Safety spotlight
A RASH OF RECENT VEHICLE RECALLS SIGNALS A TIPPING POINT FOR THE AUTO INDUSTRY Safety recalls have been a fact of automotive life for almost half a century. But they’ve taken on a whole new dimension in 2014, which is …
Author: Gerry Malloy
Frontiers of construction
CHANGES IN MANUFACTURING MATERIALS BRING NEW CHALLENGES FOR THE AUTO INDUSTRY It may not seem readily apparent but there’s been a decades-long battle going on in the auto industry over the choice of materials for virtually every part and component …
Sticker shock
NEW ENERGUIDE LABELS ARE EXPECTED TO RAISE A FEW EYEBROWS AMONG CONSUMERS Be prepared to deal with sticker shock when some of your customers get a look at the window stickers on your 2015 model year vehicles. Not because of …
Facing the future
GERRY MALLOY SAYS THAT WHILE LOOKING FORWARD IS IMPORTANT, THE DIRECTIONS THE AUTO INDUSTRY WILL ACTUALLY TAKE STILL REMAIN FAR FROM CERTAIN “Nobody can predict the future!” That may seem like a strange thing for Sheryl Connelly to say, given …
Changing role
IT’S THE DELIVERY, NOT THE DEAL-MAKING THAT IS CREATING LONG-TERM RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN CUSTOMERS AND DEALERSHIP SALESPEOPLE Technology, specifically the Internet, has changed the process of buying and selling cars forever. The dealership is no longer the first stop in the …
Understanding power and torque
THESE BASTIONS OF AUTOMOTIVE ADVERTISING ARE INTER-RELATED, BUT POWER IS DEPENDENT ON TORQUE, NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND You’re likely familiar with both terms and for good reason. Power and torque figures were and still are the bedrock of car …
Paving the way
TODAY’S DRIVER-ASSISTANCE SYSTEMS ARE BUILDING BLOCKS TOWARD FULLY AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES Recently, it seems that the mainstream media has become infatuated with the prospect of autonomous cars — vehicles that can drive themselves. That infatuation is due in large part to …
Climate control challenge
EUROPEAN “COLD WAR” HAS THROWN THE TRANSITION TO A NEW REFRIGERANT INTO DISARRAY If you were in the auto business in the 1990s, you probably remember the near chaos that surrounded a change in vehicle air-conditioning refrigerant at that time. …
Hands-free isn’t risk-free
STUDIES SHOW DISTRACTED DRIVING ISSUE COULD LEAD TO MORE REGULATION With the continual proliferation of mobile communication devices, both handheld and vehicle-based, distracted driving is becoming a major safety issue. There’s little argument on that point. But just how much …
Stricter emissions regs coming… again
BUT AUTOMAKERS WILL GET SOME HELP IN THE FORM OF MORE STRINGENT GASOLINE STANDARDS A constant the auto industry has needed to deal with since the 1970s is ever-more-stringent emissions-control regulations. With all the emphasis on fuel economy over the …
No more business as usual
MAINTAINING 24/7 CONNECTIVITY IS NOW AN EXPECTED FUNCTION OF AN AUTOMOBILE. With auto sales rebounding strongly last year and holding up well in 2013, we might be forgiven for thinking it’s back to business as usual, now that we’ve weathered …
Qualifying your green technology buyers
Some may be ready to buy a vehicle that’ll actually make them unhappy Qualifying potential buyers is a standard part of the sales process. Now, however, there’s an added dimension to it. With all the media and government focus on …
