Alabama Nabs Honda Exec A Week After Jailing Mercedes Manager Under Immigration Law
Many of the people arrested under Alabama's new immigration law--immigrants from Central and South America, documented or not--get no media attention.
A state that arrests or tickets executives from foreign automakers who provide thousands of jobs, however, makes the press sit up and take notice.
Two weeks, two executives
Just 12 days after a Mercedes-Benz executive was arrested and briefly jailed in Tuscaloosa for not having his driver's license with him.
Now it's happened again.
On Wednesday, Ichiro Yada, a Japanese national working on assignment at Honda's assembly plant in Lincoln, Alabama, was stopped at a traffic checkpoint where officers checked drivers' licenses in an attempt to catch unlicensed drivers.
Yada showed the officers a passport, a U.S. work permit, and a valid international driver's license. Despite that, he was issued a ticket--which was dismissed three days later by a judge, presumably at the request of embarrassed city officials.
Show us your papers
Alabama's HB56, the most aggressive state law to target immigrants, took effect in September. The U.S. Justice Department has filed suit against parts of it, saying it conflicts with Federal immigration enforcement. Last month a Federal appeals court struck down a provision requiring schools to prove legal residency for all students before enrolling them.
But provisions remaining in force require police officers to determine the nationality and immigration status of any persons they stop who they may suspect are in the U.S. illegally. All drivers must carry a valid license either from their state or their own country; undocumented immigrants are not allowed to receive licenses in the state.
Any person unable to prove his or her identification must be arrested--and the local mayor noted that Lincoln's police force must follow state law.
"There is not a whole lot we can do until the Alabama legislature sees that there is a problem," said Lincoln mayor Lew Watson. With Southern understatement, he added that the Legislature "would prefer that this not happen, I am sure."
Widespread impact
The Economic Development Partnership of Alabama proudly boasts that the state now builds the fifth highest number of cars of any state in the country--from building none at all 20 years ago.
Mercedes-Benz opened its plant in Tuscaloosa in 1993, which now builds the M-Class, GL-Class, and R-Class sport-utility vehicles, and it plans to double that plant's output in 2015 by adding the C-Class sedan.
Honda opened its Lincoln, Alabama, plant in 1999. It now assembles the Odyssey minivan, Pilot crossover, and Ridgeline pickup truck, and will add the Acura MDX. Of the 4,000 workers at the Lincoln facility, Honda said roughly 100 were employees from Japan on assignment.
Both arrests were widely covered in the automotive trade press, and overseas as well. Britain's Guardian opened a lengthy article on the arrests with an Oscar Wilde allusion: "To arrest one foreign car-making executive under Alabama's new tough immigration laws may be regarded as a misfortune; to arrest a second looks like carelessness."
The immigration law has affected businesses beyond the auto industry. The state's agricultural sector has seen a sudden exodus of workers, and construction workers have fled as well. Families have pulled their kids out of schools, and many minimum-wage service workers no longer show up for their jobs.
Hostile to business, jobs?
States eager to welcome relocating or expanding companies often seize on bad publicity about other states to publicize their own attitudes of acceptance and tolerance. And other states have moved quickly to capitalize on Alabama's bad publicity.
After Hager's arrest, for example, Missouri's St. Louis Post-Dispatch published an editorial inviting Mercedes-Benz and other foreign automakers to relocate and join Ford and GM in that state's car industry.
David Bronner, CEO of Alabama's pension system, noted that the state's new immigration law is "giving the image, whether it's valid or not, that you don't like foreigners, period."
This story originally appeared at The Car Connection
Gas Prices Going Down, But They’ve Changed Our Lifestyle
Gas prices might no longer be on the way up—at least for a little while—but it appears that this time, surging pump prices, combined with the persisting economic conditions, have meant that U.S. families are feeling it more sorely than before.
A new Gallup Poll found that Americans are still a little shell-shocked by what became, for a while, the $4-a-gallon reality. Fifty-three percent of Americans report that they have made major changes in their personal lives to accommodate steep gas prices. And by now, nearly three quarters say that they've made major changes of some sort to accommodate the higher prices.
In response, nearly a third of Americans are driving less. But they're also cutting back on vacation travel, even if they're higher-income families—a trend that's been especially worrisome for the tourism industry and other sectors of the economy.
Particularly of concern for those worried about the psychological blow of gas prices is that about two thirds of Americans say that gas prices have caused them financial hardship. Gallup has been asking that question for years, and it's the among the highest figure it's seen since it started asking the question in 2000—only surpassed in 2005, when gas prices first passed the $3 mark and in 2008 when they surged past $4 a gallon.
Are there less-painful solutions, like keeping speed down?
Yet many families might be underestimating the impact of some less painful strategies. In the poll, while 12 percent reported less leisure driving, only one percent reported driving less aggressively or keeping speed down to save money on gas—a change that may prove financially significant if kept up over a year.
On a national level, gas prices appear to have peaked. According to the federal government's Energy Information Administration (EIA), the price of a gallon of regular gas was already about a half-cent lower than the week before. And it appears that in recent days, prices have been falling more rapidly; according to GasBuddy.com, average U.S. pump prices stand at about $3.89 a gallon, about seven cents a gallon lower than a week ago.
The latest results are part of a joint USA Today/Gallup poll conducted May 12-15—after they'd leveled off in most regions—from a random sample of 1,024 adults in all 50 U.S. states plus the District of Columbia. Confidence is plus or minus four percentage points.
