Struggling Mazda Looking for News Partners

By Nat Shirley
Thursday, Feb 9th, 2012 @ 10:17 am
Facing what will likely be its fourth straight year of financial losses, Mazda is seeking partners to share development and manufacturing costs as the company tries to return to profitability.

Mazda CEO Takashi Yamanouchi says the company is “actively” seeking partners and is “considering every option” in an attempt to raise more capital to stave off a possible downgrade to its credit rating, Automotive News reports. Mazda has forecast a net loss of $1.29 billion for the fiscal year ending March 31, which would represent the automaker’s worst financial showing in 11 years.
Mazda’s struggles are partially attributable to the continued strength of the yen – Mazda exports a greater percentage of its vehicles from Japan than any other automaker, meaning more of its sales result in slim profit margins because of the unfriendly home currency. Another issue lies with several weak-selling products – in America, Madza’s entrants in the all-import midsize sedan and small crossover segments, the Mazda6 and Tribute/CX-7, have largely been sales disappointments.
Still, there is plenty of potential for the Zoom-Zoom automaker to return to financial health. The company is building a plant in Mexico to counter the strength of the yen, and its sales fortunes could soon improve with the launch of the new CX-5 crossover and as its fuel-efficient SkyActiv technology continues to spread throughout the model range.
A partner to help defray costs would also be an asset – Mazda has been going it alone since former partner Ford sold its shares in the Japanese automaker over the past few years.

Source;

http://www.leftlanenews.com/struggling-mazda-looking-for-partners.html

Automakers fear domino effect from GM, Chrysler failure

Sorry, more doomsday BS.

Honda executives tell Trade Minister fallout from financial woes could hurt supply chain

Bruce Campion-Smith Ottawa bureau chief

OTTAWA–The collapse of North American auto giants General Motors and Chrysler could drag down other automakers, International Trade Minister Stockwell Day warns.

Day had met executives from Honda during a trade mission to Japan and reported yesterday they shared his concerns about the potential domino effect from the fallout of the sector's financial woes.

"The supply chain in North America really serves all of the automakers and if the main company goes down, it will pull supply chains down with it. That will affect other automakers whose position might not be so precarious," Day said yesterday in a conference call from Nagoya, Japan.

"If – again, underlining the `if' – if there started to be failure, that would affect all auto companies," Day said. "It's important that the industry survives, because what hurts one could hurt the other."

Ottawa and Queen's Park have said interim loans of $3 billion for GM of Canada Ltd. and $1 billion for Chrysler Canada will be advanced to assist the companies with their restructuring plans.

Honda has survived the recession better than most but even it has been facing "worldwide challenges," Day said. "This is one of the most difficult times Honda has faced.... They're doing their best to stay efficient," he said.

"Companies like Honda are ... relatively well capitalized and can ride out a storm for a while."
Earlier this week, federal Industry Minister Tony Clement prepared Canadians for the possible bankruptcy of GM or Chrysler.

"There used to be a phrase in the auto sector, `too big to fail,'" Clement said. "I don't think that phrase exists anymore."

Source;
http://www.thestar.com/Business/article/616625

Detroit 3 health crucial for Japan carmakers-lobby

TOKYO, Feb 19 (Reuters) - A healthy U.S. auto industry is vital for a sound U.S. economy and by extension for Japanese carmakers, a Tokyo-based auto lobby said, giving a tacit nod to the latest request for federal aid from ailing rivals in Detroit.

General Motors Corp and Chrysler this week sought nearly $22 billion in additional U.S. government loans on top of the $17.4 billion in loans they have so far received to survive as car sales plummet around the world.

"The auto industry -- the Big Three -- plays an important role in the U.S. economy," Satoshi Aoki, chairman of the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association, told a news conference.
"The latest (aid request) is quite substantial but we hope it will lead to the health of the U.S. auto industry," he said.

The United States is the single-biggest and traditionally most profitable market for Japan's top three automakers, Toyota Motor Corp, Honda Motor Co and Nissan Motor Co.

Aoki, also chairman of Honda, said the U.S. market appeared headed for a weaker year than the sales of 12.5 million vehicles he had forecast for 2009 at the end of last year.

"We are still anticipating an improvement in the latter half of the year driven by economic stimulus steps under the new Obama administration, and we hope total demand will come in just below 12 million units."

