David Leggett's automotive industry blog - from just-auto.com

Spare tyres becoming optional extras

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 16:37:00 GMT

The sealant and compressed air can be injected through the tyre valve but the result achieved will depend on the cause of the puncture and how far and fast the flat tyre has been driven on.

In other words, tyre inflator kits only work on small punctures over short distances. A major blow-out cannot be repaired using an inflator kit. If you find yourself in a remote rural spot out of reach of a cell phone signal, you could be facing a long walk to get help.

Yet with automakers under pressure to produce more fuel-efficient cars, it is hardly surprising to see them eliminating the spare wheel, thereby shedding up to 30 pounds in one stroke. While some motorists may be surprised to discover their spare wheel is missing from the boot (trunk), automakers say it is not unsafe to go without.

Here in the UK, there is no specific legal requirement for automakers to include a spare wheel with a vehicle. The only law regarding spare wheels is that, if a vehicle carries one and the driver resorts to using it, it must pass all the laws relating to a car's other tyres, such as tread depth, condition and use.

Motorists can still opt for a spare wheel. For instance, the Ford Fiesta list price shows a spare wheel and tyre as an optional extra of £50 for all models.

When is a target not a target?

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 11:33:00 GMT

Just how do the average CO2 rules and targets in the EU apply to car manufacturers?

The people at cleangreencars.co.uk have a helpful guide.

In 2012, only the lowest polluting 65% of each manufacturer’s range have to meet the official target of 130g/km. Full compliance is not due until 2015. The EU is fond of quoting “130g/km of CO2 by 2012”, but this is simply not the case, they point out. Many will miss the target this year, but the range of loopholes means that fines are unlikely.

Car manufacturers who make heavy cars have a higher target. Take the example of Mercedes: with an average weight of 1661 KG, its current target is 143g/km of CO2, not 130g/km of CO2.

Manufacturers who sell less than 300,000 cars in the EU do not have to meet the target anyway. So, a company that sells fewer than that can continue producing an average of, say 160g/km of CO2, without fear. The only restriction for these companies is that their CO2 has to be 25% lower than it was in 2007 – but that is largely academic. Market forces mean that any mainstream manufacturer that was producing cars with over 200g/km of CO2 in 2007 has had to cut by more than 25% anyway (the average measure is sales weighted).

There is some useful info on the cleangreencars website, including sales weighted CO2 by make and model. The handout PDF on this page is worth a look in terms of how the fines work out in practice.

cleangreencars website - industry section

Solar windows 1, Prius mirrors 0

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 10:09:00 GMT

Just when you think you've heard it all, comes this from California... Solar windows 1, Prius mirror housings 0.

Trip to the cinema, courtesy of General Motors

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 10:01:00 GMT

I caught the Steven Spielberg directed epic 'War Horse' last night at the flicks.

General Motors' UK PR people kindly invited me (thank you Denis Chick and Uta Deutsch, enjoyed the pre-movie tapas!), along with a few others, on the grounds that Vauxhall had provided some vintage cars for the movie.

The 1911 Vauxhall C-Type “Prince Henry” ( named after Prince Henry of Prussia who sponsored early reliability trials) and 1918 Vauxhall D Type Army Staff Car both feature. The film trailer features the Prince Henry racing against the War Horse across Dartmoor. Watch the trailer here.

Denis Chick, Vauxhall Motors’ Director of Communications said: “Steven Spielberg loved the C-Type Prince Henry but due to its non-conventional controls, an expert was on hand to drive on set to master the centre-mounted throttle and outside gear changes. Mechanics were also around 24/7 to ensure the car was always operational so that valuable filming time was not lost. It’s great that these two cars from Vauxhall’s own museum, representing the company’s rich automotive heritage, are starring alongside such notable actors.”

The 1918 Vauxhall D-Type Army Staff Car is a development of the Prince Henry and Vauxhall built nearly 2,000 for the War Office costing GBP500 each. The D-Type was manufactured in Luton.

