C.A.R. Management Briefing Seminars - Monday

CAR MANAGEMENT BRIEFING SEMINARS 2007
Monday’s Insights in Traverse City
By Steve Purdy
TheAutoChannel.com
Detroit Bureau

Traverse City MI August 7, 2007; A huge exclamation point in the automotive industry’s year is the annual Management Briefing Seminars hosted by the Center for Automotive Research at the Grand Traverse Resort in pristine northern Michigan. CAR, created and managed by Dr. David Cole, was formerly part of the University of Michigan but now is independent. This nonprofit gadfly of the industry hosts a variety of important seminars, conferences, research projects and other academic and esoteric projects to which everyone in the industry looks for advice and insight.

Seminar week here in TC began with an unexpected announcement from Chrysler - The New Chrysler, that is. The press room was buzzing with the news of “leadership changes” at Chrysler. Tom LaSorda is out as CEO in favor of Bob Nardelli, formerly of Home Depot. And, surprise - the handsome young German, Wolfgang Bernhard, we all thought would be on board, perhaps as “non-executive chairman,” is out altogether. LaSorda will also serve as Vice Chairman of Cerberus Operating and Advisory Company LLC, Cerberus’ proprietary operations advisory affiliate, whatever that is. Amazingly, full press kits describing that move and lots of other Chrysler transition details was available in the press room first thing. Jason Vines and his PR team continue to be some of the best in the business. Let’s hope Chrysler keeps them.

We’re expecting Chrysler discussions to dominate social hour chat this week as well. With the transition to becoming independent Chrysler becomes an anomaly. Can we think of another car company that is fully independent? Well, maybe Morgan or Gibbs. That refreshing independence could mean a leaner more agile company able to bring great new products to the market quickly enough to make a splash. Or, I suppose it could mean a break-up of the company into bits and pieces for short-term profits. After all, Cerberus bought it at a bargain price. We’ll see how that sorts out.

Also making news was Chrysler’s handsome young VP of Jeep/Truck and Advanced Interiors, Ralph Gilles (soft ‘g’) who said “interiors is the next battleground.” If my last two Chrysler test products are any indication it will be none too soon. Last week’s Caliber test car’s interior gets a B for design and a C- for execution. The style and design are convenient and reasonably attractive but the execution was dismal with raw plastic edges and ill-fits everywhere. Gilles said that Chrysler will be getting off to an early start on their next interior designs.

Upstairs on the mezzanine Paul W. Smith, host of the morning show on WJR, the most influential news station in the Midwest, chatted with the smooth and knowledgeable Dr. Cole about the future of the domestic auto industry. Cole, the notorious optimist and Smith, the consummate interviewer, speculated on what it is going to take to compete in the evolving global automobile business. Cole’s goal is to have everyone “leave [this conference] with a sense of purpose” as they continue to pursue a reinvigorated domestic auto industry.

Making an obvious point, but one that needs to be made over and over again, Ford’s manufacturing chief, Joseph Hinrichs, told the assembly, “The pace of change happening in our industry is forcing us to change in our thinking and tactics. Much of this change is painful, but change is an opportunity for those who have the courage and competitive spirit to drive it.” We hope that Ford has the requisite courage and the time to execute the needed changes. They’re still struggling and could go either way. My sense is that Ford will make it through this crisis as a viable contender but will never be the dominant player they once were.

Ford also announced that it will be providing extra training to dealers in preparation for the fall introduction of the Sync hands-free wireless system codeveloped with Microsoft that will enable drivers to control phone and MP3 systems either by voice command or with buttons on the steering wheel. We’ll see some demonstrations here this week.

And then there are some of the more esoteric announcements like the development of palladium nanoparticles to improve efficiency of palladium in detecting hydrocarbon leaks. I think I’ll leave that story for someone else.

This afternoon we’ll get the details on a new project from our conference hosts, the Center for Automotive Research, regarding “vehicle connectivity.” First thought of as a means for automatic toll paying, wireless vehicle connectivity is being seen as an opportunity to enhance vehicle safety, diagnostics on the fly and perhaps purposes we have yet to conceive. CAR is creating the new Connected Vehicle Proving Center to be located in Ann Arbor, MI to explore all the possibilities.

Watch this space for more reports from the annual Management Briefing Seminars here on the Gold Coast of Michigan, Traverse City.