Automotive industry news, it feels like nothing of what they say is really important but put it together and you will get the big picture before the others.
If you’re looking for a measuring stick in terms of producing some of the most provocative and compelling documentaries in television today, you can’t go wrong with HBO, especially after their latest creation, “The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant” was nominated for an Academy Award for the Best Documentary Short category.
Recounting the story of the abrupt closing of General Motors’ Moraine Assembly Plant, ‘The Last Truck’ takes viewers into a first-hand look on the effects the shutting down of the plant had on the workers and, to a greater extent, the entire community. After having promised that the plant would not shut down until after a few years, GM’s quick about-face – the company decided to shut down the plant last Dec. 23 - on the matter shocked the community and the employees, many of whom were given enough time to continue their jobs while also looking for better opportunities elsewhere.
If there’s one documentary that we’re going to urge you to watch, it’s this one. Not only does it paint a unique portrait on the lasting effects of the global financial crisis and all of its ramifications, but it also touches on the stories of all those people that thought they were given enough time to sort their jobs and priorities together, only to see the rug get pulled from them unexpectedly.
Spyker – yes the same Spyker that purchased Saab from General Motors – has found a new dealership home in the US and we’re not the least bit surprised to find out that they’ve tapped Galpin to help break-in the Spyker C8 Aileron coupe and spyder into the US market.
The inclusion of Spyker into the fleet of brand’s under Galpin’s dealerships makes it the latest in a long line of car brands that have tapped the services of Galpin to sell their vehicles. Among the other brands that Galpin sells in the Van Nuys, California dealership includes Ford, Jaguar, Aston Martin, and Lotus.
While Galpin has a pretty strong track record of selling more than its fair share of vehicles, the expectations for Spyker are somewhat tempered because, as history has shown, the brand has yet to establish a footing in this part of the world as evidenced by Spyker selling only around 20 cars in the US last year.
Nevertheless, Galpin President Beau Boeckmann has said that the goal for their dealership is to maintain about 10% of the market shares in North America, which isn’t saying much given that Spyker is far from a household name in this part of the world.
Then again, unless Spyker has something in store for customers that we don’t know about, we don’t expect it to take the US by storm; at least not yet.
If there’s one thing we’re beginning to know about Toyota president and CEO Akio Toyoda, it’s that the man is not afraid to wear his emotion on his sleeves.
The brand’s top executive – and grandson of Toyota founder Kiichiro Toyoda – commented for the first time since Toyota became embroiled in a crisis the likes of which it hasn’t seen in years.
Speaking from the company’s headquarters in Nagoya, Japan, Toyoda apologised profusely for the safety problems and ensuing mass recall of over 4 million cars because of sticky brake pedals. “I would like to take this opportunity to apologise from the bottom of my heart for causing many of our customers concern after the recalls across several models in several regions," Toyoda said. "Believe me, Toyota cars are safe."
Unfortunately for Toyota, another storm is brewing in the horizon after a braking problem found in the Toyota Prius has resulted in over 124 complaints being logged by the U.S. National highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). According to Toyota, the company has already began steps in fixing a software fix for the Prius’ braking problems.
The past couple of weeks have seen Toyota take a major hit, both in business and in public opinion. The company’s stocks have torpedoed by over $30 billion since the crisis began and more and more consumers have voiced their concerns with regards to purchasing another Toyota in the future.
Already facing a global recall of catastrophic proportions – around 8 million Toyotas have been recalled because of defective accelerator pedals – Toyota’s is bracing itself for another global recall, this time for the Toyota Prius.
Reports have been coming out in Toyota’s home country of Japan, particularly from the country’s biggest newspaper, Yomiuri, that the automaker is scheduled to announce the recall of its Prius line sometime in the next few days because of growing braking concerns that seems to have plagued the hybrid vehicle.
Contrary to the problems associated with other Toyota models, the problem with the Prius seems to be solvable through a software upgrade, which can be done rather easily and less time than the bigger accelerator issues that has afflicted a large chunk of Toyota’s fleet.
Nevertheless, the impending recall of the Prius is the last thing Toyota needs right now, especially after it has all but shattered its reputation as a safe and reliable brand. Where this goes is anybody’s guess, but the way things are going, it’s going to take a while before Toyota can re-establish its image and reputation that has been stained and tarnished to incredulous levels.
If there’s one thing we know now about Hyundai heading into Sunday’s Super Bowl, it’s that the car brand is determined to leave a lasting impression to all those watching the sports spectacle just for the commercials.
We’ve already previewed their Brett Favre commercial a few days ago but now we have all of Hyundai’s advertisements, all of which are expected to air at some point during the game.
And by all, we mean all eight of them.
In an attempt at taking full advantage of the enormous viewership generated by the Super Bowl, Hyundai is spending a pretty lump sum of money for the right to air these commercials. Each 30-second spot during the game is expected to cost somewhere in the neighbourhood of $2 million so if all of Hyundai’s eight commercials air at least once during the event, then the South Korean car brand should expect to pay around $16 million for that privilege.
