Automotive Journal

It’s dreaming spires and automotive forecasts for me today as I head to Oxford for a meeting with JP Power’s Automotive Forecasting folks. There’s certainly plenty to talk about. Things have changed quite a bit since I went to their forecasting conference in Frankfurt in April, but I think Bob Schnorbus was on the money with what he had to say about the US market. He was something of an outlier with

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I am back from Paris now. I wish I had had longer, but the simple fact that there is never enough time at shows is inescapable. I had a number of interviews scheduled yesterday (here’s one with Fritz Henderson - look out for something else from my half hour with him to be published on Monday), plus there were other people to meet, stands to find and it was a case of looking at the cars while in transit from one

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I’m heading to Paris tomorrow - press day at the show is on Thursday. Should be an interesting show, one or two important models on display. I’ll be sure to get a look at the Chevrolet Volt (while at the GM stand, I’ve an interview scheduled with GM COO Fritz Henderson - Rick Wagoner’s plans changed and he’s not visiting Paris now). Lots of seductive metal, creative solutions and clever engineering to marvel at.

As per usual, I’ve been hunting down details of the hotel where I am staying, having put that small detail right out of

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The process of turning the will of the people into legislation is, for the EU, not exactly straightforward or transparent. It’s little wonder that many people view

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I have no doubt that Hyundai is a growing and happening brand. Hyundai Motor has done a lot of the right things with its brand

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These are rather dark days in terms of the overall business climate and I don’t suppose anyone reading this needs reminding of that. But there are growth opportunities for this industry out there. In simple volume terms emerging markets continue to offer good growth potential, even if

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Chrysler has taken a battering in sales for some time now. Ford and GM at least have their considerable global engineering resources to call on when it comes to rejigging the product offering. Poor old Chrysler, people said, is just too exposed to a market reacting seismically to the twin ills of the credit crunch and high fuel prices. It is difficult for it to do much about that quickly, even if private equity owner Cerberus were inclined to spend

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For all the talk of how the US light vehicle market is changing in response to the pressures wrought by the credit crunch and higher gasoline prices, it’s perhaps worth noting that Ford’s F-150 has just been updated and it’s a reminder of how important that vehicle is to Ford in North America. Pickups aren’t suddenly going to disappear - same goes for SUVs. There will likely be

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Okay, it’s Monday morning and we all know how that feels. Cheer yourself up by listening to this clip. A stretch of road in California has been modified with grooves so that when you drive along it, the road noise plays the William Tell Overture (AKA the theme from the Lone Ranger). Those wacky guys in the Honda

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If you are well-heeled enough to be able to afford to take a London ‘black cab’ perhaps try to stay a little bit more alert if you are in a TX4 (one of the

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