Fiat Group's Revised 2010-2011 Product Plan, Includes Chrysler-Based Sedans, Convertible and MPV for Lancia, 8C GTA for Alfa

During a Tuesday meeting in Rome with representatives of the government and trade unions, Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne revealed the Italian group's product plan that has been revised after the alliance with the Chrysler Group earlier this year. We already told you about the introduction of Fiat's new twin-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine on the 500 mini next year, but let's see what else the group has in store for the European market.

Bypassing the new Alfa Romeo Giulietta and Fiat Doblo van that we already know about, Fiat's product plan concentrates on Lancia, a brand that up until now, was clearly neglected by the Italian firm. That's going to change now that Fiat has linked Lancia's portfolio with Chrysler's lineup.

First of all, 2010 will see a minor facelift for the Ypsilon mini and Musa mini MPV as well as a model year update on the Delta that is rumored to be revealed with a Chrysler badge at next month's Detroit auto show.

2011, however, promises to be a significant year for Lancia as Fiat plans to introduced four new vehicles -all of which will be derived from Chrysler models- to the brand's European lineup.

These include a mid-size family sedan and convertible (a Lybra successor most likely based on the Sebring), a new flagship luxury sedan (Thesis replacement that's rumored to be based on the 300) and a large MPV (probably the Town and Country).

In 2011, Fiat will also gain a Chrysler Group-derived crossover model while the most important introduction for the brand will be the next-generation Panda that will be offered with the firm's new twin-cylinder turbocharged engines.

Other than the new compact-sized Giulietta, Alfa Romeo's plans include a model year update for the 159 sedan, the presentation of the more hardcore 8C Competizione GTA and a light facelift for the MiTo supermini.

As you can see, Marchionne's plans for Alfa do not include the long awaited SUV / Crossover model nor a replacement for the 169. Apparently, the focus on the Lancia brand comes at the cost of Alfa's future...

All in all, over the next two years, the Fiat Group is planning the launch of 17 new models and upgrades of 13 existing models.

PS: The opening photo is a Carscoop photoshop

For the Honda Brand, a Cinematic Stroke

WITH the automotive industry battling an economic downturn, is it the right time for a carmaker to introduce another installment in a corporate image campaign that carries the theme, “The power of dreams”?

The American Honda Motor Company believes so, bringing out this week three short films — a k a long commercials — to be watched online. The so-called webisodes, each about seven minutes, will be available, starting on Monday, at a Honda Web site (dreams.honda.com), under the rubric of the “Dream the Impossible documentary series.”

Commercials that will serve as trailers for the short films, meant to drive traffic to the Web site, are to appear on ABC.com, CBS.com, hulu.com and NBC.com. There will also be ads on sites devoted to news, technology and other topics; they include CNN.com, time.com, wired.com and yahoo.com.

The “power of dreams” campaign, which started in September 2007, and the webisodes are created by RPA, the longtime agency of American Honda Motor, in Santa Monica, Calif.

One webisode is scheduled be shown at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival, where American Honda Motor is the automotive sponsor. Plans call for the short to run before “Mary and Max,” which is to be the first movie screened at the festival.

Attendees at the festival, in Park City, Utah, from Thursday through Jan. 25, may be treated to a ride in one of 12 new Insight hybrid small hatchbacks being supplied by American Honda Motor. Another new Honda, the FCX Clarity — a fuel-cell car the company is offering for lease in California — is to be on display at the festival. The campaign is emblematic of efforts by consumer marketers to maintain their advertising presence despite the ravages of the recession. Honda sales in the United States fell 34.7 percent in December compared with the same month of 2007; for all of 2008 they declined 8 percent compared with the previous year.

The Honda ads are particularly interesting because campaigns like it — seeking to burnish a longstanding corporate image, rather than sell products in the short run — are often the first casualties when consumers slow or stop spending.

“This is not a ‘Go out and buy a Honda’ campaign,” acknowledged Barbara Ponce, manager for corporate advertising at American Honda Motor in Torrance, Calif., part of the Honda Motor Company of Japan. Rather, she added, it is “communicating with our customers about what our brand stands for.”

“As we revisit our strategies in tough times, we have to ask the tough questions,” Ms. Ponce said. “In these economic times, everything becomes challenged.”

Still, she said, “we stayed the course” on the campaign, which the company began considering in the spring.

“Consumers are going back to the basics, back to foundations, values,” Ms. Ponce said, “and this campaign is focused on our values as a company, the people who make up what Honda is about.”

The webisodes, directed by Derek Cianfrance, are low-key in their promotion of Honda and are polished and absorbing enough to make a viewer (almost) forget they are sponsored shorts, and part of the trend toward branded entertainment.

The webisodes feature employees of American Honda Motor in realms like engineering, design and safety, along with executives like Takeo Fukui, president and chief executive at Honda Motor, the parent company. Some more recognizable names also appear in the shorts, among them Danica Patrick, who races Honda cars; the actor and screenwriter Christopher Guest, who drives an FCX Clarity; and Orson Scott Card, the science fiction author.

One webisode, “Mobility 2088,” imagines how people may get around eight decades from now. A speaker wonders how good an idea jetpacks would be if “all the idiots on the road today” filled the skies.

A second short, “Failure: the Secret to Success,” describes how setbacks can sometimes lead to achievement. Examples include the problem-plagued engines that Honda supplied for race cars in 1994, which were replaced with better ones a year later, and an orange color for the Honda Civic that dealers and consumers deemed “hideous”; the color subsequently found favor, when it was offered on the Honda Element.

A third webisode is devoted to what is described as a Honda corporate philosophy in the think-outside-the-box vein. Speakers discuss how better ideas are generated when there is no safety net, using Japanese metaphors like “kick out the ladder” — the name of the episode — or “take the ladder away and set fire to it.”

One speaker offers a frank opinion of those expressions. “Maybe it sounds better in Japanese,” he says.

The goal in producing the shorts was to convey some of the “honesty and authenticity” with which employees of American Honda Motor are imbued, said Todd Carey, vice president and associate creative director at RPA, who worked on the campaign with Curt Johnson, vice president and creative director.“I can’t really speak about the economic factors” involved in deciding to proceed with the campaign, Mr. Carey said, “but there’s an overwhelming sense of optimism that comes out of these films,” which may connect with consumers depressed by all the news about the recession.

“It’s not advertising optimism,” Mr. Carey said. “It’s authentic documentary-film optimism.”

The Honda sponsorship of the Sundance festival was arranged with the Sundance Institute by Evan Shapiro, president of the Sundance Channel and IFC TV, part of the Rainbow Entertainment Services division of the Cablevision Systems Corporation.

“Honda and the automotive business are under pressure,” Mr. Shapiro said. “The question is, how do you prepare for the other side of the recession?” The answer is a campaign like this, he said, which “isn’t some spots disguised as shorts” but rather entertainment that is “content driven.”

Although Ms. Ponce declined to discuss the budget for the campaign, she said the webisodes cost “70 percent of the cost to produce a regular 30-second TV spot.” That would mean a sum in the recession-friendly range of $200,000 to $300,000.

New Cars Arrive, Courting Few Buyers

The prolonged slump in vehicle sales has barely slowed car companies from blitzing the market with new models.

But with industry sales expected to fall below last year’s depressed levels, automakers will be challenged to attract attention from consumers who are staying away from showrooms in increasing numbers.

General Motors, whose United States sales fell 22 percent last year, made the most news Sunday, by introducing a sedan and two crossover vehicles at the opening on Sunday of the Detroit auto show. The company also said it would add two more models to its Chevrolet lineup — a minicar and a seven-passenger crossover — in 2011.

G.M. executives said the models had been in development long before the overall market slid 18 percent last year, and the company hit such dire straits that it needed to seek financial help from the federal government.

“These cars are paid for, their development is behind them, and the manufacturing investment is done,” said Robert Lutz, G.M.’s vice chairman for product development.

He said he hoped the new Buick Lacrosse sedan and the two crossovers, the Chevrolet Equinoxand Cadillac SRX, would sell without incentives and lift G.M.’s sagging revenues.

“Some people say a bad market and a poor economic environment is an unfortunate time to launch new product,” Mr. Lutz said. “I think it’s an extremely good time to launch new product because that’s when you need the added revenue.”

Automakers and analysts believe that industry sales in 2009 will drop significantly below the 13.2 million vehicles sold last year, possibly to as low as 10.5 million units.

Under those conditions, new models will be hard-pressed to draw anywhere near the level of interest they typically receive when they first hit the market.

Developing a new model usually takes three to four years, meaning G.M.’s offerings started being developed when American consumers were buying about 16 million vehicles a year.

“The problem is you can’t turn product development on and turn it off depending on the market conditions,” said David Cole, chairman of the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, Mich.

In G.M.’s case, the company will probably cut back on new models as it downsizes to meet conditions attached to its $13.4 billion loan package from the government.

“The nature of auto companies is to overproduce, but that is definitely going to change with the new financial reality,” Mr. Cole said. “I don’t think we will see these bad habits come back.”

The Ford Motor Company showed off two new models Sunday, the Taurus sedan and Fusion hybrid, as well as a 540-horsepower version of the Mustang.

But with the market shrinking, Ford is playing down expectations somewhat for the Taurus.

The Taurus was the best-selling American car in the early 1990s, but it gradually lost its appeal and became an also-ran in the full-size sedan segment behind the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord.

The new version, Ford executives said, will find a smaller niche in the market.

