plus 3, Toyota woes follow years of slipping quality - MSNBC |
- Toyota woes follow years of slipping quality - MSNBC
- Honda plans to expand bike unit in India - Economic Times
- Car sales soar 32% in January - Economic Times
- Officially Official: Nissan Juke coming to America - autoblog
| Toyota woes follow years of slipping quality - MSNBC Posted: 10 Feb 2010 07:30 AM PST Message from fivefilters.org: If you can, please donate to the full-text RSS service so we can continue developing it. The complacency that brought General Motors, Ford and Chrysler to their knees seems to have infected Toyota, too. The Japanese automaker's products have been a quality byword for American drivers, so much so that its management and manufacturing techniques have long been studied and copied by rivals in the United States and abroad. Evidence has been building for years, however, that Toyota may have sacrificed its reputation for excellence to the quest for market share and that, in its smugness, it may have ignored its customers and its own management principles. "Toyota seems to have taken a page out of the playbook from the bad old days of the Detroit Three — when vehicles were designed and built to the lowest common denominator — and when 'good enough' was good enough," observed Peter De Lorenzo, industry blogger and author of "The United States of Toyota," a book charting Toyota's growth in the U.S. Blow to reputation The announcement boosted the number of Toyota vehicles recalled since October to more than 8.4 million, one of the largest series of auto recalls in history. Car reviewers have been lowering their marks on Toyota for some time, pointing out little construction flaws such as misaligned dashboards and crooked glove compartments that may have been clues to the larger safety-related issues that have emerged. "Visible problems make you wonder about things you can't see," said Jeff Bartlett, deputy online editor for autos at Consumer Reports. Back in November I panned Toyota's Venza crossover, one of the vehicles now on the recall list, saying it "may well be Toyota's predicament embodied in steel, rubber and glass. And plastic. Loads of cheap, shiny, sloppily installed plastic." Consumer Reports' February issue reports that the Lexus HS250h they bought had a crooked glove compartment door. Less than a decade ago consumers viewed the quality of new Toyotas to be among the best in the industry, according to findings by Art Spinella, president of CNW Research. But by 2006, a growing number of consumers began to report their perception that the quality of the company's products was slipping. Ranking slips Not what you'd expect from the company that overtook General Motors last year as the global auto sales leader. Fear of losing that momentum may have pushed the company to simultaneously expand production at a furious rate while whittling costs in a bid to retain its pricing advantage. Quality may have been the victim, however. "The slow but ploddingly sure Toyota method of incremental sales increases year-over-year followed by a correspondingly gradual increase in capacity — while accounting for its usual high quality standards — gave way to a frenzy of plant building and a complete abdication of what it once stood for when it came to quality," De Lorenzo said. Toyota's lack of focus on the core task of building the best cars it possibly can stands in contrast to the responses of Ford and Honda to adverse situations. When Ford began running low on cash several years ago, the company dumped its glamorous Formula One racing team with its associated racing components businesses, sold off non-critical distractions like Jaguar and Land Rover and exited extraneous industries like the British tire store Kwik-Fit.
Toyota didn't drop its Formula One program — rumored to have the biggest budget of any of the teams — until a year later. And it completed development of its own mid-engine sports car, the Lexus LFA, reluctant to cancel it after a decade's work and a cost said to be as much as a $1 billion. Such decisions do not reflect the quick reflexes and stern judgment needed to stay atop today's car industry, analysts said. "It will take years and billions upon billions of dollars for Toyota to recover from this," De Lorenzo predicted. Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Honda plans to expand bike unit in India - Economic Times Posted: 10 Feb 2010 06:40 AM PST Message from fivefilters.org: If you can, please donate to the full-text RSS service so we can continue developing it.
MUMBAI:
Japan's Honda Motor Corp's fully owned Indian bike unit plans to expand capacity
to meet robust demand in a market that is growing about 20 percent annually, a
company official said on Wednesday. "We are doing an internal study on a second
plant," said Shinji Aoyama, president and chief executive of Honda Motorcycle
& Scooter India Pvt Ltd, which will reach its full capacity of 1.5 million
units in 2010/11.
He did not give details on the investment or the additional capacity. India is the world's second-largest market for motorcycles and scooters, with annual sales of slightly over 8 million units. More than 15 million units are sold annually in China. Honda Motorcycle expects to sell 1.25 million scooters and bikes in the current year ending March, and 1.5 million units next year. "We cannot let our sales stagnate, we will take a decision soon," said Naresh Kumar Rattan, marketing and sales head. The company currently has a market share of 13 percent in India where another affiliate of the Japanese parent, Hero Honda Motors, dominate with sales expected to exceed 4 million units this year. Last December, unlisted Honda Motorcycle made its entry in the popular 100cc bike segment, taking on Hero Honda in which Japan's Honda has 26 percent and India's Munjal family about 29 percent. In 2010/11, Honda Motorcycle expects sales to rise 20 percent, powered by 110cc CB Twister bike, its first offering in this category that will compete with Hero Honda's Passion and Splendor and Bajaj Auto's Discover DTSi. Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Car sales soar 32% in January - Economic Times Posted: 10 Feb 2010 06:40 AM PST Message from fivefilters.org: If you can, please donate to the full-text RSS service so we can continue developing it.
