Word: honda
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...some 500,000 subscribers, and the company expects to reach 1.2 million by year's end. And it's not just luxury-car owners who are shelling out for the high-tech extras. New-car buyers can find options like these on everyday models, such as a $25,000 Honda Accord and a $22,000 Pontiac Vibe...
...here's the mystery: if foreign-based companies like Nissan--along with BMW, Honda and Toyota--are building more vehicles in American factories, using American workers and American suppliers, and selling the vehicles to Americans for a good profit, why aren't DaimlerChrysler, Ford and General Motors doing the same? Last year the Big Three collectively lost money on car sales in North America (and earned a mere 1.8% profit on overall sales). Honda and Nissan earned higher margins and record profits, and Toyota is expected to post similar results...
These advantages have been accruing since 1983, when the first transplant factories, built by Honda and Nissan, began producing sedans in Marysville, Ohio, and Smyrna, Tenn., respectively. But if the stakes were high then, they're even higher now. The Big Three's overall North American market share slipped to 61.7% last year, an all-time low, and it has declined an additional 1.6 points in the first quarter of 2003. Toyota is just a couple of market-share points from passing Chrysler, the smallest of the Big Three. Though it is narrowing the quality gap, Detroit today squeezes almost...
Chrysler, Ford and GM take an average of eight more hours to make a vehicle at their North American plants than do Honda, Nissan and Toyota. Nissan is fastest at 18 hours a vehicle, and Chrysler (the U.S.-based unit of DaimlerChrysler) is slowest at 31 hours, according to the Harbour Report, an annual productivity guide. These times translate into an extra expense of $300 to $500 a vehicle for the Big Three as compared with the transplants, which in a tough market can kill already slim profit potential...
...emerging: Cadillacs are rolling out with bold designs and high performance, Chevy is launching the SSR pickup convertible, and Pontiac is reviving its 1960s muscle car, the GTO. In areas of engineering weakness, GM is swallowing its pride and outsourcing: Saturn's 2004 VUE SUV will use Honda engines...