WSJ - David Patton and Mathew Passy talk with MotherProof.com's Senior Editor and Chief Mom Kristin Varela about her site and a discussion of why it's so hard to find consumer friendly auto reviews.
Podcast Link Here
Thursday, November 6, 2008
German car sales sink in October
The number of newly registered cars hitting German roads sank 8 percent in October as the financial crisis prompted customers to hold off major purchases, the country's main auto industry group said Tuesday.
The VDA group said new car registrations last month declined to 258,800 from an "already weak" result in the same month last year. The group said it was cutting an "already cautious" full-year forecast from 3.2 million to 3.1 million at most.
It said consumers' increasing uncertainty in the face of the global financial crisis, high fuel prices and a lack of clarity over future car taxes and emissions regulations all contributed to holding back sales.
VDA said in a statement that orders for new cars in Germany — Europe's biggest economy — dropped 12 percent in October. It did not give an exact figure for orders.
German producers' exports declined 10 percent last month to 336,600, with U.S. and western European markets in particular suffering from the crisis. Orders from foreign customers sank 24 percent.
VDA chairman Matthias Wissmann said the industry is unlikely to reach last year's total of 4.3 million cars exported — with the German auto industry instead facing the prospect of its first decline in exports since 2003.
Germany is home to car makers such as Daimler AG, Porsche SE, Volkswagen AG and BMW AG.
The VDA group said new car registrations last month declined to 258,800 from an "already weak" result in the same month last year. The group said it was cutting an "already cautious" full-year forecast from 3.2 million to 3.1 million at most.
It said consumers' increasing uncertainty in the face of the global financial crisis, high fuel prices and a lack of clarity over future car taxes and emissions regulations all contributed to holding back sales.
VDA said in a statement that orders for new cars in Germany — Europe's biggest economy — dropped 12 percent in October. It did not give an exact figure for orders.
German producers' exports declined 10 percent last month to 336,600, with U.S. and western European markets in particular suffering from the crisis. Orders from foreign customers sank 24 percent.
VDA chairman Matthias Wissmann said the industry is unlikely to reach last year's total of 4.3 million cars exported — with the German auto industry instead facing the prospect of its first decline in exports since 2003.
Germany is home to car makers such as Daimler AG, Porsche SE, Volkswagen AG and BMW AG.
Toyota slashes annual profit forecast
Toyota Motor slashed its annual profit forecast by more than half on Thursday, in a sign of how the global economic slowdown has slowed the Japanese auto juggernaut.
Japan's largest automaker also reported net profit in the three months ended Sept. 30 dropped by more than two-thirds, hurt by slowing demand, a tightening of car loans amid the global credit crunch and a stronger Japanese currency.
The steep declines, larger than those forecast by most analysts, threaten eight straight years of annual profit growth at Toyota, once the envy of the world car industry. It also cast into stark relief how America's economic contagion has infected automakers around the globe, hurting sales even in once fast-growing markets like India and China.
Toyota said it now expects net profits of ¥550 billion, or $5.5 billion, for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2009, down 56 percent from its earlier forecast of ¥1.25 trillion. It also cut its annual sales forecast by ¥2 trillion to ¥23 trillion.
Toyota said net profit in the July- September quarter fell 69 percent to ¥139.8 billion.
"Frankly, it's very difficult to judge when the environment will stabilize," a Toyota executive vice president, Mitsu Kinoshita, told reporters.
The grim earnings report came just days after Toyota announced that October sales in the critical United States market had fallen 23 percent from last year. The slowdown has hit American rivals even harder, with General Motors reporting a 45 percent decline in the same month.
The global slowdown has struck Toyota just as it finishes rolling out a full lineup of vehicles, including larger eight-cylinder models like its Tundra pickup truck, in a bid to overtake GM as the world's largest automaker.
Thursday's results suggested the slowdown was hurting sales of Toyota's entire lineup, including popular, fuel-efficient models like its hybrid Prius and Camry sedan.