Most industry forecasts are lower, with 11.5 million at the higher end. The U.S. market totalled 13.2 million vehicles in 2008, down 18 percent from 2007.

Many governments have announced various forms of aid to the struggling auto industry, which has been hit by a simultaneous slide in demand globally. Among them, France has pledged loans of 3 billion euros ($3.77 billion) each to its two local carmakers while Britain has said it would guarantee up to 2.3 billion pounds ($3.28 billion) of loans to the industry.

Japan has been conspicuously absent from that growing list. Aoki said the auto lobby has made no request for specific aid even as many members brace for their worst annual financial results in years.
"The auto industry requires a lot of capital for research and development of advanced safety and environmental technologies, but basically it's up to each company to raise funds in the market or use its own cash reserves," Aoki said.

"But right now market conditions are tough and abnormal, and we only hope that the government will take steps to bring the market closer to normal levels," he said.

Responding to such concerns, the Bank of Japan on Thursday extended its commercial paper buying scheme and pledged to boost supply of low-cost funds as it battles a credit crunch that is pushing the world's second-biggest economy deeper into recession. ($1=.7949 Euro; $1=.7007 Pound) (Editing by Michael Watson)

Source;
http://uk.reuters.com/article/governmentFilingsNews/idUKT867220090219?sp=true

Honda has best overall customer retention rates, Jaguar comes last

I've always thought it was interesting to see who had the most loyal customers, and that usually goes hand in hand with quality of vehicle.
Honda leads the automotive industry in retaining the highest percentage of new-vehicle purchasers, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2008 Customer Retention Study. The study measures the percentage of new-vehicle buyers who replace a previously purchased new vehicle with another from the same brand. Improving by nearly two percentage points from 2007, Honda retains an exceptional 64.7% of its customers, followed by Toyota at 63.2% and Lexus at 60.4%.

J.D. Power and Associates stated that "Honda's reputation for creating safe vehicles with high resale value has been instrumental in retaining owners", and this was a theme consistent amongst the top performers.

Meanwhile, Jaguar came in with the worst customer retention rates, with just over one-quarter of customers sticking with the brand. This is significantly less than the average customer retention rate, which declined slightly to 48% in 2008 from 49% in 2007.

Land Rover posts the greatest improvement in customer retention rates from 2007, improving by 18 percentage points in 2008 to 49%. This puts Land Rover above the industry average, as well as other marques such as Porsche, Volkswagen, and Audi who were all below average.

Foreign marques led the way in customer retention, with the best placed American brand coming in at 6th thanks to Ford. GM's Chevrolet brand followed closely behind, but what still almost 13 points behind Honda.

Customer retention will become even more critical to automakers in the coming year, as new car sales in 2009 are projected to decline to below 12 million units, according to automotive forecasting outfit CSM Worldwide.

The full list of carmakers is as follows:

Honda 64.7%
Toyota 63.2%
Lexus 60.4%
Mercedes Benz 58.6%
BMW 58.5%
Ford 52.5%
Chevrolet 52.0%
Nissan 51.3%
Subaru 50.5%
Cadillac 50.4%
Land Rover 49.0%
Scion 47.2%
Hyundai 46.7%
HUMMER 43.7%
Jeep 42.8%
Suzuki 40.7%
GMC 40.6%
Lincoln 40.6%
Dodge 39.7%
Volkswagen 39.7% (wow, how the mighty have fallen)
Porsche 38.2%
Infiniti 37.9%
Audi 37.2%
Saturn 37.1%
Acura 37.0% (Ouch!)
Chrysler 32.8%
Kia 32.5%
Volvo 32.5%
Buick 31.3%
Mazda 30.7%
SAAB 30.5%
Mercury 30.2%
MINI 29.3%
Mitsubishi 28.1%
Pontiac 27.2%
Jaguar 26.2%

Source;
http://www.motorauthority.com/honda-has-best-overall-customer-retention-rates-jaguar-comes-last.html

Big Brother comes to the Automotive World by 2012; Man Cancels Order on Nissan GT-R

This kind of accident-investigation scene, tapping into the car's EDR and downloading crash-related data to a laptop computer, will become far more prevalent as black boxes proliferate in 2012 and beyond.
Until a few weeks ago, Florida attorney Scott Weires was eagerly awaiting delivery of his new Nissan GT-R. But in late August, Weires canceled his order--not because he doesn't want the $82,000 Super Silver supercar he has lusted for since it was first unveiled as a concept seven years ago. Weires says he's uncomfortable with the fact that every GT-R has a recording device strapped to its chassis, an electronic black box that monitors how each owner drives his or her GT-R.

