Ford Plans Small Concept Car

DETROIT – Ford Motor Co., which used to make most of its money on trucks and sports-utility vehicles, is making a big bet on small cars.

The embattled company next month will launch a redesigned version of its Focus compact, and then offer a glimpse of new pint-sized model to follow about two years later.
At the Frankfurt auto show in mid-September, Ford will unveil a concept car called the Verve, a sporty subcompact that's smaller than the Focus. A model based on the Verve should arrive in U.S. showrooms in 2008 or 2009.

Ford, which posted a $2.8 billion operating loss in 2006, is hoping that spiffing up its small car line up with help the company back market share down the road. Like General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC, Ford has steadily ceded market share over the last 20 years as customers defected to foreign makes like Toyota and Honda. All three companies have had little or no success enticing those import buyers to come back to domestic vehicles.

But small cars often attract people who are buying new cars for the first time, and whose allegiance is still up for grabs.

On top of that, sales of small cars are on the rise, helped by high gasoline prices and increasing interest in high-mileage vehicles.

Small cars represent "a tremendous opportunity for Ford," spokesman Said Deep said. "It is a segment that is going to become very important to us."
This is a new way of thinking for Detroit. Until a few years ago, Ford, GM and Chrysler make big money selling large trucks and SUVs, and lost money on most passenger cars. So they put little effort into developing small cars and left the segment to the Asian auto makers.

Now, all three are enduring painful restructurings, in a bid to, among other things, be able to profit on all types of vehicles they make. They also have recognized the strategic value in small cars that can pull in first-time new car buyers.
The Verve concept is a sleek three-door hatchback with sculpted creases. Ford will show a second concept similar to the Verve at an auto show in China in November, and a third at the Detroit auto show in January. It plans to produce the vehicles for sale in Asia, Europe and North American between by 2008 or 2009.

Earlier this year, GM showed three concepts for subcompact cars and Chrysler one of its own. Their concepts as well as the Verve would greatly enhance Detroit's presence in the subcompact class. Right now only GM competes in that segment with the Chevrolet Aveo. Toyota has the top seller in the Yaris. The company has sold 54,000 so far this year, up 66% over 2006.


online.wsj.com

Auto insurers don't need the green light

Nobody likes paying their car insurance bill. But if you want to drive legally in Georgia, insurance is required. And across much of the state, you must have a car in order to get around.

It's a pretty good deal for car insurers. From year to year, they know that millions of Georgia drivers will have to buy their product. It's like shooting fish in a barrel.
So why are state lawmakers trying to make it easier for these companies to raise your rates?

House Bill 867 by Rep. Bill Hembree (R-Winston), would allow car insurers to raise your rates without getting "prior approval" from the state insurance commissioner's office.

Currently, because of prior approval, Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine has the authority to examine the company's finances, and the power to reduce or stop a rate hike altogether.

This safeguard is especially important in Georgia and in 46 other states where car insurance is required because it keeps companies honest when they put a price tag on a product they know you have to buy.

It also helps prevent race-to-the-bottom price wars that can lead to unpaid claims, and even bankruptcy for insurers who don't maintain appropriate reserves.

The Georgia Legislature set up the "prior approval" system 20 years ago when auto insurance rates almost doubled during the 1980s. As a result of the oversight and accountability, insurance rates fell and remained flat through the 1990s.

According to online independent insurance broker Insurance.com, Georgia now has the fourth cheapest auto insurance rates in the Southeast.

The average rates in Georgia dropped in 2005 and 2006, and have decreased by almost 5 percent so far in 2007.

However, if House Bill 867 passes, insurance companies will be able to hike rates whenever they want, without getting approval and without anyone looking over their shoulders to check their math.

When some state legislators tried to pass a similar bill in 2005, insurance lobbyists claimed that it would make it faster and easier for them to lower your insurance rates. But I've never known the insurance commissioner to delay or stop a rate reduction.

The fact is that Georgia has a thriving insurance market, one that boasts hundreds of carriers and very affordable rates when compared with other states.

The system is working; consumers are getting fair rates and insurers are competing with one another to sell you coverage.

Our leaders would be wise to not tinker with an approach that has proved so successful.

www.ajc.com

Chronic Car Audio Inc. Acquires Auto Sound in Las Vegas

MESA, Ariz.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Chronic Car Audio, Inc. (Pink Sheets: CCAU) of Mesa, Arizona, purchased the West Sahara Las Vegas location of Auto Sound. This acquisition gives Chronic Car Audio Inc. 2 stores in Las Vegas, Nevada and six in Arizona for a total of 8 stores. Revenues which were 6.4 million in 2006 are on target to reach 9 million in 2007.

