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Z06 trumps all Vette forebears
BY LAWRENCE ULRICH
DETROIT FREE
PRESS AUTO CRITIC
WHAT WAS it that Prince crooned about his little red Corvette? Baby, you're much too fast?
I'm not sure which Corvette was too speedy for the diminutive pop star, but he certainly never drove the likes of the Corvette Z06.
Approaching a remarkable half-century of production in 2003, the Corvette has truly earned a place in American pop culture. Its name has been affixed to several storied models, from the split-window '63 Sting Ray to the exotic ZR1, introduced in 1990.
But the new, 385-horsepower Z06 trumps them all.
It's simply the fastest, best-handling Corvette ever. And as sports cars go, there's not another on the planet that offers this level of performance and everyday drivability for such a reasonable price.
When Chevrolet rolled out the C5, or fifth-generation, Corvette in 1997, it represented a leap in performance, drivability, interior space and comfort. Critics raved. Drivers drooled. Sales soared.
Beginning with the C5 coupe with its removable roof panel, Chevrolet added a convertible. Next came a fixed-roof hardtop model designed as a lighter-weight, pure-performance edition.
Now, the slow-selling hardtop has been transformed into the Z06, which draws its name from a special high-performance package created by engineer Zora Arkus-Duntov for the 1963 Sting Ray. And it fulfills the hardtop's true mission: an extreme performance model that's heavy on power and handling, light on frills. There's no automatic transmission available, thank goodness, and a shorter options list than on other Corvettes.
It's a Corvette that can haul groceries one minute and drive straight onto the racetrack or autocross the next.
For those optimistic enough to have this sugarplum on their holiday shopping list, let's cut to the chase: Just how fast is it?
From a dead stop, 60 m.p.h. arrives in just over 4 seconds. The Z06 covers a quarter-mile in 12.7 seconds, reaching 115 m.p.h. Lower gearing delivers more usable power in lower engine ranges, which reduces top speed to 171 m.p.h., vs. 175 m.p.h. for the coupe and convertible.
For comparison's sake, those acceleration numbers put the Z06, with a base price of $46,855, right alongside the Ferrari 360 Modena, a car that costs more than three times as much at $169,000.
Although the Z06 is a few ticks slower than the Dodge Viper GTS, the big Dodge isn't on the same page as the Vette when it comes to handling, braking, safety, ride comfort, interior space or even fuel economy. The Viper also costs a good $25,000 more.
While the Z06 is remarkably adept as a daily driver, it can also be a speeding ticket waiting to happen if your right foot gets impatient. The car burbles along at 25 m.p.h. in third gear, but that same gear will take you to nearly 100 m.p.h. before you have to shift. The acceleration equals pure euphoria, but it's wise to not let all that power go to your head -- or your foot.
The Z06 owes its rippling muscle to a new version of Corvette's 5.7-liter small-block V8. It delivers 385 horsepower, compared to 350 in standard Corvettes. Torque, the force that puts the car in motion, rises to 385 foot-pounds at 4,800 r.p.m.
As with any true sports car, speed is only part of the story. The Corvette already boasted tremendous road-holding ability, but the Z06 firms up the suspension and adds wider, gripping tires to take handling to the outer limits.
Tires for fast turns
The Z06 trades the convenience of the run-flat tires on other Corvette models for Goodyear Eagle F1 Supercar tires. There's no spare tire, but there is a tire inflator for emergencies. The new tires are key to the Z06's ability to pull 1.0 g of lateral force, basically how fast you can take a turn before the tires begin to slide. It's the first mass-produced sports car to crack the 1.0-g barrier. And while the ride is certainly stiffer than in other Corvettes, you won't need to visit the chiropractor after a long stint behind the wheel.
At its handling limit, this Corvette remains wonderfully balanced and predictable. This is a car your grandmother could drive fast and look great doing it. Brakes are also world-class, with terrific pedal feel and resistance to fading, a loss of braking power after repeated hard stops.
The Z06 is also the world's first car to use titanium in an exhaust system that benefits from the exotic metal's light weight and resistance to corrosion. Thinner glass and less sound-deadening insulation also help trim the Z06 to 3,115 pounds. That's more than 100 pounds lighter than the Corvette coupe.
The trick exhaust system also delivers a robust note that's a welcome improvement over the somewhat tame sound emitted by the standard Corvette. The car now announces its V8 arrival, but not so boorishly as to get tossed from civilized society.
Corvettes also carve out a nice safety margin with standard traction control and active handling systems. Barring a total brain-lock, it's virtually impossible to make this car slide more than a few feet before the system corrects your misbehavior.
Maybe too wild on street
So is there anything to criticize in this Corvette?
Yes, but let's preface that with a general statement:
There is a limit to how fast a street car can be before the extra power becomes superfluous. The Z06, to me, approaches that limit. It's about as wild a performer as any sane person would want.
But as noted by my good friend Charles, mostly you're not driving a sports car anywhere near its limits. Instead, you're just driving and looking around the interior, feeling the switches, settling into the seats. To more and more drivers of ultra-performance cars, luxurious feel is becoming just as important as a top speed that most people will never dare approach. And now that the Corvette can keep up with practically any exotic sports car you can name, its next challenge is to improve its refinement. Especially in the interior.
There's no problem with the instrument cluster itself. It's a racy model of form and function, with huge, readable gauges and handsome blue-gray backlighting. The fat and grippy steering wheel is terrific, as are seats that hug you in all the right places.
But at fewer than 6,000 miles, the leather seat cushion bolsters in my test vehicle were already showing signs of wear. The leather itself has never seemed particularly high-quality. And the Corvette certainly deserves stereo controls that don't come from the same parts bin that supplies the Malibu or Silverado pickup. (The stereo, a Bose system, is quite good). And I've never been wild about the feel or look of the Vette's block-shaped shifter.
Some have suggested you shouldn't nitpick the Corvette's interior when you're getting this much car for the money. I beg to differ. There are cars that cost less that hit home runs for interior design and finish. The Audi TT springs to mind.
Still, one back-road blast in the Z06 or any Corvette model will certainly push thoughts of interior aesthetics to the back of your mind.
Chevy also did right by keeping the Z06's price down to where it becomes basically a straight-up choice between the beauty convertible or this performance beast.
But as much I enjoy convertibles, a (too short) week in the Z06 convinced me I could trade the wind in my hair for the sight of Porsches in my rearview mirror.
Motor paranaense equipará carro oriental
Carsale
- Durante a divulgação dos resultados de 2000 e das perspectivas para o próximo
ano, o presidente da DaimlerChrysler do Brasil, Ben van Schaik, disse que os
motores 1.4 e 1.6 Tritec (joint venture entre a BMW e a Chrysler), fabricados no
Paraná, poderão equipar algum modelo compacto da japonesa Mitsubishi ou da
coreana Hyundai, marcas recém adquiridas pela DaimlerChrysler. Assim, a
capacidade produtiva de 400 mil motores seria melhor aproveitada, já que apenas
160 mil são destinadas ao BMW Mini.
Ainda no setor de motores, a
DailmerChrysler está desenvolvendo o projeto de um novo propulsor de alta
cilindrada com a Caterpillar, empresa que também passou recentemente a fazer
parte do grupo DailmerChrysler. Outros produtos e novidades também devem surgir
a partir da atuação em conjunto com a Detroit Diesel, outra recente aquisição do
grupo.
Ford retarda
lançamento do novo Explorer para evitar recalls
Nova versão do utilitário deveria estar nas revendas em
janeiro
Detroit, EUA - A Ford Motor vai retardar o lançamento do Explorer
2002, previsto originalmente para o início do ano que vem. A empresa quer ter
certeza de que a nova versão de seu utilitário, o mais vendido nos Estados
Unidos, sairá livre de defeitos e da necessidade de recalls.
O segundo maior fabricante de automóveis do mundo anunciou que, apesar de ter
iniciado a fabricação do veículo, só começará a entregá-lo aos concessionários a
partir da metade de fevereiro.
Foram exatamente os concessionários da marca que pressionaram a Ford a
resolver os problemas antes que novos modelos cheguem às lojas. O Escape,
utilitário de menor porte, lançado em agosto, já passou por cinco recalls desde
então. Os defeitos vão das porcas que seguram o volante à fiação do piloto
automático, abrangendo também a tubulação de combustível.
A Ford está estocando os Explorer produzidos, enquanto os veículos continuam
a ser testados. Segundo um porta-voz da empresa, o objetivo é que eles cheguem
às revendas sem qualquer possibilidade de apresentarem problemas de projeto ou
fabricação.
Ao fechar a fábrica de caminhões, em SP, montadora vai cortar metade das vagas
Ford abre demissão voluntária
Marli Olmos | De São Paulo - Valor Online
Antônio Maciel Neto,
presidente da Ford Brasil: só com carro popular é possível competir no mercado
brasileiro.
Foto: Pio Figueiroa | Valor
Somente a metade dos cerca de mil funcionários da fábrica da Ford do Ipiranga, em São Paulo, vão ser transferida para São Bernardo do Campo. Para os demais, a montadora abriu um programa de demissão voluntária. A fábrica do Ipiranga só vai operar até esta sexta-feira. Na volta das férias coletivas, em janeiro, os caminhões da marca passarão a ser produzidos em São Bernardo do Campo, onde são montados os automóveis Ka e Fiesta.
O fechamento da fábrica do Ipiranga faz parte do processo de enxugamento da companhia no Brasil, que este ano conseguirá reduzir o prejuízo do ano passado à metade. Quinhentos trabalhadores que produziam no Ipiranga cerca de 1.200 caminhões por mês vão para o ABC. Trocam a representação sindical da Força Sindical pela Central Única dos Trabalhadores (CUT).
Para os 480 voluntários à demissão, a Ford oferece, como estímulo, de 1,2 a 1,4 salário por ano de casa e mais períodos extras de plano médico ou o equivalente em dinheiro – que representa remuneração de R$ 1.750 a R$ 3.500. "É nosso melhor pacote de demissão voluntária porque trata-se do fechamento de uma fábrica", afirma o presidente da Ford Brasil, Antonio Maciel Neto.
Agora, o prédio da Ford no bairro do Ipiranga está à venda. Não serve mais para uma fábrica porque está no meio do perímetro urbano – uma das razões da transferência. Essa fábrica tornou-se um dos marcos da época da Autolatina – a aliança entre Ford e Volkswagen nos anos 80. A unidade se tornou famosa por ter montagem de caminhões das duas marcas em dois andares – uma forma de resolver o problema de espaço na época.
O enxugamento que a Ford está fazendo no Brasil para recuperar-se da perda de mercado que amarga desde a Autolatina inclui ainda pesado investimento nos revendedores autorizados. A empresa está injetando dinheiro na rede para salvar as concessionárias em dificuldade e incentivar a venda para novos investidores.
Como exemplo, a montadora às vezes oferece um financiamento especial para o concessionário endividado com o Banco Ford que precisa tornar o seu ponto atraente para vendê-lo. O resultado desse empreendimento – cujo investimento vem da verba destinada a promoções – tem sido uma alteração na fatia de mercado em diversas regiões.
Em Macapá, a participação da marca saltou de 3% para 19% depois do auxílio aos pontos de venda em dificuldade. No Brasil, segundo Maciel, há 20 cidades em que a participação da marca já passa dos 20%. Em São Paulo, a fatia é de 8% e a média nacional será de 9,3% este ano.
Para ajudar a cuidar da imagem e da diversificação de produtos, a empresa acaba de lançar o Focus, um carro que vem da Argentina para concorrer com outros médios de luxo. Mas, para melhorar a participação no mercado e evitar que a recém-chegada Renault passe à sua frente, a montadora depende de uma nova linha de veículos. O próprio presidente da companhia diz que o quadro só vai se reverter a partir da inauguração da nova fábrica, na Bahia, que fará, a partir do final do próximo ano, uma nova família de modelos.
"Não há como competir nesse mercado sem o carro popular", afirma Maciel. De fato, em nenhum momento durante este semestre a participação do carro popular nas vendas de automóveis no Brasil foi inferior a 70%. O faturamento da empresa vai crescer 26% este ano, num total de US$ 2,1 bilhões.
Nota - Cummins desenvolve novo motor de alta
potência
São Paulo, 12 de
dezembro de 2000 - A Cummins, uma das líderes no mercado de motores a diesel
para veículos comerciais leves, médios e pesados, está desenvolvendo um motor
diesel com injeção eletrônica de alta rotação. Com isso, a empresa entrará no
segmento de motores para picapes com capacidade abaixo de quatro mil toneladas.
Em setembro, a empresa inaugurou uma nova linha de produção de geradores de
energia e espera exportar US$ 12 milhões para diversos países da América Latina.
(Gazeta Mercantil/Página C5) (Rosana Hessel)
|
Nota -
Reestruturação da GM na Europa e na América do Norte inclui
demissões 13 de dezembro de 2000 - A General Motors informou que reduzirá 10% de sua força de trabalho assalariada na América do Norte e Europa em 2001, e eliminará por etapas sua divisão de Oldsmobile nos próximos anos. A empresa, que está perdendo dinheiro na Europa, disse que fechará sua montadora de Luton, no norte de Londres. Don Hackworth, vice-presidente das operações automotivas da GM na América do Norte, disse em junho que a empresa passaria por 'dificuldades' para reverter o declínio nas vendas da Oldsmobile, mesmo investindo em novos modelos, informa a Bloomberg News. (Gazeta Mercantil/Página C2) |
Austrália terá van Sprinter da Argentina
Marli Olmos | De São Paulo
A fábrica da van Sprinter, na Argentina, vai atender dois contratos de exportação que a unidade da Mercedes-Benz da Alemanha não pode cumprir por falta de capacidade. Esse programa adicional de exportações será destinado à Austrália e África do Sul e elevará a produção da unidade em 57%.
Até hoje, a fábrica de Buenos Aires atendia mercado local e Brasil. Das 10.400 vans produzidas este ano, 7.200 vieram para o Brasil. Os contratos para África e Austrália somarão 6 mil unidades em 2001. O grupo DaimlerChrysler, ao qual pertence a Mercedes, repetirá na Argentina estratégia de aproveitamento.
O grupo também aproveitará o espaço que sobra na fábrica de Juiz de Fora (MG), onde é fabricado o automóvel Classe A, para, a partir de janeiro, produzir o luxuoso Classe C, somente para exportar para os Estados Unidos, uma vez que a fábrica da Alemanha não comporta expansão.
"Para produzir mais nessas fábricas teríamos que investir muito", explica o presidente da DaimlerChrysler na América Latina, Ben van Schaik. O enxugamento das operações – motivo da fusão entre a alemã Daimler Benz e a americana Chrysler – passa, na América do Sul, pelo aproveitamento de espaço.
Segundo Schaik, com a fusão de áreas – como recursos humanos, departamento jurídico e manutenção de fábricas – o grupo conseguirá no Brasil um corte de R$ 15 milhões nos custos do próximo ano.
O executivo também confirmou que passa por estudos o aproveitamento de fábricas ociosas para a produção de modelos das empresas que o grupo vem adquirindo. Um carro da marca Mitsubishi poderá, por exemplo, ser produzido em alguma fábrica da DaimlerChrysler no Brasil ou Argentina.
