Episode 18 starts by introducing this weeks guest, the one and only Michelle Naranjo joining us from Miss Motor Mouth. Michelle kicked us off by telling us a little about herself and how she came to be awesome. We move along to the major news of the week segment. This week included-
How Jeff Bridges Voice-overs Imperiled Hyundai’s Oscars Blitz
We continued with our new section called tweetmeme. This week we focused on Bob Lutz’s retirment. Zeroing in on how people reacted both initially and after the news sank in.
The Minneapolis Auto Show has finally arrived. I must admit that I look forward to the show every year. The show is not large compared to others and, in reality, many concept cars go to the larger shows and skip us. The reason I like our show is it is local and I am on my own time. I can go with my friends with no scheduled agenda. The big shows like Chicago and Detroit are a lot of fun but this is just different having a show near home.
The show was busier then I expected. I talked to quite a few people that noted how the attendance numbers were up from last year already on the second day of the show. The economy is in a slightly better place and car sales are starting to pick up and the attendance at the show is reflecting it. I am guessing that Ford was a major sponsor this year as many new Taurus’s were strewn about outside of the entrances. I overheard several consumers commenting on how they liked the look of the new Taurus and most didn’t even know what it was.
Chevrolet Silverado ZR2 Concept
Some of the highlights included the special edition Synergy Green Camaro and the Silverado ZR2 Concept truck from Chevrolet. Though many General Motors concept cars were missing, I was surprised to see the Cadillac Converj concept at the Cadillac Stand. Ford had the new 2011 Edge along with the new 2011 Fiesta Sedan. The updated 2011 Shelby GT500 Mustang was on the show floor with the hood open and, although the doors were locked, it was what was under the hood that was important. Audi had the mighty R8 5.2 in a copper brown color with carbon fiber side blades.
2010 Audi R8 5.2
Some things I noted about the show: BMW, PorscheInfiniti were all absent. While a few talked about Porsche, I’m not sure anyone noticed Infiniti was gone and the largest complaint of the show that I heard was “Where’s BMW?” I spoke with one of the local BMW dealerships and they said that their research indicates that they do not sell enough cars by being at the auto show to warrant the expense. This absence just gave the competition such as Audi and Mercedes-Benz a chance to have BMW owners sit in their cars. Another anomaly was Nissan. They found it important to have the GT-R with a base price of $80,790 but not to have a 370Z, which starts at $29,990. I was told that the reason was, “That is what they sent us…”. Not a terribly good answer in my opinion.
Ross Testing the Man Step
I personally think many manufactures should take notes more from Ford. They have been building terrific booths at the shows lately. They engage the consumers and have a lot to look at, and I am not just talking product. There are interactive games such as foosball and driving simulators not to mention the computers filled with information.
Overall the show was better then last year. With more manufacturers in attendance and consumer attendance up, the atmosphere was a bit more upbeat. The Minneapolis Auto Show’s tag line is “Your License to Dream” and I believe that is exactly what this show did for many consumers this year and with the products coming in the next year, I am sure next year will be even better for consumers.
This past weekend, Autorama’s World of Wheels show came to the Twin Cities. This show travels around the nation and is one of the premier custom car show series. The show itself is put on by Championship Auto Shows. Sponsors include everyone from O’Reilly Auto Parts to Meguiar’s. I went with Jason Pawelsky and we agreed, without question, that the show had its high points and low points. So! Let’s get to it.
1970 Mach1 Mustang
Without a doubt, there were some really nice cars there. A Ford Mustang club was in attendance with a booth filled with Mustangs. One that really stood out was a 1970 Mach1 with gorgeous canary yellow paint. It was one of the highlights of the show and was just a great looking car. It looked terrific and was sitting next to a fourth generation Mach1 (circa 2000). Not to be outdone, the Mustang section had competition from their fierce rival, Camaro. A Chevrolet Camaro club had a section with classic Camaros from yesteryear including a gorgeous Camaro SS featuring a 427 in the engine bay. Of course, quite a few new Camaros were on the show floor as well, sitting next to their vintage elders.
A number of old Chevrolet 210 sedans, along with the older Corvettes, were scattered throughout the show floor. A 1961 Chevrolet Impala was getting quite a bit of attention, probably because it was un-restored and yet looked great for its age. The car’s paint was not terrific and the interior was slightly faded but many of these cars on the floor were full restorations so it was nice to see something that was original and in rather good condition.
