(Source: Autoblog)

Ford’s dealer development program works to help people become dealer principles who might not otherwise have the chance. The 64 members of the program, most of them black or Hispanic, are set up with stores by Ford and then buy out Ford’s interest in the dealership with revenues. To give them a boost and, presumably, free up Ford money, Automotive News is reporting that Ford is offering dealers in the program an offer they’ll have a hard time refusing: complete ownership of their stores for $1.

To take advantage, though, the dealers will need to have private financing for their operating capital in place by September 30. If they can prove to Ford that they have enough private resources, they will take complete control of their stores and Ford will forgive any money the dealer still owes to The Blue Oval. Even though Ford would technically lose money on any dealer who accepted the offer, the automaker would no longer need to be involved in the dealership or in its floorplan financing.

Click here to read more.

Dear Mr. Mullaly, 

I am sure you and your design staff heard the message from “Mr. EmptyisAwesome”.  If you have a response or if your marketing team has a response to Mr. Empty, please feel free to write to him at 

Twitter: http://twitter.com/EmptyIsAwesome (pls. do not forget to CC-TransportGooru in your message)

For others, who are simply curious about Mr. EmptyisAwesome, please check out his work @:  http://www.youtube.com/user/EmptysAwesome 

TransportGooru is proud to play messenger for Mr. Empty and is doubly excited to carry this message to Mr. Mullaly.  

P.S: TransportGooru ran an article last week about Fiesta’s growing popularity in Europe.  Check it out here. 

(Source:  Jalopnik); Video: Emptysawesome@YouTube)

(Source: Ford, Autoblog)

Ford of Europe increased its market share in March in the Euro 19 markets to 10.0 per cent, up 0.2 percentage points versus the same month last year, consolidating its position as Europe’s number two best-selling brand.

This is the first time Ford of Europe’s market share has been in double digits since September 2001 and it continues the company’s upward trend.

In total in March Ford of Europe sold 163,000 vehicles in the Euro 19 markets and 
increased market share in 16 out of its 19 main European markets, with only France, Spain and Switzerland showing declines. 
“It is very encouraging to see Fiesta doing so well and also our market share developing so positively, given the declining market we are continuing to face in Europe,” said Ingvar Sviggum, vice-president marketing, sales and service, Ford of Europe.

“With 56 per cent of our March sales generated by retail customers – up from 43 per cent in March 2008 – we have clear evidence of consumer confidence in our Ford product range,” he added.

(Source: Jalopnik,  Freep & World Car Fans)

Looks like American automakers have found at least one more buyer for their vehicles. The U.S. government is planning on the purchase of $285 million worth of fleet vehicles that get better gas mileage than the current fleet. Under the plan, the General Services Administration will purchase more than 17,500 vehicles as a part of their existing deals with Chrysler, Ford, and General Motors.

U.S. President Barack Obama, and his administration, have said the purchases will take place by 1 June. Although it is unclear what will happen to the older fleet vehicles being replaced, many will likely be sold at government auctions.

The purchase is hardly a surprise. In the much talked about stimulus package approved by Congress, $300 million was included for the automotive purchase. This is not a gigantic purchase in the grand scheme of things, as the Big Three sold a combined total of 380,000 vehicles for March 2009. Still, the move may help to bolster confidence in the sector, while even a marginal increase in revenue would be welcomed by the automakers.

More than 14% of the vehicles will be hybrid sedans. 2,500 orders for the vehicles, which will likely include the Chevy Malibu, Ford Hybrid Fusion, and Saturn Aura, will be placed by the end of next week.

Image: Jalopnik

If nothing else, the move underscores the administration’s willingness to put its money where its mouth is: Last week, Obama sent GM and Chrysler back to the drawing board, saying they needed more aggressive restructuring plans if they were to get more government loans to survive. 

But he also promised this big government buy of fuel-efficient vehicles and created a special office to help communities in Michigan and elsewhere struggling with the downturn in the industry. In a prepared statement released today along with details of the planned purchases, Obama said, “The problems that caused this economic crisis weren’t created in a day and it will take time and hard work to get our economy back on track. But I am 100% committed to a strong American auto industry, and we will stand with America’s auto workers and their families during these difficult times.”

((Source: Jalopnik)

(Source: Autoblog; Image: Doug Mills @ New York Times)

 

President Obama has just finished his press conference on the government’s determination of the viability of General Motors and Chrysler, and the gist is that both automakers have failed to convince the feds that their business plans deserve further investment. Obama and his task force will give GM enough working capital to survive another 60 days and prove its viability, though no dollar amount was given. Chrysler, meanwhile, is being given another 30 days and working capital up to $6 billion to finalize a partnership deal with Fiat. If a deal can’t be made and another partner is not found, Chrysler will get no more federal aid. Also, Fiat won’t be allowed to take a majority stake in Chrysler until the automaker repays all the money it has borrowed from the government so far. 

Perhaps the biggest news from the press conference is that the U.S. government will now fully back the warranties on vehicles sold by General Motors and Chrysler in the hopes that buyers will continue to consider their products amidst these tumultuous restructuring efforts. Also, the President has pledged to work with Congress to find funds to pay for a U.S.-version of the Cash for Clunkers program that has been so successful in Germany. 

BREAKING NEWS Report from WSJ: The Obama administration’s leading plan to fix General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC would use bankruptcy filings to purge the ailing companies of their biggest problems, including bondholder debt and retiree health-care costs, according to people familiar with the matter.

