This week, Detroit auto executives will deliver a plan designed to convince Congress--and consumers--that they're worthy of a $25 billion bailout that will help keep them in business. But some cars made by the big three--Chrysler, GM and Ford--are so unpopular with consumers that it's hard for many to consider the idea of keeping the automakers afloat with taxpayer money.

However, the big three do build plenty of cars that are enjoying strong sales even during the tough economic times (though 2.5 million consumers chose not to buy a car this year because of tighter credit and economic uncertainty). It's the automakers' poor performers that are helping drag down the industry.

Detroit automakers have been hit particularly hard because of the automakers' longtime reliance on gas-guzzling SUVs and big cars. Those models are seeing some of the worst sales, even with gas prices well off their July highs--currently at $1.82 per gallon on average in the U.S.

Market-research firm J.D. Power and Associates says 12.5% of GM's year-to-date sales were utility vehicles, compared with 5.9% of total sales for Toyota. But while Toyota's total sales are off 11.5% during the first 10 months of the year, GM's are down 20.4%.

The Hummer brand in particular, is too big, too expensive and too gas greedy for most of today's consumers. Hummer sales were off nearly 22% in 2007 compared with 2006, and when gas prices reached $4 a gallon this summer, Hummer's fate was sealed. Its sales were off nearly 49% during the first 10 months of the year, compared with the same period last year.

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But as big a loser as Hummer has become for GM, the automaker does have a couple bright spots. The Chevrolet Malibu and Buick Enclave are both among the biggest winners. Sales of the Enclave, a new crossover introduced in 2007, are up 88% so far this year compared with the same time last year. The Malibu was redesigned in 2007 and has been a hit--sales are up 39%--among buyers who want a quality, fuel-efficient mid-size sedan packed with amenities and priced competitively.

What's Detroit's problem then? Along with unpopular models, it's the bad economy and tight credit, say experts, not poor quality.

"This perception of poor quality is an illusion at this point," says Stephanie Brinley, auto analyst at AutoPacific, an industry research and analysis firm. "Their cars are at least as good as the Asian makes in every comparison. The perception, however, still lags the reality."

Behind the Numbers
To find Detroit's cars worth saving and worth writing off we looked at sales for the first 10 months of the year compared with the same period a year ago. Vehicles with the biggest sales gains so far this year and in 2007 (as well as 2006, if the car was in production) were considered. Vehicles that had sales losses greater than the industry average of 14.6% so far this year and sales losses in the previous two years were considered worth writing off.

Bad as things are for the Hummer, they're worse for some other models.

Just as the love affair with big SUVs like the Hummer began to slip, so it was for mid-size SUVs such as the Chevrolet Trailblazer and Ford Explorer. Both had been around since the 1990s, but more stylish crossover vehicles like the Buick Enclave, introduced in 2007, pulled away consumers.

Other older vehicles, like the Chrysler PT Cruiser (sales down 42%), are losers because they grew old and were never updated. Models like the competing Honda Element and Scion xB caught the eye of buyers looking for something new and trendy. Element sales are off this year, but only by half as much as the PT Cruiser's. The Scion xB's sales are up 8%.This is one example of an automaker that has learned at what point to cut its losses: Chrysler announced January that it stopped building PT Cruisers last December.

"It may be a missed opportunity for Chrysler," says Brinley. "[The PT] should have been updated in 2005, but no later than 2007. But instead they chose to stick with the basic package."