NEW
DELHI: Automobile sales raced past a record 11.1 lakh units in January, beating
the previous best posted in September last, as consumers rushed to drive away
their dream machines before a possible rollback of last year's tax cuts.
Car sales too zoomed to a new record of 1.45 lakh units in the first month of
the calendar, beating the previous best of 1.33 lakh sales recorded in November
2009, according to the latest data released by Society of Indian Automobile
Manufacturers (SIAM) on Tuesday.
The spurt in sales, while reflecting the prevailing upbeat mood of the recovering economy and availability of cheap loans, is also partly attributed to fears that the vehicle prices will move up after the Union budget on February 26. With inflation still reigning high and economic growth well on track, many experts and analysts expect finance minister Pranab Mukherjee to withdraw the tax cut implemented last year. This may lead to slower rise in vehicle sales in the coming months. "We fear if the stimulus measures go away in the upcoming budget, (and) future demand could be affected," said Mayank Parekh, marketing and sales executive officer of Maruti Suzuki, the country's largest carmaker. Vaishali Jajoo an auto analyst at Angel Broking, said the sales growth was marginally higher than expectations, but added that the uncertainty around the upcoming budget with respect to price hikes could also have led car buyers to advance their purchase decisions and car dealers to push sales. "This is also expected to be true for sales during the current month," she added. Maruti sold a little over 81,000 vehicles this January, an increase of 21.02% over the year-ago period. Its main rival Korean automaker Hyundai Motor recorded a much more impressive 40.85% jump in sales to 29,601 units. The year-on-year growth in car sales at 32% in January was almost half the more than 60% growth in sales recorded in November '09. Car sales had increased 40.2% y-o-y in December. The high growth in the last two months of 2009, however, was also due to low base effect in 2008 when economic slowdown had hit auto sales, forcing the government to come out with a stimulus package in December. Overall passenger vehicle sales (which includes cars, utility vehicles and multi purpose vehicles) in January stood at 1.87 lakh units up 36% over the year ago period. "This is the highest automotive sales ever because of lower interest rates as well as better money supply," said Dilip Chenoy, director general of SIAM.
Motorcycles sales also shot to 6.5 lakh units, 43.6% more than
January'09, but fell short of 6.73 lakh mark reported in
September'09. Meanwhile, total commercial vehicle sales, seen as a
barometer of business activity, more than doubled to 53,447 units in
January'10. The growth was led by sales of medium & heavy commercial
vehicles that almost tripled compared to January'09.
Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. |
| Officially Official: Nissan Juke coming to America - autoblog Posted: 10 Feb 2010 04:31 AM PST Message from fivefilters.org: If you can, please donate to the full-text RSS service so we can continue developing it. Officially Official: Nissan Juke coming to Americaby Jeremy Korzeniewski on Feb 10th 2010 at 7:30AM  We've now officially heard it from We'll get our first official glimpse of the new Juke at the Geneva Motor Show next month, and that debut will be followed up later in the month when the Juke gets its North American introduction at the New York Auto Show. Nissan says the Juke will offer "a sporty crossover alternative to traditional small hatchback vehicles," which we can only assume to be competing models such as the Kia Soul and Scion xB. The Japanese automaker also tells us that the car's center console was inspired by a motorcycle tank. We never knew we wanted a gas tank-shaped center console until now, but Nissan officially has our interest piqued with that little tidbit. We'll see if the actual implementation is as intriguing as it sounds soon enough; in the meantime, click past the break for the official press release. [Source: Nissan] Nissan Juke Crossover Confirmed for U.S. Market Nissan North America, Inc. (NNA) today confirmed that an all-new small crossover SUV, the Nissan Juke, will join the Nissan lineup in the United States in fall 2010. The European version of the dramatically styled Juke will be revealed to the media on February 10th and makes its global public premiere at the Geneva Motor Show in March. The North American version of Juke is scheduled to debut at the New York Auto Show in late March. The compact Juke, which was inspired by the Nissan Qazana concept car, was designed and developed to give customers a sporty crossover alternative to traditional small hatchback vehicles. In North America, Juke will join a strong tradition of Nissan crossovers -- including the popular Nissan Murano and Rogue -- in providing both dynamic style and an exhilarating driving experience. The new Juke is highlighted by a highly distinctive design, which includes a robust stance, high waistline, complex curves, coupe-like profile and aggressive wheels and tires. The bold interior design features a wide center console that takes its inspiration from a motorcycle fuel tank. More information and photography will be available soon. In North America, Nissan's operations include automotive styling, engineering, consumer and corporate financing, sales and marketing, distribution and manufacturing. Nissan is dedicated to improving the environment under the Nissan Green Program 2010, whose key priorities are reducing CO2 emissions, cutting other emissions and increasing recycling. More information on Nissan in North America and the complete line of Nissan and Infiniti vehicles can be found online at www.NissanUSA.com and www.infinitiusa.com. Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. |
| You are subscribed to email updates from Add Images to any RSS Feed To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
.gif "OBAT KUAT")
.gif)
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar