New Camry on its way

New Toyota Camry

Toyota Motor Corporation has revamped its Camry range, with a “platform up” redesign according to Japan Automotive News. The new body styling is sleeker than the previous model, especially around the front end treatment, with exaggerated ellipsoid lights. The company has projected figures of 600,000 sales world-wide, according to TMC president Fujio Cho. However, don’t hold your breath, I reckon it will be some time before we get it.

Ford in trouble? No, Jac Nasser is! Ford Motor Company in the US has not had one of their better years. Last month the Board of Directors cut the stock dividend in half - 50% is big numbers when you’re talking Ford stock dividends. Add to that the drop in market share and Ford posted a $3 billion pre-tax charge to cover the cost of the Firestone tire recall on the Ford Explorers. The rumour mongers are even talking about a decrease in quality, but that is all very subjective. Of course, when the going gets tough, it is not a case of the “tough get going” as the wall scribblers would have it. It is a case of “blame somebody”. And who better than the CEO, in this case Jac Nasser. A couple of years ago, FoMoCo were all singing Nasser’s praises, but now the gossip is all turned against him and that he’ll be gone by the end of the year. If we are to believe what is touted by the US Automotive News, Nasser lost his footing on six fundamental issues: (and I quote verbatim) “1. Ford lost its focus as an automaker. Under Nasser, Ford did not define itself as an automaker. Instead Ford became a consumer company providing automotive goods and services. The result: Ford began struggling in its core business of engineering, manufacturing and selling cars and trucks. Product quality slipped below GM and DaimlerChrysler. Product launches were botched. The fix: Ford’s turnaround specialist, Nick Scheele, arrived from Europe Aug 1. This month, he signalled a change in course. “We are going back to the basics,” Scheele, the new head of the Ford brand in North America, said. “Let me repeat that. First and foremost, we are going back to the basics. The company with the best cars and trucks wins.” “2. Nasser fell under the spell of the Internet. In the late 1990s, the Internet bubble rose on the economic landscape, enticing companies with the lure of profits from e-businesses trading at huge price-earnings multiples. Nasser envisioned taking public various units of a newly created Ford e-commerce group, capitalizing on the phenomenal market value of Internet stocks and vaulting Ford into the Internet age. The result: The strategy collapsed with the Internet economy. The fallout spilled over to Ford’s relations with a core constituency, its retailers. Dealers today still smart from Nasser’s experiments in e-retailing, viewing attempts to sell and service vehicles on the Internet as a threat to the franchised dealer network. The fix: Last week, Ford’s top-ranking Internet executive, Brian Kelley, was moved to an old-economy job, president of Lincoln Mercury. Ford Division executives have had a meeting in an attempt to repair dealer relations. “3. Nasser attempted to go on his own too much. Nasser tried to oversee personally too many aspects of running a global corporation. The result: As many as 16 executives reported directly to the Ford CEO. Bent on single-handedly wielding power at the top, Nasser failed to create a strong operating executive to back up the CEO. Nasser’s micromanaging slowed decision-making and created a company in organizational limbo awaiting direction. The fix: In July, the Ford board of directors moved to circumscribe Nasser’s role and cultivate a new group of decision-makers. By the end of this year, only 12 executives will report to Nasser. Lines of authority were drawn more clearly. Ford granted Scheele autonomous power to rebuild the Ford brand in North America. The company also vested more power in manufacturing boss Jim Padilla to tackle the core problem of shoddy vehicle quality. “4. Nasser neglected William Clay Ford Jr. Nasser failed to develop a sensible working relationship with Bill Ford when the Ford scion became non-executive chairman in January 1999. The result: The company had an uneasy balance of leadership. Nasser’s hands-on style failed to accommodate Bill Ford’s growing influence. The fix: In July, the Ford board created an Office of the Chairman and CEO, increasing the authority and decision-making voice of Bill Ford. Bill Ford also has more face-to-face dealings with company executives. Bill Ford and Nasser meet regularly, relying on a formal agenda. “5. Nasser underestimated Bridgestone/Firestone Inc. CEO John Lampe. Nasser compounded the Firestone tire recall by underestimating Lampe, who refused to back down