auto industry

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January 19, 2012 | 1:32 PM | By Micki Maynard

The Top Spot Goes To General Motors Once Again

General Motors has ranked second among the world’s carmakers for the past three years. But now, GM looks like it’s back in the top spot.

GM is once again the world's biggest carmaker. Photo by Chris via Flickr.

GM said Thursday that it sold 9,025,942 vehicles last year, 7.6 percent more than in 2010, according to The New York Times. Its closest competitor was Volkswagen, whose sales grew 14 percent to 8.156 million.

Toyota, which has led the global car market for the past three years, looks like it has fallen to No. 3. It hasn’t released its 2011 auto sales numbers yet. But last month, it estimated that will sell 7.9 million vehicles in 2011, and 8.48 million vehicles for this year.

The title returns bragging rights to Detroit, and gives GM a new challenger to worry about. Meanwhile, Toyota, whose Princeton, Indiana, plant just built its 3 millionth vehicle, is still working on its recovery from recalls, the Japanese earthquake and tsunami and floods in Thailand.

Does it matter to you if GM is No. 1? Let us know what you think of the sales race.

FILED UNDER: Industry, auto industry, General Motors, Toyota
December 20, 2011 | 3:56 PM | By Pete Bigelow

Battered By Criticism And Low Sales, Honda Announces Civic Redesign

Stung by sluggish sales, consumer criticism and bad reviews, Honda announced today that it would revamp its Civic only eight months after it released its latest model.

Critics noted the newest Civic was made from cheaper materials, had slower braking capability compared to its predecessors and failed to receive “recommended” status from Consumer Reports.

Tetsuo Iwamura, chief executive of American Honda Motor Co., made the announcement during an appearance in Detroit on Tuesday. The move comes as part of Honda’s ambitious goal to lift U.S. sales by 24 percent in 2012. Civic sales have been trending in the opposite direction.

U.S. sales of the Civic have fallen 13 percent this year to 200,690, according to researcher Autodata Corp, while Honda’s overall market share in the U.S. dipped one percentage point to 9 percent.

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FILED UNDER: Industry, auto industry, Honda
December 19, 2011 | 3:28 PM | By Pete Bigelow

With Twin Cities Assembly Plant Now Closed, St. Paul Ponders Future Of Shuttered Site

Employees crowded around, took photos and cheered as the last Ford Ranger pickup truck rolled off the assembly line Friday in St. Paul,  Minn.

At least one worker was bewildered by the reaction.

Photo by Slobodan Stojkovic via Flickr.

“I could not understand why there were cheering for the last vehicle,” Mike Montie, who worked at the Twin Cities Assembly Plant for 28 years, told the Associated Press. “You cheer for the first one, not the last one. I was like, ‘What the hell?’ I didn’t want it to end, you know?”

He was one of 800 employees who lost their jobs when the Twin Cities Assembly Plant closed Friday. The plant, located along the banks of the Mississippi River, has produced more than 6 million cars during an 86-year history. But sales of the Ranger have slackened since the 1990s, and Ford decided to concentrate on larger, more profitable pickups.

A multimillion dollar cleanup of the 122-acre site will begin early next year.

Local officials are hopeful the site can be repurposed. According to the St. Paul Star Tribune, locals are considering a lot of possibilities, including a green manufacturing complex, a densely populated transit village, a park, an office campus and a middle-class neighborhood.

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FILED UNDER: Communities, Industry, Jobs, auto industry, Empty Places, Ford, Minnesota
December 19, 2011 | 12:12 PM | By Kate Davidson

Happy Birthday, Industrial Robot: 50th Anniversary of Unimate

Here at Changing Gears, we can’t let 2011 go by without marking a revolutionary anniversary.  Fifty years ago, in 1961, GM installed the first industrial robot.  It altered the course of manufacturing forever. Unimate was a robotic arm that unloaded hot pieces of die-cast metal.  Joseph Engelberger, known as “the father of robotics,” saw the invention as a way to replace dangerous, dull and dirty jobs.

Unimate actually had two fathers – George C. Devol, who died in August at age 99, and Engelberger, who is still alive.  Back in 1966 Engelberger joined Unimate on “The Tonight Show” with Johnny Carson, where he (the robot) sank a putt and opened a can of beer.  We were struck by the wonder of that moment, the enthusiasm for the power of automation.  Chrysler and Ford followed GM’s lead, but it was Japan that fully embraced the new robotics.