The movie itself? Well worth seeing. Captivating tale and it's clearly a big-budget job that is slickly executed. Great cast, great attention to period detail, wonderfully directed – as you would expect from Spielberg. The war scenes are suitably horrific (but without being very graphic). The stuff shot on Dartmoor makes that part of England look pretty beautiful and is also very well done. Is the film a little bit, well, sentimental, very obviously pressing the standard emotional buttons that Spielberg is known for adeptly doing (ET springs to mind)? Yes, but that treatment works with a story like War Horse. It isn't meant to be a docu-drama about the Great War. It's a fictional tale and ultimately a nice story (albeit with some pretty dark meanderings along the way), set in the most terrible of circumstances. It's basically right up Spielberg's creative street.

Oh, and the vintage cars played their parts very well. And so, I might add, did the horses.

Dodge Dart Mark One

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 14:03:00 GMT

There's been a lot of mention of the new Dodge Dart on j-a recently following the Alfa Romeo Giulietta platform-based car's debut - replacing the Caliber hatchback but a true successor to the Neon sedan - at Detroit earlier this month.

The name's not new, though, and was once appended to a model line rather larger and way more powerful. Here's a trip down memory lane for those of us of a certain age.

These US Chryslers didn't just stay in North America, either. Chrysler Australia built its own Valiant tagged versions of the Dart two-door coupe body shell and similar models, some also using the Dart nameplate, were also built and sold in South Africa, South America and Europe (Holland).

Replace the blue form with the red form NOW! DVLA

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 13:01:00 GMT

The DVLA - UK equivalent of the US DMV - has just mailed me, and presumably every other (30m?) vehicle owner in the UK, a new 'red' V5C form, aka logbook, a record of the legal registered 'keeper' as we are referred to over here. I must, a leaflet enclosed in the envelope says, "immediately" destroy my old 'blue' V5C.

Turns out a batch of the old blue forms - presumably blank - has been nicked and the DVLA says it is doing this to prevent fraud.

Questions arise: who forgot to lock a door and allowed the old ones to be pinched in the first place; are they still working for the DVLA on my taxpayer dime, and how much is all this costing the poor old taxpayer anyway? We really should be told.

GMC has a (pricier) future

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 12:04:00 GMT

It's looking increasingly like GM is going to reinvent GMC division as an upscale truck brand.

Regular readers might recall that I wondered aloud about the likelihood of GM culling the brand. For the record, I still wonder about the need for Cadillac when the company has done such an amazing job with Buick in China, plus reinventing it in the US - why not push the latter further upscale?

Back to GMC. Mark Reuss, General Motors' president of North American operations, is being reported as saying that GMC has to "pay its way". To that end, the replacement for the GMC Sierra will apparently become pricier than its twin, the Chevrolet Silverado. Let's see if GMC can make this strategy work. Ford couldn't, not at first. Now it has sort of succeeded by having a rethink: the Lincoln Mark LT failed in the US market, but is still made in tiny numbers for Mexico. What Ford does is stick a Lincoln badge on the plusher versions of the F-150 to create that vehicle. Would you pay what Ford asks for a monthly lease on a $40,000+ F-150 King Ranch? Quite a few people do.

GM's rival big earners in the 1500 GVW pick-up class are due to be replaced for the 2013 model year so we should see them soon enough - I would expect at either next month's Chicago show, or the New York in April. And a facelift for the GMC Acadia should also turn up at Chicago.

Perhaps GM is planning to show us its new thoughts for GMC division at Chicago, just as Ford used Detroit to preview its relaunch of Lincoln. Keep an eye on our daily news headlines for the forthcoming Chicago show preview list too. There might be an Elantra Coupe, the new Pathfinder and Altima from Nissan and perhaps the next Kia Sedona too. But that's all speculation at this stage, I should add.

As for GMC's future line-up, I wouldn't guarantee the Savana van will be replaced and I am now hearing that the Granite concept won't reach production after all - I couldn't really see Americans taking to a GMC-branded Opel Meriva. Don't look for the Canyon pick-up to have a successor either. So a slimmed down but better focussed range. The successors for the Yukon and XL should also be big earners, while the two models which share the Terrain badge should be merged into one when replacement time comes around 2014.

