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Aug 14, 2008 - Challenges

What draws your eye in this photo? Most of us zoom in on the bright and shiny and see the sun breaking through. It's just human nature. Of course, that tendency doesn't seem to apply to the media most of the time.

The annual Management Briefing Seminars are drawing auto industry leaders and watchers from across the U.S. as the conference sponsored by Ann Arbor's Center for Automotive Research shines a light on what's next for the auto industry.

So how is a forward looking conference reported on by mlive.com?

They give us the top five worries about the auto industry of course.

1. We're still waiting for revolutionary change. "I believe we need a cultural revolution within our industry, and we need to fire the first shot on this today," said Phil Martens of Arvin Meritor in his address. Didn't everyone agree that this was true every year since about 1993?

2. U.S. consumers are fickle. Meanwhile, the industry is making some permanent changes based on very recent sales. "The market is telling us to change and to change right now," Ford Motor Co. exec Bennie Fowler said. Might that only be true with gas over $4 per gallon? Is anyone willing to bet on that besides the auto companies?

3. Even if consumer tastes stay constant, there's a two-year time lag on smaller models arriving in the U.S. We know General Motors Corp. and Ford produce small, fuel-efficient cars. But the ramp-up time to get them to U.S. dealers could drive too many buyers to other nameplates, meaning further erosion of the U.S. brands and market share.

4. The manufacturing shift to small cars doesn't mean big vehicles will go away - or abate the global rush for oil. Toyota, for example, stopped producing the Toyota Tundra pickup and Sequoia SUV for three months. Now, executive Steve St. Angelo said, both could be exported. So much for making a real change in the global market.

5. We don't have enough engineers to get our automakers into a safety zone. We know Michigan needs smart jobs and to enter the "new economy." But we're not getting that message to students or the job market. The U.S. will have a shortage of 160,000 engineers. If the country can't get it right, Michigan's pain will only be worse.

Is there anything that's a cause for optimism?

4:25 am | Categories: automotive news Permalink | Alert Administrator

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