Analysts expect Toyota to react to the slowdown by relentlessly cutting costs and shifting more production and parts sourcing to local markets. The global slowdown has already forced the carmaker to put new factories on hold, layoff workers and offer ever sweeter incentives to entice buyers back into showrooms.
Japan's largest automaker also reported net profit in the three months ended Sept. 30 dropped by more than two-thirds, hurt by slowing demand, a tightening of car loans amid the global credit crunch and a stronger Japanese currency.
The steep declines, larger than those forecast by most analysts, threaten eight straight years of annual profit growth at Toyota, once the envy of the world car industry. It also cast into stark relief how America's economic contagion has infected automakers around the globe, hurting sales even in once fast-growing markets like India and China.
Toyota said it now expects net profits of ¥550 billion, or $5.5 billion, for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2009, down 56 percent from its earlier forecast of ¥1.25 trillion. It also cut its annual sales forecast by ¥2 trillion to ¥23 trillion.
Toyota said net profit in the July- September quarter fell 69 percent to ¥139.8 billion.
"Frankly, it's very difficult to judge when the environment will stabilize," a Toyota executive vice president, Mitsu Kinoshita, told reporters.
The grim earnings report came just days after Toyota announced that October sales in the critical United States market had fallen 23 percent from last year. The slowdown has hit American rivals even harder, with General Motors reporting a 45 percent decline in the same month.
The global slowdown has struck Toyota just as it finishes rolling out a full lineup of vehicles, including larger eight-cylinder models like its Tundra pickup truck, in a bid to overtake GM as the world's largest automaker.
Thursday's results suggested the slowdown was hurting sales of Toyota's entire lineup, including popular, fuel-efficient models like its hybrid Prius and Camry sedan.
Analysts expect Toyota to react to the slowdown by relentlessly cutting costs and shifting more production and parts sourcing to local markets. The global slowdown has already forced the carmaker to put new factories on hold, layoff workers and offer ever sweeter incentives to entice buyers back into showrooms.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Citroën gets into leather
Over the weekend, the brand unveiled a new collaboration with Hermès (which must have been pleased with its Bugatti Veyron). The four-door Citroën 2CV par Hermès might lack the Bugatti's raw sex appeal, but it's pretty impressive in its own right: Think leather everything (steering wheel, dashboard, the gear knob) complemented by gray-beige cotton canvas (used to upholster the seats). And sure, now might not seem like the best time to introduce a car collaboration with Hermès, but it's not like you could've afforded this thing when times were good anyway. (Or so we think: Price is TBA.)
Streetside Beautification
We like this work from Joshua Callaghan that plays with public space and how we perceive it. Using breaker boxes and other utility units as his canvas, Callaghan creates visual illusions that make sidewalk obstructions disappear. Check out more of his work here.
Sixt "Wi-Fi Guerilla Idea"
Great work done by Jung von Matt for their client Sixt on Hamburg Airport. Check the video here: Wi-Fi Guerilla Idea
Agency: Jung von Matt Hamburg, Germany.
Agency: Jung von Matt Hamburg, Germany.
The TownCar - Eco-Friendly Car For Cleaner Cities
After years of unsuccessful attempts of making the supreme eco-car to fit in the crowded cities it seems that Serge Totsky is close enough to fulfill this bold project. His latest design was called The TownCar and it is a urban hybrid engine system vehicle.
The TownCar is a 5-door vehicle and it is powered by two clean energy sources: a solar panel on the roof, while the hood is hiding a fuel cell system. For better cornering, the vehicle is able to steer with all its four wheels, so the driver will be able to turn this car even in the most crowded places. You will be able to choose between the power sources, so if you will deal with the urban traffic it will be wise to use the solar panels. If you want to choose for speed, you will have to enable both power sources and go up to 110mph, which is pretty impressive for a car like this.
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Though the TownCar looks more promising than the other concepts it will face the same problem like the hydrogen-powered vehicles: the hydrogen filling station are almost nowhere to find. So if you have a filling station in your back-yard, keep hoping that the TownCar concept will see the sun light as soon as possible.
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