Category: The Car Biz

We first met Nancy Gioia at the launch of the Thunderbird Roadster where she was the chief program engineer. She was open, friendly, conversational and a solid representative

VehicleVoice (http://www.vehiclevoice.comhttp://www.autopacific.com) pay close attention to the the dynamics in one of the largest and most dynamic product segments in the North American auto market - the Premium Mid-Size SUV market. This VehicleVoice blog (http://news.vehiclevoice.com) delves into the dynamics between Traditional SUVs and Post-Modern SUV entries.

Crossover SUVs will outsell Traditional truck-based SUVs beginning in 2006. This forecast comes from George Pipas, Ford's Manager of Sales Analysis and Reporting in a presentation in Long Beach, CA on December 12, 2005.

The Bugatti Veyron is a superlative on wheels. But for VW, which spent six years and about half a billion dollars, it may be obsession run wild.

This article appeared in the December 8, 2005 issue of USA Today. While VehicleVoice agrees in general with what Healey and O'Donnell report, we should not lose sight that folks really have vehicles in only a few clearly identifiable classes: Cars (sedans, coupes, sports cars) and Trucks (pickups, SUVs and Minivans). In VehicleVoice Research, there is seldom any comment on "crossovers". A vehicle is either an SUV or its not. Folks will talk about softer SUVs (crossovers) that maneuver better, get better fuel economy. But, too many manufacturers are forgetting that, at a glance, a crossover needs to be at-a-glance an SUV.

General Motors recently announced it would close 12 facilities and cut 30,000 jobs by 2008. Granted, GM is burdened with costly labor contracts and huge numbers of retirees, reflecting an era when it had (in 1962) as much as 51 percent of the U.S. vehicle market. But GM also inherits a self-defeating management style formed during its glory days.

The National Insurance Institute of Highway Safety announced its rankings of the ten safest 2006 model year cars on Sunday December 4, 2005. To make the ratings game easier to understand, NIIHS has developed a gold silver rating scheme.

VehicleVoice and AutoPacific research yields clues in attracting young buyers to new cars and trucks.

Chrysler-Jeep showrooms to add Jeep Compass, jeep Patriot, new Jeep Wrangler and Chrysler Aspen. Can Chrysler-Jeep cope with broader line-up without diluting Jeep's Rubicon heritage?

carbuyersnotebook.com interviews AutoPacific president about VehicleVoice Fuel Price Impact Survey