Pomerance and Associates

No quittin’ time for Chrysler

Rachel — Thu, 03 May 2012 15:29:14 +0000

No laurels resting — or actually any resting — for Chrysler. This summer, the automaker will skip the traditional two-week summer slumber to meet the demands of hungry consumers.

“Chrysler’s sales growth has outpaced the industry and the company needs to boost production to keep up,” according to USA Today. “Chrysler’s U.S. sales through April this year are up 33.4% vs. a 10.3% increase for the industry.”

Click here for the full story.

Coda to build “affordable EV”; pulls DOE loan app.

Rachel — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 22:17:20 +0000

Coda Automotive has announced plans to build an entry-level EV with China’s Great Wall Motors, a company that will display its first EV at the 2012 Beijing International Automotive Exposition, which opens Friday.

That news comes as Coda also announced the withdrawal of its DOE loan application to build vehicles in this country. In its new deal, the manufacturing would start in China and wrap up in California, home to Coda’s headquarters.

“The company is the latest in a series of start-ups and other automakers to abandon efforts to tap the $25 billion government loan fund; Coda had proposed to build vehicles in Ohio as part of its application,” writes David Shepardson, with the Washington Bureau of the Detroit News. “The Energy Department has taken a harder line in reviewing applications — and hasn’t approved a new auto loan in more than a year.”

Here is the full story:

http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20120424/AUTO01/204240407/1361/Auto-start-up-Coda-to-develop–entry-level–electric-vehicle-for-U.S.-market

Highlight of the Week: Visiting AutoTrader.Com

Rachel — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 20:23:48 +0000

As we approach the end of the week, we just thought we’d share a highlight — visiting our friends at AutoTrader.com.

A longtime partner of The Washington Auto Show, AutoTrader.com boasts the largest automotive marketplace replete with tips and tools of the trade. It’s probably no big surprise that their offices and, of course, their people are super cool. Here are some fun pics from AutoTrader.com’s lobby –

Digital Summit 2012 heads to Hotlanta

Rachel — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 17:12:43 +0000

Huffington Post, Gilt, Klout, Google… Looks like all the online heavyweights are headed to the A-T-L next month for Digital Summit 2012 at the Cobb Galleria.

This is the second annual summit, presented by TechMedia. Thank goodness they jammed both words together and capped the second or else we wouldn’t know they were a hip, tech company. They all do that. I’ve blogged about it before so I won’t bore anyone here.

Anyway, this should be a great conference. So mark your calendars and, in the meantime, check out the event here: www.digitalsummit.com.

Nissan, Chevy and… Chitty Chitty Bang Bang?

Rachel — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 14:55:41 +0000

Press Preview Day is under way at the New York International Auto Show, where Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn delivered the keynoter breakfast speech. Not long after, Mark Reuss, President of GM North America, revealed the 2014 Impala. Here is a picture, courtesy of Barbara Pomerance, who is on site with The Washington Auto Show’s delegation.

Of course, the CEOs of major automakers and new model introductions always create buzz. But this year, New York presents a product that suits its larger-than-life persona and perhaps a solution to its famous gridlock: a flying car.

Just think what that could mean for the final scene all those Hollywood rom-coms, where the guy has to leap out of the traffic-jammed taxi and run through the mean streets of New York to track down his lady and tell her, in a near-miss finale, how he feels, at last. Now, the guy can just fly over the other cars and weave through air traffic.

Check out the gallery of the flying car, aptly named “the Transition®,” from personal aviation company Terrafugia.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/flying-car-to-appear-at-new-york-auto-show/2012/04/03/gIQAAduNtS_gallery.html

Google’s self-driving car challenge

Rachel — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 21:10:34 +0000

An awfully confident Google has enlisted an arguably even more confident blind man to get behind the wheel of its self-driving car. Check it out: http://mashable.com/2012/03/29/blind-man-drives-google-car/

Gayle King and Charlie Rose interview author of “American Icon”

Rachel — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 17:43:09 +0000

Bryce Hoffman, who covered Ford for The Detroit News, is making the media rounds about his new book: “American Icon: Alan Mulally and the Fight to Save Ford Motor Company.” This morning, CBS’ Charlie Rose and Gayle King interviewed Hoffman about the book and the man, who he likens to an older version of Ron Howard in Happy Days.

When Mulally spoke at The Washington Auto Show a few years ago, I remember, too, being struck by his wholesome, Norman Rockwell-esque looks and can-do spirit. In other words, if anyone looks the part of an American icon, it’s Mulally. Indeed, he has the vision and muscle to match.

Check out the interview here: http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7401897n

What say we let this one speak for itself…

Rachel — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 22:05:19 +0000

Roundups of the roundups

Rachel — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 21:52:29 +0000

Since so many people are recapping the Geneva Auto Show, we thought we’d consolidate some of the most interesting news to come out of the show, which opened to the public on Thursday. The Washington Auto Show senior leadership attended Press Preview Days earlier in the week.

So, according to AOL Autos, the following cars were the sexiest. Note: they are nearly all wearing red. The cars, that is. http://autos.aol.com/photos/2012-geneva-auto-show-luxury/

Ever the list maker, Forbes also had it say on the “hottest cars” at Geneva. Here, we have some color diversity represented, even a two-tone Bugatti in blue and black. http://www.forbes.com/sites/hannahelliott/2012/03/08/look-for-these-10-hot-cars-in-geneva/

Looks like they left out one, though.

Barbara took this shot of the Tesla, which definitely made our agency’s unofficial hot list.

The New York Times ran a thoughtful piece, taking the temperature of the electric car evolution:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/07/business/global/hype-over-electric-cars-subsides-at-geneva-auto-show.html

Definitely check out Autoblog for “obsessively” covering the show. Only Autoblog could seem to make that adjective a positive pronouncement. I’m a fan. http://www.autoblog.com/2012/03/08/we-obsessively-covered-the-2012-geneva-motor-show/

Enjoy!

News from Geneva

Rachel — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 23:10:41 +0000

Washington Auto Show leadership attended the press preview day today at the Geneva Auto Show, where they met with several automakers and got a first look at some of the debuts dazzling auto enthusiasts worldwide. Like, for example, the brand new Porsche Boxster. Check it out: http://www.autoblog.com/photos/2013-porsche-boxster-geneva-2012/

In fact, for those of you who speak German, here’s a brief clip of Porsche President and CEO Matthias Müller at the press conference.

Maybe you can tell me what he’s saying.

Here’s a pic, too, to show Porsche some extra love since the automaker has its North American operations in the A-T-L.

Always a popular kid on the block, Hyundai rolled out the i30 and i40.

And VW doing its cute, fun VW thing. Disclaimer: I drive one. Not this one. I might like to.

Say hello to the Eco UP!, a three-cylinder hybrid that runs on natural gas and the first of VW’s Up! models in production.

Stay tuned. We’re supposed to be getting more pics of who’s who and what’s what from Geneva…