December 30, 2008 • 8:27 am
2008 has been an incredible year for green transportation as the world’s automakers made strident efforts to green their production lines, cities decided that it’s time to give our car-centric lifestyle a much needed rethink, and some incredible new vehicles proved once and for all that green transportation can be sexier and perform just as well as any other method of transportation.
From Inhabitat
Filed under: Automotive, Innovation, Science , Automotive, Cars, Energy, Innovation, Technology, Traffic
Hopefully they will do as they say and turn around and indeed lend more money on better terms to consumers:
From the WSJ: The federal government Monday deepened its involvement in the U.S. automotive industry by committing $6 billion to stabilize GMAC LLC, a financing company vital to the future of struggling car maker General Motors Corp.
In response, GMAC said Tuesday that it will immediately resume auto financing for “a broader spectrum of U.S. customers.”
The company said it will modify its credit criteria to include retail financing for customers with a credit bureau score of 621 or above, compared with the 700 minimum score it put in place two months ago as its troubles deepened. The median US consumer credit score is 723.
“The actions of the federal government to support GMAC are having an immediate and meaningful effect on our ability to provide credit to automotive customers,” said GMAC President Bill Muir said in a prepared statement. Full article
Filed under: Automotive , Automotive, Bailout, GM
December 15, 2008 • 4:40 am
We got a lot of comments on the Fareed Zakaria story last week. We think this article deserves attention to, so here we go: Warren Brown at the Washington Post starts out:
Perception is everything, or almost everything.
If anything is to be learned from Detroit’s beg-fest on Capitol Hill, it’s at least that much.
Perception influences reality.
Thus we have the General Motors “confession,” its “commitment to the American people” published on the second page of the Dec. 8 edition of Automotive News, an industry trade journal. It presents an object lesson in perception versus reality.
Reality: The “confession” is a rehash of sins committed by a GM that existed 20 years ago, stupidities so enormous — pathetic product quality, dismal marketing techniques, all trumped by corporate arrogance — they opened the ports to foreign competition and paved the way for defections of generations of American consumers to Toyota, Nissan and Honda.
But you should really read the entire article – especially if you commented on the post about Fareed. Warren goes on with ten or so “Perceptions vs Reality.” Some of them might surprise you.
Full article
Filed under: Automotive, Information , Automotive, Bailout, GM
New TiVo-based research says that more than 90% of DVR users “almost always” or “always” fast-forward through commercials. Data may suggest that skipping through commercials is higher than previously believed. Other studies note that 60% to 70% of the time DVR users skip through commercials.
The research was part of the initial results of Starcom’s custom survey using TiVo’s Power||Watch ratings. Starcom was the first media agency to subscribe to the TiVo Power||Watch ratings service when it was launched in November 2007. The service gives agencies and advertisers access to demographic and viewing behavior data for 20,000 households that volunteered to take part.
While fast-forwarding is a factor in owning and using a DVR, Starcom says that only 10% of viewers view commercial-skipping as the main benefit of a TiVo DVR. 80% say the main reason is to record programs for later viewing.
Other results from the study say that consumers are not totally averse to watching commercials. Around one-third of viewers said they will watch a commercial when it is “relevant to them.” Another 21% say they watched ads because they are “entertaining.”
One sign that there needs to be better creative execution and microtargeting of consumers comes from research: 61% of DVR users would be likely to watch commercials if they were more relevant.
We heard of this study thanks to @BrandCentral on Twitter
Filed under: Market Research, Marketing , Advertising, DVR, TV
December 12, 2008 • 5:37 am
Excellent commentary from Fareed Zakaria on the split automotive industry in the U.S.
Best part:
CNN: So you are against the bailout?
No. But the reasons the CEOs of Ford, GM and Chrysler present — that they will restructure, they are still competitive, they will change — are bogus; they won’t. The best argument for the bailout is that it is the most cost-effective jobs program that the government can run in the short term.
We’ve been saying that for years 
Filed under: Automotive, Competitive Intelligence, Information , Automotive
December 9, 2008 • 4:55 am
After the question “How are you guys doing, with all your automotive work I mean – business must be tough?” (answer is – business is better than ever – when things are tough our clients thankfully understand the importance of research to guide multi million decisions) the question we get most often in recent days from our North American and French clients is: “Should Carlos Ghosn take the GM CEO job?”
