Nissan car unwrapped too early
Nissan USA found itself in the middle of a media firestorm this week when photos of its much-anticipated 2009 Nissan GT-R (known as the Skyline GT-R in Japan) found their way onto the Internet.
It seems that an image of the cover art for the December issue of Motor Trend was inadvertently leaked -- by the magazine’s public relations firm. The firm “was trying to promote a headline touting our SUV of the Year in December and placed the entire cover art out on the wire,” said Angus MacKenzie, the magazine’s editor.
“We did everything in our power to take it down as soon as it was discovered, but by then, it was out there,” he said. “At that point it’s like using a garden hose to put out a forest fire.”
Indeed. Citing the Motor Trend blunder as justification, AutoWeek.com, Edmunds.com and blogs such as Autoblog.com published one-week-early reviews of the car and ran photos too. After all, auto enthusiasts’ anticipation over the iconic Japanese street-racing vehicle has been gaining traction since the late 1990s, when Carlos Ghosn, Nissan’s chairman and chief executive, happened to mention the possibility of global availability of the GT-R.
Nissan, having prepared for the GT-R to make a big splash with a global launch at the Tokyo Motor Show on Wednesday, was disappointed that the air has been taken out of the tires on this one. But executives understood.
“The kids couldn’t wait for Christmas,” said Simon Sproule, Nissan’s corporate vice president for global communications, “and snuck downstairs a bit early to open their presents.”
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New vehicle laws
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger recently signed into law a couple of bills that should be of interest to motorists, not to mention smokers and parents.
One bans smoking in cars if a person under 18 is in the vehicle. Violators (whether drivers or passengers) face fines of $100. The law goes into effect Jan. 1.
The other creates a restitution fund for California car buyers who are left holding the bag by unscrupulous or insolvent dealerships. The fund will be financed by a $1 fee levied on all sales of new and used cars in the state until $5 million is raised.
It’s designed to compensate people who lose money or are faced with unexpected payments when a dealership goes broke or fails to follow proper procedures, such as passing along to the state the license and registration fees paid by car buyers. In one case involving a dealership in Solano County, more than 100 people lost a total of $1 million.
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Striking back
U.S. automakers pretty much ceded the small-car market to the Japanese during the last decade. Now, with motorists shifting toward more gas-thrifty models and the realization that a strong compact brings buyers to its brands, Detroit is trying to make yet another comeback.
The revamped Ford Focus is making its way to showrooms. Early next year, General Motors Corp. will show a glimpse into its future small cars when it sends the Saturn Astra to dealerships.
Industry analysts say the improved offerings are much better than the chintzy small cars of the past, but Detroit still has a long way to go to unseat the Toyota Corolla and the Honda Civic, which together control almost 30% of the small-car market. Foreign nameplates have 76% of the U.S. small-car market.
“It’s a segment that we’ve been out of, so we need to have really good products in it,” Ford Motor Co. Chief Executive Alan Mulally said in a recent interview.
Mulally said his five adult children were a perfect example of Ford’s challenges in the compact market. “We missed a whole generation of Ford products,” he said. “We knew the trucks and the SUVs, No. 1 in the world, but they grew up with Civics and Accords.”
Ford and GM research shows that small-car buyers no longer will tolerate flimsy seats, cheap plastic dashboards, noisy engines and bumpy rides. They want sleek styles and performance comparable to larger cars -- all in a fuel-efficient package.
While the domestics race to put out better compacts, Toyota isn’t standing still. A new version of the top-selling Corolla is coming early next year.
From the Associated Press
Safety secrecy
Automakers’ initial reports to U.S. regulators on vehicle safety risks can be kept secret from the public, a federal agency said.
The decision announced Friday by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration will take effect Nov. 19. It will allow the agency to withhold from the public information submitted by automakers on complaints, production totals, warranty claims and tire defect data.
The rule stems from a 2000 law requiring the safety administration to collect the so-called early-warning reports. Congress passed the law after deaths were linked to rollovers involving Ford Motor Co.’s Explorer vehicles equipped with tires made by Firestone Tire & Rubber Co.
From Bloomberg News
