ON THE TABLE #430

Honda. The Honda Motor Co. delivered record results in the third quarter, including a 35 percent increase in overall operating profit, to 276.2 billion yen ($2.51 billion), from a year earlier, Automotive News reported today. Revenues for Honda rose 10 percent to 3.04 trillion yen ($27.68 billion). Honda also forecast an operating profit of 920 billion yen ($8.36 billion) for the current fiscal year ending March 31, a 4.5 percent increase. Even in the doom-and-gloom North American market, Honda hiked regional sales by 2.1 percent to 481,000 vehicles in the fiscal third quarter. Honda pointed out that the favorable exchange rate helped its profitability (duh) and that demand jumped for more fuel-efficient cars such as its compact Fit (double-duh).

Derrick Kusak, Ford. After CEO Alan Mulally admitted last week that a re-do of the Ford Taurus was on the way, Kuzak, head of Ford global product development, equated the current Taurus to paunchy Homer Simpson in a speech to industry analysts and said that the new one coming would be dramatically better - and better looking too. We also know that J Mays recently admitted that he blew the Five Hundred/Taurus design. What's behind all of this public soul-searching at Ford? You have to admit the shit, before you can achieve Shinola, or something like that.

Fritz Henderson. This new openness is catching on in the Motor City, apparently. GM's CFO, speaking to a gathering of the Automotive Press Association at the Detroit Athletic Club yesterday admitted that: 1. GM was no longer the world's largest automaker. 2. That GM has to be able to make money and do better in the U.S. market and that it can't rely on overseas profitability alone, and 3. Car and truck prices were going to continue to creep up. Lest we think he's becoming the industry's new Captain Downer, he did say that he didn't think the country would slip into a recession because the Feds are taking strong measures to prevent it, so there's that at least.

Carlos Ghosn. The Ghosn Show was in overdrive this week as the Nissan Renault SA CEO seemed to be setting up his play for the Cerberus-owned Chrysler in an interview conducted by the Wall Street Journal on Monday. WSJ: What's your view of the U.S. market? "We've been in a slump in the U.S. now for four years. It's not only in number but also in segment. You are moving from large pickup trucks, vans, luxury products to smaller cars. You know that many car manufacturers don't make any money on small cars. They make money on the larger cars, so when the market moves this way it's a double impact in terms of profit on most of the car manufacturers, if not all of them." WSJ: Who is hurting the most in this market? "Obviously, the Big Three. So how much more are they going to be able to sustain this kind of pressure and what's going to happen? That's a very important question for all the industry." WSJ: Can all the auto makers survive in such a difficult environment? "No." WSJ: So, what will the U.S. automobile industry look like in three years? "The market share of the Big Three, which is shrinking, is going to continue to shrink. Look at [Tata Motors Ltd. of India] now buying Jaguar and Land Rover. You may have European car manufacturers making proposals of taking a bit or a brand or a piece here or there." WSJ: When it's all over, is there a native U.S. auto industry? "Frankly, I don't know. I can tell you it's going to be very different from today. But whether there is going to be one left or two left or none left I don't know." And those are our AE Quotes of the Week.

Tom Cruise. Problems? What problems? The Scientologist-in-Chief and longtime Ducati freak takes delivery of the first Ducati Desmosedici RR arriving in the U.S. this week at Beverly Hills Ducati. Only 1,500 of these thinly-disguised, 200MPH Moto GP-replica missiles bristling with titanium, magnesium and carbon fiber technology will be available worldwide. The price?  A cool $72,500.

Isuzu. The Japanese company that has been locked in a continuous downward slide for years in the North American market announced today that it would cease selling vehicles here effective one year from now (1/31/09). Isuzu has busied itself of late selling the Ascender SUV (a version of the Chevy Trailblazer & GMC Envoy) and the "i-series" pickups (versions of GM's Canyon/Colorado). Dealers will be encouraged to continue to offer service and be given generous separation packages. A Japanese manufacturer running aground in the U.S. is as rare as January sunshine around here. All together now, would you miss it?

 

(Photos courtesy of GM)
The new 2009 Hummer H3T pickup truck will make its debut at the Chicago Auto Show next week. The H3T has standard full-time four-wheel drive with 32-inch tires and skid plates, crew cab body style with seating for five, five-foot (1.5 meters) bed capable of carrying two dirt bikes, a snowmobile or ATV and full sheets of plywood, and standard StabiliTrak and head curtain side air bags. The H3T is offered in four trim levels, including five-cylinder models and a V-8-powered H3T Alpha edition (shown) with a 5,900-lb. (2,676 kg) towing capacity. The H3T will be built beginning late summer at GM's Shreveport, La., assembly plant. GM will sell the H3T in North America, Europe and the Middle East. Click HERE to see more images.