And the best part is, Hyundai doesn’t seem to mind forking over that kind of money. "The Super Bowl is not only a showcase for great football, but also for the most significant advertising, reaching an estimated 95 million viewers in the U.S.," said Joel Ewanick, vice president of marketing, Hyundai Motor America.
"Following in the footsteps of our 2008 and 2009 Super Bowl focus on the new Genesis and Genesis Coupe, we are focusing this year’s Super Bowl campaign on the all-new 2011 Sonata, the most significant new model introduction in our history."
Check out all of Hyundai’s commercials after the jump.
It’s a bad time to be a Toyota owner these days. After news broke out last week that Toyota was being forced to recall over 1 million cars globally due to those sticky accelerator pedals, the Japanese-based auto giant has gone into full scale damage control, giving Toyota owners a chance to return their Toyota vehicles to a Toyota dealership where they’d undergo free repairs to fix the faulty pedals.
Mikel Valviva decided to return his recalled Toyota Tundra in one of the local dealerships in his area, but after being told that he would have to wait to get his Tundra fixed, Valvina took matters into his own hands. Instead of patiently waiting for his turn, Valvina “somehow” accelerated his Tundra straight into the dealership.
While it seems ridiculous to accuse someone of deliberately crashing his vehicle into a dealership because he felt disrespected, this whole situation involving Toyota and all these faulty accelerator pedals have left everybody in a constant state of confusion.
As far as Valvina’s supposed accidental torpedoing of the Toyota dealership, local authorities have indicated that the whole incident could very well have been unintentional. Or maybe the accelerator pedal just got stuck.
You know when people say that they have good news and bad news?
Well, we have one for you loyal followers of the Nissan Patrol. The good news is that the next generation Patrol has been earmarked to have its world debut on February 14 in the United Arab Emirates and that six lucky people will get a chance to win an all-expense paid trip to see the event.
The bad news is that the competition is only eligible for a select number of countries in the Middle East (U.A.E., Oman, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, and Kuwait). Now, if you’re a TopSpeed reader from these areas, all you need to do is answer a simple survey at the Welcome the Hero website to have a chance at getting a front-row seat to the world premier of the Patrol luxury SUV.
Incidentally, Nissan is building up the Patrol as ‘The Hero of All Terrain’, complete with its own website and a detailed history of the intrinsic communion between the luxury SUV and the Middle East dating back to the 50’s. Like we said, we all have to take the good news with the bad and while us folks here in the US won’t have a chance to enter this contest, we’ll settle for knowing that the next-generation Patrol has finally arrived.
With Toyota’s image and reputation stemming from the global recall of their vehicles due to safety issues taking a massive PR hit, the door has opened for a rival manufacturer to overtake the beleaguered Japanese brand in becoming the world’s largest automaker by 2018.
According to Bloomberg News, Volkswagen has set its sights on dethroning Toyota as the world’s largest automaker. The German automaker, which owns a plethora of brands under its umbrella, has pegged a sales increase to more than 10 million units sold by 2018.
In the middle of all the auto shows going on this time of the year, Audi is mixing it up a bit by participating in an expo that has nothing to do with concept cars and high-performance cars.
The Ingolstadt-based automaker has booked its attendance to the 61st Spielwarenmesse International Toy Fair in Nuremberg, Germany from February 4 to 9. Among the toys Audi is scheduled to display at the largest international toy and games trade event includes a 1:2 scale model of the Auto Union Arrow Type C, an Audi children’s car, an Audi junior Quattro, and a bunch of other stuffed toys Audi is hoping gets picked up by retailer.
Incidentally, Audi is the first ever car maker to ever participate at the toy fair. Caroline Gerberding, the woman responsible for bringin Audi to the event, said that Audi’s involvement was an effort of the brand to introduce a whole new and lighter side of Audi. “It’s an exciting project," she said. "For the first time, the main focus of an exhibit is not to present our cars, but instead is aimed at showing off our ‘little’ Audi world.”
For those of you who don’t know Jeff Koons, we don’t blame you; he’s not exactly a household name in the auto industry. But if you’re into contemporary art, then his name just might ring a bell. Koons is a critically-acclaimed artist whose works have been widely hailed as some of the most inventive and innovative of his time.
That is precisely the reason why BMW has chosen him to create the 17th BMW Art Car in time for the program’s 35th anniversary. “I always thought it would be an honor to work on a BMW Art Car,” Koons said during the official announcement at his studio in New York City. “I look forward to participate in a tradition set forth by such great artists as Calder, Lichtenstein, Stella, and Warhol.”
BMW North America President Jim O’Connell, who was also present during the official announcement, couldn’t hold back his excitement over the prospect of Koon designing BMW’s 17th Art Car, a man he considers as one of the greatest artists of ‘our time’.
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