All About Cars

I represent a country that has over 1.1 billion people; that began a long and arduous journey of development; and that has, in recent years, rediscovered its inner strengths and acquired the capacity to end poverty.

I speak with great anguish because the goals that we have set for ourselves are in grave peril.

Oil prices threaten to wipe out the economic gains made by developing countries in recent years. The irrational escalation in oil prices is the cause of diversion of scarce resources from education, health and other social sector schemes.

Three weeks ago, India passed on barely 9 per cent of the required price increase to consumers: the result is that inflation measured by wholesale prices has crossed 11 per cent.

We are sorry to note that even oil producing countries such as Indonesia, Russia, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela face double-digit inflation rates ranging from 10.5 per cent to 29.3 per cent.

How did this situation come about? And how may we overcome what appear to be formidable challenges? Let me focus on some key areas from the perspective of developing economies like India.

Questions have been raised about the fundamentals of the oil industry. There is a need for the oil industry to re-assert its leadership in price formation and not remain passive spectator of speculation and paper trading in oil. The global hydrocarbon community must address this situation through appropriate supply-side responses and calm the oil markets.

Today, the vulnerability of the supply chain to temporary supply disruptions stands exposed. Global oil consumption grew by 1.1 per cent or 1,000,000 barrels per day in 2007 whereas the global oil production fell by 130,000 barrels per day. Spare capacity, across the supply chain, has dwindled considerably. This has added to risks and uncertainty.

According to the estimates of the International Energy Agency, our future oil and gas needs call for massive investments of the order of $ 10 trillion by the year 2030. Such fund mobilisation can be achieved. Fresh investments are not materialising perhaps because of anticipated fall in demand. This is plainly wrong.

Respectfully, we reject the suggestion that rising demand is the cause of spiraling oil prices. Surely, demand and supply dynamics can not explain what has happened over the last 12 months.

How is it that oil prices were $70 a barrel in August, 2007, and how is it that they have doubled when there has been no dramatic change in demand? The causes for the current pandemonium in oil prices lie elsewhere: in unregulated over-the-counter markets and futures trading in oil.

There is ample evidence that large financial institutions, pension funds, hedge funds etc. have channelised trillions of dollars into commodity investments and commodity derivatives.

It is common knowledge that these financial transactions are unregulated and highly opaque. The demand for oil generated by these funds is purely speculative demand. In our view, the time has come for producers - especially OPEC - and consumers to wrest control over oil trading from the hands of the speculators.

The only way forward is for the both producers and consumers to find common ground. We have a proposal that will instill mutual confidence. We propose that we adopt a Price Band Mechanism. Consuming countries must guarantee that oil prices will not fall below an agreed level and producing countries must guarantee that oil prices will not rise above a guaranteed level.

In the band between these two levels, let prices be determined by market forces. This is the only way to shelter the world from volatility and unpredictability in oil prices.

We firmly believe that the current level of international oil prices is in the interest of neither the oil-producing countries nor the consuming countries. If the global economy slows down or slips into a recession due to high oil prices, that will eventually hurt all of us.

I appeal to you in the name of development; I appeal to you on behalf of all developing countries to seize the moment.

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For many years, one of Alfa Romeo’s biggest problems as far as the UK was concerned was the dismal experience customers had with dealerships. According to a recent survey, Alfa’s efforts to reverse that trend are paying off.

The Italian company has achieved the greatest improvement of all manufacturers in the Auto Express Driver Power survey, jumping eleven places from its 2007 ranking. 96% of Alfa Romeo owners among the 32,000 people questioned said they would buy another model from the same company once they’ve finished with the one they have now.

“We have made a bold commitment to dramatically improve the driving and dealer experience for our customers,” says Alfa Romeo UK’s Managing Director Christopher Nicoll. “Many elements of the plan are already in place and it’s clear that they are having a positive impact on our customers. We are working to continue this upward trend. It’s what our customers deserve.”

Alfa Romeo has brought the Cloverleaf name back to the UK for a special edition of the GT which goes on sale from July 1.

In the past, “Cloverleaf” has always been used to distinguish the highest-performance model in a range. This time it’s a bit different; the GT Cloverleaf is mechanically standard but comes with extra equipment including 18″ double-spoke alloy wheels, red brake calipers, satin-effect front grille and door mirrors and a choice of three exterior colours: Carbonio Black, Alfa Red and Atlantico Blue.