Chery crows about sales record

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 11:47:00 GMT

One of my factors for how seriously I take a company's claims is its media-facing website. So it's worth noting that Chery Auto has suddenly lifted its game, as well as its sales.

Were I being kind, I would say that the state-run firm hasn't always had the clearest information on the releases it makes available to the likes of me. I'm all for balance and anyone learning from mistakes so feel compelled to report that Chery has lately been communicating far better. The latest news shows that.

So here's what's impressed me: in calendar 2011, the company claims it sold 'around 643,000' vehicles, of which a record 160,200 were in 'overseas markets'. It wasn't always that well worded, believe me. And here's the impressive bit, which also shows just how the company's SKD and CKD plants are doing the world over - YoY overseas markets' sales are said to be up by a combined 73 percent.

There's still some work to go. The headline of Chery's press release is as follows:

'Chery achieves export record in 2011'.

Natural gas prices plunge: which car brands could benefit?

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 12:24:00 GMT

The UK's Financial Times reports the Nymex February gas contract falling to US$2.402 per million British thermal units earlier on Thursday. That's got me thinking about CNG-fuelled cars.

Well, Honda is in pole position in the US market with such vehicles. The old Civic sedan was available in CNG-fuelled form but the sales numbers were never anything to get excited about. Then, American Honda got clever when it came to replacing it, making the new model available in all 50 states for the first time. That was back in October. Slowly, sales have been building. If I were Honda's ad agency I would be hassling the client with suggested campaigns right now, linking the Civic to news reports of plunging traded-gas prices.

'Forget the Civic Hybrid, hey we sold fewer than 5,000 in 2011 anyway, embrace the Civic Natural Gas'. Yes, perhaps my tagline needs work. There again, maybe the car itself could do with a snazzier model name.

If Honda misses this opportunity, I wonder which other brands could grab it? Here in Europe, Fiat does fairly well in the Italian market with its methane-fuelled Natural Power models. They might even be the boost that that brand needs at home right now too.

Curious Citroen cinemagraphs

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 10:33:00 GMT

There is something oddly fascinating about Citroen's 'cinemagraphs', still images but with one moving element inside them.

We reported on this before when Citroen issued some of these images to help promote the DS5.

Some more of these subtly animated images have been released that include actions by football players (from Arsenal). Wasn't there an episode of Star Trek in which time apparently stood still, but some people were on a different scale, whizzing around at normal pace...as I say, curiously fascinating.

Hyundai crowbarred off its perch. By Kia.

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 12:08:00 GMT

Last week Dave and self were manning a very busy news desk whilst Graeme and Simon were over in Detroit. Which is my excuse for having taken a week longer than I normally do to glance at the major markets' monthly registrations numbers. So it is that I am only just noticing something big having happened in Korea.

After many, many years, the Hyundai Sonata has been knocked out of the number one slot. The Sonata, which is also a major seller in the USA, is proving to be less popular with the home market crowd. To be fair, car buyers' tastes in South Korea have been shifting in recent years and the car itself is getting close to the mid-point of its lifecycle.

More competition, a gradual opening of the market to foreign competitors but especially the ongoing wave of much-improved new cars are also to blame for the Sonata's fall. Its tumble isn't a big problem for Hyundai, mind. Even though sales plunged by 31 percent to 104,248 units, the larger and higher-margin Grandeur sedan (the US and Canada's Azera) turned in a stellar performance with 107,652 sales. Korea's top seller, however, was the Hyundai Avante (Elantra in some countries) with 131,016 sales.

What I started this blog to point out is this: the car that has really put the cat amongst the pigeons is the little Kia Morning (Picanto). As the country's second best selling vehicle in 2011, its 114,687 sales show just how popular little hatchbacks can be in a market that's evolving. And that number is also twice the volume done by its rival the Chevrolet Spark. Kia's Sportage also outsold its twin the Hyundai (52,018 versus 43,198) Tucson, while there were 87,452 units of the Kia K5 (Optima) delivered to Korean customers last year. The tiny Kia Ray also bounced into the top ten in December, its first month on sale, with an impressive 4,107 sales.

