AJAC announces Car of the Year category winners

The Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC) has announced the category winners of its annual Canadian Car of the Year competition. Over 80 journalists from across Canada spent five days on back-to-back testing of 56 vehicles in 14 categories to come up with the winners in each for the 2009 competition.
The overall Canadian Car of the Year and Canadian Truck of the Year awards will be named at the Canadian International Auto Show in Toronto in February 2009. The awards for Best New Technology, Best Design and Best New Green Technology will also be announced later.
The winners in each category are:
Small Car Under $18,000: Toyota Corolla
Small Car Over $18,000: Pontiac Vibe
Family Car $22,000-$30,000 - Mazda6
Family Car Over $30,000: Volkswagen Passat CC
Luxury Car Under $50,000: Hyundai Genesis
Luxury Car Over $50,000: Audi A4
Prestige: Mercedes-Benz CL550/Mercedes-Benz SL63 AMG (tie)
Sports/Performance Under $50,000: BMW 135i Coupe
Sports/Performance Over $50,000: Lexus IS F
Convertible: Audi TTS
SUV/CUV Under $35,000: Subaru Forester
SUV/CUV $35,000-$60,000: Ford Flex
SUV/CUV Over $60,000: Mercedes-Benz M-Class BlueTEC
Pickup: Dodge Ram

GM sales still lag Toyota

Detroit automaker unlikely to retain global No. 1 status after soft markets spread overseas.
General Motors Corp. is falling further behind rival Toyota Motor Corp. and is unlikely to retain the crown of the world's largest automaker as softening sales overseas fail to offset losses in the United States, analysts said. Through September, the Detroit automaker sold 6.65 million vehicles, about 400,000 vehicles fewer than Toyota, which could end GM's 77-year run as leader of global auto sales, a title GM retained by a razor-thin margin last year. GM sold 9,369,524 cars and trucks worldwide in 2007, about 3,000 more than Toyota. GM's non-U.S. sales have increased 3.1 percent this year, but not enough to offset a 16.5 percent drop in volume in North America. More bad news is expected Monday when automakers announce monthly auto sales.GM is burning through at least $1 billion a month and is in the midst of broadening a restructuring plan that initially involved cutting $10 billion in costs by the end of 2009 and raising $5 billion through asset sales and borrowing. News of additional cuts surfaced Wednesday, though GM downplayed a report in the trade publication Automotive News that the automaker is postponing almost all of its product development spending next year and in 2010.The report cited anonymous sources saying GM is cutting spending on engineering, design and development, moves that could save the automaker as much as $1.5 billion. The report also said key new vehicles, such as the compact Chevrolet Cruze, scheduled for production in 2010, could be delayed. GM shares closed Wednesday up 51 cents, or 8.2 percent, to $6.76.GM is in the midst of increasing production of more fuel-efficient vehicles to meet a consumer shift away from more profitable pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles. One key is the Cruze, which is expected to get about 40 miles per gallon, and the Chevrolet Volt, an electric extended-range vehicle that can run up to 40 miles on battery power alone. Wilkinson said the Volt production schedule remains unchanged.GM said in June it was halting an overhaul of full-size pickup trucks and SUVs, citing a change in market conditions and demand.

New dealership policy: No drag racing in customers’ cars

A couple of service technicians got caught. Here’s a new policy to add to your dealership employee handbook: “Dealership employees are not permitted to use customers’ vehicles for drag racing, especially if the vehicle is a police car.” Add it to the list of infractions that are cause for immediate termination. Can’t happen? It did. The police in Estevan, Canada received a complaint last week that one of their patrol cars was seen drag racing with a truck on a back road near the town, reports the Carnduff Leader-Post.Upon investigating the complaint, the police found that one of their patrol cars had been sent for repairs at a local dealership. A service technician had taken the police car for a test drive. At the same time, a second technician had taken a new 3/4-ton truck for a test drive. Police said the two mechanics have been charged for racing under the Traffic Safety Act. In case you’re curious, the police car won the race against the 3/4-ton truck.

