Barenaked Ladies At NAIAS

The upcoming North American International Auto Show is not just about the display of cars but also of stars. If you love cars and you love the music of Canadian pop-rock group Barenaked Ladies, then you will have two major reasons for attending the event.  That’s because the Barenaked Ladies will be performing at the Charity Preview on January 18, 2008 at the Cobo Center in Detroit.

“We’re thrilled to have the Barenaked Ladies perform at Charity Preview; it promises to be a stand-out event,” said Carl Galeana, senior co-chairman for the NAIAS 2008 according to The Auto Channel.  “We’ve also received word that some manufacturers plan to feature some A-list celebrities, adding even more excitement and glamour to our gala than ever before.”

Apart from a chance to see the guys of Barenaked Ladies perform live, you will also have the chance to see the elegant cars that will be on display at the event.   According to the report, here are some of the celebrities who have attended the show in the past: “R&B Singer Kelis; legendary DJ Funk Master Flex; veteran artists Hall & Oates; Celine Dion, Comedians Steve Harvey and Tommy Davidson; Kevin Bacon; Kid Rock; Jay Leno; Veronica Webb; Tony Danza; Jeff Daniels; The Apprentice star Omarosa; and TV Host Rachel Ray.”

Sprint is one of the lead sponsors for the Charity Preview and the company’s area vice-chairman for Michigan and Northwest Ohio said:  “Sprint is proud to join the North American International Auto Show to celebrate this special evening for Michigan with our community partners, community leaders and companies from all over the world.  As one of the largest single-night fundraisers in the country, the Charity Preview is an extremely rewarding opportunity to support the children and families in southeastern Michigan.”

This upcoming event which is the biggest of its kind in the United States will help boost Detroit’s stock in the auto industry.

Trucks, Cars Make Europe Soar

Industries do have a say about a country’s economy. Say Europe. Haven’t you noticed? The land’s auto industry is making the continent soar.

Engineering and metals stocks lifted European equities on Monday thanks to a broad recovery of the industrial sectors, hit in recent weeks by fears of economic slowdown denting demand, Financial Times reported.

In late morning trade in London, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 was up 0.8% to 1,487.59, Frankfurt’s Xetra Dax added 0.4% to 7,641.96, the CAC 40 in Paris gained 0.4% to 5,542.1 and the FTSE 100 in London climbed 0.3% to 6,282.0, the report continued.

Among the top gainers were Scania and Volvo, the Swedish truckmakers. With such growth, experts say the European truck market will continue to enjoy robust sales thus offsetting weak sales in the North American market.

Volvo recently reported that its unit sales in the 9 months to the end of October rose by 2%. Its shares B shares increased 4.6% to SKr107.25, while the B shares of Scania, which makes the bulk of its earnings in Europe, rose 5.7% to SKr148.

According to the report, industrial metals groups were similarly moved. SSAB, the Swedish group whose steel is used in the truckmaking industry, increased 5.5% to SKr154.50. French steelmaker ArcelorMittal, which was said to be eyeing an auto industry steel joint venture in China, was up 3% to €49.89. Germany’s Salzgitter rose 3.7% to €108.88.

Automakers were inspired by hopes that the confidence of European shoppers would survive the worst of the financial crisis of recent months. Brokers, meanwhile, were a little more cautious.

”We still believe the sector can deliver on its promise of above-market earnings growth in 2008, on the back of emerging markets growth and lower costs. However, until the market’s mood lightens we think investors will prefer more defensive sectors,” noted Michael Tyndall at Nomura, recommending an “underweight” stance on the sector.

GT-R Steals Show

 

The Los Angeles Auto Show hosted the unveiling of the Nissan GT-R which many car fans have been waiting for. The 2009 Nissan GT-R will be made available to American consumers next year and at the Los Angeles Auto Show, it looked like Nissan will be having a lot of consumers lining up for a piece of this performance car.

David Thomas of Cars.com had this to say about the GT-R: “This was definitely the car that got the most attention. Nissan got the prime spot on the floor for its display, and the GT-R handled the spotlight a lot better than a young celebrity. The interior wasn’t worthy of a $70,000 price tag, but as a package with the monster engine it will get a lot of folks on waiting lists, checkbooks in hand, tongues wagging.” For Thomas, this is definitely among the winners at the event.