when Ford fingered 13 million additional Firestone tires as potentially faulty. The result: Nasser and Lampe engaged in corporate mudslinging and finger-pointing before the press, Congress and the public. The spectacle of Firestone blaming the Ford Explorer and Ford blaming the tire maker for road deaths damaged the reputations of both companies. Meanwhile, the enormous amount of time that Nasser spent on the crisis left other important tasks undone. The fix: The debate is not over. Bridgestone/Firestone is standing behind its tough tactics, despite the company’s decision to recall more tires labelled defective by the federal government. Ford has yet to be exonerated in the court of public opinion. “6. Nasser spent too much time on Premier Automotive Group. As part of a lofty vision, Nasser acquired Volvo and Land Rover, hoping to leverage the big-name brands into a global luxury powerhouse under the Premier Automotive Group umbrella. The result: Core brands such as Ford in North America stood in line for management time, talent and money. Nasser’s strategy made Ford more vulnerable in North America, the company’s chief source of profits. The fix: The company empowered Scheele to rebuild the Ford brand. But overhauling product quality, enriching product offerings and re-establishing rapport with dealers will take time.” So that’s what Automotive News said on the issue, but I would not consider that to be an unbiased opinion. To say that Nasser was responsible for “botched product launches” is laying it on a little heavy. The e-commerce comments are also unjustified in my opinion. Every manufacturer has flirted (and is still flirting) with it. If it had gone well, Nasser would have been the e-hero. That e-commerce is still not all that well accepted is not really Jac Nasser’s fault. Stop Press: Chairman William Clay Ford Jr. will replace Jacques Nasser as chief executive officer of Ford Motor Co. The company announced on Tuesday, Oct. 30, that Nasser, 53, will leave the company. The move returns the CEO’s job to a Ford family member for the first time since Henry Ford II ran the company. Henry Ford II resigned as CEO in 1979. With points 3 and 4, OK, Jac Nasser was a go it alone man. They knew that when they put him in there. They needed dynamic decision making, the sort of thing that doesn’t come from committees. A couple of years back they were so happy with him they gave him a bonus around three times more than his counterpart at GM got. Perhaps Nasser didn’t structure the power flow chart properly. I wasn’t there. I dunno, but it still seems a trifle harsh to me. The Bridgestone/Firestone debacle. Can you really blame Nasser for this? Did anyone expect Firestone to say it’s a lay down misere? Nobody was going to win that battle, just the same way that GM couldn’t win the Corvair problem. Point 6 and the Premier Automotive Group. There’s surely nobody around who would not admit that the new Volvo is one helluva better looking car than the old boxy models. It looks like a world “class” brand. So the Landy was such a great deal, however, and if it was Nasser’s call then it wasn’t all that smart, but we’ve all got 20/20 vision in hindsight. Quite honestly, the world economy is not going through a brilliant phase and all the automakers have been hit. Ford ain’t the only one and Nasser ain’t all to blame. To finish on a less depressive note, do you know how to pronounce the combined DaimlerChrysler name? Well, it’s pronounced “Daimler” - because the “Chrysler” is silent.

TTCC Round 4 this weekend?

The Thailand Touring Car Championship should be on this weekend, but since the 4th was postponed, there is some doubt in my mind as this goes to press. These meetings have become lower and lower key as the year has gone on, and compared to the slickly run Thailand Grand Touring Car Championship (TGTC) meetings are very much country fair level these days.

To be perfectly frank, I am waiting for the next rounds of the TGTC on the 8th and 9th of December where we will get the Concept I cars and the Grand Championship cars as well as the Touring cars and GT cars. We will also see if our Flying Finn, Matti Kaikkonen can pull of the Concept I championship.

Autotrivia Quiz So to last week’s quiz question. I asked what made the Mazda Cosmo a historic vehicle in the history of the motor car? The correct answer was that the Cosmo became the first “production” rotary engine car in the world coming out in 1966, beating the NSU Ro80 to the punch which came out in 1967. So to this week. Study the photograph. I want the year, the make and the model. No clues, other than it is probably older than you would first think. For the Automania FREE beer this week, be the first correct answer to fax 427 596 or email [email protected]