Responding To Consumers

全球車廠似乎相當熱衷於CVT（Continuous Variable Transmission）無段自動變速系統的研發，而這樣的設計也漸漸為消費者所接受，雖在短時間內無法取代目前所流行的變速系統，卻也堪稱為未來汽車科技極具潛力的發明。到底這種突破手排或自排變速系統的新科技，有何傲人之處，的確值得大家期待。

在過去，手排變速箱一直是車廠設計的主流，最主要原因在於電子科技無法突破，再加上用車習慣與環境所致，因而自排變速箱遲遲未問世；直到70年代，為了增加開車的方便性與因應環境所需，自排變速箱便在日本車廠的努力下而發揚光大，從三速、四速一直到目前的五或六速甚至七速變速箱，甚至還有手自排換檔功能，不過這樣還無法滿足消費者的需求，也因此強調簡單方便的CVT無段自動變速系統因應而生。

日本汽車產業的生死關頭

【 Yahoo!奇摩汽車 Press L 】

在以發達的公共交通為重要標誌的成熟經濟體中，汽車產業是否註定衰落？步歐美市場後塵，日本汽車市場已經停滯。在過去10年的年度銷售量始終維持在450萬輛上下，小型車銷售則與70年代持平，37年前的年度銷量甚至比今天還高出6.5％。巨大的日本工業心臟在2007年儼然處於半停頓狀態，幾家工廠不是半做半歇就是徹底停工達數週之久。這也讓人不禁懷疑，去年10月的東京車展是否已成為大和汽車產業的最後一支舞？

日本工業心臟停止跳動？

經濟學家會告訴您日本是一個有著「堅實根基」的國家！日本是世界第二大經濟體，有著創造財富的製造業基礎、富支持力的學院派金融結構，以及3.8％的9年來最低失業率。但是這個亞洲島國卻尚未完全走出經濟停滯、通貨膨脹和政治醜聞的陰影。

身為日本支柱工業，日本車廠們感到憂心忡忡，因為即使有堅實的經濟基礎支撐，日本國內車市卻還是死水一潭。10年來的新車銷量到450萬輛就無力上攻，幾乎是日本特產的小型車銷量仍停留在70年代的水準。37年前所有車型的總銷量比今天還高出6.5％，幾近飽和的汽車保有量使得日本國內市場只能依賴換車需求。結果是大日本工業心臟在2007年暫時停止跳動，幾個組裝廠不再全天運營，或者徹底停工達數周之久。這幅情景在美國或歐洲早已見慣不怪，可是誰會想到竟連日本也變成這樣。

雖然下面一篇可以看出是Honda的愛好者，但是玩車摩人大師的確講到和泰汽車經營台灣市場的弊端

過渡包裝，把對車不夠瞭解的台灣人當成『潘仔』在耍。

當然高組裝品質是必備的，但是價格與實際成本過渡差異有失一個一流企業應該展現的銷售態度。

但是這篇文章也讓我從一直被某個朋友的迷失中，跳脫出來。

有些銷售的假象是可以做得，就像我們都認為計程車最懂車，所以買跟計程車用的車一樣。

醫生最懂用藥，所以買醫生推薦的藥，卻忘記其所獲得的利益與使用者本身的偏差考量。

----以下文章轉載自奇摩部落格『玩車摩人』

某一天搭了一部Toyota Altis的計程車，我問了那位運將大哥：「Toyota的車真的是這麼棒嗎？」他回答：「這部車的引擎或許是為了營業車特別調校的，所以有不錯的油耗表現。但是如果我要買自己用的代步車，應該不會買這部車。」

屬於新能源的商品之一的生質柴油終於要上市了，

有了穩定普及的產品與通路，那樣投資的風險可以再降低了！

中國時報    B1/財經焦點           2007/01/22

《小檔案》生質能源

【江睿智】

　　生質柴油是以動植物或廢食用油脂，經轉化技術後所產生的酯類，稱為生質柴油，可直接與柴油混合使用作為燃料。B1即是指柴油中混合一％生質柴油，即1％是生質柴油，99％是市售高級柴油；B2則是柴油中混合2％生質柴油。

超水的變裝

可惜艾吉還不會放圖片.......

汽車迥異於其他消費產品的地方就是在於要保養，不管是比汽車貴很多的房屋，或是比汽車便宜很多的小家電，通常用個三年五載都壓根不會想到保養的問題，但汽車這項產品就是需要保養，並且已經嚴重到影響購車的選擇，這就是汽車產品迥異於其他消費產品之處。