Posts tagged: crossovers

Auto Trends Marks First Anniversary!

Happy anniversary, Auto Trends!

Most of all, thank you to all of my readers who have found this site and continue to follow my many updates.

Scion HakoI launched Auto Trends about a year ago, wanting to do something for it that I wasn’t doing on my flagship The Auto Writer site: concentrate on the many concept vehicles being considered for production as well as to follow the changing trends in this industry.

When I set out in April 2008, gas prices were rising but I had no idea that they would soon top four dollars a gallon and stay there for several months. That move had a devastating effect on the auto industry as car buyers largely abandoned big pickup trucks and sport/utility vehicles, deciding that cars like the Ford Focus,  Smart Fortwo, Toyota Prius and Chevy Cobalt XFE were more to their liking.

In September the stock market collapsed, sending a tsunami like shockwave through the auto industry that sent sales plummeting and hastened the financial collapse of General Motors and Chrysler. By the end of 2008, both automakers were recipients of government aid while the Ford Motor Company managed to avoid needing help.

Today, General Motors and Chrysler are still struggling for their lives with additional federal funding coming. Chrysler may yet hook up with Fiat while GM will probably cede dominance in the US market to Ford and Toyota. Brands such as Saab, Hummer, Saturn and Pontiac may soon vanish while Chinese manufacturer Brilliance and Indian manufacturer Mahindra begin to sell their first passenger vehicles later this year.

Going forward, it is difficult to say what the future holds but of note are the many new hybrid and pure electric cars coming to market. Tesla Motors is a tiny player in the mix as will be Fisker Automotive, but Nissan, Honda, Toyota, Ford and a handful of other companies will be behind the biggest shift in production that most of us will have seen in our lifetime: energy efficient and environmentally vehicles are here.

I plan to keep Auto Trends relevant with my hand on the pulse of this dynamic and ever-changing industry. Please follow my updates on Twitter as well as paying me a visit on The Auto Writer to see whatever else I’m covering.

Above all, thank you once again for your support and I look forward to following the many auto trends unfolding over the next twelve months with you.


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categories Commentary | Matt, 4 Apr 09 | comments Comments (3)

Auto Coalition Says That Six Million Jobs Disappear If U.S. Automakers Expire

If you haven’t heard that executives from America’s major automotive manufacturers are meeting with Congress in a bid to secure tens of billions of dollars in loan cost loans, then you are missing one of the news items of the year.

Executives from General Motors Corporation, the Ford Motor Company, and Chrysler LLC are asking Congress and the President to approve a loan guarantee program that would allow each automaker to secure funding, monies they say is essential to whether they stay in business or close down shop. Last month these same executives flew to Washington in corporate jets and were roundly criticized for this action. This month, the executives ended up driving some of their most economical cars to the event including a pre-production version of the hybrid Chevrolet Volt, the hybrid Ford Fusion and the hybrid Dodge Aspen.

Several groups have been speaking out in favor of federal government intervention and some have spoken out against assistance. One group wanting to see Congress intervene is a group that calls itself the “auto coalition” and group of auto suppliers, dealers, and other interested parties representing some six million people in the U.S. What they said follows.

“With six million supplier, dealer and related jobs at risk nationwide, failure of the domestic auto industry is not an option,” said Timothy D. Leuliette, president & CEO of Dura Automotive Systems, Inc. “In addition to the ‘Big Three’ auto companies, countless supporting companies drive good jobs in local economies all across the nation. These are hard working men and women struggling to support their families and communities in the midst of this global economic crisis. Congress must act now to support a bridge loan – not a bailout – for America’s auto industry.”

Given the urgency of the situation and the need to counter misinformation about the vital role the domestic auto industry plays in the U.S. economy, The Engine of Democracy coalition was formed to give voice to the six million people whose jobs are directly or indirectly tied to the health and vitality of domestic automakers. With minimal publicity, the interactive website, www.TheEngineofDemocracy.com, launched on Monday and received more than 15,000 visitors in just four days, generating more than one thousand grassroots emails and letters to Capitol Hill in support of the automotive bridge loan program.

“The American auto industry has long been our nation’s engine of democracy. In World War II, it turned on a dime and became what President Roosevelt called ‘The Arsenal of Democracy.’ After September 11, automakers responded by slashing prices and loan rates to jump-start a needed economic rebound. With the global economic crisis, now is the time for the government to help automakers help the American economy,” said Carl Galeana, who owns several new car dealerships across the country.

America’s car companies play a crucial role in the nation’s economic engine. Almost 4 percent of U.S. gross domestic product is auto-related, and vehicle manufacturing represents 10 percent of U.S. industrial production by value. According to The Automotive Trade Policy Council, the U.S. auto industry invests $10 billion in this country in plants and equipment each year. In addition, the U.S.-based auto industry is second only to the semiconductor industry in R&D spending – $12 billion last year alone.

“If Congress does not take swift action to prevent the collapse of our domestic auto industry, the already hard hit automotive Midwest will be ground zero, but the economic fallout will instantly spread through local economies all across the country,” said Neil DeKoker, president of the Original Equipment Suppliers Association.

Matthew C. Keegan is a freelance writer who resides in Cary, North Carolina. Matt is a contributing writer for Andy’s Auto Sport an aftermarket supplier of quality parts including apparel and bed bars.


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categories Commentary | Matt, 15 Dec 08 | comments Comments (2)