Chronic Car Audio, Inc. (Pink Sheets: CCAU) is a Nevada Corp. incorporated in July 2003 and founded by its CEO Bren Blanchette. The Company is in the retail and install business of car stereos, car alarms, and mobile video entertainment. Chronic Car Audio, Inc. opened its first location August of 2003 in Mesa, Arizona and now owns and operates 6 locations in Arizona and 2 in Las Vegas, Nevada.


home.businesswire.com

Kara McGuire: Commencing lower premiums

Sending Junior away for college can bring some savings -- and not just because he can't skip home to do laundry and raid the fridge. Many auto insurers will lower if not eliminate the cost of coverage for a son or daughter who attends school far enough from home.

This and other ways to reduce your auto insurance premium should come as welcome news for parents of college kids. After all, it's back-to-school time, which means that buying books and decorating the dorm room may have you feeling like a walking ATM.

Dick McKenny, an independent insurance agent with Advance Insurance in Edina, suggests that clients review their insurance plans whenever there's a major life change. That's because some policies are better than others for your family's circumstances.

College students whose permanent address is still at Mom and Dad's generally will be covered by their parent's car insurance.

If a child is attending school more than 100 miles away, many insurance companies will lower the family's auto insurance premium by as much as 30 percent. The insurer figures that because the student is unlikely to be routinely driving the family car, the odds of an accident are less likely.

McKenny said some companies won't charge a penny to continue auto insurance for the family bookworm studying far away, whether in California or in Europe for the semester.

Have a student living at home while attending school or at the dorms in the next town away? Don't expect a rate cut, unless you can prove that your child's mileage is going to plummet.

What about situations in between? Take the case of Jim Stein's daughter, who is attending school 80 miles from the family home in Lindstrom. Stein, president of the Minnesota Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers Association, guesses that his insurance rate won't change because his daughter's not quite far enough away, but he plans to ask for the discount anyway.

Taking a car to school might not affect the family insurance costs. But it may raise rates depending on the cost of insuring the car in that particular college town, or perhaps in a state that requires more insurance. Children who establish residence in other states while at school would have to get their own policies.

But coverage from some insurer is a must. Insurance will help with any accident involving your child and a motor vehicle, whether it happens while in a friend's car or while crossing the street. Not only that, but having no insurance can cause trouble when applying for an auto policy down the road. Without proof of previous coverage "you'd pay more," Stein said.

There's another discount that parents shouldn't overlook: the good-student discount, given to high school and college students with a B average or better. McKenny said the break could be as much as 25 percent. He should know. His son recently dipped below a 3.0 grade-point average, and the family car insurance spiked by $200 every six months.

Some parents will pay the insurance only up to the good-student discount. If poor grades cause the premium to rise, the student's on the hook.

"I think it's a great idea to charge some of the insurance cost back to the children," Stein said.

www.startribune.com

A cheap car that will drive you crazy!

NEW DELHI: It’s the most talked about project in the auto industry right now. But there’s more to the Tata Motors Rs 1 lakh people’s car than just it’s eye-popping and jaw-dropping price tag. Despite the hush of secrecy surrounding the project, ET AutoMania spoke to vendors, suppliers, consultants and industry insiders to come up with details of what the car will pack in.

The Tata Rs 1 lakh car is undoubtedly the most talked about product that will hit the market in 2008. This despite the fact that the year will be choc-a-bloc with launches (see Local Launch) across the product spectrum . The company, understandably enough, has been tightlipped about the project but ET AutoMania spoke to vendors, consultants, analysts and auto industry insiders to cull information about this muchawaited people’s car. So here goes the details...

First things first... the Rs 1 lakh car will probably sport a 660 cc engine and crank out between 30-33 horses . And yes, it will offer both diesel and petrol drivelines. German Tier One component major Bosch is developing “a brand new” common rail direct injection (CRDi) solution that will be compatible with the Tata Rs 1 lakh car. “For the first time, Bosch is developing CRDi systems at that cost to suit the configuration of an extremely low cost vehicle,” said a component industry source. In June, Wolf Henning Scheider, president-gasoline systems division, Robert Bosch had announced the company’s intent to become “market and technology leaders” in the low price vehicle segment.

The company, he said, is supplying “alternators, brakes and gasoline and diesel en-gine management systems for the one-lakh car from Tata” and in four months, Bosch’s local engineers have “developed viable technical concepts and solutions” for the project.

That’s just the beginning. According to vendor sources, the Tata Rs 1 lakh car will be rear-engined (unlike most cars on Indian roads today which are front-engined ), four-door and four-seat . The strip down base variant will not offer air-conditioning or power steering, say sources. The prototype is ready and may world premiere at the Auto Expo next January.

Like the Indica, the new car is being designed by Italy's Institute of Development in Automotive Engineering (IDEA). And like the Indica, it will come in a cute egg shape with the same kind of rear light arrangement as the group’s first passenger car. And yes, it will sport a tall boy frame and may offer some “totally different” design cues like an aircraft-style storage space under the hood or a single wiper.


economictimes.indiatimes.com