Jay Leno advises Detroit on how to get Americans to buy American

“The type of vehicles America makes best are, unfortunately, not the type of vehicles that people really want anymore. Nobody builds better trucks than the Americans do. Not even the Japanese build as good a truck as the Ford F-150 or the Chevy Silverado.

Where we seem to lose it is in the low-bucks econocar. I used to be able to identify any American car from 25 yards. Now they all have this jellybean look. It’s a mystery to me, because the one thing we used to do better than anybody else was build cheap, extremely high-quality cars. We did it for decades, all the way back to the beginning of the industry.

I believe that, all things being equal, Americans will buy American. It just has to be as good as the competition; it doesn’t have to be better. The classic example is Harley-Davidson. Throughout the ’70s, the motorcycle maker had huge quality-control problems. Then Harley-Davidson said, “Look, let’s take our time. Let’s build fewer bikes. Let’s build them properly, so they don’t leak oil and they’ll run forever.” Harley-Davidson won back the market share it had lost, and it continues to dominate today.

Thankfully, in the past couple of years, they have gotten better. Cadillac has a line of small four-door sedans that are, if not quite the rival of Audi or Mercedes, pretty darn close for quite a bit less money. The problem with what’s happened over the past few decades is that you have a whole generation of kids who have no brand loyalty. They’ve grown up on Honda, Hyundai, Kia and Toyota. To lure them to the American brand, you’ve got to give them something exciting, something bold, something different.

One last thing: No matter what happens, do not expect all American cars to go Eurosize. American buttocks are not getting any smaller.”

The Shell ‘Autotude’ Survey conducted a vehicle personality survey. Here’s what their Autotude survey concluded.

67% said vehicle had unique personality

56% said they had developed strong emotional bond w/vehicle

60% say vehicle is female; 40% said vehicle is male

88% said comfortable filling up vehicle; 28% hated changing tires

66% of women say vehicle matches their personality; 56% of men say same

21% say they pat dashboard like vehicle is pet

Only 15% named their vehicle, many after someone they know

Southerners had most pride in vehicle

Sports Cars viewed as most attractive followed by SUVs

60% said vehicle can be “chick or dude” magnet

Ford Wants to Pay Executive in 2008

The Board Of Directors for Ford Motor Company have decided that they want to compensate Bill Ford for his work. In 2005, Bill Ford announced that he will forgo his salary until Ford is able to have a profitably year in the global sector. But at the end of 2007, the board deemed it unreasonable for Bill to be working without getting paid. As of now Bill has not yet accepted the cash. He still wants to stick to his statement and decision. Ford estimates that Bill has forgone 25 to 33 million dollars in the three years.

A Word from ImportsGuy: Its nice to see a chairman stick to his word when dealing with money matters, it shows what kind of person is running Ford. But with foreign car companies continuing to post successful quarters, it may be a while till Bill Ford receives an kind of payment.

Newest Abu Dhabi Creation

In Abu Dhabi, a G55 AMG owner trying to outdo his neighbor’s Porsche Cayenne Turbo, decided to swap in the 5.5L 720 hp supercharged V8 engine found on the SLR McLaren. The result is a SUV capable of doing 0-60 in 4.2 seconds.

A Word from ImportsGuy: While this is a crazy accomplishment, I think its pretty pointless to do. In the end its still an SUV so by putting this extra horsepower into it, its just begging for you to lose control of it, or for the owner to sit at a light burning rubber for hours.

New 1 Series Performance Packages

BMW has announced it will offer a range of performance accessories for the 1 series. This announcement came in response to requests from BMW owners seeking more options from dealers. Visual upgrades will include a more aggressive looking front lip, a new grille, carbon fiber door mirror housings, and a rear spoiler for the coupe. Suspension upgrades are in the form of a carbon fiber strut bar, stiffer retuned springs, and a choice of 18 or 19 inch wheels. BMW will also offer six-piston caliper brakes and minor engine modifications. The parts available for the engine will help the car breathe and sound better but will not add much to the overall performance of the car. BMW will unveil these products at the Geneva Auto Show.

Volunteers… Anyone?

After just one race event into the 2008 Rally America series, co-driver Christian Edstrom has announced that he will be retiring. Edstrom cited spending more time with his family and his need to put more focus on his day job as the reasons for retiring. With Pastrana and Edstorm winning the Rally America National Cup for the past two seasons, Subaru had to make sure they filled the driver slot with a talented individual.

Subaru Rally Team chose Derek Ringer as the replacement. Ringer, a World Rally Championship winner, was previously partnered with the late Colin McRae. The new team of Pastrana and Ringer will debut together this weekend for the second round of the Rally America National Championship in Salem, MO.

IRL And Champ Merge

Champ Car and the Indy Racing League(IRL) have agreed to form one open-wheel-racing series. The merge will occur sometime this year. The press conference which has yet to happen will disclose the full details of the new league. As of right now it seems both sides are happy to be creating this. I think that by having one open wheel racing in America, it will boost the fan count and help raise profits. IRL Team owner Bobby Rahal said, “This is the first step toward restoring open-wheel racing and the Indianapolis 500 to not only where it once was, but beyond”.

Martin Eberhard allegedly not happy with the series of demotions.

Tesla Motors founder Martin Eberhard, or at least a person who claims to be him on an online message board, says he’s not happy about being pushed out of the management team. Eberhard this summer stepped down from the CEO spot amid production delays and was replaced with interim CEO Michael Marks. In November, Tesla appointed a permanent CEO, Ze’ev Drori. What was less noticed was that Eberhard at that time also stepped down from the board.

On the Tesla Motors Club Web site, Eberhard, or a person claiming to be Eberhard, wrote this:

“I have also signed a non-disparagement agreement with Tesla, so I must, by contract, be a bit careful about how I word things. But I am also not going to lie about it. I am not at all happy with the way I was treated, and I do not think this was the very best way to handle a transition–not the best for Tesla Motors, not the best for Tesla’s customers (to whom I still feel a strong sense of responsibility), and not for Tesla’s investors.”

Founders and companies often part in ugly ways in Silicon Valley. The visionaries who come up with new companies aren’t great at the logistical tasks, like coming out with products on time. Getting a car company off the ground, moreover, is a logistical nightmare. Just think of the manufacturing facilities you have to organize. Tesla had to delay releasing its car in the summer of 2007, pushing it to the first quarter of 2008, and it cut back the first year of production.

Either Todd Foxx wasn’t charging enough or he spent all the money on crack and women.

Owner Todd Fox of Fox Collision closed  his shop all of a sudden, leaving customer’s cars stranded in the middle of repairs, and employees with bounced checks. He was last seen smiling in a magazine spread, touting the success of his 30-million dollar auto body empire. But, the smile and the man disappeareed when it all came crashing down. The health insurance of Steve Edkin, who was diagnosed with cancer a week before the shutdown, was gone. Then, paychecks one and two weeks old bounced. 

In an effort to reduce some of the scrutiny, former Fox employees received a letter from Todd Fox on Saturday saying quote “Please be assured that I have not given up on trying to raise money to pay the final week’s payroll.”  You gotta wonder about people sometimes. He could slip away, dump his obligations, and start a new business far enough away and under the radar

… and so does the rest of the country. If it’s done anything, it’s made me never, ever want to buy a Chevy.

Who hates those Chevy commercials because of their song “Our Country,” by John Mellencamp? According to Newsweek, everybody hates it. Mellencamp’s melancholy anthem have become so ubiquitous that they’re driving sports fans to distraction. Chevy thinks the campaign has been a success, and are actually making more “Our Country” commercials, despite heavy criticism from people who are sick of the song.

The company used Bob Seger’s “Like a Rock” for 11 years, helping drive up truck sales 61%. Chevy spokesman Terry Rhadigan is aware of the negative buzz but has no plans to throttle back. When it comes to building awareness, experts say, nothing succeeds like excess—even at the risk of overkill. Just great!