A direção da companhia na América Latina não confirma, porém, cortes nas operações Chrysler como conseqüência da crise nos Estados Unidos, onde investidores americanos criticam os enxugamentos que vêm sendo feito nas fábricas Chrysler. Segundo Schaik, isso é conseqüência da queda na demanda do mercado americano.
O diretor de marketing e vendas da Chrysler na América Latina, Michael Cole, disse que decisões como a de aproveitar estruturas industriais para fabricar produtos de marcas diferentes na região terão de ser referendadas pela matriz da companhia.
A fábrica de caminhões e ônibus da Mercedes-Benz, em São Bernardo do Campo (SP) é a que apresenta melhor desempenho. É para essa unidade que o grupo destinará a totalidade do investimento de R$ 600 milhões previsto para 2001 a 2003.
A Mercedes fecha o ano com participação de 37% no mercado de caminhões e de 59 % em ônibus. Programou para 2001 o lançamento de nove modelos de caminhões e de quatro de ônibus.
Schaik aponta o desempenho no segmento de caminhões pesados para justificar sua expectativa de ver o faturamento da companhia crescer mais 10% em 2001. Este ano, o grupo vai faturar R$ 4,5 bilhões no Brasil, 15% mais do que em 1999. Desse total, R$ 2,4 bilhões serão obtidos com Mercedes.
Comércio Eletrônico
Carsale usa ofertas para vender
Edson Porto | De São Paulo
A venda de carros pela internet é viável, mesmo que você não seja uma montadora de automóveis. Esta é a mensagem que o site de comércio de veículos Carsale – uma parceria entre o grupo Perigeu e o Universo Online – lançou ontem, ao mesmo tempo em que anunciou o balanço de suas operações no ano 2000.
O site começou a fazer negócios em junho e até o início deste mês, segundo seus executivos, negociou 2,8 mil veículos. A estimativa é fechar o ano com 3,2 mil carros negociados.
O número não é alto se comparado com os resultados, por exemplo, da General Motors do Brasil, que começou a vender seu lançamento mais recente, o Celta, em setembro e desde então comercializou mais de 8,6 mil veículos pela web – 56% do total.
A diferença é que a venda da montadora é auxiliada pela rede de concessionárias, que mantém quiosques de vendas nas lojas. "Com a estratégia e as parcerias certas esse é um negócio que funciona na rede", afirma Pacífico Paoli, presidente do grupo Perigeu.
A estratégia da Carsale é reforçar as vendas com ofertas, como passagens aéreas que são dadas a quem compra no site.
De acordo com Paoli, isso vale a pena porque o site já está atingindo o seu equilíbrio operacional.
Há pelo menos 50 sites de comércio de carros no Brasil. A maioria, no entanto, não vende diretamente veículos e funciona como uma mídia on-line.
"A experiência americana mostra que esse é o caminho mais correto para o mercado", acredita Silvio Barros, presidente do Webmotors, que faz justamente isso.
Segundo ele, as montadoras tendem a dominar a venda direta, ao lado de sites individuais de concessionárias.
Paoli não concorda. "É claro que é preciso ter o lado real para a empresa funcionar direito", diz ele. "E é exatamente o que estamos fazendo, reunindo mais de 220 concessionárias de várias marcas.
O ponto, na visão do ex-superintendente da Fiat no Brasil, é que fazer isso é muito difícil. É um jogo para poucos.
PSA inaugura em 1º de fevereiro no RJ
Carsale -
A direção mundial do grupo PSA Peugeot-Citroën marcou para 1º de fevereiro de
2001 a inauguração de sua primeira fábrica no Brasil, em Porto Real, município
próximo a Resende, no Rio de Janeiro, informa o Folha Online. Nessa planta, que
representa investimentos de US$ 600 milhões, serão produzidas 100 mil
unidades/ano da minivan Xsara Picasso, da Citroën, e do popular 206, equipado
com motor 1.0, da Peugeot.
TOKYO, Dec 14 (Reuters) - Japanese tyre maker Bridgestone Corp <5108.T> on Thursday slashed its profit estimate for this year by 80 percent, hit by losses at its troubled U.S. subsidiary Bridgestone/Firestone Inc after a high-profile tyre recall.
Bridgestone said it would take a $750 million special loss this year to cover recall costs and potential damage claims at the U.S. unit, which replaced 6.5 million tyres this year after defects were implicated in more than 160 traffic deaths, mainly in the United States.
"We are keenly aware that the recall has diminished consumer confidence in the Firestone brand," Bridgestone President Yoichiro Kaizaki told a news conference.
He said the number of Firestone brand tyres sold in the U.S. replacement market was down more than 40 percent in November from 1999 levels, in line with a similar drop in September and October, and would be down nearly half next year compared with 1999. The United States accounts for about 30 percent of Bridgestone's consolidated revenues.
In a move common at big Japanese companies hit by scandal or high-profile foul-ups, Bridgestone's board voted on Thursday to cut directors' monthly pay by up to 30 percent for four months and to reduce bonuses and other benefits, as one means of achieving closure after the company's recent troubles.
Kaizaki stressed, however, that the cuts would not be applied to its U.S. subsidiary and were made in response to the decline in the company's profits, not as an indication of responsibility for the recall.
CONVERGENCE OF FACTORS
The Japanese tyre manufacturer estimated group net profit in 2000 would drop to 13 billion yen ($116 million), down from an August estimate of 67 billion yen and last year's 88.69 billion yen result.
The revision came as little surprise to the market after Bridgestone warned in early December the entire recall-related bill at Bridgestone/Firestone, including $450 million in charges to settle claims, could total $900 million this year. Kaizaki said on Thursday the figure had fallen to $750 million.
Bridgestone's shares ended 0.54 percent lower at 1,110 yen on Thursday. They have managed to steady after hitting a nine-year low of 938 yen on October 20 in reaction to the U.S. recall news, which triggered a more than 50 percent drop in their value.
Kaizaki said Bridgestone/Firestone would post a $500 million net loss this year, its first such loss in eight years, followed by a $200 million loss next year, although he hopes to return the subsidiary to profitability in the second half of 2002.
Bridgestone also stuck to its plan to increase its annual dividend payout this year to 16 yen per share, up two yen from last year.
Kaizaki said Bridgestone officials, in meetings with the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on Wednesday and Thursday, were reiterating the company's stance that the root cause of the accidents lay in a convergence of various factors, including materials, manufacturing processes and the cars that were equipped with the tyres.
Most of the recalled Firestone tyres were fitted to Ford Motor Co's popular Explorer sport utility vehicle.
Analysts said Bridgestone's damage claim estimate of $450 million resulting from lawsuits against Bridgestone/Firestone sounded reasonable, given similar damage claim cases in the United States involving other Japanese automakers.
But they said uncertainties over potential punitive charges would probably continue to weigh on Bridgestone's shares.
Online car-buying hasn't caught on
December 14, 2000
BY JEFF BENNETT
DETROIT FREE
PRESS BUSINESS WRITER
When Maryann Keller quit Priceline.com Inc.'s auto-selling service last month, her words seemed to confirm what Wall Street already suspected: "For car buying, the Internet is an idea whose time has not yet come and may never."
After more than a year of hype, high stock prices and warnings to car salespeople that they should find other jobs, purchasing a vehicle online has failed to change how the automotive selling industry works.
Some analysts have gone a step further, saying that actually paying for a car through a Web site, no matter what the business model, won't work. Web sites that provide car shopper leads to dealers -- third-party intermediaries -- will also die.
Ultimately, they say, the only winners will be the local dealerships and carmakers who will use the Internet to get more customers and strengthen their customer relationships by providing additional services after the vehicle is sold. These could include informing the car buyer that it's time to bring the car back to the dealership for an oil change or flagging any recalls on the car or truck.
"Car buyers are using the Internet to get the means to a lower price and not the way to get a kinder, gentler way of purchasing the vehicle." said Chris Denove, a partner with JD Power & Associates who follows the auto industry.
Take Julie Buyers of Troy. She is one of the 1.8 million Americans who will use the Internet this year to find information about buying a car.
Buyers, 38, spent more than an hour researching online, but when it came time to purchasing her new blue Neon she went into a dealership. "I just didn't feel comfortable clicking on a button and saying I'll give you more than $12,000," she said.
"I have to see the person. But let me tell you, using the Internet made it a whole lot easier because I knew the price ranges and what I wanted before I went in."
But it's not only shoppers sending a message to the dot-coms by not transacting their car purchases online. Wall Street has also weighed in.
Here's how the following Web sites, which allow customers to complete the entire transaction online, now stand.
CarsDirect.com, which provides a set price to customers and then looks for that car from its dealers, received a $17-million infusion from the Detroit-based UnitedAuto Group owned by Roger S. Penske, then in May filed its intention to sell its shares to the public. On Dec. 6, CarsDirect announced it was withdrawing the IPO filing, based on the "currently unfavorable conditions in the public equity market." No word on whether or when the company might try for a public offering again.
CarOrder.com was launched in January 1999 with $100 million in seed money with plans of buying a network of 100 new-car dealerships around the country. The privately held company shut down its Web site in August.
CarSmart.com, the San Ramon, Calif.-based company, would pass preferences submitted by customers to dealerships. The dealership"s would contact the customer via phone or e-mail.
The publicly traded company was acquired by Autobytel.com in February.
AutoNationDirect.com, a publicly traded company, offers customers research, financing and complete car buying online. It refers car buyers to dealers. The company, AutoNation, has seen its stock price drop from $42.13 on Jan. 24, 1997 to below $7.
Priceline.com Inc.'s automotive services president, Maryann Keller, resigned after the publicly traded company racked up third-quarter net losses of $2 million and laid off 16 percent of its workforce of 535 people, including 23 of 46 employees in the automotive group. Priceline allowed buyers to name their own price. Those prices were forwarded to dealers who signed on with Priceline.
Autoweb.com, which refers buyers to dealers, announced Nov. 17 it was cutting 25 percent of its workforce in a bid to save more than $10 million a year. Sam Hedgpeth, the publicly traded company's chief executive officer, resigned in early November. Its stock price dropped from $33.06 in April 1999 to below 50 cents.
AutoTrader.com, a virtual used-car lot, canceled plans to go public in early November because of depressed stock prices in the Internet company sector.
The privately held company lost $22.7 million in 1998 and $46.7 million in 1999. The company hopes to turn a profit within the next 12 to 18 months.
Autobytel, a publicly traded company that collects sales leads and passes them on to dealers, doesn't expect to turn a profit until 2001. Its stock, which premiered at $39.94 on April 1, 1999, has steadily dropped to below $5.
"As the sifting through of all the opportunities for consumers, as that begins to weed itself out, we will definitely be one of the survivors," Charles (Chick) Ramsay Jr., senior vice president of automotive operations at Autobytel.com., told the San Jose (Calif.) Mercury News in an interview last month.
But Keller, a respected automotive analyst before joining Priceline in July 1999, told the Free Press that American car shoppers want to spend time with a dealer.
"Whether this is a $15,000 car or a $90,000 car, this a major purchase for a lot of people," Keller said. "They need dealers, and they need showrooms."
She added that the online car buying sites can't handle trade-ins because they have to be seen by the dealer. Aabout 40 percent of all new-car buying involves a trade-in.
Nor can consumers test-drive vehicles online. "You can't tell how the seat is going to feel against your butt," she said.
Greenfield Online, a Wilton, Conn.-based research company, found that 63 percent of the 2,000 people it surveyed who recently purchased a used or new car consulted the Internet but bought through a dealer.
Most said the reason they didn't actually transact the purchase online was because they feel uncomfortable, regard the purchase as too large to make online or prefer to deal with a salesperson.
"We are seeing progress in terms of the comfort people have in buying online. Before they were buying CDs and books at $20. Now they are buying airplane tickets valued at $200," said Gail Janensch, Greenfield's spokeswoman. "But could you ever get to that five-figure? No one has a crystal ball."
Janensch said she wonders if any of the current online auto sites have enough money to wait it out.
Keller doesn't think so.
"The Internet is a powerful tool and has a tremendous role to play, but it is not going to be supported by third-party intermediaries. I proved that conclusively to myself."
Keller said the amount of revenue generated on each sale is low for the third parties. For instance, Priceline made a maximum of $250 on each transaction despite putting together deals that ran into the thousands. In about 20 states, Priceline made no money because franchise laws barred third parties from collecting fees for brokering sales, Keller said.
Priceline's revenues, like those of most third parties, came from fees paid by the dealership. It also charged the customer $50. Other sites offered for free the similar service of linking dealer with buyer.
Keller said the automotive unit was breaking about even, although it didn't pay for its own advertising and had an information technology workforce of five people.
Keller's view is directly opposite that of analysts and some current dot-com operators.
For instance, Baba Sheety, an automotive analyst for Forrester Research, predicts that 6.5 percent or $33 billion of new-car sales will be completed over the Internet by 2005.
But Keller claims the online buyers don't represent the general public. "The online car buyer is a different kind of buyer. They are looking for a hard-to-find vehicle, a bargain or looking to confirm a good price from a dealer."
Keller She also said the analysts are following the Internet model rather than the car business. "Very few people that I encountered who cover Internet companies understand the business they are in," she said. "I would say we are having problems with franchise laws. They said franchise laws would change because the Internet was here."
Although the debate continues over selling through the Internet, there is no question when it comes to shoppers using the World Wide Web to gather information.
Santa Monica, Calif.-based Edmunds.com, which provides such information as new- and used-car prices, including trade-ins and car reviews, is averaging 2.8 million visitors per month, each of whom is spending about 20 minutes at the site.
JD Power's Denove said the research sites are changing how dealers advertise and handle pricing information. "The internet could make price transparent so that dealers will differentiate on other things, such as service, rather than price," he said. "Currently the two biggest differences for dealers are vehicle selection and price."
He added the move to a transparent price is already under way.
"It still never ceases to amaze me that a dealer will refuse to give a price quote over the telephone but will give it if it's e-mailed," he said.
| Dec. 13, 2000 |
| GM,
supplier form logistics joint venture |
|
Dec. 13 -- General Motors is handing off supervision of its worldwide parts delivery and vehicle shipments to a new joint venture company it has formed with supply chain specialist CNF Inc. The shift of responsibility to the joint venture, Vector SCM, is aimed at reducing the time it takes for GM to deliver vehicles to dealers. One-party management of the company's global logistics could trim four to five days off the delivery time within two or three years, said Gary Kowalski, Vector's CEO. In North America, GM's current delivery time is typically about 13 days. GM officials wouldn't disclose expected cost savings in its $5 billion annual logistics budget, but indicated they would be significant. Vector's responsibilities cover both the shipments of parts to manufacturing plants and of vehicles to dealers. The partnership is expected to reduce the number of GM's logistics providers. GM also wants to use common computer software at the new venture to track vehicles and parts more accurately than today. Vector SCM, which will operate out of Troy, Mich., is majority owned by CNF, a $6 billion supply chain management company in Palo Alto, Calif. Vector employs about 100 people and is expected to employ more than 200 within a few months. GM, meanwhile, plans to gradually reduce its own logistics personnel -- 800 worldwide and 300 in the United States -- through attrition as logistics management responsibility is gradually turned over to Vector. A target employment reduction wasn't shared, but GM will maintain a smaller logistics organization aimed at strategic management of the automaker's supply chain initiatives. GM, CNF form logistics joint venture
December 14, 2000
REUTERS
DETROIT -- General Motors Corp. and transportation holding company CNF Inc. have formed a joint venture that the No. 1 automaker hopes will allow it to reduce inventories and cut the time it takes to ship vehicles to consumers as well as speed up shipments of parts to assembly plants.
GM's worldwide purchasing chief, Harold Kutner said that the program will allow the automaker to cut its total annual inventory, including vehicles shipped to dealers and auto parts shipped to assembly plants, of $40 billion in half over time.
But he did not specify the time period for the savings to be realized.
GM also named a new chief financial officer on Wednesday, hiring former Ford Motor Co. CFO John Devine to the position as well as a vice chairman. The news comes a day after GM forecast disappointing earnings and announced it was phasing out its Oldsmobile brand and cutting 4 percent of its worldwide work force.
GM shares were up 3 percent or 1-9/16 at $53-5/16 a share in Wednesday trading on the New York Stock Exchange. Its 52-week high is $94-5/8, while the 52-week low is $48-7/16. CNF shares however, were down nearly 4 percent losing 1-1/8 to 28-5/8 in mid-afternoon trading.
The Detroit-based automaker said the joint venture, Vector SCM, will allow it to reduce car inventory in transit to dealers by making deliveries faster and more reliable. It said Vector would make GM more competitive because it would be able to build a car to schedule when necessary and deliver that car as promised to the consumer.
"This is certainly a big day for General Motors and even a bigger day for General Motors customers," Harold Kutner, head of GM's worldwide purchasing and logistics, told reporters on a conference call.
He and other GM officials said the goal is to reduce vehicle delivery time over the next two to three years in North America, where the program will be initially launched, to eight days or less from an average of 13 days now. Kutner said GM expects to cut its vehicle inventory dollars in half.
After North America, the venture will be rolled out to Latin America, Europe and Asia Pacific, Kutner said.
GM, which spends $5 billion annually on global logistics, handles 180 million pounds of freight daily from all over globe, has 12,000 suppliers and sends parts to more than 70 vehicle assembly plants around world. It also ships 35,000 vehicles daily.
Kutner also said Vector SCM will allow GM to cut the number of logistics providers as well as supply chain costs, but he declined to say by how much.
CNF and GM officials said CNF's operating companies -- Con-Way Transportation Services, Emery Worldwide and Menlo Logistics -- will compete for GM business like other providers.
The automaker said it would transfer its logistics services and management to Vector over a period of three years in North America. The services include inbound production material, vehicle distribution, and international export and import. GM said Vector will expand to other areas, depending on need.
The companies said CNF will hold a larger equity stake, but at least one of the GM-appointed board members must approve any major financial or strategic decisions. No further details were provided about the joint venture's capital or board structure.
Standard & Poor's said the venture will be a positive development for CNF, but said it has no impact on CNF's ratings.
Vector will be based in the Detroit suburb of Novi, with 75 employees, and will open other offices around the world, GM said. Palo Alto, Calif.-based CNF, a $6 billion global supply-chain services firm, expects employment to grow to more than 200 people in the next few months.
GM said it will cut its 800-person global logistics staff through attrition, but retain a core group in planning and forecasting.
Vector will serve GM to start, but the partners said it may expand in the future to serve other automakers and industries.
|
DETROIT, Dec 13 (Reuters) - General
Motors Corp. Chief Executive Officer Rick Wagoner on
Wednesday said GM was still interested in troubled South Korean automaker Daewoo
Motor Co Ltd.
However, he expected no deal soon for bankrupt
Daewoo, which crumbled under a debt burden estimated at $7.45 billion on June
30. GM teamed with Italian automaker Fiat SpA "We haven't given up, still a lot of work," Wagoner
told reporters following a press conference in Detroit to name a new chief
financial officer. "It would be misleading to say we're close to something
there, though. I don't know when it might be resolved."
GM's new chief financial officer, John Devine, who
takes the reins officially on Jan. 1, said GM is still engaged in due diligence
on Daewoo.
Daewoo Chairman Lee Jong-dae told reporters last
week that it would discuss selling some overseas assets to other automakers,
including Korea's Hyundai Motor Co. Ltd. <05380.KS>, if GM did not want
them.
Lee said Daewoo and its creditors will work on
alternatives if GM, the world's biggest automaker, abandoned its takeover
negotiations, as Ford Motor Co. did in September.
In June, Ford was named the priority bidder to
exclusively negotiate a takeover of the Korean automaker, beating out a GM-Fiat
consortium and a team of Hyundai and DaimlerChrysler AG Daewoo Motor, which had been put under debt workout
since August 1999, along with 11 affiliated Daewoo firms, sold over 945,000
vehicles last year and has sprawling operations spanning 12 countries.
Nissan Plans Alliance With Suzuki for
Minivehicles, NEN Says
Tokyo, Dec. 15 (Bloomberg) -- Nissan Motor Co. plans to sell minivehicles in Japan through an alliance being negotiated with Suzuki Motor Corp., the country's No. 1 minivehicle maker, Nikkei English News said, without citing sources.
Suzuki plans to supply Nissan, Japan's third-largest automaker, with minivehicles, which are cars and trucks that have engines smaller than 660 cc, NEN said. Nissan will sell Suzuki vehicles under its brand name within two years, with up to 100,000 units expected to be sold annually, NEN said.
Nissan, which plans to later design and develop its own minivehicles using Suzuki engines, will become the seventh company to sell that type of vehicle in Japan, NEN said. Minivehicles account for more than 30 percent of Japan's new car market, NEN said.
Suzuki now supplies Mazda Motor Co. with 45,000 minivehicles annually, NEN
said. In 1999, Suzuki sold 579,000 minivehicles. (NEN 12/15) For the Nihon
Keizai Web site, see {NKEI
CHICAGO, Dec 13 (Reuters) - General Motors Corp.'s announcement that it will kill off the more than 100-year-old Oldsmobile brand came about 10 years too late, branding experts said on Wednesday.
The move, announced Tuesday, was part of a sweeping reorganization at the world's largest auto maker as it struggles to remake itself in an increasingly competitive industry.
"They made a decision they should have made 10 years ago," said John Lister, partner in the New York branding firm Lister Butler Consulting. "They've been agonizing over this."
Lister said the brand was a victim of its siblings. "GM has done a splendidly poor job of differentiating between its mass-market brands. I'd be hard-pressed to tell the difference between Olds, Pontiac and Chevrolet. They seem to be different shells over the same guts."
"It's long overdue," said Jack Trout, president of Trout & Partners, a Greenwich, Conn.-based marketing strategy firm. "This has been a dying brand for a long time. Instead of continuing to throw a lot of money at it, they would have been better served to let it fade away years ago."
Oldsmobile, founded in 1897 by Ransom E. Olds in Lansing, Mich., was one of the most venerable marquees in the automotive industry. The Oldsmobile Curved Dash was one of the first mass-produced cars and Olds was one of the first to offer an automatic transmission.
U.S. sales peaked at over 1 million in 1985 with the success of the Cutlass and the 88.
GM invested $4 billion to $5 billion to revamp the Oldsmobile lineup over the past five years to make it more appealing to younger buyers by offering the Alero small car and the Aurora sedan.
As for the once-vaunted Oldsmobile brand, Trout said, "It's a brand that doesn't have any meaning anymore. You have a slowly dying brand, surrounded by an army of very aggressive, tough competitors."