Click here to read the entire article.  Also, shown below is the PDF version of Restructuring Fact Sheet  compiled by The Truth About Cars.

 (Source: Business Week)

As the commercial model of India’s microcar is unveiled, U.S. carmakers would do well to learn from the innovations that brought it about

When Tata Motors (TTM) unveiled a prototype of its Nanomicrocar at the Delhi Auto Show in January 2008, auto executives around the world were aflutter. Quickly, they hustled teams to India to document the planned $2,000 “people’s car.” And industry watchers and innovation experts soon reported on the engineering and supply-chain breakthroughs behind the car.

Some 14 months later, Tata is set to show off the commercial version of the Nano, on Mar. 23. Today, the U.S. auto industry is struggling to survive, with General Motors (GM), once the world’s biggest carmaker, on the brink of bankruptcy. Look beyond the Nano halo and it’s clear that Tata Motors has problems of its own, from the $2.3 billion in debt it took on to purchase Jaguar and Land Rover from Ford Motor (F) last year to the sums sunk into the Nano assembly plant in West Bengal that had to be abandoned. On top of that, there are the Nano competitors in development.

Still, no one disputes that the Nano is innovative on multiple levels—from its engineering to its marketing to its manufacturing. So it’s hard to avoid the question: What can a humbled Detroit learn from the Tata Nano?

A lot. The lessons start with the vision of Ratan Tata, chairman of Tata Motors’ parent, Tata Group, to create an ultralow-cost car for a new category of Indian consumer: someone who couldn’t afford the $5,000 sticker price of what was then the cheapest car on the market and instead drove his family around on a $1,000 motorcycle. “Just in India there are 50 million to 100 million people caught in that automotive chasm,” says vice-president Vikas Sehgal, a principal at Booz & Co. And yet none of the automakers in India were focused on that segment. In that respect, the Nano is a great example of the so-called blue ocean strategy.

ROADS TO GREATNESS

“Great companies are built on creating new markets, not increasing market share in existing ones,” says Vijay Govindarajan, a professor at Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College and chief innovation consultant at General Electric (GE), who quickly runs off 10 lessons for Detroit. Among them: U.S. automakers should focus less on incremental improvements to existing cars or adding a new model to the Cadillac line in order to compete against Lexus, and think more broadly about new market opportunities. Where, in other words, are Detroit’s blue oceans?

Click here to read the entire article.

(Source:  Autocar via Autoblog/Jalopnik)

Autocar’s review:  Riding on small 12inch wheels and tubeless tyres, the Nano rides surprisingly well. Most bumps are rounded nicely, but as the speeds climb the ride can get a little choppy. The steering has a little vagueness around the centre position, dial in more lock; it feels direct and provides good feedback as well. Grip levels are decent but are limited by the narrow tyres. Straightline stability is also commendable.

Here is the verdict: 

So is it a proper car? Yes, it definitely is. It offers better space than even a Santro at the front, while backseat space is quite decent. Comfort levels are good and it will come with an efficient engine as well. It isn’t perfect; owners will want more power and a 5-speed gearbox. But Tata has achieved what it had set out to do – Affordable motoring for the masses. 

Our good friends at Jalopnik say this after watching the review from Autocar:   The reviewers seem amazed the car is able to drive down the road and not feel like it’s going to roll over at any moment. Sort of like Sarah Palin in Vice Presidential debates, if you set the bar so low you’re only expecting to see a human being able to put a three-word sentence together, you can’t not clear it. Thus, the reviews are filled with notes galore on the tiny wheels, flat seats, and comparisons to the Model T.  

(Source: Detroit News via Autobloggreen)

 After driving the Chevy Volt prototype and sitting down for a number of discussions, the members of the president’s task force on the auto industry have returned to Washington. While the team was in Michiganover the past few days, they had a chance to see GM’s latest technology, look at what Chrysler has brewing, and spent time reviewing the viability plans of the automakers.

“We have been and will continue to work as hard and tirelessly as we can,” the official said. “This is obviously a very substantial undertaking and we want to move with all deliberate haste.”

The group spent most of the day in Detroit, visiting UAW President Ron Gettelfinger and other union officials in the morning before heading to Warren for meetings with GM and Chrysler.

Advisers to the task force visited Chrysler’s Warren truck assembly plant, meeting Chairman and CEO Robert Nardelli and other top executives, the company said in a written statement.

“In addition to meeting, the group toured the assembly plant and reviewed Chrysler current and future products, including electric and hybrid vehicles,” the company said. The meeting also included Chrysler Vice Chairmen Tom LaSorda and Jim Press and Chief Financial Officer Ron Kolka.

 (Source:  Autobloggreen)

Today, Ford celebrates a new milestone in the life of its hybrid SUV platform as the 100,000th vehicle rolls down the assembly line at the Blue Oval’s Assembly Plant in Kansas City. This production total includes all Ford Escape Hybrids, Mercury Mariner Hybrids and Mazda Tribute Hybrids produced since 2004, the year that Ford launched its first ever fuel-saving gas/electric model.

Perhaps now would be a good time to remind our readers that Ford hit the 60,000 hybrid mark in the 4th quarter of 2008, meaning that the automaker’s federal hybrid tax credit will be cut in half beginning in April of this year. Buyers wanting to capitalize on the full rebate will need to make their purchase before the end of this month.

Click here to read more and to view the awesome picture gallery of the Ford Escape Hybrid.