Similar so-called black boxes, or electronic data recorders (EDRs), are now standard equipment in a majority of passenger cars and light-duty trucks sold in the United States. Wired into airbag sensors, yaw and stability sensors, antilock brake and traction controllers, electronic throttle controls and engine monitors, EDRs soon will collect a bewildering amount of data in keeping with pending federal regulations aimed at standardizing information available from the devices. Those regulations, finalized earlier this year and set to go into effect Sept. 1, 2012 (on 2013-model-year vehicles), specify exactly how much and what types of information must be collected and saved electronically in the event of a crash or airbag deployment.

Though the U.S. Department of Trans-portation requirements don't mandate installation of EDRs on every car, truck and sport-utility vehicle in America, the rules do require compliance with the guidelines if the vehicle is fitted with an EDR by the manufacturer. In 2006, the National High-way Traffic Safety Administration reported that 64 percent of manufacturers were equipping vehicles with EDRs, a number the agency says hasn't radically changed. But an informal survey indicates that most automakers--with some notable exceptions--are embracing the devices. And that number seems to have grown in the four years since AutoWeek last investigated the state of automotive black boxes ("Under the Hood, with Big Brother," Nov. 8, 2004).

As a result, most of today's late-model vehicles are equipped with EDRs, ostensibly to help manufacturers engineer better safety equipment in vehicles by analyzing data collected in crashes. In reality, what started as a simple tool for safety engineers is now a key component that provides data to protect companies from safety-related lawsuits and to assist law-enforcement officials investigating car accidents.

While an EDR may seem onerous enough to those who love a spirited drive in a sports car, it was another kind of black box, a vehicle status data recorder (VSDR), that put Weires at odds with Nissan and his GT-R.

Unlike an EDR, which activates only when sensors indicate that a crash is imminent or has occurred, Nissan's VSDR runs constantly, collecting information such as wheel and engine speed. The device, thought to be a first in the automotive industry, stores more than a few days' but less than a week's worth of data on the vehicle's operation, Nissan says. The VSDR cannot be deactivated.

In technical information provided to buyers, Nissan says the VSDR does not record sounds or images but "always records and stores vehicle-operating data between periodic inspections, which can assist and be used for servicing, diagnosing and performing warranty repairs."

Nissan says the VSDR isn't intended to spy on unsuspecting GT-R drivers but is needed to help mechanics and engineers monitor the performance of various onboard systems in the highly advanced car.

It's that part about "warranty repairs" that has Weires worried. He says data collected by the VSDR could allow Nissan arbitrarily to invalidate all or part of the car's warranty. For instance, Nissan specifically warns owners that they could void warranty protection by running a car with its vehicle dynamic control (VDC), governing traction and stability, turned off. (In fairness to Nissan, the owner's manual does allow owners to defeat VDC when wheelspin is needed to rock a car that's stuck in snow or mud.)

"These warranty issues are a little unsettling," said Weires. "That was a huge part of my decision."

Nissan officials are quick to clarify that VSDR data would be used only as a secondary way to verify that a car had been abused or raced. And only the damaged part might not be covered by warranty; a record of hard use wouldn't invalidate the warranty for the entire car.

For the rest of the article, follow the link;
http://www.autoweek.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080924/FREE/809189970/1506/rss01&rssfeed=rss01

2009 Honda Pilot Info Site Launched (Canada)

Honda Canada has launched a information site for the 2009 Honda Pilot and has a nice 360 degree 3D view of the exterior and the interior of the vehicle.

Here's the link to play around with;
http://hondapilot.ca/en/index.html

Honda Numbers UP in a DOWN Market

Thanks to an ever-tightening credit market and record high fuel prices, analysts are predicting a 10 percent drop in new car sales for the month of May, a new report finds. Although the sales drop is expected to be fairly uniform across the board, it is expected that General Motors, Ford and Chrysler will be hit hardest, largely due to their reliance on trucks and SUVs.