FILED UNDER: Industry, Innovation, auto industry, Japan, robotics
December 8, 2011 | 5:13 PM | By Pete Bigelow

Report: Developers Trend Toward Repurposing Shuttered Auto Plants

Of the 263 automotive plants closed across the country over the past three decades, nearly 49 percent have been repurposed, according to a Labor Department study released Thursday.

And the pace of redeveloping them has accelerated.

The New York Times reported today that, despite the fragile economy, developers have bought as many closed plants in the past three years – 32– as they did in the previous 26 years. Lower property values and a glut of plants on the market have contributed to the trend.

The repurposed plants have welcomed traditional manufacturers, and some of have been turned into housing developments, offices and research centers which has helped affected communities rediscover needed tax revenues, according to the study, which was authored by Ann Arbor, Mich.-based Center for Automotive Research.

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FILED UNDER: Communities, Industry, Innovation, auto industry, Empty Places
December 8, 2011 | 3:50 PM | By Pete Bigelow

Ford, Chrysler And General Motors All In The News Today

Today’s news cycle has prominently featured the U.S. auto industry. Here’s a quick roundup of three stories about Detroit’s Big Three making news this afternoon:

Photo by Slobodan Stojkovic via Flickr.

1. Ford Reinstating Dividends. Ford will reinstate its quarterly dividends in 2012, the company announced Thursday. “We have made tremendous progress in reducing debt and generating consistent positive earns and cash flow,” Bill Ford, executive chairman, said in a statement. Ford will pay five cents per share to holders of Class B and common stock as of Jan. 31, 2012. Payments will be made on March 1. Ford had suspended its dividend payments more than five years ago, as the company grappled with the recession. Now, it has posted 10 consecutive profitable quarters, according to the Los Angeles Times.

2. GM Chief Shakes Up Detroit. For generations, executives at the Big Three adhered to a code of conformity and predictability. More recently, that culture has been shaken up by outsiders. None are having a more dramatic impact than General Motors CEO Dan Akerson, according to Bill Vlasic of The New York Times, who profiles the senior executive today. Vlasic examines Akerson’s handling of the recent federal investigation into the Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid. By offering to buy back Volts from concerned owners, Akerson adopted an “aggressive – and potentially risky – strategy,” said one analyst. Akerson saw the company’s reponse to the crisis as a potential defining moment, Vlasic writes.

3. Detroit Comeback Featured In Time. The comeback of the American auto industry has reached the front page of Time Magazine. The lead story of an issue that hits newsstands tomorrow examines the resurgence of a domestic industry that faced extinction only three years ago. Specifically, the weekly news mag looks at Chrysler and the role of CEO Sergio Marchionne in boosting sales 23 percent in October 2011 year over year. The headline: “How America Started Selling Cars Again.”

 

FILED UNDER: Industry, auto industry, Chevrolet Volt, Chrysler, Ford, General Motors, GM
December 8, 2011 | 11:53 AM | By Pete Bigelow

Midwest Memo: Lansing-Area UAW Members Voting On Strike Authorization, Illinois Lawmakers Regroup, Milwaukee Businesses Sharing Office Space

Three stories making news across the Midwest today:

1. Lansing-area Local 602 could authorize strike. Members of UAW Local 602 are voting today and tomorrow on whether to authorize a strike. The union, which represents approximately 3,430 employees at the General Motors assembly plant in Delta Township, Michigan, has failed to reach an agreement on a local contract with plant management. According to the Lansing State Journal, a strike authorization gives union leaders the authority to call a strike, but does not necessarily mean one is imminent. Changing Gears profiled Local 602, one of the three locals that defeated the GM-UAW contract, in September.

2. Illinois lawmakers regroup. Lawmakers will give a second effort to keeping CME Group and Sears in Illinois. After rejecting two bills that would have provided the Chicago-based companies with $250 million in tax incentives last week, they announced the House would hold a special session Monday in hopes of trying again. House members have now raised the prospect of splitting the bill into several pieces of legislation and holding multiple votes, our partner station WBEZ reported. The two companies have threatened to relocate elsewhere in the Midwest if a deal isn’t done by the end of the year. Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn said Ohio offered Sears $400 million in incentives to relocate to Columbus.