Inside, the Cloverleaf gets leather sports seats, aluminium pedals, red instrument dial backgrounds and a Bose audio system with an MP3 reader.

The GT Cloverleaf comes with a choice of 1.8- and two-litre JTS petrol engines and 150bhp and 170bhp versions of the 1.9 JTDM turbo diesel. The 170bhp JTDM has Alfa’s Q2 limited-slip differential and a Sport button which alters the response characteristics of the throttle. Prices start at £18,980 for the 1.8 JTS and go up by £1000 for each model in the order given.

“What’s it gonna take to put you in this car today?” The answer to this familiar saleman’s question, for hybrid car buyers anyway, is to wait until tomorrow.

Demand for the gas- and electrical-powered vehicles continues to outpace supply as rising gas prices reach new highs — $4.19 last week in the metro-east.

At Meyer Honda in O’Fallon, orders for the Honda Accord, Honda Fit and Honda Civic — both hybrid and nonhybrid models — are back-ordered for three to four months. Some models can get as much as 30 miles or more per gallon.

“Expect to wait,” said Meyer Honda sales representative Dave Pusa. “Demand is really unbelievably high.”

Newbold Toyota Scion, also in O’Fallon, is also waiting on orders. Manager Jim Leist has sold a number of Toyota hybrid models, especially the Toyota Prius.

“I get several hits daily on the Prius as well as those coming through the door asking questions and placing orders for a Prius,” Leist said. “We’re probably waiting on 30-plus orders now and take more everyday. There is very high demand for the cars right now.”

The Prius continues to lead online automobile sales tracker cars.com’s list of top new-car searches. Eight of the top 10 are Toyota and Honda models in addition to the Nissan Altima and Ford Mustang.

“Obviously, what we’ve expected is anytime gas prices spike in the summertime, there is a pick up on the search for more fuel-efficient vehicles,” said cars.com spokesman Steve Nolan. “This summer is even more so.”

“We cannot keep them on our lot,” Leist said. “They sell so quickly.”

Rusty Wagner doesn’t have many hybrids at his Wagner Buick-Pontiac-GMC in Belleville, but he said customers are still coming in to buy more fuel-efficient cars — such as the Buick Lucerne, Buick Lacrosse, Pontiac Vibe and Pontiac G6 — over traditional gas-suzzlers.

“There has definitely been an influx of new vehicle interest rather than in trucks or SUVs,” Wagner said. “We’re still selling trucks and SUVs, but not the volume we were before.”

Across Illinois 15, Oliver C. Jospeh Chrysler-Dodge has also been selling more Dodge Calibers, Dodge Avengers and Chrysler Sebrings — models that get more miles per gallon.

Jamie Auffenberg said compact and sub-compact cars are in greater demand at the numerous metro-east dealerships he owns. He said he has seen demand in a number of models — the Nissan Altima, Nissan Centra, Nissan Versa, Nissan Rogue, Hyundai Accent, Hyundai Elantra, Hyundai Cinada, Kia Spectra, Kia Rio, Kia Sportage, Mitsubishi Lancer, Jeep Patriot and Ford Escape.

“It seems that everyone is buying (for) fuel mileage,” Auffenburg said, “there’s no question.”

A recent survey by cars.com affirms that more consumers are pursuing more fuel-efficient vehicles as $4-a-gallon gas prices seem to be here to stay. The poll revealed that 85 percent of consumers said fuel prices are prompting them to look for cars that don’t require as many trips to the pump. Of those, 28 percent said they would buy a more fuel-efficient car immediately, and 57 percent said they would buy one they next time they purchase a car.

“It’s obvious hybrids and anything that is more fuel-efficient have gained popularity on the site,” Nolan said. “Honda Civic, Honda Fit, as well as other vehicles popular for years are also very fuel-efficient, like the Toyota Corolla and Honda Civic non-hybrid.”

But there is a new competitor this summer that is also ringing up sales. Over the past six months, a new super-compact car import has ramped up sales across the United States with its 41-miles-per gallon in-city and 47-miles-per-gallon highway performance.

Known as Smart Cars, these two-seaters are made in France by Mercedes and have an engine manufactured by Mitsubishi that sell for between $12,000 and $18,000. These vehicles are about half the length of a typical four-door sedan, use about half the gas and have been available across Europe for the past 15 years.

