Autoblog

Why Hurricane Sandy fallout will hit luxury carmakers particularly hard

Jonathon Ramsey — Wed, 31 Oct 2012 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: Car Buying, Etc., Earnings/Financials

When we say the worst of Hurricane Sandy has passed, we're only talking about the weather phenomena; the depth of the storm's other impacts will take time to measure. Many of the estimated 4,751 car dealers in the states affected by Sandy spent the run-up to the storm moving their inventory to high ground if possible and bracing their dealerships for the storm. Many had already been through Hurricane Irene had some practice, but, as one dealer said, the water levels before Sandy hit were already at Irene levels, so all they could do was hope they got it right.

It's not that there's ever a good time for a civilization-battering natural disaster, but for dealers, Hurricane Sandy coming at the end of the month was the worst possible time. These last few days of the month are when they'd be discounting cars and courting shoppers to meet their monthly quotas. Luxury dealers might take the brunt of the hit, as a report in Bloomberg indicates that Volvo, BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Acura sell from 23 to 25 percent of their wares in New York, Washington and Philadelphia.

According to the The New York Times, as of Tuesday night there were eight million people without power due to the storm, 2.3 million of them in New York state and another 2.6 million in New Jersey. Power outages there might last the rest of the week, if not longer. The Washington Post reported that the D.C. area is getting back to business, but it was shut down entirely for two days. Elsewhere, it's been reported that "the Northeast back to business," but that's the business of cleaning up, not the business of selling cars.

The 'good' news, relatively speaking, for dealers and the luxury makers is that Hurricane Sandy didn't change analysts' sales predictions for the month, nor the year. October is traditionally the slowest month of the year anyway, and the annualized rate of 14.8 to 14.9 million 2012 sales might be a little soggy, but appears to have emerged intact.

Why Hurricane Sandy fallout will hit luxury carmakers particularly hard originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 31 Oct 2012 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Ferrari, Lamborghini among car plants shut down following Italian earthquake

Noah Joseph — Tue, 29 May 2012 13:30:00 EST

Filed under: Europe, Plants/Manufacturing, Lamborghini, Maserati, Ferrari

An earthquake has rocked northern Italy once again, this time centered approximately 40 kilometers north of Bologna. Early reports indicate at least ten people have been killed in the shock and ensuing aftermath.

Reports from Italy also indicate that several automotive assembly plants and related facilities have temporarily ceased operations - more so that their employees can be with their families than due to actual damage to the facilities themselves.

Both Ferrari and its star driver Fernando Alonso tweeted in the aftermath of the event that the headquarters in Maranello was closing so that staff members could go home. Motorcycle manufacturer Ducati reportedly did the same at its headquarters located in Borgo Panigale, closer to Bologna. As did Lamborghini, whose factory in Sant'Agata is on the outskirts of Bologna, although no damage was yet reported to the location. However, the Maserati factory in nearby Modena was reportedly damaged, although to what extent remains unclear. Production is expected to resume again tomorrow.

Ferrari, Lamborghini among car plants shut down following Italian earthquake originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 29 May 2012 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Suzuki's emergency quake action plan? Moving

Zach Bowman — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 14:31:00 EST

Filed under: Plants/Manufacturing, Suzuki

Japanese automakers are continuing to evaluate their strategies for coping with natural disasters after this year's earthquake and tsunami, and for Suzuki, that apparently means packing up shop and moving to higher ground. According to Automotive News, the manufacturer is investing around $494 million to move its factories and research center away from the coastal city of Hamamatsu. The report notes that scientists estimate that there's an 80 percent chance that an 8.0-magnitude earthquake will befall the coastline between Tokyo and Nagoya in the next 30 years, but for Suzuki, the larger concern is radiation contamination associated with a failing nuclear reactor.

Currently, the company's facilities are located near the Hamaoka reactor, which is receiving modifications to protect against the kind of meltdown seen elsewhere in the country. Suzuki plans to purchase around 67 acres of land 6.2 miles from the coast and 30 miles from the reactor for its new complex. It's also investigating new locations both in Japan and abroad for its manufacturing facilities.

Suzuki's emergency quake action plan? Moving originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 08 Jul 2011 14:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Cayman Sand: Nor'Ida claims its latest victim

Noah Joseph — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 17:56:00 EST

Filed under: Coupe, Performance, Etc., Porsche

It's bad enough when natural disasters lay waste to homes and coastline, but we're not sure we can bear the sight of this sort of car-carnage. Like this image, for example, of a Porsche Cayman buried in the sand. But we guess this was bound to happen to a car that shares its name with a Caribbean archipelago (it was actually named after a small species of crocodile).

