Myles Away:

Chrysler: three ways for the future

A couple of weeks ago I posted my three ideas for General Motors to get back on its feet. This week I figured I had better get to Chrysler before there was no Chrysler.

As I stated before, it’s time to root for the American auto industry. This doesn’t mean buying the actual car. Anyone who puts down his/her own cash for a car should do it because the product is good, not because he/she feels a patriotic duty. When you cheer for an industry it just means to remind friends of a possible domestic alternative when they go car shopping, or to make sure you look at a domestic car on your own car buying trip.

With that stated, I give my three recommendations for getting the Chrysler showrooms to feel less like ghost towns:

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Affordable halo cars: make it beautiful, make it right

A halo car is one that will revive a brand. It gives new direction, and while it may not be the car that was sold to the consumer, it’s the reason he/she came into the dealership. It goes with the idea that while you may not be able to afford an Audi R8, it may remind you that an A4 is in your price range. Bob Lutz calls it “shock therapy” for an automotive brand.

In times of slower auto sales, a budget-minded halo car is a great thing to have. Companies want a car that’s cool enough to be a poster is on a kid’s wall and affordable enough to be in dad and mom’s driveway. Great examples are cars such as Honda’s S2000 or the reborn Fiat 500.

So as times begin to get tough, the consumer may be on the fortunate end of seeing a few budget-minded halo cars rushed into production. Yes, the car companies are cash strapped, but there are a few good auto executives out there who know that to sell a car it must be distinctive. In hopes of a few good surprises this auto show season, let’s take a look at two affordable halo cars that did work and two that didn’t work.

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General Motors: three ways for the future

It’s time to root for the American auto industry. If it’s not your patriotic duty, then at the very least it’s time to support the industry that brought excess to an art and taught that the car is more than just an appliance.

So if I happen to rub up against a mid-priced antique bottle, and the ‘Genie of Practicality’ shows up, I want to be prepared to save the U.S. car industry. Over the next few months, I will make three suggestions for survival to each of the Big Three (possibly Big Two if I wait too long.) These are just my personal suggestions, so please feel free to add to the list.

This week I start with three ideas for General Motors:

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Will the U.S. embrace small cars?

NIMBY (not in my backyard) is an idea we are good at in North America. We need sewage treatment plants, airports, highways and prisons, which are fine as long as they are ‘not in my backyard’. To reduce dependency on non-renewable and foreign energy we need more fuel-efficient vehicles, but I wonder if this will become a case of NIMDY (not in my driveway).

Now that smaller cars like Toyota’s iQ and Ford’s Ka are eyeing the U.S., will they really catch on or are they riding a wave of hype? As we are seeing recent lower gas prices (can you believe we are rejoicing at $3 a gallon?), will the U.S. permanently adopt a more frugal nature?

I’m not out to make a point about the environment, suggesting we should ever limit a car guy’s choice of vehicles, or talking about hybrid technology or alternative fuels (that’s its own argument.) From a business standpoint, marketing has convinced the American public that size is king, and how important you are is directly related to the amount of real estate you take up on the highway. So I’m wondering by the time the invasion of the mico car hits these shores, will we have already moved on?

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In tough economic times, remember the charity that is the Ford Motor Company

Although we are not quite at the holiday season yet, it is time to start thinking about this year’s charitable donations. I want to bring this up now so that people won’t forget about one of the world’s greatest automotive charities: Ford. While Ford has been a part of many philanthropic activities, the one it rarely mentions has been its history of taking in the disadvantaged auto brands of the world.

It may seem crazy, but read on...

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Volkswagen and Porsche merger, Piech’s revenge?

Porsche’s takeover of Volkswagen is not going very smoothly. What was once established as friendly move to secure the independence of two companies is now redefining the meaning of hostile takeover. Sitting in the middle of this feud is Ferdinand Piech, chairman of Volkswagen’s supervisory board and a major shareholder in Porsche. As far as this merger goes, Piech has earned his seat at the table, but he might be eating two meals.

It started out innocent enough when Porsche announced it was buying a 30 percent stake in Volkswagen last September. Porsche said it did not want to own Volkswagen. Instead Porsche announced it needed to protect its interest in its business ties and own enough stock to prevent another company from taking over VW. This year Porsche has increased its stake in Volkswagen to over 35 percent (with plans to go as high as 50 percent in November) triggering an automatic takeover – what a difference a year makes.

There are many people having troubles with this deal: the unions are scared about Porsche’s past labor tactics; the German state of Lower Saxony, which owns 20 percent of VW, opposes the deal; and Volkswagen’s management is resisting sharing technological information with Porsche. So, with these problems why would Porsche, whose revenues are only about one tenth the size of Volkswagen’s, want to make huge and risky financing deals to obtain Germany’s largest automaker? The silent force behind it all may be the one less investigated: ego.

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Porsche Panamera is the new Citroen C6?

As I looked at some spy shots that Autoblog picked up of the Porsche Panamera, I realized why I can’t think of this car as a real Porsche. It’s because it isn’t a real Porsche; It’s a Citroen.

Although Porsche is known for original designs, when it wanted to mix the look of 911 and Cayenne into a long wheel-based sedan, I think it made a Citroen C6 with a little bit of the CX in the mix. Everything we’ve seen so far shows the Panamera sedan as long car with a sloping back, which is the hallmark of the big Citroen sedan.

But hey, if it the CX was good enough for French heads of state, then the Panamera should make the common man feel regal.

Maybe the coupe version will look better. Maybe the camouflage is masking a surprise car. Maybe I need to accept the fact that Porsche is a company out for profits, so (like Lamborghini and the Estoque) it will trade on its sports car image to sell sedans. Maybe I need to get my head examined.

Never meet your idols, unless they are cars

I was recently in Los Angles for the first time, so naturally I made a trip to the Peterson Automotive Museum. The hall calls itself the country’s premiere automotive museum, and it’s displays make a persuasive argument. It currently features some rarities like the 1963 Chrysler Turbine car (1 of 9 left in the world), the ill-fated Bugatti EB 110, and a host of presidential limos from both the U.S. and Russia. It is truly impressive collection that deserves the attention of any car fan, and yet I felt disappointed with my tour. It took me a while to realize that the problem was not the museum but with me.

Only a couple of weeks earlier I hit a personal best that may make it hard to enjoy some exceptional cars. I was able to visit the General Motors Heritage Center. General Motors has over 600 cars that it has retained, and the Heritage Center is a rotating collection of around 100 of these cars in a non-descript warehouse outside of Detroit. This place is not open to the public, but I was able to have a tour with only a couple of other people.

I was a true professional for the entire ride to the collection, but the moment I entered a room full of my idols, I turned back into a twelve-year-old boy. I darted between concept cars, last production cars, and some odd design studies. I had access to cars I never believed I would see in my lifetime.

I love my job.

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To BMW: Sell your soul, lose your reputation

I fear for BMW. The people who make “The Ultimate Driving Machine” may be making the ultimate mistake. The worst part of this is that this can be avoided if it looks to its domestic competitor a couple of hours away in Stuttgart. With all the new models planned by BMW in the next five years (at least 3 new model lines, 4 new models for existing lines, and one addition to an existing line,) I think BMW may have not learned Mercedes’ hard lesson that comes with reaching beyond its limits.

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Do the English forgive easier?

I sometimes have to cringe when I write the news stories because TopSpeed has items from around the world. On a daily basis I see plenty of cars that don’t make it to the U.S., and how many more are available to our cousins in the U.K. Although I know we already have the best the Europe has to offer (German cars), I know I’m missing out on cars like the cool little Fiat 500, the fast and frugal RenaultSport Twingo, or all those Alfas.

There are plenty of European companies who at one time sold fun cars to the U.S., but have since retreated to the home continent. These cars were distinctly European, so they were stylish and dynamic, but they were also less reliable than some of the competition. Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Lancia, Renault, Peugeot, Citroen and many others sold the same cars to the U.S. as the U.K., but the difference is that they are still in business in Britain. Although there are multiple reasons that are rooted in the pay and tax structure of the U.K., I think there is an underlying tone over there that allows for them to forgive car companies easier than we do.

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