3. Milwaukee capitalizes on workspace-sharing trend. A Milwaukee developer is bringing a  West Coast trend of small businesses sharing office space to the Midwest. Soon, William Waldren will open the Hudson Business Lounge, where 180 small-business owners have already signed up to share work space, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “There’s definitely been a pickup in people wanting to do this,” said James Carlson, who runs Bucketworks, another Milwaukee-based shared workspace building. Hudson offers various levels, starting at $55 per month for part-time access to group work tables to a $795 per month package that includes private office space. Across the U.S., 450 to 500 co-working sites exist, according to the newspaper, but most cater to tech people. Walden wants to broaden the appeal to other businesses.

 

FILED UNDER: Communities, Government, Innovation, auto industry, CME Group, Illinois, Lansing, Milwaukee, Sears, tax incentives, UAW
December 7, 2011 | 11:56 AM | By Pete Bigelow

Midwest Memo: Chicago Mayor Unveils Microlending Plan, Auto Dealerships Renovate, Indiana Finds Extra $320 Million

Three stories making news across the Midwest today:

1. Chicago unveils microlending program. Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel unveiled a plan Tuesday to create a new organization that helps the city’s small businesses. The Chicago Microlending Institute would train potential lenders on advising and giving loans to people starting small businesses, and would be funded by a $1 million loan pool funded by the city. Our partner station WBEZ says the proposed institute would be run by ACCION Chicago, an area small business lender. Emanuel said small businesses sometimes struggle to get loans from traditional institutions. “That’s the hardest first step,” Emanuel tells WBEZ. “That’s the hardest loan. You don’t have a proven model. You don’t have a proven record.”

2. Auto dealerships undergo facelifts. Three auto dealerships in the Milwaukee area are joining a growing national trend of expanding or renovating their facilities. Jim Tolkan, president of the Automobile Dealers Association of Mega Milwaukee, tells the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that auto manufacturers are requiring dealerships to remodel in order to meet “a look that is easily recognizable regardless of where you are in the country.” Others are unconvinced that dealers will recoup expensive outlays. “That is the unknown question,” Tolkan tells the newspaper. The National Automobile Dealers Association is expected to issue a report on the subject later this year.

3. Whoops! Indiana finds leftover $320 million. Indiana officials discovered Tuesday the state had $320 million more than anticipated in its main account. Gov. Mitch Daniels said the windfall came as a result of a multi-year programming error that was only recently caught by a stunned employee. Democrats aren’t necessarily buying the explanation after watching Republicans cut public education funding by $300 million at the end of 2009, according to the Indianapolis Star. “This wasn’t just an accounting error,” Senate Minority Leader Vi Simpson told the newspaper. “Children got hurt by this, families have suffered.”

FILED UNDER: Government, Industry, Innovation, auto dealers, auto industry, Chicago, Education, Indiana, microlending, Milwaukee, Mitch Daniels, Rahm Emanuel, small business, state budgets
December 5, 2011 | 5:15 PM | By Pete Bigelow

Michigan’s Economy Shows Uneven Improvement

Michigan’s economy benefited from a surge throughout the auto industry in September, according to a monthly economic report from Comerica Bank.

The bank’s Michigan Economic Activity Index ticked up one point to a level of 88. U.S. auto sales increased to 13.6 million units in November year to date, emboldening hopes of continued improvement. But Comerica’s chief economist, Robert Dye, cautioned against taking too optimistic a position.

“The climb out of the depths of the recession still looks very uneven, though, as hard hit areas within Michigan are stuck with very high unemployment rates,” he said.

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FILED UNDER: Government, Jobs, auto industry, Michigan
December 1, 2011 | 6:20 AM | By Pete Bigelow

Trouble Ahead For Auto Industry’s Two-Tier Wage Structure

LIVONIA, Mich. – When Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne made his disdain for a two-tier wage system known at the conclusion of UAW contract negotiations in October, his comments weren’t so much parting shots as they were a preview of coming attractions.

The viability of the two-tier wage structure will be a defining issue of the next round of labor negotiations.

“What has to be decided in 2015 is, ‘Where are you going with the second tier,” said Art Schwartz, president of Labor & Economics Associates and a former lead labor negotiator for General Motors. “Where’s this going to lead eventually? That’s the big issue.”

Several analysts at a conference hosted Tuesday by the Center for Automotive Research predicted caps on the number of second-tier employees will gradually be raised, and that an intermediate wage rate between the two rates could be negotiated.

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FILED UNDER: Industry, Jobs, auto industry, General Motors, transportation, two tiers, United Auto Workers