The Future of The Auto Industry

Quite a few of our customers and listeners are concerned about the state of the auto industry in this country. They question whether or not they should buy a new car or truck, fearing the demise of one or more of the Big 3. Many are worried that the car they buy may not be supported by the manufacturer if they decide to close a division or cut back on model lines.

The latest news and gossip I hear from the industry indicates that there will be major changes. I believe that most of these changes will lead to a better auto industry, one that builds a better car, offers better support, and can be sold at a more competitive price.

Here is what I understand is likely to come in the near future.

GM will close or sell off Hummer and Saturn. I think it is much more likely that they will be closed than sold. They will also down size the Pontiac badge offering a limited line of products that will include the popular Solstice and G8. Other vehicles in the Pontiac lineup that share platforms with Chevy will disappear. Cadillac will remain basically unchanged and continue to offer a mostly unique line of cars, the few models that share platforms may continue, or not, depending on futures sales success. Saab will spin off from GM, becoming once again a Swedish product and making every effort to recapture the niche market that built their prominence in the past. GMC truck division may move its focus to larger trucks and leave the popular light truck sales to Chevy. While GMC is very popular it is an exact duplicate of its sister line.

Chrysler faces more significant problems. The public has been less than enthusiastic about their product line for several years and their sales are the worst of the Big 3. They will have to be much more aggressive to survive. I think we will see Dodge move into trucks exclusively and the Chrysler badge take on the passage car line. Most of the car lines are duplicated in each line and they could save significant resources by eliminating the redundancy. Jeep is still doing fairly well and if combined in the Dodge truck dealers will help carry the sales needed to succeed.

Ford is the strongest of the American makers. Still they have to restructure to survive. We will see the end of many models as they consolidate into their strongest offerings. There may be some shuffling of vehicles between Lincoln, Mercury and Ford and in the end the Mercury lineup may be absorbed into the Lincoln and Ford lines.

All of the car makers will have to drastically reduce their operating and production expense. Reducing divisions and models offered will allow them to cut back on staff and facility costs dramatically. The smaller offerings will also reduce the number of dealerships. Already this number is down by almost 1000 from the high nine years ago. Dealerships are expensive to support, both at the local ownership level and for the manufacturer. Training, advertising, inventory and shipping all add to the final cost of the vehicle. Shrinking the needed inventory that sits on dealer lots reduces the number of cars and trucks that the makers have to build on anticipated sales and will improve their cash flow.
We will also see “affordable” offerings. These will be basic models without all of the add-on gadgets that can drive a car price up. Many car buyers, especially younger drivers who will need an inexpensive vehicle that allows them to meet the lending criteria of at least 10% down and payments within a specific percentage of their income.

Conversely the manufacturers make a significant profit with the sale of special add-on equipment such as navigation systems, upgraded stereo packages and premium wheels. These may be offered in packages with some of the more common items like power windows, power seats, leather trim or keyless entry.

A major focus going forward will be fuel efficiency and new technology such as Hybrids, electric cars and alternative fuel systems. Congress will insist on this, as will most of the buying public. The makers seem to understand that in order to become more competitive they will have to take the lead in future innovation, not follow along behind. 

I believe that if you buy a common and popular model you will be able to get service and parts for it long into the future. If you buy car or truck that doesn’t share technology and parts across several models you may have some problems as it ages and the division or model line falls away.

Don't Break Down for Spring Break

March brings us the rodeo and Spring Break. Many of us will take trips with the kids, and in some cases the kids will take trips without us. Others will stay home and somehow manage to put several hundred extra miles on the car as we run here and there. No matter which group we belong to we do not want to end up standing on the side of the road, or get a call from a family member who is stuck in some unknown garage far from home.

A Spring checkup can prevent many of the common problems we see. If you are due for an oil change that is the perfect time to ask your mechanic to look your car over. Even if you are not due for any service a good shop, one that is interested in their customers, will be happy to do a pre-trip check out for you.
Things to look at would include; tires, the most common cause of break down, the cooling system, all the hoses and fan belts, oil leaks, suspension parts, brakes and battery condition. On most cars with a few miles on them there will be something to bring to your attention. This is usually just a minor issue that can be easily dealt with insuring you the best possible chance of a successful trip.

Occasionally we will find a serious problem during an inspection. How much better is it to know beforehand than to be surprised while you are supposed to be having fun?

You can take this inspection one step farther. You can have the car thoroughly examined and a list of all pending and needed services or repairs prepared. We call this "Base lining" the car. From here we can plan on probable failures and maintenance needs for the next couple of years. If you are debating a new car in the near future this could be useful knowledge to have. Of course no mechanic or shop has a crystal ball, and we cannot guarantee that there will be no automotive surprises in the future, however, we can help you prevent the majority of them by offering regular checkups and good maintenance.

Freedom Automotive offers both of these inspections and the pre-trip checkup is free. Call the office and talk to Cathy to schedule your checkup today.

Look Before You Leap

We recently had a caller on the radio show who had changed the battery and his car wouldn't start. We had another who replaced the radio and then his remote door locks wouldn't work. Another put custom seats in his pickup and his air bag light stayed on.

What do all these people have in common? They are unwary victims of the technology on their cars.

If you replace the battery on a late model Volkswagen the computers have to be "Initialized" so that they can talk to each other again and allow the car to start. I have heard, but haven't verified, that the dealer gets about $300 to install a battery in one.

On late model GM products the radio receiver acts as the receiver for the remote key fob too. If you change the radio you may lose the signal needed to unlock your car.

Many vehicles have "smart air bags" now that sense the weight load on a seat to determine whether to deploy the air bag, and if so how hard to inflate it. When the seat is changed the sensor to weigh the passenger is lost.

The show is all about helping the listeners take care of their cars. In many cases we help them understand how to do the repair themselves, saving money and time. Unfortunately these days some very simple jobs can turn into a nightmare.

If you are a do it yourself kind of guy (or gal) then we have some suggestions before you find yourself mired in technology and modern science.

Call the Car Counslor Show or the shop and ask us what you might run into.

Subscribe to a program like Alldata so you can research the job before you get into it. Ask at the parts store when you are buying the part is there is any thing special you might need to know or do to make the job right. Go online and "google" the project to see if there is any information out there to help you.

Of course you can always just call us and we can take care of it for you, then you can go and do whatever it is you do best.