point about this car is it's "sport" button. Press that button and it increases its performance and turns the exhaust into a straight-pipe exhaust which is insanely loud and brassy. All in all this car is a great luxury buy for a mere 139,700 dollars! Buy your lucky lottery ticket today and this could be you'r new ride.

Source: Neil, Dan. "A Shapely Visitor From Planet Maserati." The Wall Street Journal 4 Sept. 2010. 8 Sept. 2010: W6