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While the American car market dived by nine percent compared with 2001, both European and Asian automakers managed impressive gains. The strongest gainers (keeping in mind they have low overall market share, so it is easier to gain or lose share) were Kia (over 25 percent), Mitsubishi, and Hyundai, which will soon build its first American plant in the South with the help of over a hundred million US taxpayer dollars (yes, we are paying to help a foreign automaker to compete with American automakers).
Of the domestic brands, Ford's sales declined the most, 12 percent for the quarter. Chrysler was next, with a drop of 9 percent, followed by GM, falling 5 percent. For March, Ford sales fell 12 percent, Chrysler 4 percent, and GM 1 percent. (Figures provided just-auto.com).
NHTSA is investigating a number of design and construction flaws in the Ford Focus, the world's best selling car. There have been faulty rear wheel bearings and engine fires in 2000 models, and 16 customers reported being burned by gas from airbags (with two car fires reported). Airbag deployments are relatively rare, and that number of burns is high despite the Focus' sales (it sells well, but not that well, in the US). Coupled with this issue is inappropriate airbag deployment. See Detroit News' autosinsider.com for details.
Hyundai, which is partly owned by DCX, has chosen Alabama as a site for a new auto plant, though DCX has shed crocodile tears for the laid off Chrysler workers and Chrysler plant closings. No Chrysler workers have been invited to apply for jobs in Alabama. Alabama is providing $118 million in incentives to Hyundai to open the 2,000-worker plant near Montgomery, in a now-standard gesture of corporate welfare. /rant/ Kind of makes one miss the days when companies like Volkswagen and Toyota took over former Ford and GM plants, and gave jobs to all those laid-off factory workers while re-invigorating local economies which relied on the shuttered plants. And there's certainly no shortage of shuttered (or about to be shuttered) auto plants - including our local GM plant in Linden. One would think it would be faster and cheaper to re-use an existing plant with roadways and transit systems already built, but then you might not be able to get states in bidding wars to throw taxpayer dollars at foreign companies. /rant off/
As a publicity stunt, the Dodge Viper was pitted against the F-16 "Viper" aircraft in a race that ended when the jet fighter became airborne (around 150 mph), which took around 15 seconds for the Dodge. In the first race, the pre-production Viper SRT Competition Coupe convertible flew stock, and in the second, its PVO team enhancements were countered by the F-16's afterburners. The results will be aired on Ripley's Believe It or Not TV show on July 10. The Viper Competition Coupe's acceleration estimates are 0-60 mph in 3.8 sec.; 0-100 mph in 9.2 sec.; 60-0 in 90 ft.; 100-0 mph in 260 ft. and top speed of 193 mph.
Meanwhile, Dodge finally announced the SXT versions of the Dodge Neon, Stratus Sedan and Coupe, and Dodge Intrepid, which join the Durango and Dakota. The SXT is essentially an option package, adding to the current and confusing SE, ES, and SRT options (SRT replacing or supplementing R/T depending on the model - SRT meaning "street, road, and track" while R/T is "road and track," since we all know streets and roads are totally different.)
The Chrysler 7 year, 100,000 mile warranty will continue through the end of April, and Chrysler is deciding whether to make it permanent or continue to keep it as a month-by-month incentive.
Mitsubishi will be splitting off its commercial vehicles division into a joint venture with Daimler-Benz, which owns 37 percent of Mitsubishi Motors, according to newspaper Nihon Keizai Shimbun. In related news, COO Rolf Eckrodt, recently imported from #1 shareholder DCX (specifically, of course, Mercedes), will become CEO (chief executive officer), as the Mercedes contingent continues to spread its obvious leadership superiority - the leadership which helped Freightliner and Chrysler to reach their current levels of success. Eckrodt's main claim to fame is slashing jobs and capacity at Adtranz to prepare it for sale to Bombardier, which is now suing DCX for misleading it about Adtranz's commitments and status. As leader of Mercedes Brazil, he shut down a plant and ended 1,8000 jobs. Good luck, Mitsubishi.
GM is continuing to mine its offshore divisions, this time announcing that it will import the fearsome V8 Holden Monaro as the Pontiac GTO around model year 2004 (probably late next year). Meanwhile, Saturn introduced the new Ion, to replace the now rather aged S series (SL, SC) which was actually introduced before the original Neon. The Ion looks much like the S series it replaces.
The Chrysler Pacifica and GT Cruiser have finally been officially announced.
The Chrysler Pacifica is officially called a sport tourer, and Chrysler was careful to show that it is a true category-buster, not simply another reshaped wagon or minivan. The design team leader told us that, while it has a rear suspension design similar to the Mercedes E-Class, few if any parts are shared. In addition, unlike the concept, few parts are shared with minivans. The design team leader told us (even when pressed) that the Pacifica, as it now stands, had little in common with any other car produced by the DaimlerChrysler empire, aside from the engine.