The answer: No. Unless he is slightly crazy or just wants to make a serious amount of cash.
Our perspective is that he (as any other incoming or incumbent (incompetent?) person) cannot make enough of a difference in the flawed business model that is the Big Three. Without a clean break (read: complete control over reorganization and potentially the B word) there is no way of reducing the size of the companies that is necessary in the time frame afforded to them before things get much worse. We strongly believe that bailing out, subsidizing, lending, supporting, call it what you wish will only delay the inevitable while shareholders and employees continue to lose value and risk the future.
Now, it is true that people will lose their job in a bankruptcy scenario and that is terrible. But what pundits tend to forget is that American consumers continue to drive and will continue to buy vehicles. And so – after a period of hardship for employees and suppliers (including us) – new equity owners will continue to design, manufacture and sell vehicles out of some of the affected facilities in a profitable manner.
Most Americans prefer to purchase a vehicle that is built here – they care less about who exactly built it and they understand that foreign money might own a big chunk of the “American” car company they are purchasing from.
It’s time to look further down the road and really retool the automotive industry in the U.S.
Follow-up:
Example of no end in sight: Likely to be back for more…
Filed under: Automotive , Automotive, Bail out, Ghosn, Restructuring
December 5, 2008 • 2:27 am
Anyone can design the car of the future—but you have to be a little bit messianic to actually get it on the road. Attempts by Preston Tucker in 1948 and John DeLorean in 1975 did not exactly end in glory. Inventive financing left Tucker charged with fraud (he was later acquitted) and DeLorean with cocaine trafficking (he too was acquitted—after he spent 11 days in jail).
Yet at the dawn of the 21st century, sick of watching ice caps melt while Detroit dragged its heels, Internet entrepreneur Elon Musk and veteran car designer Henrik Fisker bravely entered this risky business. Their respective companies, Tesla Motors and Fisker Automotive, aim to make beautiful, high-performance electric cars. Cars for people like themselves—residents of Bel Air or Newport Beach, Calif., who once parked a McLaren or a Ferrari or a Maserati next to the Prius in their driveways. Let soccer moms buy Civic Hybrids, the battery-powered Mini E or—in a year or two—a plug-in like the Chevy Volt. Musk and Fisker would make chariots for the gentry—cars once believed impossible: red-hot and green. [wsj.com]
Filed under: Automotive, Innovation , Automotive, Danish, Design, Innovation
December 4, 2008 • 11:24 am
This gets us excited:
The race is officially on for a U.S. $15-million-dollar prize for harnessing the power of the oceans. The winning marine renewable-energy innovation would provide a serious energy alternative to burning fossil fuels, which contribute to global warming. The award will go to the team that “successfully demonstrates—in Scottish waters—the best commercially viable wave or tidal technology capable of providing electricity to thousands of homes.” The winning team must supply this electricity using only the power of the sea for a continuous two-year period. [Full article]
Filed under: Innovation, Science , Energy, Marine, Ocean
December 3, 2008 • 5:32 am
The array of great deals on homes, cars and other big-ticket items these days is tempting. But before you get out your checkbook, consider this: Will snagging that awesome price really make you any happier?
It’s a tricky question. Getting a real steal can be awfully satisfying, as behavioral economists and psychologists know. “Getting a good deal takes on its own value,” says Leaf Van Boven, a professor of psychology at the University of Colorado in Boulder.
But a low price may lure us into buying something we don’t really need — or even enjoy, after the thrill wears off. So, says Dr. Van Boven, “It may be useful to ask the question, ‘Why am I doing this?’ “
The good news is that some spending really is more fulfilling. Experts who study happiness have repeatedly found that people get the most joy out of time with family and friends or activities that provide personal enrichment, such as hobbies. What matters is not the amount that we spend, but the quality of the overall experience, so a picnic can be as satisfying as a weekend getaway. [wsj.com]
Filed under: Market Research, Marketing, Science , Consumer, Happiness, Psychology, Spending
