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January 30, 2008
VehicleVoice #90 - The Dodge Ram Review - How's it Stack Up to the New F150?
VehicleVoice #89 - The All New Dodge Ram - Was It Worth the Wait?
Isuzu RIP - The Obituary of American Isuzu Motors
Newspapers usually have obituaries pre-written for notable people who may be at risk of demise. We have been watching the deterioration of Isuzu in the USA for years and still hesitated to write its obit. Well, here it is.
American Isuzu Motor Company has finally announced that it is pulling out of the light vehicle market in the USA. With sales dwindling to under 10,000 units per year, Isuzu just could not make a go of it even selling only rebadged General Motors SUVs and pickups.
Isuzu Missed the Wave of SUV Popularity
The really odd thing about the Isuzu story is that the brand was almost perfectly positioned in the early '90s to ride the wave of SUV popularity, but they blew it at every turn. Working with constrained development budgets, Isuzu resorted to frantic new products that never resonated with a market that, frankly, was open to new ideas in SUVs. As Isuzu wallowed, the industry marched past them and Isuzu has faded from the picture.
More below the fold...
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January 29, 2008
VehicleVoice #88 - The Brand New F150 - Now with Even More Bells and Whistles
AutoPacific Announces Ed Kim as Director of Industry Analysis
Tustin, California, January 29, 2008. Today AutoPacific announced the appointment of Ed Kim as Director of Industry Analysis. Mr. Kim will manage AutoPacific’s industry analysis services, including competitive analysis and sales forecasting as well as support for AutoPacific’s consulting services. In addition, he will have editorial responsibility for VehicleVoice.com.
“We are excited about Ed’s new role here at AutoPacific. His insights, experience, and customer-focus will be an excellent addition to AutoPacific’s industry analysis team. We are looking forward to expanding our services under his leadership.” said George Peterson, President and Founder of AutoPacific.
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January 28, 2008
Exhaust Note #1: It’s Pickup Week at VehicleVoice!
(editor’s note: VehicleVoice will now kick off each new week with Exhaust Note, a weekly rant or rave of automotive industry insight. Here’s our first…enjoy!)
Pickups Are At Our Core
Like ‘em or not, big pickups remain a staple of the American automotive industry, representing one of the biggest chunks of the U.S. automotive market in terms of sales. Last year, full-size pickups represented over 2.1 million sales, or just over 13% of all new light vehicles sold, and AutoPacific, VehicleVoice’s parent company, forecasts sales to remain over the 2-million mark through 2013.
What gives? Aren’t all of the green messages getting through to people? Why aren’t people ditching these guzzlers in big numbers? The fact of the matter is that big pickups are core and central to our lives. Just think about all the goods and services that are delivered by pickups, and all the livelihoods they contribute to. Or, think about the way that they enable people’s hobbies and interests. In the auto industry, we often talk about new vehicles’ innovative flexibility and utility features, but when you think about it, the good ol’ pickup is the very definition of those words. Their appeal is democratic in the truest sense of the word; for rich or for poor, for young or for old, for men or for women, for work or for play, the pickup just simply works.
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January 25, 2008
VehicleVoice #87 - Exclusive Detroit Auto Show Walk Through
2009 Honda Pilot: Bigger, Better, Butt Ugly?
Honda unveiled their much anticipated Pilot prototype at the 2008 NAIAS in Detroit. Conveying the design features of the production 2009 Pilot, set to make its debut this spring, this 2nd generation Pilot is tougher, smarter, larger, roomier, stronger, bolder, cleaner and safer than its predecessor.
While the specifications of the new Pilot are impressive, there was wide comment about its styling. Tougher-looking, yes, said many auto journalists, but ugly. Some of the descriptors were: "Styled by Isuzu", "third world styling", "bland", "worst looking production vehicle of show". Sometimes these things grow on you. Most folks have become accustomed to the weird styling of the Ridgeline SUT. Maybe that will happen with the new Pilot.
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January 24, 2008
VehicleVoice #86 - RA! RA! RA! for Mitsubishi's New Diesel Sports Car Concept
January 23, 2008
VehicleVoice #85 - Lincoln MKS: A Fox in the Lexus Henhouse?
What Are The Top Vehicles Purchased by Tech Savvy Buyers?
According to AutoPacific's annual survey of new car and light truck acquirers, the BMW 3-Series, Acura MDX, Lexus RX, Honda Accord, and Infiniti QX56 attract the most tech savvy buyers. Tech savvy consumers made up approximately 5% of the new car buying population in 2007, up from just 2% in 2006. As Gen Y matures and enters the new vehicle market in greater numbers, AutoPacific expects these numbers to continue their growth. Tech savvy car buyers were defined utilizing a collection of data filters from AutoPacific’s Research Suite® database.
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Invisible Explorer
Say it isn’t so! I sincerely hope that I’m wrong on this one, or at least over-reacting. Ford’s initial Press conference at the 2008 North American International Auto Show left me wondering, “”What about the Explorer?” Ford began the Sunday with Bill Ford, Mark Fields, Country music superstar Toby Keith, and enough fireworks and decibels to put a chill up your spine. We were shown the newly-redesigned F-150, the Verve Concept, and a herd of Mustangs. We saw the Explorer America Concept, or at least I think we did. It came on and off the stage faster than Charles Manson at a parole hearing. The pitch went something like this. “Unit body, 2.0 liter Ecoboost Engine, Adios!” I found this especially disheartening, because the vehicle looked so great. A forward-looking design that keeps real truck cues. Not another tall wagon!
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January 21, 2008
2008 Saturn Lineup – The Newest Lineup in the USA
It’s official. Saturn is no longer the brand with quirky composite commuters we remember at launch in 1990 and their recent transformation has been made with a swift but calculated hand from the European market.
Saturn’s lineup of completely new vehicles brought to us by way of Opel integration brings the brand up-market and solidifies Saturn as GM’s answer to fight foreign competition.
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January 17, 2008
The Greenest Detroit Auto Show Ever
In some ways, the 2008 North American Automobile Show was like most other recent major auto shows. Once again, automakers went out of their way to show us how hard they are trying to protect the environment and reduce our dependent for foreign oil.
General Motors and Toyota lead the rhetoric. Each claims to have a broad spectrum of programs that range from alternate fuels for internal combustion engines to full electric vehicles. I have to weigh in on this issue, because I’m seeing two strategies that are very different and tell you a lot about the companies they come from.
General Motors spent a lot of time talking about Ethanol, and is clearly lobbying for greater distribution outlets for the fuel. Has GM chosen to expend their efforts in a political battle to increase the availability of Ethanol as their primary tool to solve this issue? Ethanol-capable vehicle conversion is inexpensive, but the end result may leave consumers unsatisfied. Surprisingly, Rick Wagoner, GM's Chairman, advocated Federal regulations mandating ethanol distribution across the country (won't Iowa be proud?).
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Powertrain Trends at NAIAS
New Game; Many Players; Winners Unclear!
There was a lot of action at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit this week. Clearly the industry is more interested in Green, and more interested in fuel economy (well, at least in legislated CAFE, Corporate Average Fuel Economy requirements) than ever before.
Virtually all major manufacturers are working on clean diesels, gas hybrids, diesel hybrids, plug-in hybrids, hybrids with nickel-metal hydride batteries, with some form of lithium batteries and with batteries in conjunction with ultra capacitors. Most manufacturers are working on significant improvements to conventional gas engines, some with direct fuel injection, and some with direct injection coupled with one or more turbochargers (what Ford calls EcoBoost). Cylinder deactivation and smaller displacements with fewer cylinders is a popular approach. Ethanol has its advocates (primarily GM), and also its detractors. And in the long term (maybe VERY long term) hydrogen fuel cells show exciting promise.
Technology Up... Prices WAY UP!!!!!!!!!
So what is the winner? Well, the consumer, for sure will have more choice than ever.But in a technology sense, it is entirely unclear what technology will dominate in the near future. Perhaps it is a mix of many approaches for awhile, as it was 100 years ago (between gasoline, electric power and steam) before one technology dominates.
Meanwhile, the cost (and price) of powertrains is likely to up... way up. Probably up by more than the fuel savings offset, at least at anything like today's fuel prices. How high is up? Nobody really knows, but perhaps HD pickups give us a clue: diesels provide a 20-30% fuel economy gain, but are priced about $7,000 higher than (semi) equivalent gas engines.
American Drivers Unwilling to Sacrifice for Better Fuel Economy
It is not clear that Americans are really ready to pay that much for a slightly better environment and some reduction in the dependence on foreign oil. Somehow, it seems to me that for most Americans to truly embrace all this new technology and the associated costs, fuel prices will have to double, or maybe triple, effectively reaching European levels.
Meantime, what en exciting race!