But there are only a limited number of Smart Car dealerships in the United States. The only one around here is across the river in Creve Coeur, Mo., at Plaza Motor Co., located at 11830 Olive St. Road. Plaza Motor Co. spokesperson Marissa Zouglas said the dealership is the only one between Chicago and Kansas City and has been placing hundreds of orders from consumers throughout Iowa and Illinois.

“They are great cars,” Zouglas said. “They are the wave of the future.”

Launched in 1991, the Opel Astra replaced the legendary Kadett (the first one was made in 1936) and is one of Opel’s most sucessful model which is currently being built in ten locations worldwide, in countries like Germany, Belgium, UK, Poland, Russia, Ukraine, Brazil and Serbia. 17 years later, the 10 millionth Opel Astra was built yesterday at the Opel plant in Bochum, Germany. The milestone car is a Silver Lightning Astra Station Wagon 1.7 CDTI.

The first generation Opel Astra was built until 1998 with 4.13 million units sold, which makes it one of the most successful cars evers. The second generation, built between 1998 and 2004 was sold in 3.8 million units, while the current generation, introduced in 2004 was sold in 1.9 million units, with over 500,000 sold only last year.

In China the Chinese MGTF is to make its worldwide debut in just over a week - 6,000 miles away from Longbridge. Longbridge owners Nanjing today opened their doors to the British press to reveal that the two-seater MGTF would finally roll off the Nanjing production lines from May 20 onwards.

The Chinese launch of the sports car paves the way for the long-delayed introduction of the two-seater in the UK in early August.

Saic-Nanjing’s confirmation of the production launch came in response to the No More Chinese Whispers campaign by the Birmingham Mail, calling on the Chinese to come clean over their intentions for Longbridge.

And today Saic-Nanjing’s confidence in the MG brand was under-lined as plans were revealed for 1,000 new jobs at the Chinese plants.

The success of the Chinese factory is critical to the relaunch of Longbridge, where production lines have remained at a standstill for more than three years since MG Rover closed in April 2005 with the loss of 6,500 jobs.

The Nanjing plant is already supplying engines and other body parts to the UK for eventual assembly at Longbridge. Yang Junhu, vice general manger of Nanjing MG, told the Mail today: “The MGTF will be produced here from May 20 onwards.

“It is a very exciting time for us - we started work on this in 2005 and we think the car will be popular.”

The 800,000 square feet complex on the outskirts of Nanjing was launched in March last year and up to now has produced only one model, the MG 7.

Now the launch of the MGTF - with the promise of more models to follow - is playing a key role in kick-starting the Longbridge project after more than three years.

Nanjing executives said several hundred advance orders were already in the pipeline for the MGTF.

Emma Tian, manager in Nanjing’s international operations department, said: “At this stage we have only got one shift but in the future we will have three.

“That will give us a 50 to 60 per cent increase in jobs, creating around 1,000 new positions at the plant.

“People love MG. It is not only a money issue, it is a love and passion for the brand.”

The Nanjing plant, around 15 miles from the city centre on a sprawling industrial complex, currently employs around 2,000 people.

The factory will eventually produce a range of four MGs, with replacement models due over the next two years.

Nanjing said the MGTF will sell for between £19,000 and £23,000 in the Far East, with 81 dealers already appointed across the giant state.

UK prices have not yet been announced. Cheap Used Cars for Sale at Ecarjunction.com

There’s little doubt that Toyota will displace General Motors as the world’s biggest automaker when 2008 sales are finally tallied. GM edged out its Japanese rival in 2007, but the American giant continues to struggle with a drawn-out turnaround plan and billions in losses. Toyota, by contrast, has been growing virtually everywhere it does business, with record profits in 2007. Ascending to No. 1 worldwide seems inevitable.

Now, here’s a startling new possibility: Toyota could overtake GM in its home market, the first time ever that a foreign company would be the No. 1 seller of cars in the United States. Only a few months ago, that seemed implausible. Toyota’s market share had grown consistently, to about 16 percent of the U.S. market at the end of 2007. But GM still had a commanding lead, with 23 percent of the market. And share swings of more than a point or two in a given year are rare.