According to Automotive News, General Motors will likely report a 22 to 25 percent drop in new car sales for the month of May, while Ford is expected to check in with a 22 percent drop. Chrysler is expected to see at least a 20 percent decline in sales.

Despite an expected sales drop of 6.7 percent from May 2007, analysts predict that Toyota's market share will climb from 17.5 percent last month to 18.1 percent in May.

The only automaker expected to post a sales increase for May is Honda. Thanks to its lack of fuel-thirsty vehicles, the Japanese automaker is expected to post a 3.2 percent sales gain on May 2007.

Source:
http://www.leftlanenews.com/analysts-predict-10-percent-drop-in-new-car-sales-for-may-honda-only-automaker-to-see-sales-gain.html

Honda Positioned Well in Current Market Conditions

With the current state of high gas prices across North America, buyers are switching their buying habits to smaller cars, which makes some manufacturer's more prepared than others. While some manufacturer's are shutting down production and laying off workers (Ford, GM, Dodge....), Honda with it's class leading Honda Civic and Honda FIT are selling in droves, which is having a positive affect for Honda's production. Sure, sales of the Ridgeline, Pilot, and even Odyssey have dipped a bit, but with the surgence of the Civic, Fit, and I will even say CRV, instead of laying off worker's or shutting down plants, Honda is just switching production around and moving workers from one plant to another to keep up with demand.

Honda saving U.S. jobs by switching models

Yuri Kageyama / Associated Press

TOKYO -- Honda will meet growing U.S. demand for small cars while maintaining North American jobs by moving production of two bigger models from Canada to Alabama, Chief Executive Takeo Fukui said Thursday.
Honda Motor Co.'s Pilot sport-utility vehicle and Ridgeline pickup, now rolling off its plant in Alliston, Ontario, will be produced in Lincoln, Ala., allowing the production of the Civic sedan to be raised in Canada, he said.
"Gas prices continue to rise, and the demand for cars with good mileage is growing," Fukui told reporters at a Tokyo hotel. "Efforts are under way to increase the local production of the Civic."

Even the usually booming Japanese automakers are sensing the pinch from a U.S. economic slowdown and soaring material costs, including steel. But the Japanese are holding up better than their American rivals because of their reputation for fuel-efficient offerings.

General Motors' top managers are working on additional restructuring measures to deal with a declining U.S. auto market and an accelerated shift from trucks to more fuel-efficient vehicles, a person familiar with the plan told The Associated Press late Wednesday.

Such a move would come on top of thousands of job cuts at GM over the past three years mainly through buyout and early retirement offers.

Ford said earlier this week that it's planning involuntary layoffs of salaried employees by August as part of a restructuring in the face of slumping sales and record-high gas prices.

Honda's production changes won't create -- or cut -- any jobs in North America. But Fukui noted it will maintain sales momentum.
"And the point is we won't have to reduce employment," he said.

Honda will create American jobs when its plant to build Civics opens in Indiana later this year. That plant, Honda's seventh in North America, is expected to add about 2,000 jobs.
Fukui said Honda's Fit subcompact is another model that is emerging a hit in the U.S., a nation previously known to favor gas-guzzlers.
Still, the overall U.S. auto sales are expected to drop to around 15 million vehicles this year -- down from 17 million as recently as 2005.

For April, General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler all saw double-digit U.S. sales declines compared to last April. But Honda, along with Nissan Motor Co. and Toyota Motor Corp., reported year-on-year gains.

Relatively new auto plants are flexible in production, allowing models to be switched to respond to shifts in demand. At some plants, the same assembly line can produce different models, one after the other.

Source:

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080529/AUTO01/805290438/1148

Honda Announces Additional Details on New Small Hybrid Vehicle

Reduction in component size and manufacturing costs to improve hybrid affordability

05/20/2008 - TORRANCE, Calif. -
Honda today announced additional details regarding its new small hybrid scheduled for introduction in early 2009, as part of Honda Motor Co., Ltd. CEO Takeo Fukui's mid-year address. An official name and full product details will be announced later this year.

In addition to weight reduction, a significant cost reduction in Integrated Motor Assist (IMA) components will result in the most affordable hybrid vehicle to date. This dedicated hybrid vehicle will be offered as a 5-door hatchback with seating for five passengers and will employ an exterior design concept that evokes the FCX Clarity fuel cell vehicle. Along with the Civic Hybrid, the new vehicle will be produced at an expanded IMA production line at Honda's Suzuka factory in Japan.

The new small gasoline/electric hybrid vehicle will have expected annual global sales of 200,000 units per year - approximately 100,000 of which are bound for the North American market. Following this launch, Honda also plans to introduce another unique small hybrid vehicle based on the CR-Z sports car first shown at the 2007 Tokyo Motor Show as well as a Fit hybrid model. Including the Civic Hybrid, these four hybrid vehicles are expected to reach combined annual global sales of approximately 500,000 units.

"Honda has been at the forefront of hybrid development since it first introduced the American public to hybrid technology with the Insight in 1999," said John Mendel, executive vice president of American Honda. "These new advancements in Honda's technology and production systems will result in cost reductions that will allow us to make hybrid technology available to a whole new generation of buyers."

Featuring seating for five passengers, distinctive styling and high-value amenities, the new hybrid will present an appealing package. Taking advantage of reductions in the size of components, the battery and the internal processing unit will be positioned below the rear cargo area, allowing the hatchback design to provide adequate cargo space to meet the needs of a family. Additionally, various technologies, including a function to assist more fuel efficient driving, are being installed to achieve a further improvement of practical fuel efficiency. With its affordable price, the new hybrid vehicle will represent the best value in its segment.

The new hybrid will be produced at a newly developed second IMA production line at Honda's Suzuka factory, which currently produces the Civic Hybrid. With the second line in operation and improvements in IMA production efficiency, hybrid production capacity at Suzuka will increase from 70,000 vehicles per year to approximately 250,000 units, with future expansion possible if needed.

Honda is committed to offering products with the highest environmental performance produced at factories with reduced environmental footprints. A leader in the development of cleaner, more fuel-efficient mobility products, Honda introduced the first low-emission vehicles; America's first gas/electric hybrid car, the Insight and the world's first EPA-certified hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle, among other environmental achievements. In 2007, Honda was named "greenest automaker" by the Union of Concerned Scientists for the fourth straight time.

Russian BMW Billboard is Out of This World!

"Yes, those are real cars!"
Found this on autoblog;
In terms of sheer size, Russia is the largest country in the world. That must have something to do with this gargantuan advertisement found in Russia... According to the caption, the surface area measures more than 1.5 acres (billboard haters should stop complaining right about now, as it appears we have it pretty good over here).

More interesting than the sheer massiveness of the super-colossal ad are the full-sized BMWs, lights ablaze, mounted sideways as if zooming across the surface. Those aren't base model Bimmers, either -- sharp eyed readers will recognize them as the Z4 M Coupe, M3, M5, and M6. Now, that is what we call an advertising budget! Thanks for the tip, Hank!

Link to the article and more great pics;
http://www.autoblog.com/2008/04/01/bmw-builds-big-ad-in-moscow/

Ford sells Jaguar and Land Rover to India's TATA

Not much in the way of Honda news front, so I thought I'd fill the void with some other news.

Ford Motor Co., the world's third- largest automaker, agreed to sell Jaguar and Land Rover to Tata Motors Ltd., for less than half what it paid for the two brands as luxury-vehicle demand drops.

Tata, India's biggest truckmaker, will spend $2.3 billion (I've also heard as high as $2.65 billion), while Ford will contribute about $600 million at closing to the Jaguar Land Rover pension funds, the companies said today.

Ford is ending its investment in U.K.-based brands as the U.S. housing slump and job losses curb sales of models such as the $80,000 Jaguar XK. Ford is working to return to profit next year after $15.3 billion in losses in 2006 and 2007.

"Ford's financial situation is so severe it simply can't afford to sustain the two companies any longer,'' said Peter Schmidt , managing director of U.K. consulting firm Automotive Industry Data. ``Jaguar has been nothing but a financial millstone.''

Ford acquired Jaguar in 1989 for $2.5 billion and Land Rover in 2000 for $2.73 billion as part of a European-luxury strategy it began by buying Aston Martin in 1987. It sold Aston last year. (Ouch, talk about cutting your losses.)

Here's a link to the rest of the article;

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a6BCGuWnMT8Q&refer=home