Supercharged LS9 V8
Another highlight was a 1957 Chevrolet 210 2-door sedan. This car was being done by L’Cars Automotive Specialties in Cameron, WI. A customer brought the car to the fine people at L’Cars and they have created one heck of a beast for the lucky owners. Starting with an Art Morrison GT sport chassis and a Ford 9 inch rear end, including a limited slip differential as the base, the engine is a crate supercharged LS9 V8 from the Corvette ZR1 with a Hennessy cold air intake feeding the engine. The supercharged LS9 is pushing out 700 hp to the rear wheels and 650 ft-lb through a GM 6L80E six-speed automatic transmission. The exhaust is a polished stainless steel set up from Borla with dual 2.5 inch oval tips in the rear. The exhaust system has an electric cut out system with straight outlets under the car. Bringing all this to a stop is 13 inch Wilwood drilled and slotted rotors in the front and rear with 6 piston calipers in the front and 4 piston calipers in the back. This whole vehicle was 99% completed and they were just working out some fuel delivery issues. Without a doubt, this was one of the coolest cars at the show.
1957 Chevrolet 210 2-door Sedan with supercharged LS9 V8
GNX
Then there were the low points. One of the saddest things I saw was a GNX and, if you know me at all, you know how much love and respect I have for the GNX. It was just this particular GNX that just made me sad all over. I was excited when I saw it across the show floor but as I got closer and closer, my excitement turned to devastation. The paint was in terrible condition with swirls all over and the rear window had a tint job that looks like a child performed the deed with a break in the middle of the rear window where a new piece of tint was spliced in. The interior was actually in fairly decent condition but the engine bay, which needs no help after leaving the factory, was chromed out. From the ugly, oversized manifold in black and chrome to other oversized things, it was all over the place under the hood. Do not even get me started on the stickers! The thing was just a hot mess, except for the interior. There were more low points because several cars had terrible paint jobs with swirls in the finish. It is one thing when you have original paint, but to restore a car with a new paint job and improperly use a buffer is just sad.
OMG its Doc Hudson!
Overall the experience was fun. People were enjoying the cars and the atmosphere. A special attraction for the kids was the Hudson Hornet aka, Doc Hudson, from the movie Cars. Friends know I am a huge Cars fan and so seeing Doc Hudson was yet another highlight for this big kid. Overall, the show was a great way to spend a Winter Saturday afternoon as Spring and the season for fun cars approaches.
Episode 16 starts by introducing this weeks guest Nick Saporito joining us from GM Inside News. Nick kicked us off by telling us a little about himself and how he came to be the managing editor. I then for a moment, attempted to relive my experience driving the Corvette ZR1 which I had the opportunity to drive the day before. We move along to the major news of the week segment. This week included-
Honda and Ford gain retail market share from Toyota
Woman Gets $23.4M for a paralyzing crash in Ford Explorer
Former CEO Fritz Henderson now consults GM at $2,954 an hour
Mercedes-Benz F800 revealed
We then proceed to the clip of the week segment. This week we featured Nissans newest commercial starring the Leaf at the end – We Make Them Better
Next came our main topics. This week those topics included GM’s rear wheel drive program and the possibility of Mercury’s small car being named the Tracer.
Americans in general have never associated small cars with high price tags. They are seen as regular transportation and not premium vehicles. In Europe this is simply not the case rather small cars are very popular and the price tags are not cheap. They are fully featured cars with options many small cars do not have in the U.S. With the new CAFE standards coming soon automakers in the U.S. are starting to realize that maybe we need to be a little more like Europe. Smaller cars with higher fuel efficiency and more options.
The Detroit Auto Show was all about downsizing. Engines were being downsized using lower displacement and it is all about getting more from less. Utilizing forced induction both in the way of turbo charging and super charging the automakers are doing what they can with the latest technologies. It is going farther then that.
Americans are realizing they need less. Not everyone technically needs a Suburban to haul the kids to soccer practice. The reality of it is when you are taking two kids to soccer practice you are not towing a 25 foot boat. In fact most people that have large vehicles do not need them at all. It is a perception and comfort thing. While I know some of you are readying your pitch forks, just hear me out. Yes, some people do need their large vehicles. Some people actually do need SUV’s. I drive an SUV and do use it to tow boats up north. If we weigh out how much I need an SUV it is probably more then some but still less then others.
Interior of the 2012 Ford Focus
The automotive manufacturers are starting to bet on the little guys. Ford’s new small car line up will begin with the new Fiesta. The Fiesta has a base price just above $13,000 but that price can get very close to $25,000 after customizing it with a myriad of options. Next Ford debuted the next generation Focus as a 2012 model at NAIAS last month. The new Focus will be more refined while offering more options and features. While they have not talked pricing you can naturally assume it will cost more. The current Focus pricing starts a little over $16,000 topping out around $22,000. It is estimated by some that while the base price of the the new Focus will increase slightly, a fully optioned Focus might approach $30,000. That is a lot of coin for a small car. The question is, are Americans willing to pay a premium on these new small cars? Some are probably scratching their heads saying how could they charge so much. We as Americans have been asking for the same product that Europe has been getting for years. Ford has finally listened and decided it would be cheaper to amortize costs, thus the “ONE Ford” strategy comes to play. Cars will be developed by Ford to be sold globally with minor changes for safety regulations and such.