Also of Cars.com, Joe Wiesenfelder said: “The interior is only so-so, but the same could be said of the Chevy Corvette and Dodge Viper, which are the closest in terms of performance and price for the remarkable 0-60 mph time of 3.5 seconds (according to Nissan). What struck me is that you don’t have to be a car nut who has heard about the Skyline forever, and wished Nissan would import it, to appreciate it. It’s impressive enough to draw a huge, uninitiated crowd.” Again, the GT-R is adjudged as a winner by Wiesenfelder.

Mike Hanley, the third judge gave the GT-R the “winner” tag saying: “Both the exterior and interior styling of the car seem a bit jumbled to me, but I can overlook that because I know those who are going to buy it care most about its performance credentials, which are impressive. If we’re to be tormented by yet another “Fast and the Furious” movie, let’s hope this car is in it.”

Traffic Tie-Ups

 

Isn’t it frustrating when you are in a hurry to get home but the flow of traffic is no faster than a snail? With millions of Americans owning vehicles, it is not surprising that the country’s roads sometimes have a hard time containing them all. During holiday seasons, we can expect that traffic congestion will be much worse than an ordinary day.

Metro Networks, a Westwood One company which gathers and reports traffic situations across the United States, recently named the worst traffic congestion areas in preparation for the upcoming holiday.

According to The Auto Channel, here are some of the worst areas that you can get caught in traffic congestion:

• New York-Philadelphia-Washington, DC – Interstate 95. This corridor is easily the slowest 225 miles of highway during the holidays. The section from the Delaware Memorial Bridge to the George Washington Bridge is the worst of it.
• Boston – Westbound Massachusetts Turnpike from downtown Boston to Interstate 84 in Sturbridge. This a 56-mile stretch that on the day before Thanksgiving has been known to completely back-up due to Interstate 84 serving as the main route south connecting Boston with the rest of the Eastern Seaboard.
• Los Angeles – Both sides of Interstate 5 from the Grapevine through Orange County. Northbound gets tightly congested with holiday travelers heading to San Francisco, and beyond, while southbound lanes attract those heading towards San Diego and Tijuana.
• Washington, DC – Interstate 95 from Springfield, VA (just south of DC) through Fredericksburg, VA. This 30-mile stretch south of Washington, DC experiences extensive delays on a regular basis, which are only amplified during the holiday season. 15-20 mile back ups are not uncommon during peak holiday travel times.
• New York City – The Throgs Neck Bridge and Whitestone Bridge, both of which connect the Bronx and Queens. The two heavily traveled bridges are key choke points along the main artery connecting upstate New York, Connecticut and Long Island.

So if you are thinking about passing through those areas this coming Thanksgiving, it would be better if you plot out your course so that you will not be caught in a massive traffic congestion.

Chrysler Town & Country, Dodge Grand Caravan Win ‘Best of What’s New’ Award for 2008 From Popular Science

The continuing success of Chrysler has placed the company in the limelight once again by winning the “Best of What’s New” for 2008 award from Popular Science courtesy of the Chrysler Town & Country and the Dodge Grand Caravan!

“For 20 years, Popular Science’s Best of What’s New awards have honored the innovations that make a positive impact on life today and change our views of the future. PopSci’s editors evaluate thousands of products each year to develop this thoughtful list. There’s no higher accolade Popular Science can give,” says Mark Jannot, Editor and Chief of Popular Science Magazine.

“We are very honored that Popular Science chose the Chrysler Town Country and the Dodge Grand Caravan as award winners for 2008,” said Deborah Meyer, the Vice-President and Chief Marketing Officer of Chrysler LLC. “The Chrysler Town Country and Dodge Grand Caravan are leaders in the minivan marketplace because of what they offer. Innovation, functionality, value, safety and useful features are what set the Dodge and Chrysler minivans apart from the others.”

Volvo Receives Safety Award

It is not surprising that Volvo has once again received recognition for one of its safety features. The Swedish automaker has made safety their foremost concern in developing vehicles for 80 years now. Recently, Volvo Cars’ new booster seat was chosen as the Popular Science’s Best of What’s New Award. The safety seat developed by the FoMoCo-owned automaker is designed to protect children who are already too big for their toddler seats.

Thomas Broberg, Senior Safety Advisor for Volvo Car Corporation in Sweden had this to say: “Our goal is to help protect occupants. This award acknowledges our efforts to help protect our smallest passengers, our children. This new seat, in conjunction with our refinements in side body structure and the inflatable curtain will have a significant reduction in child injuries.”