But car sales this year have flipped more dramatically than anybody anticipated, and suddenly Toyota is within striking distance of GM. In May, Toyota’s market share surged to 18.4 percent, according to J.D. Power & Associates, as buyers flocked to small, efficient cars like the Corolla, Yaris, and Scion xB. Sales of GM pickups and SUVs plummeted, leaving GM with 19.3 percent of the market—less than a single point above Toyota. And GM recently announced it willclose four plants and curtail production of light trucks by about 40 percent. Those developments could reorder the U.S. auto industry. Some possible scenarios:

Toyota bounces GM. Toyota’s sales have actually declined by 3.5 percent so far in 2007—but that’s a strong performance compared with GM’s 16 percent decline, which is why Toyota’s market share is rising sharply. In May alone, the sales gap was much bigger: GM’s sales plunged by 28 percent, compared with a mere 4.3 percent drop for Toyota. Like GM, Toyota is suffering from a severe drop in sales of big vehicles like the Tundra pickup and the 4Runner SUV. But GM is far more dependent on big vehicles, and Toyota has a much stronger lineup of small cars and crossovers.

If the pronounced shift in buying patterns continues, Toyota’s market share could eclipse GM’s on a monthly basis through the summer or fall. But GM will probably retain more market share for ‘08 overall, given that it started the year much stronger than it is now. As for 2009—that could be a close race.

U.S. Market Share by Manufacturer

	May 2007	May 2008
GM	23.8%	19.3%
Toyota	17.2	18.4
Ford	16.5	15.4
Chrysler	12.8	10.7
Honda	9.3	12.0
Nissan	6.0	7.2
Hyundai	4.6	5.6
BMW (includes Mini)	2.0	2.3
Volkswagen (includes Audi)	2.0	2.2
Mercedes (includes Smart)	1.4	1.8

GM rebounds. May was a wild month for car sales, with several developments that stunned analysts. Sales of big pickup trucks, for instance, fell below 10 percent of the total for the first time in decades. Compact cars, which usually represent about 15 percent of the market, rose to more than 20 percent. And sales of large vehicles fell by a staggering 36 percent. “We rarely see swings like that,” says Tom Libby of J.D. Power. “The question is whether May was the beginning of a trend or an aberration.”Libby tends to think it was an aberration, since research suggests gas prices would have to stay near $4 per gallon for a year before such abrupt changes in buying habits become permanent. So far, they’ve been near that level only for a couple of months. If Libby’s right, car sales over the summer won’t be weighted so heavily against larger vehicles, which would pad GM’s market share. But others see it differently—most notably, GM CEO Rick Wagoner, who said in May that rising gas prices and changes in the U.S. car market are “more structural than cyclical.”

Honda surges. Honda may be in an even better position that Toyota, because it has no full-size trucks or SUVs to weigh down sales. And its numbers prove it. Total industry sales are down about 8 percent so far this year. Honda’s are up 5 percent. And for the first time ever, the thrifty Civic was the top-selling overall vehicle in May. Honda’s market share has risen from 9.3 percent a year ago to 12 percent, surpassing Chrysler. It could even pass No. 3 Ford on a monthly basis by the end of the year.

Ford and Chrysler recede. This seems likely under any scenario, at least through the end of ‘08. Ford, heavily reliant on the F-150 pickup and SUVs like the Explorer, has the same big-truck problem as GM. Many analysts think Ford plans to ax its Mercury brand, which could cost a full percentage point of market share. Newer vehicles like the Edge, Fusion, and Focus will help, but Ford needs more of them, and it will take awhile. Chrysler—once one of the “Big Three”—is now the fifth-largest U.S. carmaker and drifting further. A $2.99 gas-price guarantee promotion was supposed to goose sales—but instead, they fell 25 percent in May. If discounted gas doesn’t help sell cars, it’s hard to know what will.

Honda, one of the major competitors on international car markets, announced some interesting news. If you want to find them out, join us, please.

Ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce the new Honda Freed!

The new Honda Freed was unveiled today in Tokyo. The Freed is a compact minivan, based on the new 2009 Honda Jazz. While the Freed retains the same width as the Jazz / Fit at 1,695 mm, it’s longer (4,215 mm vs 3,900 mm), higher (1,715 mm vs 1,525 mm) and it also features an extended wheelbase measuring 2,740 mm in length (vs 2,500 mm).

Honda will offer three variants the Freed on local market: a seven-passenger edition; an eight-passenger version and a five-passenger type which offers a large cargo space. All three variants of the Freed are also equipped with sliding rear doors on either side of the vehicle.

2009 Honda Freed will be offered in front-wheel-drive and four-wheel-drive variants, both of which are equipped with a 1.5-liter 4-cylinder that delivers an output of 120Hp. No word about the Freed will find its way out of the Japan.