Auto parts - Where oil comes from

Where oil comes from
Why have cars that are powered by electricity? One answer might be to avoid burning fossil fuels that generate CO2 which is widely thought to be contributing to a harmful warming of the world's atmosphere. But there are other answers of course. With the price of oil as high as it is (and long-term prospects for the price likely to be upward), there is undoubtedly a wider economic case for lessening dependence on imported black gold. And if you watch the TV news of an evening, places where the oil we use mainly comes from are about as stable as the chemical reaction you get when you add magnesium to water. And the Stars and Stripes is about as popular in some of these places as a Great White at an Elephant Seal convention. Interesting to note that Bob Lutz homed in on the 'where oil comes from' point when GM's Chevrolet Volt was unveiled in Detroit.

New Jag concept for Detroit
The C-XF concept that will be unveiled in Detroit on Sunday certainly looks good and augurs well for the production version XF (S-Type replacement) that we'll be seeing in Frankfurt in September. It has been well trailed that Jaguar's designers have eschewed the previous 3-box retro themes on future saloons; C-XF looks like a close relation to XKR Coupe and that's no bad thing. It's a much more modern look, but one that retains sporty and classy Jaguar elements. Well done Callum. What will Jaguar do about the X-Type? Don't expect a like-for-like replacement in that lower executive segment that has been a disaster area for Jaguar. If there is to be a sub-XF Jaguar, it has to fit in with the new design philosophies. But with Aston shortly going out of the Ford family door, emphasising Jaguar's prestige credentials and taking the brand further upmarket makes sense.

Autobytel Inc. Announces Inducement Options Grants to Certain Employees
Autobytel Inc. Announces Inducement Options Grants to Certain Employees

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Russian market opportunity - Stadco
British-based Body-in-White (BIW) producer Stadco has identified an interesting market opportunity in the Russian auto industry. It reckons a raft of firms starting operations there will be interested in contracting out BIW and sub-assembly work to Stadco as the volumes involved aren't sufficient to justify investing in their own press shops. It's an interesting strategy and the firm appears to have found what would appear - on paper anyway - to be the perfect local partner in Severstal-Auto. I recall hearing an intriguing presentation given by the company's head Vasily Boitsov (click here for summary). If you are interested in the Russian market and industry, there's an upcoming conference that may be of interest (Adam Smith).

GM Europe and Astra production
It does seem that the pendulum has swung a little in favour of Ellesmere Port, the plant in the UK that makes Astra cars and has seemed vulnerable (lost the third shift on current model earlier this year) as GM looks to consolidate next gen Astra output (starts 2010). I understand a final decision on which European plants get the car will be taken by the middle of next year. Ellesmere Port is not out of the woods, but GM executives have been stressing that Ellesmere Port is moving in the right direction on cost/productivity measures. Just as Bochum is unlikely (virtually impossible, actually) to be dropped because that would harm the Opel brand in Germany, losing the last car assembly operation for Vauxhall in the UK (still an important market for GM in Europe) probably presents an unattractive scenario. Better to keep the pressure on at EP (helped by occasional media scaremongering), get it more efficient and then award it next Astra to huge sighs of relief from all at EP. Trollhattan, a plant never really seriously in the Astra running because of where it is, is the apparent 'loser', but gets something else anyway. But there is still an alternative possibility that sees EP sacrificed for Gliwice in Poland, particularly if GM's European financials are worse than expected (lately, they haven't looked too bad though - GM Europe breaking into the black). Heck, the politics of this stuff is difficult to read, wind apparently changing direction, comments designed to produce an effect, cost relativities changing, exchange rates changing... and the decision in principle may already have been taken, even.