And the size of the Korean market in 2011? Passenger vehicle sales were up by half a percent to 1.3 million. Hyundai fell just short of the half-million mark (499,043), while second placed Kia delivered 412,873 sales. Best imports-only brand was BMW, with 23,292 sales, which just shows how much things have changed - Mercedes-Benz was only a few thousand behind in a country where foreign name cars were almost unheard of only a few years ago.

By the way, the shining example of carbon neutrality you see beaming back at you above is just-auto's very own He Who Must Be Obeyed and editorial director, the aforementioned Mister Leggett. We attended the same Kia Optima media launch event at a hotel which turned out to be near his home, thus his mode of arrival and exit. An engaging afternoon with Dave, onboard in the new-to-Europe Optima, it turned out to be. If you have a few minutes to spare and fancy reading about the car, you'll find my rambling thoughts here.

Fiat's search for a third partner

Tue, 17 Jan 2012 11:13:00 GMT

It certainly is interesting to hear Sergio Marchionne again speaking about the primacy of industrial scale economies, of big automotive alliances and of his preference for Fiat-Chrysler to add a third partner.

PSA is being talked about as a possible suitor yet again. But the big difficulty there is that the gains would require capacity rationalisation in Europe that looks politically troublesome, especially when economies are in a weak phase. Both Fiat and PSA are relatively reliant on the weak European market, share plenty of model/segments overlap. Could be tricky to get the consolidation benefits that look good on paper.

Perhaps adding a strategic partner with a strong position in another world region would make sense? Suzuki on the rebound from VW?

Come to think of it, wasn't the diesel engine deal in which Fiat supplied Suzuki's Indian operation one of the things that put strain on VW-Suzuki's ill-fated alliance?

US: Marchionne eyes 'third partner'

The BMW 335Li does not officially exist

Mon, 16 Jan 2012 16:26:00 GMT

A long wheelbase version of the new BMW 3 Series is said to be set for a global debut at AutoChina 2012 in April.

BMW might possibly not thank for me informing you that pics of the LWB 3er are all over the web but it's so clearly a well proportioned car that I couldn't not share the news.

Might we see the 3 Series iL exported? I don't see why not. After all, BMW began to ship Shenyang-built long wheelbase 5 Series sedans abroad last month.

As is the case with other major shows throughout this year, we'll publish and republish a constantly updating list of world premieres before and during Bejing's biennial event. I'm currently sniffing around my own sources as well as nagging the official press departments for confirmations of debutantes. The list as ever will only contain models and concepts that have been announced by manufacturers. See our recent ones from New Delhi and Detroit if you missed them, each of which now serves as a handy historic record. And the current one for Geneva is here.

'Scandal of upbeat car industry news grows'

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 22:13:00 GMT

How great has it been to see so many positive news stories emerge from the Detroit motor show? Might there be something deeper going on?

I possibly over-expose myself to media. But as a writer the only real danger with that is if you stop reading and listening to what others are saying. Do that and you slowly start believing mostly in your own bias, and then, far worse, that most unattractive and dangerous of companions, an outsized ego. Oh the irony of having just written that sentence in a blog.

Back to the point. US media, media in other nations, just about anyone that these journalists pushed a microphone at - all seemed to ooze positivity. Remember that word? It seemed to vanish almost without trace around the third quarter of 2008 for the industry that surrounds the sales of new light vehicles in the US market. Now, life is returning. Possibly, and I will whisper it, strongly.

I've been inspired to bash out some thoughts on all this. See what you think. Considered, opposing views especially welcome.

Marchionne generates huge scrum

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 15:45:00 GMT

I finally met James Cain from GM's financial news section yesterday in the RenCen - once I'd finished the obligatory several circuits of the place getting lost.

James was the spokesman for GM during Saab's recent and prolonged demise and was always on the end of a phone to front up to some fairly hostile Swedish reaction to GM's tough stance on licensing issues.

He also had some fascinating insight into how the iconic RenCen - this year thankfully with less motown music everywhere - was built.

Staying with the RenCen theme, last night's Automotive News World Congress dinner in the building, featured an emotional appearance by British racing driver Dan Wheldon's wife. Wheldon - winner of the Indianapolis 500 Borg-Warner Trophy in 2011 - died at the end of last year in a racing accident and the supplier paid tribute to his short life.