Lister said Oldsmobile's demise was the result of years of neglect. "If you think of a brand as a promise, what GM did was make it stand for 25 years of mediocre design. You can't have a brand attached to an uninteresting product for that period and expect it to survive."
Aside from steadily sliding sales, Oldsmobile's troubles were evident in the increasingly desperate tone of its advertising messages. Slogans such as the current "Start something," "Demand Better" from 1992 and the memorable 1988 slogan, "This is not your father's Oldsmobile," now read as reminders of the venerable brand's troubles connecting with younger buyers.
Lister said the problem with saying, "This is not your father's Oldsmobile," is that it begged the question, "Then, what is it?"
Linda Wolf, chief executive officer of Bcom3 Group's Leo Burnett USA, which created the advertising slogan 12 years ago and remains Olds' ad agency, said in an interview, "I think the slogan is very memorable. It's become part of the vernacular. The challenge at the time was that the Oldsmobile line had not been totally redone, so it was difficult for the product to live up to the advertising."
Wolf said the news that GM was retiring the Olds brand came as a surprise. "We were excited about the brand. We've worked with them for a long time and we will work with them on the transition," she said.
GM's ongoing struggles to find the right message for Oldsmobile continued to the end. The carmaker had asked for new advertising ideas from three of its roster agencies: Burnett, Interpublic Group's McCann-Erickson, New York, which handles the Buick line and GM's corporate advertising, and E. Morris Communications, Chicago, which does African-American advertising for GM.
A GM spokesman said the auto maker will continue with the review process. The agencies had been vying for what was initially described as an umbrella campaign for the Oldsmobile division set for 2001. But industry insiders said they believed that the line's entire estimated $300 million annual advertising account was at stake.
Industry sources said Wednesday the effort now will shift into promotion mode as GM seeks strategies for clearing out its Oldsmobile inventory. "I would think you'd have to move the inventory very quickly," said Suzanne Hogan of brand strategy firm Lippincott & Margulies, New York.
"That would imply there may be some tremendous price
advantages. At this point, you sort of hope to break even."
DETROIT (Reuters) - Chrysler, the struggling U.S. unit of DaimlerChrysler AG , is looking at using unused capacity at its North American plants to build vehicles made by South Korean affiliate Hyundai Motor Co. Ltd. , sources close to the situation said Wednesday.
``That's a very strong possibility,'' said one person, who asked not to be identified. ``Everything is on the table right now.''
Chrysler and Hyundai officials declined to comment, but Chrysler executives are racing to strengthen operations at a unit that lost $512 million in the third quarter and may lose that much in the fourth quarter.
Germany's DaimlerChrysler bought a 10-percent stake in Hyundai in June for $428 million.
Sources said it's still too early to say what will happen, but all possibilities that would save Chrysler money are being explored. ``It's safe to say we are looking at everything,'' one Chrysler insider said.
Hyundai officials have said the company would like to build a U.S. plant to assemble vehicles starting in 2004 made by the Korean company and its subsidiary, Kia Motors . No plant site or vehicle to build have been chosen, but the process is continuing, another source said.
Hyundai previously said a U.S. assembly plant would be built when Hyundai and Kia's combined annual U.S. sales hit 500,000 vehicles. They are on pace to sell 400,000 this year.
However, the U.S. auto industry, which will set another sales record this year, is beginning to slow. General Motors Corp. , Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler all have cut scheduled plant production and reduced overtime as sales have slowed and vehicle inventories ballooned.
Chrysler was the first to get hit. Sales plummeted and consumer incentives soared in a vain effort to lure buyers into its dealer showrooms, hurting DaimlerChrysler's profits.
The U.S. automaker has closed several plants for weeks at a time and analysts expect more such shutdowns in the first quarter. Sources said DaimlerChrysler could reduce the amount of costly down-time in the future by shifting production around to create room to build Hyundai vehicles.
Using an established plant would save money by eliminating the need for worker training and slowly increased production at a new facility as workers learned how to build the new vehicles, sources said. While Hyundai also would likely prefer to avoid union-represented U.S. workers, the automaker has dealt with unionized employees in South Korea for years.
Nevertheless, Japanese and European automakers building new U.S. plants in the last decade tend to look in the Southeast, where unions are not strong, one analyst said. A unionized work force have a higher pay rate.
``It makes more sense from a Chrysler viewpoint than it does from a Hyundai viewpoint,'' said Burnham Securities analyst David Healy, referring to Chrysler's cost-cutting drive. ``It might look better on paper than it would in reality.''
With even its new minivan under attack, Chrysler is looking at everything to save money, including layoffs. Last week, it demanded 15-percent price cuts from its parts suppliers over the next two years.
When DaimlerChrysler bought its Hyundai stake, it targeted boosting the Korean firm's heavy-truck output and combining with it and Japanese affiliate Mitsubishi Motors Corp. to build a world small car.
Meanwhile, Chrysler said on Wednesday it will begin
preparing the body shop at its Windsor, Ont., minivan plant next week to build a
new vehicle analysts expect to be a sport wagon code-named CS that would combine
a car-like ride with SUV utility when it debuts in 2002. The Canadian plant will
close next week so the work can be completed.
Index
STOCKHOLM, Dec 13 (Reuters) - Volvo said on Wednesday rival vehicle maker DaimlerChrysler must not be allowed internal information on Mitsubishi's trucks division, in which both have a stake, if Volvo is to fulfil plans to raise its holding in the unit.
DaimlerChrysler Volvo "Before we go up to 20 percent we must be assured
that our competitors have no inside information about the company. We are in
talks with Mitsubishi now," Volvo trucks head of information Tommy Kohle told
Reuters.
It was unclear how Volvo could make the truck unit
withhold information from another of its shareholders. Kohle did not elaborate
on what kind of information concerned Volvo.
DaimlerChrysler, which has a big enough stake in
Mitsubishi to veto boardroom decisions, is widely seen as eager for Mitsubishi
to break off its ties with Volvo. The deal was sealed in October 1999, before
Mitsubishi's March alliance with the German-American auto giant.
Volvo has only about three percent of Mitsubishi
itself and so is vulnerable to DaimlerChrysler's veto power.
Kohle declined to say how Volvo would respond to any
bid by DaimlerChrysler to fully take over Mitsubishi, which it has an option to
do so over a three year period.
"When we know just what Daimler's relation to
Mitsubishi is and what relationship we have to Mitsubishi then we will know what
the consequences would be," he said.
The president of Volvo's Japan unit said last month
the awkward situation of Mitsubishi being allied to two rival vehicle makers was
"difficult."
"The alliance still stands -- it is a difficult
situation but we feel we have a very strong commitment from Mitsubishi Fuso and
we are not worried," he said.
Gewinnwarnung für das vierte Quartal
General Motors
kürzt Kapazität in Europa
zel DÜSSELDORF/ZÜRICH. General Motors (GM) wird
Anfang 2002 die Pkw-Fertigung in seinem britischen Werk Luton aufgeben. Der
US-Autokonzern begründete diesen Schritt am Dienstag mit der anhaltend
schlechten Ertragslage. Die Werksschließung auf der britischen Insel ist Teil
eines Maßnahmenpaketes, mit dem GM in Europa wieder schwarze Zahlen schreiben
will. Die europäische GM-Zentrale in Zürich gab gestern eine Gewinnwarnung für
das vierte Quartal heraus. Es sei ein „deutlich höherer Verlust" als im dritten
Quartal zu erwarten, als das Minus 181 Millionen Dollar betrug.