The shot was taken by Asylum blogger Elizabeth Brady on Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, where the effects of "Nor'Ida" - a particularly strong Nor'Easter conspiring with the remnants of Tropical System Ida - were apparently felt particularly hard.

Natural disaster or no natural disaster, we're sure someone will find a way of blaming this on a low-flying pelican - or perhaps Ferrari boss Luca di Montezemolo.

Gallery: 2010 Porsche Cayman S

[Source: Asylum | Image: Elizabeth Brady]

Cayman Sand: Nor'Ida claims its latest victim originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 18 Nov 2009 17:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

VIDEO: Seattle earthquake viaduct simulation released; timing politically motivated?

Jonathon Ramsey — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 11:29:00 EST

Filed under: Etc., Government/Legal, Safety, Technology, Videos

Alaskan Way Viaduct earthquake simulation -- Click above to watch video

The Alaskan Way Viaduct (AWV) is an elevated roadway running along the Elliot Bay Waterway in Seattle. An earthquake in 2001 damaged the viaduct, and the structural degradation has only gotten worse over the years. To forestall the possibility of having the conduit collapse in another natural disaster, the city and Port of Seattle, King County, and the state government agreed earlier this year to dig a deep-bore tunnel to go under the waterway and eventually shut down the viaduct.

According to the Seattle Times, the tunnel is a contentious issue, with residents fervently pro and against. Two years ago, though, the state commissioned a video to show what would happen to the AWV if another serious earthquake hit. The six-minute CGI video that resulted could be a clip right out of the disaster movie 2012, and because of its sensationalism, it was never shown. Seattle resident Elizabeth Campbell doesn't want the tunnel and recently requested to have the video released. After saying that Campbell wouldn't get it for eight months, the city put the video on a local news show - and Campbell still hasn't received her copy.

Naturally, there's some political intrigue to accompany everything. The problem is that there's a mayoral race happening right now, with the current mayor siding for the tunnel and his opponent is against it. It has therefore been suggested that the video has been released in order to help that current mayor's campaign - you would not want to be anywhere near the AWV and phrases like "liquefied soil" if the video is anywhere close to reality. Whether it will affect votes remains to be seen. Either way, you can check out the video footage for yourself after the jump.

[Source: Seattle Times]

Continue reading VIDEO: Seattle earthquake viaduct simulation released; timing politically motivated?

VIDEO: Seattle earthquake viaduct simulation released; timing politically motivated? originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 30 Oct 2009 11:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Land Rover's ad agency has sick sense of marketing

John Neff — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 12:03:00 EST

Filed under: SUV, Marketing/Advertising, Land Rover

We recently discovered this article from Brandweek/Adweek about a new marketing campaign for Land Rover that leaves a bad taste in our mouth. Ad agency Young & Rubicam Brands took the Land Rover LR3 to actual disaster areas and filmed it among the wreckage to create spots that present the SUV as a "hero car." The campaign's theme is called "Created for the one," the idea being that the Land Rover LR3 was designed to handle that one unexpected event like a snowstorm, flood or hurricane.

To film these spots, however, the production crew actually monitored where natural disasters were occurring in the U.S. and arrived on the scene to shoot the LR3 among the wreckage. Last month they were in Levasy, Missouri, which had just been hit by flooding. Y&R creative director Miles Turpin is quoted as saying, "When it snows big time, we'll go out and do that. And when hurricane season starts, we'll go there."

The agency is reportedly aware of potentially being judged as exploiting disasters, and will offer its vehicles to emergency personnel or, as it did in Missouri, make donations to relief organizations. In our opinion, that doesn't mitigate the fact a natural disaster that caused suffering in the lives of real people is being used as a backdrop to help sell Land Rovers.

To be fair, this article was written with the marketing industry in mind as an audience, not us. The agency, which is just doing its job, comes off as insensitive and exploitative to our ears, but a professional in the biz might think this idea is genius. And while it's a good thing that Land Rover may donate money or the use of its vehicles to aid disaster relief efforts as a result of this marketing campaign, that bad taste in our mouth comes from the fact that it likely wouldn't do those things if a camera weren't there to capture it.

[Source: Brandweek]

Land Rover's ad agency has sick sense of marketing originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 20 Jun 2007 12:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments