3 posts tagged “industry news”

Are you a classic sports car fanatic and currently planning to purchase a classic Ferrari sports car? Well, before visiting eBay.com, why not checkout first these few steps and guides from eHow.com to help you out make the right purchase. You could also look for quality Performance Parts at your trusted auto parts store after reading this. Here are the steps.

1. Go to a local authorized Ferrari dealer. It will be your best source for information and its representatives should know what is available both locally and nationally.

2. Realize that most Ferraris have been very well maintained, and many cars will have less than 20,000 miles. However, a low-mile Ferrari will still be quite expensive to maintain.

3. Think about resale value carefully. If you play your cards right, your Ferrari will go up in value.

4. Consider 12-cylinder models if you want the classic Ferrari sound and feel. Many of these cars will be astronomically expensive, but there are a few models that could be considered affordable.

5. Don't overlook the six-cylinder models - especially the 246 Dino. Though not considered "real" Ferraris by some, these cars offer as much or more driving pleasure than the larger cars.

6. Take a peek at eight-cylinder models such as the 308 for excellent driving. You'll also have a lot to choose from.

7. Take your time; avoid biting at something that will cause a headache later.

Same regions in the brain, a study published in a Harvard journal says, function when a person makes plans for the future. For most folk, the future is more or less a refurbished past. Businessmen are no exception when they get ready for a new year in the business. Sure there may be surprises along the way. But considering the year-ago trends for future plans is a given, pretty much like hard work is to success.

Among the key issues that hugged the automotive industry this ’06 is the emergence of cross-over vehicles. The emergence of these hybrids, going by ’06 sales, is likely to drive car and truck manufacturers towards innovation to improve market share. Hybrids with combined choice features from cars and light trucks have impacted largely on sales of light trucks, mainly sports utility vehicles, than cars in all but four states in 2003.

The Big 3 in the automotive industry, of which Toyota now belongs, devoted large parts of their estimated $13 billion a year advertising budgets towards the sales of light trucks, due in part to the higher profit margin in this type of vehicle.

At the flipside of the popularity of cheaper-priced light trucks brought about by competition, and coupled with an improving economy, the luxury car sector has registered a gain in sales. Marquee brands like Mercedes-Benz and Cadillac occupy the top two spots, with more than one in ten cars sold now displaying a the two brands’ respective nameplate. Within the luxury line, the Cadillac has made a headway against the perennial market leader Mercedes-Benz. The company sold 216,090 vehicles from 2003 compared with Mercedes’ 218,717.

Also corollary to the competition for market share, US car manufacturers are on their way to reduce production costs by sharing vehicle platforms across multiple vehicle models. This development will increase the number of lines per repair appraisal since vehicle manufacturers will need to sustain fewer production lines to support this universal model, allowing them to increase efficiency, cutting costs and improving margins.

2006, most importantly, has opened the gates for the race to develop a new practical alternative to regular petrol and diesel engines. As hybrids—which combine an electric motor with a combustion engine—hit it big-time in 2006, companies such as GM are on to introducing hydrogen-powered cars. Last year’s Toyota Bull Run is, by all accounts, most likely to make that race beneficial to consumers.

Ford Motor Company, fighting to bounce back from one of its worst crises, met last week in Tokyo with industry-leading Toyota Motor Company, AutoWeek reported, quoting senior officers at both companies who spoke on condition of anonymity. Ford’s chief executive Alan Mulally and Mark Fields, head of operations for the Americas, attended the meeting on Wednesday with Toyota chairman Fujio Cho and other top Toyota executives.

Toyota issued a statement on Wednesday in Tokyo describing the meeting as a courtesy call, but did not say what was discussed. Officials from both companies were reported to have a sit-down on the development of environmentally friendly technology, like hybrid-electric and hydrogen fuel systems, as well as on ways that Toyota could help Ford improve its manufacturing efficiency.

The meeting came on the heels of the talks held last summer between General Motors, Renault, and Nissan on the possibility of joint purchasing or production collaboration. Japan-based media reported that the Ford-Toyota meeting did not focus on matters of similar nature. The GM-Renault-Nissan talks ended in October of 2006 without any agreement.

Analysts and industry observers seem to concur that Ford had little to offer Toyota in terms of cash or know-how, though Toyota may be seeking access to Ford’s hybrid technology. Rather, analysts said, Toyota was probably hoping to deflect criticism from Washington as it is poised to go all-out on production this year and overtake GM.