The Pacifica generated much excitement, though quite a bit of it seemed to come from BMW Car Club members - who may have seen quite a bit of X-5 in the lines of the Pacifica. Powered (as we wrote earlier) by a 3.5 liter V6 "from the 300M," the Pacifica is surprisingly attractive in person. The wheelbase is right between the short and long minivans, and other dimensions are very similar to the Grand Caravan. In person, though, it looks more like a tall car.
The Pacifica's interior is completely different from any other Chrysler vehicle, and combines elegance, practicality, and room for telematics - indeed, a navigation system will be available from the outset. The version on display featured all wheel drive, though reportedly a front wheel drive version will also be available. Strips of wood - real or false, we couldn't tell - accent well defined doors and the dashboard. The navigation system does not dominate the car.
The few minivan style touches included a movable (we think) center console, and rear controls for ventilation and audio functions. The rear hatch moves up and down under power, just like it does in the Caravan, and we would be surprised if the all wheel drive system did not also borrow from the Grand Caravan.
The instrument panel was not visible on our vehicle - we tried putting the lights on, but the panel remained dim, presumably to prevent competitors from getting a preview. The Pacifica will not be available to the public for one full year. However, the controls and center stack all seemed sensibly designed and attractive to look at. Seat controls are on the door, where they are easier to locate. The appearance throughout the interior is surprisingly subtle and pleasant (surprising only because Audi's Freeman Thomas was let loose in the Chrysler design studios).
Pricing was very deliberately not announced, though the figure $24,000 has been airing (probably for the base model, with two wheel drive) and the number $35,000 was heard (probably for the model we saw, with all wheel drive, DVD system with roof-mounted screen, and other goodies.
The announcement for the "PT Cruiser turbo" was made in a by-the-way manner, and it was not referred to as a GT Cruiser - but, on the rear hatch, were the letters "GT." That, and a small silver plate announcing "2.4 turbo" on the other side of the hatch, were the only exterior indications that this was indeed a GT Cruiser. That should give all other PTs an image boost when the GT Cruiser goes on sale - sometime around January, we believe.
We will post photos of the GT Cruiser's 2.4 liter engine and the Pacifica by (hopefully before) Monday.
The Ram 3500 does not look bad in person. The dually rear wheels have an unusually subtle treatment, stretching out the bulge more than usual. The Hemi engine was on display, in cutaway, pushrods and all (we'll have photos by Monday). The display 3500 - there was only one - used the Cummins straight-six turbodiesel, allaying some fears that Mercedes would supports its favorite brand at the cost of Ram sales.
It seems that every manufacturer is now making some sort of crossover vehicle, and also something that looks vaguely like an Audi TT. There's the Chrysler Crossfire, for one, which we were told by Chrysler PR's Anne Smith would be a standard production vehicle - not a limited production, but produced to the full extent that the market would bear. But TT-like vehicles seemed very common, along with the usual small car-SUVs.
We also noted the Toyota/Pontiac Vibe, essentially a Corolla wagon with no attempt to differentiate the interiors at all (though the Pontiac version had a different front clip). Ford had two new alternative fuel vehicles, one being the new mid-sized fuel cell vehicle which will reportedly go on sale within one year - we believe using a gaseous feed (e.g. natural gas), with the tank in the trunk. Another vehicle looked remarkably like the concept cars Chrysler was producing nearly ten years ago, like the Java - right down to the matte-finish plastic body panels. This one would use electric power as a city car, and appeared ready for production. The fearsome Mitsubishi Evolution was also on display, along with a range of rather ugly GM concepts and the h3, which, indeed, is hard to mistake for a Jeep.
More to come through Monday.
DCX cut the pay of top executives by 61 percent, lowering the 13 management board members' average base pay (before bonuses) to $1.5 million. That's still far above BMW, which, unlike DCX, earned high profits and even passed Mercedes to become the second biggest luxury brand in the United States. DCX lost large amounts of cash due to mismanagement of newly acquired Freightliner and Chrysler, and was not helped by losses at (1/3 owned) Mitsubishi.
NHTSA's 1968 standards on where automakers can put truck and SUV headlights have come under fire as people have complained to the agency about glare from high-mounted headlights. Just-auto has a good article on this - click here.
Reuters reported that a federal judge on refused to dismiss two lawsuits accusing DaimlerChrysler of lying about the nature of the takeover by Daimler-Benz AG in 1998. He did dismiss a class action suit, however. Eight of nine charges in Kerkorian's lawsuit remain intact. The primary basis for the suit is that the "merger of equals" was in fact a takeover - promises that Chrysler would have substantial board representation and independence have been invalidated in a mere four years. Kerkorian's unique ability to sue is based on his having been Chrysler's largest shareholder at the time. The other lawsuit allowed to remain was pressed by an investment bank with substantial shares.
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