I've been in a few media scrums in my time, but last night's bunfight after Fiat/Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne spoke at the dinner took some beating.

Surrounded by dozens of the world's media - and four huge security guards replete with ear-pieces - the diminutive Fiat boss in trademark black jumper struggled to make himself heard above a barrage of questions.

Nonetheless, he gamely answered a bewildering array of shouted topics with the sheer mass of media present testament to his global influence. And the Detroit audience during his presentation certainly appreciated what he'd done by turning Chrysler around.

The weather's just started to get, well a bit more Detroit-like after a few glorious sunny days. Cold and raining, the forecast is predicting quite a bit of snow tonight and tomorrow, so fingers crossed the big white bird makes it out of Detroit Metro airport.

Detroit with a difference

Wed, 11 Jan 2012 17:57:00 GMT

It was Detroit with a difference this year. Different largely because of the weather.

I’ve been covering this show for 20 years or so and the city has almost always been covered in snow and certainly freezing cold – minus 17C on one occasion.

Standing outside the Cobo Hall on the morning of the second press day, the sun was shining and it was unseasonably warm, +7C – almost unheard of. Exactly a year ago, my connecting flight through New York on the way home was cancelled because of snow storms.

The warmth this year spread through to the inside of the Cobo Hall. This was Detroit Show with a buzz about it even though there is small chance of the market returning the 16m plus of the mid-2000s. Now, the industry has shaken out and finds it can still make money in a market hovering around 13m.

No outrageous giant SUVs and pick-ups this year, the Ford Fusion and the Dodge Dart represented a softer, more environmentally-friendly approach to new modelsm though there were still cars to drool over. The new Porsche Carrera Cabriolet was one, while it was arguably outdone by the stunning Acura NSX.

Like most shows these days, most companies were talking green but there is still a heavy reliance on the internal combustion engine in the US. Petrol remains considerably cheaper than in Europe but reduced mpg and CO2 is very much at the forefront for all the carmakers with 40mpg seemingly the holy grail.

GMC: you thinking what I'm thinking?

Wed, 11 Jan 2012 10:43:00 GMT

General Motors has four US market divisions. Three of those had new products at the Detroit show. We heard nothing about GMC. I wonder...

...in fact I've been wondering if GMC has a future ever since last year's announcement about the new Chevrolet Colorado for the Wenztville plant in Missouri. What about a replacement for the current model's twin, the GMC Canyon? On that topic there was only silence. The Canyon hasn't been a strong seller so it's reasonable for GM to replace both it and the Colorado with just one vehicle.

I still wonder about GMC, though. As a brand it was outsold by Jeep last year in the US and it has no markets of notable size outside North America. If you were GM, wouldn't you start to think about merging its products into Chevrolet? In fact, that's what's been going on for some years.

All should be resolved within this calendar year. A small crossover, a production version of the Granite concept, is expected for the 2013 model year, plus of course the most important new product is also due for 2013 - the next generation GMC Sierra pick-up (and its twin, the Chevy Silverado). The Acadia crossover is due for a mid-life facelift too, while a successor for the Yukon SUV series should also be reaching reaching GMC dealerships in early 2013.

With fuel prices where they are, GMC's higher-priced trucks must surely be big money-spinners, as indeed must the Terrain SUV be, production of which seems to keep rising. But what about tomorrow? I myself think GMC will survive but I wouldn't expect to see quite so many model lines for this division in the future. Let's wait and see what next month's Chicago motor show brings, or failing that, New York in April. If there's no new product at either of those, we'll have our answer.

Detroit Day Two - all done

Wed, 11 Jan 2012 03:06:00 GMT

Press day two of the Detroit motor show seemed almost as crowded as the first with a number of reveals - including Buick's new luxury compact Encore SUV, Toyota's Prius plug-in, Prius C and NS4 plug-in hybrid concept - and there were still TV crews filming at Toyota and other stands late in the afternoon when I finally, shoe leather wearing thin, called it a day.

Had lunch with Edmunds.com analysts Michelle Krebs and Jessica Caldwell - Jessica reckons on a 2012 light vehicle tally for the US of around 13.7m units, vs 12.7m in 2011. Even 14m may not be out of the question.

Having admired yesterday the huge 6-litres-plus V8 diesel engines available in the full-size pickup trucks from Ford, Chrysler and GM, I asked Chevrolet marketing head Chris Perry today what the take-up rate was for his Silverado line. The answer is 40% of the heavy-duty versions, the real working trucks tradesmen over here buy. Much higher than I expected.

Spotted a 'surprise and delight' feature on Cadillac SUVs with electric tailgates yesterday. When you push the button to open the gate, the hazard lights at the back flash three times and then it begins to open. New Federal regulation? No, just a feature they thought worth including. Spotted the same on a Toyota today. As well as flashing the hazards, the Toyota also sounds a discreet toot of the horn before the tailgate starts to rise.

As a family man, trying to stuff two little kids and all their gear into a saloon, I'd really like any one of the big US minivans, Chrysler's Town and Country, Toyota's Sienna or Honda's Odyssey. Edmunds in its regular comparison tests usually ends up recommending one or other of the Japanese models depending on which is where in its model life cycle.

Top-trim versions were all at the show - electric remote control rear side sliding doors, electric liftgate, dual- or split-screen rear DVD screens, satellite radio, separate front and rear climate control, electric folding rear seats, heated and cooled front seats, bottle holders and storage cubbies galore. And separate centre rear seats far enough apart to prevent fisticuffs between siblings on long journeys - my kids would love one of these. I'm well aware we have similar 'MPVs' in Europe, smaller and more practical on our narrower roads and parking spaces and more fuel-efficient. But grumbly old diesel I4s and jerky automated manual transmission (Peugeot and Citroen)? If the auto option is offered at all (Mazda 5). If like me you want automatic, the choice of engines is limited. And none bar the Mazda have rear sliders - they apparently add a lot of weight that affects fuel economy.

If I lived here in the US, it'd be one of the American models with a creamy-smooth V6 and a proper six-speed auto. Or maybe the Mazda which is sold in the US with a meaty 2.5-litre I4 and auto option but only six seats rather than the seven we get.

I'm all but done here now. Tomorrow (Wednesday), I'm going to see the nerve centre of OnStar, GM's in-car concierge and rescue service. To see such things as how an adviser in Detroit can remotely unlock a car in Los Angeles after the owner has shut his keys in. Should be interesting.

Navigating the RenCen

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 21:21:00 GMT

Out to Delphi's hugely impressive HQ this morning just down the road from where I'm staying in Troy and a chat with its chief technologist Andrew Brown, whose CV and various committee nominations leaves me wondering how he finds 24h in a day.

The Tier One operation is thinking up some pretty amazing ideas for driver aids that are partly driven by its own evaluation and the inexorable march of government regulation and while it might not be possible to create the accident-free car, Delphi's doing what it can to get close.

Mind you, with the way drivers weave across freeway lanes in Detroit, those driver aids are going to have go work fairly hard to cope, although having lived in Paris, I'm toughened up to some challenging driving.

I also had a long discussion with OESA boss Neil de Koker who gave a fascinating tour de force of the current US economic climate and as America braces itself for Presidential election fever.

You can't get away from electioneering here - it's everywhere - with some fairly robust TV advertising highlighting their candidate attributes - and unusual for me to hear - equally highlighting what people argue are the opposition's shortcomings.

Back to the RenCen now for the Automotive News World Congress - I echo my colleague Graeme Roberts' struggles with the layout - I did several laps of its cavernous interior before I found the right escalator/room combination. In fact, like Graeme, I passed the same people several times, all perambulating in giant circles.

People can't stop talking about the weather here - and I thought we Brits were bad enough at it - but it's an unusual auto show in Detroit that doesn't have to battle mighty blizzards in January.

[Winter is finally coming: snow and 30F temperatures are forecast for Thursday and Friday - ed]

The USA's roads in the style of the Tube map

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 17:32:00 GMT

Ever wondered what a schematic diagram of roads in the mainland USA would look like? Nor me. But someone has and it's rather wonderful to look at.