| Fly on The Wall Report No. 2 - Automotive Management Briefing Seminars
TRAVERSE CITY - Tuesdays Designing for Customization briefing was chaired by John Waraniak, vice president of the Specialty Equipment Manufacturers Association. This marked the first major participation in CAR's annual international conference by automotive aftermarket forces. It's a multi-billion dollar market that's getting bigger as the Generation Z population climbs toward 100 million. SEMA's big show in Las Vegas last year drew 14 OEMs, hundreds of aftermarket firms, 45,000 dealers and close to another 100,000 attendees. Designing for customization plays to buyers who want their cars and trucks to be distinctive in appearance or performance or both. It calls for collaboration between OEMs and specialty product makers, generating revenue and profits for all. Waraniak calls collaborative growth "an alternate way forward." With a smile, CAR's David Cole calls collaboration "an unnatural act." Waraniak says it means modifying mass production and mass marketing practices to make room for "customization, accessorization and personalization." Toyota Motor Sales USA product planning manager MIke O'Brien says pickup trucks are the largest segment by far for customization.
Multipanel sunroofs are cool
Multipanel sunroofs are all the rage on new cars, and now you can have such equipment on seemingly any vehicle with the launch of the Hollandia-brand TVS 900 Twin Vent Sunroof from Webasto. Webasto was founded more than 100 years ago in Germany and has had a U.S. base of operations in the Detroit area (with facilities in four southeast Michigan cities, including its U.S. headquarters in Fenton) since the mid-1970s. Webasto is a major supplier to the original equipment industry, and in addition to sunroofs, produces around half of the original equipment convertible tops, including the complex multipanel retracting hardtops on vehicles such as the Volkswagen Eos and the Volvo C70, the innovative convertible top for the Mini Cooper and the futuristic flip-top on the Ferrari 575M Superamerica.
Women Receive Advice, Find a Voice Through AskPatty.com
SARASOTA, Fla. — What began as a blog in May 2006, then expanded to a Web site two months later, has since turned into a major force that's giving a voice to women's concerns within the auto world. And, according to Jody DeVere, president of AskPatty.com, industry leaders are taking notice and listening. Now headed into its second year, AskPatty's growth curve will continue to tick upwards, DeVere added, both in terms of attracting new visitors to its expanding Web site and also in terms of training new dealerships and other auto retailers to become certified as female-friendly. "Without a doubt, our goal is to educate and empower women and to improve communication between this powerful and influential market segment and the industry at large. But not only is AskPatty.com a safe place for women to come and learn more about buying, selling and maintaining their cars, we are also giving a voice to women's concerns," DeVere told Auto Remarketing NewsMagazine.
Shhh! Cities ask bikers to muffle their motorcycles
Cities from New York to Denver are giving motorcyclists the silent treatment. And that worries riders rights groups, which fear that a wave of ordinances aimed at muffling Harley-Davidsons, hushing Hondas and stifling Suzukis will create a confusing patchwork of laws that motorcyclists won't be able to navigate. .
Four arrested in connection with four-wheeler theft
After a month-long of investigation by Webster and Claiborne Parish detectives, four people have been arrested in connection to the July 7 theft of a pricey ATV on Old Arcadia Road. On July 7, Claiborne Parish authorities were called to the 2700 block of Old Arcadia Road in reference to the theft of a 2007 Yamaha Ducks Unlimited four-wheeler, with a value of approximately $9,500. Following the theft, Ron Flurry, the rightful owner of the all terrain vehicle (ATV), placed award posters around the Minden area for information leading to the return of the four-wheeler. An award poster that he placed at Wal-Mart caught the eye of a shopper that had seen a four-wheeler on Mullens Street in Cotton Valley that was similar to the one stolen and contacted Flurry. Claiborne Parish detectives contacted Webster Parish detectives and told them that the ATV was believed to be located in the 200 block of Mullens Street "Myself, two detectives from Claiborne Parish and Captain Steve Cropper made contact with Wallace Johnson III at the suspected address," Webster Parish Detective Barry James said.
Death on the streets
The gap between the fear of crime and the reality of crime is often a large one. Britain, which has some of the toughest gun laws in the world, is not a country beset by universal violence or disorder, or even, in most parts of the country, by rising levels of criminality. Homicide rates now are equivalent to homicide rates a decade ago. Most of the murders that do take place do not involve strangers, or guns. In 2006-07 only 3% of serious violent offences involved firearms. That is still a terrible toll - guns were used in 413 offences that caused serious injury, including 58 homicides - but not one out of all control. Targeted police work in inner-city areas where guns are most freely-available and frequently-used - Liverpool, Manchester and London, has met with some success. Against this background, however, there stands a dispiriting and dangerous shift in parts of inner-city gang culture.
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