“We’re not expecting to ever do the 400,000 units we did at its peak,” said Mark Fields, president of Ford’s Americas division.

Other models that were introduced in Detroit included hybrids from Honda and Toyota’s Lexus division, as well as concept cars from German automakers.

The automaker with the least to show was Chrysler, which was coming off a year when its sales had declined 30 percent.

Chrysler recently received a $4 billion loan from the government in order to stay solvent until March. The company’s chief executive, Robert L. Nardelli, said Sunday that Chrysler was counting on more federal aid to complete its reorganization process.

While it showed a few prospective electric vehicles on Sunday, Chrysler had no new models ready for the market.

But Mr. Nardelli said new car introductions would resume in 2010, and pledged that Chrysler would still be in business by then.

One of Chrysler’s vice chairmen, James Press, said the automaker did not think the lack of new models would hurt its sales in 2009. “We feel we haven’t extracted the potential of our current product line,” he said.

A Less Exuberant Show, but a More Rational One

DETROIT is reeling. Its automakers teeter on the edge of bankruptcy, the unemployment rate hovers around double digits, its flamboyant former mayor is in jail. Houses are advertised for as little as $1 and its professional football team just finished with a 0-16 record, an N.F.L. first for regular-season play.

But it is showtime again in Motown, so the embattled city is doing its best to affect a festive atmosphere for thousands of journalists and industry insiders arriving for the North American International Auto Show. Despite the hospitality — and exciting prospects for the electrification of America’s vehicle fleet — it seems likely this will be the most subdued Detroit show in decades. A celebration of the automobile that was optimistic and bombastic in normal times may end up feeling more like a wake for a once-thriving industry.

“The 2009 N.A.I.A.S. will be a pretty gloomy affair — low key, attendance down by journalists, analysts and major brands, glitz definitely down,” George Peterson, president of AutoPacific, a market research firm in Tustin, Calif., wrote in an e-mail message. This year, he added, automakers will try to appear prudent — not blazing through marketing dollars. Mr. Peterson said he thought Detroit’s long-running industry showcase would retreat to its more modest, pre-1989 roots, before it took on the role (and name) of being North America’s auto show. That would turn the clock back to when automakers and dealerships catered more to hometown tire-kickers than to globe-trotting jet-setters.

Contrasts between last year’s raucous gathering and this year’s leaner get-together are likely to be stark. In 2008, to lend some cowboy swagger to its redesigned Dodge Ram pickup, Chrysler staged a cattle drive of 120 Texas Longhorns through downtown streets.

And for the debut last year of its new F-150 pickup, Ford had a noisy pyrotechnic show starring the country singer Toby Keith. At a high-decibel kickoff party and fashion show called GM Style, Detroit’s mayor, Kwame Kilpatrick, tried to dance with General Motors’ vice chairman, Robert A. Lutz.

In 2009 no one should expect stampedes, fireworks or a hip-hopping mayor. (Last October, Mr. Kilpatrick began serving a 120-day jail sentence after pleading guilty to charges of obstruction of justice and assault.) The show’s organizers say that about 20 new car and truck models will make their global debuts, far fewer than in recent years. Combined with another two dozen or so vehicles that were previously shown outside North America, the Detroit unveilings are expected to be — for the most part — green-tinged, low-key and frill-free.

Three days of media previews begin Sunday, to be followed by two days of industry-only attendance, and then nine days for the public.

Yet the target audience for this show’s press days isn’t so much those who will be in Cobo Center. Rather, the automakers will be playing to the Washington lawmakers who recently threw a financial lifeline to Chrysler and General Motors in the form of emergency loans. Congress will no doubt be watching how this taxpayer money is being used.

Ford, G.M., Honda and Toyota will be among those showing new hybrid, electric and alternative-fuel vehicles, emphasizing sustainability and environmental sensitivity. Models that celebrate extreme horsepower, avant-garde styling and macho attitude are likely be played down and rolled out with little or no fanfare.

In a development unprecedented in recent memory, some major manufacturers — including Nissan, Infiniti, Mitsubishi, Suzuki, Land Rover, Porsche, Ferrari and Rolls-Royce — have chosen to skip the show altogether. They cited a desire to spend their promotional dollars at events that they say are aimed more directly at their customers.

Mercedes-Benz is saving the cost of a press conference for its new E-Class sedan by unveiling the car off-site, rather than inside the convention center, the night before the press previews begin. The E-Class will not be displayed at the auto show, although new fuel-saving technologies in three concept vehicles will be. BMW will have its new Z4 sports car here in a display area less grand than originally planned. G.M. was hoping to save more than $1 million just by switching its display area’s flooring to carpeting instead of wood and tile.

In recent years, the economic impact of the two weeks of the auto show on the Detroit metro area was estimated by the show organizers to be as much as $580 million. This year, the estimates have been scaled back to less than $350 million.

With the stagecraft toned down this year, the cars will become the focus of attention. G.M. and Ford each plan six introductions, including important new models like the Buick LaCrosse, Cadillac SRX, Lincoln MKT and Ford Taurus. Chrysler is introducing three prototype electric vehicles, including the Dodge Circuit EV sports car. Toyota has two new hybrid electric introductions here as well as the tiny FT-EV.

There will also be nine new designs from Chinese manufacturers, who were for the first time allotted space on the main show floor — previously they were relegated to Cobo’s basement or entry hallways — even though their cars are not yet sold in the United States.

Overseas-based automakers continue to gain not only floor space at this show, but market share as well. The combined United States market share of Ford, G.M. and Chrysler fell to 47.5 percent last year, from 51 percent in 2007, according to Autodata, an industry analysis firm, which noted that this was the first time the Detroit Three had fallen below 50 percent. Asian brands accounted for 44.6 percent of the sales in the American market last year, and European brands for 7.8 percent.

But many of these so-called foreign automakers, like Toyota, Nissan, Honda, Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Hyundai, produce significant numbers of vehicles in the United States, Canada and Mexico. In that sense, they are all a part of the American auto industry, and all are affected by the problems of the industry and the economy — a reality that will be reflected in their show displays.

Scuderia Ferrari to bring back troubled pit-lane traffic lights system

Sometimes the best approach is the simplest, but that kind of attitude doesn't always fly in the high-tech haven that is Ferrari's headquarters in Maranello. Traditionally, one pit crew member would stand beside a Formula One car in the pit lane box holding a small sign on a long shaft to signal the driver when it was safe to drive out, but Scuderia Ferrari tried last year to replace the "lollipop" sign with an electronic system. A small box with lights, controlled by computer, was implemented in an effort to streamline the process. Unfortunately, the progress proved anything but, and the system caused several costly errors this past season, culminating in the inaugural nighttime Singapore GP, where Felipe Massa was signaled to leave the pit before the refueling hose was detached. With his team-mate Kimi Raikkonen waiting behind, Massa drove off, dragging the fuel line - and a crew member -along with him.

The incident cost the Massa and Ferrari dearly, and they ended up losing out on the Drivers' Title. The electronic system was subsequently abandoned and in favor of the simpler lollipop. Undeterred and determined to get it right, however, Ferrari reckon they've learned from their mistakes. During the off-season, they have been hard at work on the system and are planning on bringing it back for the 2009 championship. For the sake of the entire team – especially the guy who has the precarious job of holding the fuel nozzle – we hope they've got it right this time.

[Source: Autosport]

Update: Grid fills out for 2009 F1 car presentations

Each day in the new year is bringing us closer to the successive unveilings of the latest batch of Formula One race cars, with nearly all the teams confirming the launch dates for their latest machinery.

Contrary to earlier reports that placed its unveiling on January 15, Scuderia Ferrari will be the first team to show its new car with an online preview on January 12, ahead of the official Fiorano debut. Toyota will follow, as expected, on January 15 from Cologne, Germany, and McLaren the next day from Woking, England. Renault and Williams will unveil at the official FIA-sanctioned test session on January 19 at Algarve, Portugal, with BMW Sauber to follow the next day from Valencia, Spain.

Red Bull, which previously remained a question mark, has now announced its debut on February 9, citing the desire to take advantage of more development time. Sister team Toro Rosso has yet to confirm reports that its presentation will wait until March, when Force India is expected to unveil as well. But there's no telling what will be with Honda as the team's future hangs in the balance. Stay tuned.

[Source: F1-Live]

Rental fleet sales down last year, 2009 will be worse

Last summer, it was the Detroit Three that were restraining themselves from dumping cars into the gaping maw of fleet sales just to boost the bottom line. Turns out they had some help with that discipline: Due to last year's events, rental car fleets shrunk by 400,000 units from 2007 to 2008. As we begin 2009, rental car companies have declared they will be trimming their fleet orders and curbing the number of vehicles they keep on hand even further.

Rental car companies have been thrown under a number of buses as of late. They can't borrow money to finance purchases; the recession has hammered the travel industry; wholesale used vehicle prices are falling (making rental car fleets less valuable); and besides that, car dealers can't get the money to buy the retired rental cars anyway, which subtracts yet another revenue stream.

Rental companies have been good for something like 15% of sales from General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler. But not this year: Enterprise, which also buys for National and Alamo, will buy half the number of cars it did last year, and they'll keep those cars a couple of months longer. Hertz, Dollar, and Thrifty also said they will buy fewer cars and work them longer. The automakers have doubled incentives to encourage sales, but there are simply no teeth left in the rental business with which to bite.

Thus, don't be surprised to find a few more stains on the seats and a few more miles on the clock the next time you find yourself at the wheel of a rental car.

[Source: Automotive News, Sub Req.]