Unlike grownups, children have to be protected with seat belts designed for them and not with the belts that ordinarily comes with a vehicle. Since they are smaller, they need to be supported properly and restrained in the proper manner. Volvo has taken this into consideration and has designed their booster with that in mind.

“We took into account the child’s physical size and weight, seat belt misuse, child physiology, along with redesigning our vehicle side body structure and side impact inflatable curtain to come up with this new integrated two-step booster seat,” said Broberg. “There will be better fitment of our three-point seat belt, a wider age and weight range, and better attitude for the child who can now easily see outside with the added benefit of reducing driver distraction. Hopefully we will hear less often: ‘Are we there yet?”

With that award, Volvo once again proved to the world that they are really concerned with the safety of their customers.

Ford About To Close Deal With UAW

After General Motors had closed a deal with the United Auto Workers union, Ford and Chrysler are expected to follow suit. Much of the problems of the Big Three has something to do with their trouble with the union. Even with sales on the decline, the UAW is pressing automakers to give them fair treatment.

Recently, The Auto Channel reported the details on the tentative agreement between Ford and the UAW. Here are some of them:

• Ford will pay $13.2 billion to establish a health care trust, known as a Voluntary Employee Beneficiary Association, or VEBA. The trust will take effect in January 2010
• Ford agreed to build new vehicles at three assembly plants that had been targets for possible closure: Louisville Assembly, which makes the Ford Explorer; Michigan Truck, which makes the Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator, and Wayne Assembly, which now makes the Ford Focus sedan.
• Ford pledged to invest $200 million in new technology and equipment at its stamping plants, invest in its powertrain operations and equip five body shops at its U.S. assembly plants for more flexible production.
• Ford workers will be paid a $3,000 signing bonus and three additional bonus payments over the term of the contract. The UAW estimated that those payments in addition to cost-of-living increases would be worth $12,904 over the four years of the deal for an average assembly line worker.

The union will still be voting whether they will accept Ford’s conditions. The automaker needs to resolve the issue as soon as possible as they do not want to risk a possible strike against them. It can be remembered that the UAW strike against General Motors due to the fact that they have not come to terms right away.

Ford needs the union as it is in the middle of its turnaround plan after suffering declining sales for the past months.

Auto Industry’s Big Guns Gather

In the auto industry, just like in any industry, there are heavyweights who affect where the industry is going. And next year, the big guns of the auto industry will convene at the Detroit Marriott at the Renaissance Center in Detroit. They will be participating at the 2008 Automotive News World Congress.

Here are some of the industry’s largest figures who will be there:

• Walter P. Czarnecki, Executive Vice President, Penske Corporation
• Dr. Pawan Goenka, President (Automotive Sector) & Member of the Group Management Board, Mahindra & Mahindra
• Dean Harlow, President, Ricardo, Inc.
• Roland Hwang, Vehicles Policy Director, Natural Resources Defense Council
• William Kozyra, President and CEO, Continental Automotive Systems North America, Continental AG
• Derrick M. Kuzak, Group Vice President, Global Product Development, The Americas, Ford Motor Company
• Chris Lacey, Executive Director, Central & Eastern Europe, General Motors
• Dr. Byron McCormick, Executive Director – Fuel Cell Activities, GM Powertrain
• Mark McNabb, Senior Vice President, Sales and Marketing, Nissan North America Inc.
• Deborah Wahl Meyer, Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, Chrysler LLC
• Margo Oge, Director, Office of Transportation and Air Quality, United States Environmental Protection Agency
• Randy Ortiz, General Manager, Ford and Lincoln Mercury Sales, Ford Motor Company
• Bill Reinert, National Alternative Fuel Vehicle Manager, Toyota Motor Sales USA Inc.
• Sanjay Rishi, Global Automotive Industry Leader, IBM Global Business Services
• Wilbur L. Ross, Jr., Chairman and CEO, W.L. Ross & Co. LLC
• Sheldon Sandler, President and CEO, Bel Air Partners, LLC
• Dave Schembri, President, smart USA
• Mark Templin, Group Vice President and General Manager, Lexus Division, Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. Inc.
• Liz Vanzura, Global Marketing Director, Cadillac, General Motors Corporation
• Dale Willey, Chairman, National Automobile Dealers Association
• Mary Ann Wright, Chief Executive Officer Vice President and General Manager Hybrid Systems Group, Johnson Controls – Saft Advanced Power Solutions LLC Johnson Controls, Inc.

Expect this event to help the industry become even more responsible towards the protection of the environment. Global warming will be one key area that these people will be deliberating on.