2011 Chevy Cruze
Chevrolet is betting on the new Cruze to carry its sales in the compact car market. This new model will replace the lackluster Cobalt which itself replaced the Cavalier. The new Cruze is said to be rated at 40 mpg on the highway which is an impressive number to be sure. The car is said to be dynamic to drive and offer the premium feel of a larger car. That is exactly what these smaller cars with larger price tags will have to do.
So will we Americans embrace these smaller cars with larger price tags? I think it all depends on where the starting price tag is. This all goes back to my post about why strippers are important. The base price on a model is what seems to drive traffic to show rooms. Maybe that will change with time and it will be features that drive customers to the showroom. One thing is for sure, the pricing and options work in Europe where people are paying more for less. Are you really getting less? In the end it is all about how you look at it. You are getting more miles per gallon, you are getting more technology and amenities all in a slightly smaller package. So the question is, will people buy these small cars that all the auto manufactures are betting on?
GM has appointed Ed Whitacre as permanent CEO (for now)
Opel confirms another 8,300 jobs to be cut
The upcoming new Ford Explorer
Ford earned $2.7 billion in 2009
We then proceed to the clip of the week segment. This week we featured the later then it should have been Chrysler holiday ad.
Last but certaintly not least, we discuss our three main topics. This week those included Chrysler’s future, the sale of Saab to Spyker and Toyota’s latest recall woes.
I do not even know where to start. The Toyota situation is getting so far out of hand it is not even funny. This started months ago when a family was killed when driving a loaner Lexus ES350. That situation has since come into the limelight of both the media and the government. Currently, the total recall count is a little over 6 million vehicles. This is due to the “sticky accelerator.”
The decision came down Tuesday that all sales would come to a halt on the vehicles affected. This sales freeze will be in affect until a fix can be implemented. Toyota has said they expect a fix in the next two weeks rather than months. With that said, they failed to mention what that fix might be. I would call this a “we are scrambling as quickly as possible” tactic. Many are convinced Toyota does not have a fix yet. Others are reporting Toyota already has the fix and new parts are starting to ship. It is hard to know what to believe at this point. The freeze affects eight models which makes up about sixty percent of all North American sales for Toyota. The list of affected vehicles is as follows-
• 2009-10 RAV4
• 2009-10 Corolla
• 2009-10 Matrix
• 2005-10 Avalon
• Certain 2007-10 Camry
• 2010 Highlander
• 2007-10 Tundra
• 2008-10 Sequoia
Avis/Budget car rental announced they will be removing nearly 20,000 Toyota’s from its fleet immediately. Enterprise Rent-A-Car, who now also owns Alamo and National Car Rental, will be pulling all Toyota’s and Pontiac Vibe’s included in the recall. While numbers were not provided by Enterprise it is estimated to be about 4% of their fleet.
It is coming out now that Toyota has known there was problem since mid 2008. In June of 2008, Toyota announced “sticky pedals” are a drivability issue not a safety issue. Well we all know how that turned out now that people have died. Toyota has ignored this problem. They continued to sell cars when they knew something was wrong! This is just ridiculous. Even further, Toyota was contacted last Friday by NHSTA after they heard the models were still being sold. It took four days for Toyota to make the announcement of the sales freeze on the affected models. It almost seems as if they had no intentions of stopping sales until it started hitting the public and governmental eyes.
I have spoken with many people who are shocked at this whole situation. In a conversation with a gentleman in the baby boomer generation the words, “Never in my life have I seen an auto manufacturer halt sales of over half their line up. This is history in the making.” He continued to compare this situation to 9/11, the difference is that this is going on inside Toyota. Another friend compared Toyota to big tobacco.
Many see this whole situation as getting out of control. I have heard some say it is snowballing. I personally think this is far from over and it will get much worse. Toyota’s reputation has now been thrown into question in front of the public view and in a terrible way. It will be interesting to see how current Toyota owners react when it is time for them to purchase a new car. This could benefit Ford, Hyundai, and General Motors. Time will tell if that happens. In recap, Toyota knew what was going on before people were killed, they continued to sell vehicles, more people died, did not fully think through the recall, things are going to get worse. I think I’m going to get sick.
It is widely known that General Motors paid for my travel and accommodations for the Detroit Auto Show. In fact they even asked me in writing to disclose it on anything I write about the show. This was part of the new full disclosure rules the FTC has imposed on all bloggers beginning at the end of last year. General Motors was quick to mention that by them paying for my travel and accommodations I was in no way obligated to write about them or anything for that matter.
I was one of over 10 bloggers brought to NAIAS as press by General Motors. Most manufactures bring certain people but General Motors put a specific emphasis on bringing social media people. Both General Motors and Ford have been the “poster child” automotive companies in the social media industry. Sure Honda made a “splash” when they did the striptease of the Crosstour on Facebook. Most would have called that a colossal failure when the burn it with fire comments started pouring in. As I mentioned Ford and General Motors in general are really using social media though they are taking vastly different stances with it. General Motors does have it’s social media team on Twitter but really it is the brands and products that have accounts.
It was very interesting to witness how the “traditional media” reacted to all the social media people being around. I am fairly certain the game is changing and they are not exactly happy about it. Traditional media people have yet to figure out how to play nicely with social media types. The funniest part is many of the traditional media will write their information once back at work yet the article and or pictures will not be published for days/weeks/possibly a month. Yet they must get that picture before me or anyone else there for social media. Social media buffs are publishing this stuff live on the spot using our phones and laptops. We are connected (when we have signal) and are reporting live and on site.
That leads to another issue that has cropped up with the use of social media at an event such as NAIAS. Live and on sight I was reporting the information as it was literally being spoken. People on Twitter following me were getting the information as I received it including pictures. The challenge was that the ten other people sitting around me are tweeting the information out at the same time. How do I differentiate myself from these other people. Sure we all took different pictures and different angles, but the information, specifications, general information, is all the same. Social media types run in similar circles, many people that follow me also follow the people I was with. Realizing this early on I had to differentiate myself on Twitter while I was there. I could report what others were sure, but I had to have something else. I realized how lucky I was to have been afforded this opportunity. I decided I would try and make it so others that were not there could get whatever they would want. I tweeted numerous times asking what people wanted to see. When requests came in I obliged and took the corresponding photos. Some other blogs actually asked me privately to take photos for them and I did. Many people asked me to take a look at certain things and report back which of course I did. Then something else happened. General Motors set us all up with small round table sessions with some of the executives. I instantly saw an opportunity and tweeted out who I would be meeting with and when. I told my followers that if they had any questions for these people to let me know, and I would be happy to ask. I took video of all the round table sessions and have already up loaded this. Of course I asked the questions that came in off Twitter.
Fiat Twins
On Monday evening I realized that many pictures I had taken included the models posing with the cars. I decided to tweet out a bunch of the photos and hash tag them with the keyword #EyeCandy. This quickly turned into a “series” and people loved it. The last thing I decided to do was simple. There were plenty of models posing with cars and at the Fiat stand they had two girls to go along with the two 500’s. On the second day the two girls in the morning appeared to be twins. When I over heard someone saying they were I tweeted this. Soon I heard Jalopnik saying they were not in fact twins. Seeing that my eye candy series had been such a hit I decided to go and put an end to this debate. I walked up to the “twins” and simply said there was talk about whether they were in fact twins and asked if they were. They immediately said they were and I tweeted “BREAKING- The Fiat twins are in fact twins!” Of course this tweet started a whole new discussion. I also happened to learn that the twins live in Minneapolis about 15 minutes from where I live. After having a conversation I left them to continue modeling and went back to the business of walking the show. All of this gave me personality. It was something different then just reporting the specifications/information about the cars. When I got into the Lotus Evora I tweeted about how it felt like a glove when sitting in it.
The Ford area was one of the best consumer booths of the show. They have everything from interactive computer simulations to transmissions torn apart, just about anything. The booth itself is utterly huge. Ford also had some customized Fiesta’s strewn about so people could get an idea about the level of customization these cars will have.
It is clear to me that social media is making an impact both in how manufactures are advertising and how they are handling themselves at autoshows. It says something to me that the two auto manufactures most involved in social media are Ford and General Motors. The point of all this is embracing new ways to communicate is something that forward thinking companies are doing and we should all take note.
Phil Colley, Nicole Carriere, Me, Chris Barger (from left to right)
Full Disclosure- My NAIAS travel and accommodations were provided by General Motors
Episode 11 starts by discussing the past week on both of our respective blogs, AutoBird Blog and AccelerateMpls. The week in review included gas pump prices, and the major reveals at Detroit along with the videos from NAIAS. We move along to talk about NAIAS (the Detroit Auto Show) and the things we saw at the show. That list includes
2012 Ford Focus
2011 Lincoln MKX
Chrysler Delta concept
Chevrolet Spark
Chevrolet Aveo RS concept
Buick Regal GS concept
Cadillac XTS concept
Cadillac CTS-V Coupe
GMC Granite concept
Honda CR-Z
Volkswagen New Compact Concept.
The last two topics were the North American Car and Truck of the year awards and the upcoming Chrysler Super Bowl ad.
Episode 18 starts by introducing this weeks guest, the one and only Michelle Naranjo joining us from Miss Motor Mouth. Michelle kicked us off by telling us a little about herself and how she came to be awesome. We move along to the major news of the week segment. This week included-