Even wealthier households traveling less
Curiously, Gallup found, this urge to cut back on driving (and spending) isn't just limited to the lowest-income families; it spans a wide range of income levels. Even in the $75,000 and up household income range, 44 percent reported having changed their habits because of higher gas prices.
Gallup does note, however, that the type of economizing that families have done is different, depending on income level. Lower-income Americans are more likely to report "significant hardships" that involve household expenses, while middle- and upper-income households are simply driving less for vacations and errands.
There are also some pronounced differences between how men and women are dealing with gas prices. Men and women in about an equal percentage said that they were driving less, but men were nearly twice as likely to say they purchased or planned to purchase a more fuel efficient car and women were about twice as likely to say that they've cut back on household expenses.
[Gallup]
This story originally appeared at The Car Connection
Sales Lost To Dealer Tactics: J.D. Power Puts Numbers On It
Automotive brands are losing an average of 12 percent of their buyers to competitors due simply to "poor customer treatment" at the dealership.
If you've ever walked away from a dealership while new-car shopping due to icky sales tactics, you probably don't find that surprising, but it's one of many insightful findings from J.D Power and Associates in its annual Sales Satisfaction Index (SSI) ratings, the cornerstone—and arguably the most important for dealerships—of its annual auto-industry surveys.
J.D. Power says that one in five shoppers who leave a dealership without buying do so specifically because of poor treatment or behaviors such as high-pressure sells, pricing games, or discourteous treatment, J.D. Power found. Of those, 43 percent ended up purchasing from a different dealership that sells the same brand, while 57 percent ended up opting for a different brand of vehicle.
According to Power, new-vehicle buyers shop at fewer than three dealerships, typically, and 49 percent visit only the selling dealership; for that reason it's especially important that dealerships treat customers with respect on their initial visit.
"In this difficult economy, dealerships are working particularly hard to close sales, but need to be attentive to customers without exerting unwanted sales pressure," said Jon Osborn, J.D. Power and Associates' director of automotive research, in a release accompanying the survey results.
The annual study looks at aspects satisfaction pertaining to the sales process itself, from the time a customers begin shopping at the dealership until they take delivery of a new vehicle. The five primary factors in the study are: dealership facility, salesperson, paperwork/finance process, delivery process, and vehicle price.
Overall, Jaguar, Cadillac, and Mercury ranked among the top-rated brands in this year's Sales Satisfaction Index, which is based on about 48,000 recent new-vehicle buyers.
Among luxury brands in the 2009 SSI, Jaguar and Cadillac stand well above the others, with a significant gap to Lexus, Mercedes-Benz, and Land Rover, which follow and are all above the segment average.
Looking at mass-market brands, Mercury placed at the top in sales satisfaction, with Smart a close runner-up. All of the mass-market brands from Ford and General Motors placed above average.
Mini earns the distinction of most improved for 2009; it's improved by 16 ranks, to sixth overall.
Mercury has just a few models for 2010—the Milan, Mariner, Mountaineer, and the rare Grand Marquis. It typically does quite well in the SSI, as it tends to share retail outlets with Lincoln, in smaller dealerships with more of a luxury feel and more personalized service, while Mini has been making an effort to better separate its operations from usually adjacent BMW ones, to help improve customer service. It seems to be working.
Audi ranks at the bottom among luxury brands, with Volvo and Infiniti also ranking especially low. Among mass-market brands, Mitsubishi is the lowest achiever by a long shot, with Jeep, Dodge, and Mazda also scoring low enough to earn just two Power Circles on JDPower.com's ratings for Sales Satisfaction.
This story originally appeared at The Car Connection
Rumor: GM Going Green — Literally
We all know that General Motors is trying to change its image. We also know that GM, like much of the auto industry, is trying to boost its eco-credentials. So is anyone really surprised to learn that GM's design team are considering a revamp of the company's image that includes changing the logo from blue to green? [Freep]
This story originally appeared at The Car Connection
Fiat, Magna Eyeing Opel
Though it's still short of bankruptcy, the parting out of General Motors' corporate structure is underway, and the latest word has Fiat and Magna emerging as rivals over a majority stake in Opel. The gang over at Motor Authority have dug up word from several German officials that shows a clear preference for Magna as a suitor to the Russelsheim-based company, however.
As you're sure to know by now, GM is looking to sell off a stake in Opel to prove its dedication to the company to the German government. In return for that show of faith, the Germans are expected to produce billions in loans to help prop up the company, since its continued existence is of key importance to labor, government and industry officials.
Some of those officials have come out in opposition to a Fiat investment in Opel because they fear the Italian company would enact sweeping layoffs and cutbacks that would further damage the German car industry and economy, according to Motor Authority. Fiat has countered with promises to build the Punto in Opel's Eisenach plant and to keep other Opel plants open, but the promises have fallen on deaf ears.
In contrast, Magna, with the aid of Russian businessman Oleg Deripaska, is perceived as a stabilizing force. The duo is reportedly seeking a 50% interest in Opel, but GM may have some problems of its own with that arrangement. GM favors a single bidder rather than a combination. Of course, GM will have to consider not just the present, but also the future of Opel, especially since it says it wants to retain a substantial stake in the company. However, GM has also in the past day said it might be interested in selling all of Opel.
Whatever the outcome, it won't be decided until sometime next month. "These discussions continue as we speak through April and will continue into early May," said GM CEO Fritz Henderson in a news conference Monday.--Nelson Ireson
This story originally appeared at The Car Connection