Ford Launching Systems to Rival GM’s OnStar

Ford Motor Co. claims its soon-to-be-launched 911 Assist system rivals General Motors Corp.’s OnStar service for speed and performance. And it’s free, adds the head of Ford’s recently established autonomous division. Available as early as December as a dealer-installed software upgrade to Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles equipped with the auto maker’s Sync multimedia system, 911 Assist places direct calls to emergency service providers in the event of a severe collision. OnStar does not, says Doug VanDagens.“Our calls come in on an emergency line and go straight to the top of the queue, while OnStar calls go through an operator who speaks to a 911 operator,” VanDagens says during a media event here to introduce the system. Mobility is another advantage 911 Assist has over OnStar, as it works via a driver’s cell phone, while OnStar relies on an imbedded communication device. “When you’re in the middle of a crash, you want to get out of (your car), but you want to still maintain that call,” VanDagens says. “Sync allows you to take your cell phone, walk out of the car and continue on the same call to emergency-service providers.”

Meanwhile, OnStar access requires a paid subscription. “911 Assist is free, whereas an OnStar charges between $18-$28 per month,” VanDagens adds. The 911 Assist system automatically is activated when airbags are deployed in a collision. If the airbags don’t deploy, a rear-mounted inertia monitor activates the system if it detects a severe impact. Fender-benders will not set off 911 Assist, VanDagens says, adding drivers who do not wish to see emergency personnel have 10 seconds to deactivate the system. Tony DiSalle, vice president of sales and marketing for OnStar, argues GM’s system is more reliable. “Would you trust your cell phone in an accident?” he asks. “Where do you think a cell phone would reside in an accident,” DiSalle adds, citing the possibility that a cell phone could be thrown about during a collision, making it impossible to carry on a conversation outside the Vehicle.

Dealership’s employees come up with their own rescue plan

After a dealer announced employee layoffs, the survivors stepped up to help.A few years ago, Scott Eckenhoff was at the top of his game. He sold enough Buicks off a six-acre lot in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, to earn a case of trophies and a round of golf with Tiger Woods, reports the Philadelphia Inquirer. Scott's family has owned and operated General Motors dealerships in the Philadelphia area for generations. But when GMAC suddenly changed the rules for GM dealers, Scott’s store, which had been healthy just months ago, found itself in a credit squeeze. It’s what keeps car dealers awake at night. Not only is their personal financial situation at stake, but in Scott’s case, four dozen employees would lose their livelihoods too. According to the Inquirer report, two weeks ago Scott Eckenhoff drew up a rescue plan. Half his employees, including a stepbrother, would have to be let go.

But then something totally unexpected happened. The day of the layoffs, the service technicians who had not been laid off walked into Scott’s office. "What can we do to help?" they asked. The survivors - the salesmen, associates and receptionists spared layoffs - had become a single crew trying to save the business. Here’s what they came up with:

1. Work one week at minimum wage to create a cash payroll reserve. Even the owner and his top managers would earn $7.50 an hour for one week.

2. Work late and on weekends.

3. Resurrect six-year-old sales leads.

One technician even shared his paycheck with a pair of guys he knew would have trouble getting by during the low-wage week. "Everybody's giving a piece of what they can to try to survive," said service manager Mike Lanzetta. "None of us want to see this place go." Scott Eckenhoff said his employees' goodwill had been restorative and were improving the odds that his gamble would pay off. The cost-cutting already has added some cash to his balance sheet. The dealership has eliminated most of the advertising budget and applied that to discounts on car prices in the hope of attracting customers, mostly via the Internet.The minimum-wage workweek has come and gone, and Scott Eckenhoff is still searching for a lender to finance new inventory. His people are still selling cars, but not as many as a few months ago. He said the restructuring had given him breathing room to line up financing in the months to come.