"Das heute
verkündete Restrukturierungsprogramm bringt uns zurück auf Wachstumskurs", sagte
GM-Europa-Chef Michael Burns. Bis 2004 will der größte Autohersteller der Welt
seine Kapazitäten in Europa um 400 000 Pkw verringern. Bereits in den nächsten
18 Monaten wird die GM-Belegschaft in Europa um 5 000 Stellen vermindert.
Die
deutsche GM-Tochter Opel ist nicht von dem neuen Stellenabbau betroffen. Es
bleibe bei der bereits angekündigten Streichung von 10 % der Stellen, die GM zur
Voraussetzung für den Bau einer neuen Fabrik am Stammsitz in Rüsselsheim gemacht
hatte, sagte ein Opel-Sprecher. In Deutschland kommt Opel auf gut 40 000
Mitarbeiter. Allerdings wird das Projekt für einen großen Opel Omega mit
Acht-Zylinder-Motor aus dem Programm genommen. In Nordamerika gibt GM die Marke
Oldsmobile auf.
Weiterer Stellenabbau könnte folgen
Die jetzt
verkündeten Stellenstreichungen werden bei GM Europa möglicherweise nicht die
letzten sein – Auslöser für einen weiteren Abbau könnte die seit dem Frühjahr
bestehende Kooperation mit dem italienischen Automobilhersteller Fiat werden.
Burns äußerte jedoch die Hoffnung, dass künftige Effizienzsteigerungen aus der
Zusammenarbeit von GM und Fiat nicht für einen zusätzlichen Stellenabbau,
sondern für eine gesteigerte Produktion und einen höheren Marktanteil eingesetzt
werden.
Der europäische Betriebsrat von GM kritisierte die Pläne für Luton.
„Wir sind viel zu spät informiert worden", sagte Thomas Klebe, Chef des
Arbeitnehmergremiums. GM verstoße mit der geplanten Aufgabe des Vectra in Luton
gegen bestehende Standortsicherungsverträge. „Die Schließung werden wir nicht
akzeptieren", betonte Klebe.
Der schwache Absatz und der Preisdruck in Europa
sind nach Angaben von GM dafür verantwortlich, dass der Gewinn je Aktie im
Gesamtkonzern im vierten Quartal auf 1,10 bis 1,20 Dollar fällt. Die Analysten
hatten 1,70 Dollar je Aktie erwartet.
HANDELSBLATT, Dienstag, 12. Dezember 2000
Automobilproduktion in Deutschland ist von Januar bis November
gesunken
Reuters FRANKFURT. Die deutsche Automobilproduktion ist in den
ersten elf Monaten des laufenden Jahres gesunken. Gegenüber dem
Vorjahreszeitraum sei bei Kraftwagen insgesamt ein Rückgang von zwei Prozent auf
5,15 Mill. Fahrzeuge verzeichnet worden, teilte der Verband der
Automobilindustrie (VDA) am Dienstag in Frankfurt mit. Die Zahl der
Neuzulassungen verringerte sich um zehn Prozent auf 3,423 Mill.. Im Monat
November gab es den weiteren Angaben zufolge im Vergleich zum November 1999 bei
Kraftwagen insgesamt einen Rückgang bei den Neuzulassungen von vier Prozent auf
290 000 Einheiten, während die Produktion um ein Prozent auf 551 300 Stück
stieg.
Die Pkw-Produktion ging unterdessen um drei Prozent auf 4,786 Mill. Fahrzeuge zurück, hieß es weiter. Bereinigt um die Produktionsumstellung bei Volkswagen blieb das Ergebnis im Jahresvergleich den Angaben zufolge unverändert. Die Zahl der Neuzulassungen verringerte sich um elf Prozent auf 3,134 Mill..
Bei der Lkw-Produktion ist den Angaben zufolge ein Plus von drei Prozent auf 363 700 Fahrzeuge verzeichnet worden. Die Neuzulassungen verringerten sich dagegen um zwei Prozent auf 268 100 Einheiten.
HANDELSBLATT, Dienstag, 12. Dezember 2000
Daimler erwägt Chrysler-Mitsubishi-Kooperation
Reuters FRANKFURT. Die
Daimler-Chrysler AG zieht eine enge Zusammenarbeit zwischen ihrer angeschlagenen
Chrysler-Sparte und dem japanischen Partner Mitsubishi Motors in Betracht. Ein
Sprecher des Konzerns sagte am Montag in Stuttgart, dies sei eine interessante
Möglichkeit. Er reagierte damit auf einen Bericht der Zeitung "Financial Times
Deutschland", wonach eine Kooperation zwischen Mitsubishi und Chrysler weit über
den Austausch von Teilen hinausgehen könnte. Derweil berichtete das Magazin
"Capital" über eine angeblich geplante Neuordnung der Konzernstruktur, die die
Integration verschiedener Sparten voran bringen solle. Der Sprecher sagte, dazu
gebe er keine Stellungnahme ab, jedoch sei das Unternehmen mit der derzeitigen
Struktur sehr zufrieden. An der Börse legte der Kurs der Daimler-Chrysler-Aktie
deutlich zu.
"Es ist zu früh, zu sagen, ob es tatsächlich so kommen wird, aber es ist eine interessante Option", sagte der Sprecher zu der angeblich geplanten engen Kooperation zwischen Chrysler und Mitsubishi. Es werde aber auch nach Einsparmöglichkeiten zwischen den Marken Mercedes und Chrysler gesucht, jedoch nur, ohne die Marke Mercedes zu beschädigen. DaimlerChrysler hatte mitgeteilt, verstärkt Komponenten von Mercedes wie Motoren und Getriebe in Chrysler-Modelle einbauen zu wollen. Umgekehrt ist aber keine Verwendung wesentlicher Chrysler-Komponenten in Mercedes-Pkw geplant, da der Konzern das Image der Marke Mercedes schützen will.
Die "Financial Times Deutschland" hatte einen namentlich nicht genannten Daimler-Chrysler-Manager mit den Worten zitiert, die Einspareffekte durch eine Kooperation zwischen Chrysler und Mitsubishi seien viel größer als zwischen Chrysler und Mercedes. So plane der Konzern, baugleiche Fahrzeuge unter beiden Markennamen zu verkaufen. Ferner würden gemeinsame Plattformen für verschiedene Modelle entwickelt, berichtete das Blatt. Während der Verkauf gleicher Autos unter zwei Markennamen schon ab sofort machbar sei, könnten gemeinsame Plattformen erst nach einem Modellwechsel eingesetzt werden.
An Mitsubishi hält Daimler-Chrysler 34 % der Anteile. Der viertgrößte japanische Hersteller kämpft derzeit ebenfalls mit Verlusten und erwartet im Geschäftsjahr 2000/01 (zum 31. März) einen Verlust von umgerechnet etwa 1,4 Mrd. Euro.
Derweil lehnte der Konzernsprecher eine Stellungnahme zu einer angeblich geplanten neuen Konzernstruktur ab, äußerte sich zugleich aber zufrieden über den jetzigen Organisationsaufbau. Die jetzige Struktur mit den Sparten Pkw Mercedes/Smart, Chrysler, Nutzfahrzeuge und Dienstleistungen sei klar und habe sich bewährt. "Wir sind mit der Struktur sehr zufrieden." Man dürfe Fragen zur strategischen Ausrichtung nicht mit "operativen Herausforderungen" in einigen Bereichen vermengen. Er betonte nochmals, dass die vor kurzem eingesetzte neue Chrysler-Führung bis Ende Februar ein Konzept für die umfassende Neuausrichtung der angeschlagenen US-Sparte vorlegen werde. Chrysler hatte im dritten Quartal 579 Mill. Euro Verlust ausgewiesen.
Das Magazin "Capital" berichtete, das Fahrzeuggeschäft solle künftig in die Sparten "Luxusklasse" mit der Marke Mercedes, "Kompakt- und Kleinwagen" mit den Marken Mitsubishi, Chrysler und Smart, "Geländewagen und Minivans" mit den Marken Mitsubishi, Chrysler und der Mercedes M-Klasse sowie Nutzfahrzeuge aufgeteilt werden. Jede Sparte solle von einem Vorstand geleitet werden. Die einzelnen Marken verlören erstmals ihre Unabhängigkeit und bildeten einen Entwicklungs- und Produktionsverbund, der durch die Nutzung baugleicher Teile und Plattformen Einsparungen in Milliardenhöhe bringen solle.
Bei der Kompaktklasse bleibe die Marke Chrysler nur noch als Marke bestehen, die technische Entwicklung werde von Stuttgart und Tokio aus gesteuert, hieß es in dem vorab veröffentlichten Bericht weiter. In der Geländewagensparte sollten künftig die Mercedes M-Klasse und der Chrysler-Jeep Cherokee eine gemeinsame technische Plattform erhalten. In Firmenkreisen wurde dies aber als falsch zurückgewiesen. Die M-Klasse und der Jeep würden weiterhin getrennt voneinander weiterentwickelt.
An der Börse legte der Kurs der Daimler-Chrysler-Aktie am Montag bis zum Nachmittag deutlich stärker als der Gesamtmarkt um 3,4 % auf etwa 50 Euro zu. Händler führten den Zuwachs auf die Berichte über eine stärkere Zusammenarbeit zwischen Chrysler und Mitsubishi zurück. Analysten sagten, dies wäre ein positiver Schritt, jedoch werde es eine Weile dauern, bis er sich wirklich auswirken würde.
HANDELSBLATT, Montag, 11. Dezember 2000
Volkswagen will 2,5 Mrd. DM in Baunatal investieren
dpa BAUNATAL.
Volkswagen will 2,5 Mrd. DM in sein Werk in Baunatal bei Kassel investieren. Das
Geld solle von 2001 bis 2005 in bestehende und neue Produktionsanlagen für
Getriebe, in einen Ausbau des Ersatzteilzentrums und in das Presswerk für
Karosserieteile fließen, teilte ein VW-Sprecher am Montag nach einer
Betriebsversammlung mit. Insgesamt will VW 38 Mrd. DM in die deutschen Standorte
investieren. In Baunatal beschäftigt Volkswagen knapp 16 000 Mitarbeiter. Neben
Karosserieteilen und Abgasanlagen werden in dem nordhessischen Werk vor allem
Getriebe gefertigt. Davon sollen in 2001 erstmals mehr als drei Mill. Stück
produziert werden.
HANDELSBLATT, Montag, 11. Dezember 2000
Opel investiert Rekordsumme in Modelloffensive
ap RÜSSELSHEIM. Die
höchste Investition innerhalb eines Jahres in der Unternehmensgeschichte soll
vor allem in neue Modelle und die Modernisierung von Fertigungsstandorten
fließen, wie das Unternehmen am Freitag in Rüsselsheim mitteilte. Der Großteil
des Geldes gehe in den Aufbau des neuen Werkes in Rüsselsheim, das zu einem der
modernsten Automobilwerke der Welt ausgebaut werde.
Ab 2002 werde dort eine komplett neu entwickelte Generation von Fahrzeugen produziert. Opel-Chef Robert Hendry erklärte, die Investition unterstreiche die Entschlossenheit des Autobauers, bei technischen Innovationen vor allem in Produkten sowie in der Fertigungstechnologie weiter ganz vorne im Wettbewerb zu sein. Allein in Rüsselsheim will Opel 820 Mill. DM in den Aufbau des neuen Automobilwerkes sowie 180 Mill. DM in die Fertigungsvorbereitungen für ein neues Sechsgang-Hochleistungsgetriebe stecken. Am Standort Kaiserslautern sollen 650 Mill. DM in die Produktionsanlagen für einen neuen Leitmetallmotor fließen.
HANDELSBLATT, Freitag, 08. Dezember 2000
Alleiniger Vorstandschef von Thyssen Krupp soll Ekkehard Schulz
werden
Doppelspitze bei Thyssen Krupp vor dem
Ende
Noch ist es nicht offiziell, aber entsprechende Gerüchte, die
seit Tagen den Aktienkurs beflügeln, scheinen sich zu bestätigen: Die
Doppelspitze bei der Thyssen Krupp AG wird im kommenden Jahr
aufgelöst.
ews/kv DÜSSELDORF. Lediglich über den Zeitpunkt müssen noch
Gespräche geführt werden. Das war zuverlässig aus Kreisen des Aufsichtsrates zu
erfahren. Danach soll Gerhard Cromme, 57, seit der Fusion von Thyssen und Krupp
im März 1999 gemeinsam mit Ekkehard Schulz, 59, Vorstandsvorsitzender, den
Vorsitz im Aufsichtsrat übernehmen. Er löst damit den ehemaligen Thyssen-Chef
und derzeitigen Aufsichtsratsvorsitzenden von Thyssen Krupp, Heinz Kriwet, 69,
ab. Cromme wird zudem als Nachfolger von Berthold Beitz, 87, an der Spitze der
Krupp Stiftung gehandelt, des mit einem Anteil von 17,4 Prozent größten
Thyssen-Krupp-Aktionärs. Alleiniger Vorstandschef von Thyssen Krupp soll Schulz
werden.
Bei der Fusion waren die Vorstände beider Ruhrkonzerne komplett übernommen worden. Daduch sollte die Integration der unterschiedlichen Unternehmenskulturen beschleunigt werden. Inzwischen habe sich jedoch gezeigt, so ist aus dem Aufsichtsrat zu hören, dass die Entscheidungsprozesse mit neun Vorstandsmitgliedern, darunter allein drei Finanzvorstände, zu langwierig sind. Künftig sollen dem Vorstand von Thyssen Krupp nur noch fünf, maximal sechs Mitglieder angehören.
Einig sind sich dem Vernehmen nach die wesentlichen Anteilseigner, dass bei der Neustrukturierung des Spitzenmanagements keiner der Beteiligten beschädigt werden soll. So würde sich anbieten, dass Aufsichtsratschef Kriwet nach seinem 70. Geburtstag am 2. November 2001 seinen Posten abgibt. Möglich ist aber auch, dass der Wechsel bereits zur Hauptversammlung am 2. März 2001 oder aber am Ende des Geschäftsjahres am 30. September stattfindet.
Auf der Tagesordnung der Aufsichtsratssitzung von Thyssen Krupp am Freitag steht die Personalfrage gleichwohl nicht.
HANDELSBLATT, Donnerstag, 07. Dezember 2000
Daimler-Chrysler verlagert Getriebeproduktion
dpa STUTTGART.
DaimlerChrysler strukturiert seine weltweite Produktion von
Nutzfahrzeuggetrieben und Komponenten um. Dabei wird die Montage von
mittelschweren Getrieben von Gaggenau und Rastatt zu Mercedes-Benz do Brasil
verlagert. Wie die DaimlerChrysler AG dazu am Donnerstag mitteilte, würde damit
in den beiden baden-württembergischen Standorten Raum für die geplante Expansion
geschaffen. In Rastatt und Gaggenau soll das weltweite Kompetenz-Zentrum für die
Getriebeproduktion im Bereich schwerer und leichter Nutzfahrzeuge entstehen.
Dabei würden sich bereits in naher Zukunft positive Beschäftigungseffekte
ergeben.
Im Rahmen dieser Umstrukturierung erhielt der amerikanische Getriebeproduzent Eaton Corporation (Cleveland/Ohio) einen Auftrag für die Lieferung von Komponenten für rund 60 000 Getriebe pro Jahr, die in Brasilien montiert werden.
HANDELSBLATT, Donnerstag, 07. Dezember 2000
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