(CarThrottle.com)
Saturday, August 29, 2015
I Could Live Without A Lot Of The Latest Car Features
Motorists actually don't like a lot of new in-car technology3
New J.D. Power Research Shows Which Features Go Unused
J.D. Power says 20 percent of car owners have never used 16 of 33 new technology features available in their vehicles. Common features that go untouched include in-vehicle concierge services, mobile routers, automatic parking, head-up displays, and built-in apps. Concierge services were the least popular, with 43 percent of respondents saying they've never used them.
In many cases, it's not only that motorists are letting the features go unused, it's that they're specifically unwanted. Twenty percent of respondents say there are 14 tech features they do not want in their next vehicles, and some of those rejected features may come as a surprise.
(AutoSpies.com)
New J.D. Power Research Shows Which Features Go Unused
J.D. Power says 20 percent of car owners have never used 16 of 33 new technology features available in their vehicles. Common features that go untouched include in-vehicle concierge services, mobile routers, automatic parking, head-up displays, and built-in apps. Concierge services were the least popular, with 43 percent of respondents saying they've never used them.
In many cases, it's not only that motorists are letting the features go unused, it's that they're specifically unwanted. Twenty percent of respondents say there are 14 tech features they do not want in their next vehicles, and some of those rejected features may come as a surprise.
(AutoSpies.com)
Unexpected Change Is Always Worrisome
Automotive interior suppliers in total turmoil
Mergers and acquisitions are part of the natural ebb and flow of the automotive business. But this year it's almost as if someone threw a switch. Starting this spring there was an explosive flurry of M&A involving the biggest interior suppliers.
First, Johnson Controls Incorporated, the largest automotive interiors supplier in the world, announced it was selling its interiors business to Yanfeng, a Chinese supplier not well known outside of China. Overnight, Yanfeng became the largest interior supplier in the world.
Hot on the heels of that announcement, Magna, another dominant player in the business, announced it was selling its interiors business to a small, regional Spanish company called Grupo Antolin. All of a sudden Grupo Antolin, a privately held company unfamiliar to most people in the industry, doubled in size.
Shortly afterward Faurecia, the supplier company owned by Peugeot which mostly makes interiors, formed a joint venture with the Chinese automaker Dongfeng. It's unusual for an automaker to form a joint venture with an in-house supplier from another automaker, unless it's the prelude to a technology transfer or a complete sale.
The underlying cause of this shift should leave the industry uneasy. JCI did not pull any punches, declaring it's getting out of the automotive business because the profit margins are some of the lowest in the world of industry and commerce. Instead, JCI wants to invest in businesses with much better margins such as real estate management and industrial refrigerators. It's not a good sign for the automotive industry when one of its biggest, most important suppliers says, "Screw it, let's go somewhere else."
(AutoBlog.com)
Mergers and acquisitions are part of the natural ebb and flow of the automotive business. But this year it's almost as if someone threw a switch. Starting this spring there was an explosive flurry of M&A involving the biggest interior suppliers.
First, Johnson Controls Incorporated, the largest automotive interiors supplier in the world, announced it was selling its interiors business to Yanfeng, a Chinese supplier not well known outside of China. Overnight, Yanfeng became the largest interior supplier in the world.
Hot on the heels of that announcement, Magna, another dominant player in the business, announced it was selling its interiors business to a small, regional Spanish company called Grupo Antolin. All of a sudden Grupo Antolin, a privately held company unfamiliar to most people in the industry, doubled in size.
Shortly afterward Faurecia, the supplier company owned by Peugeot which mostly makes interiors, formed a joint venture with the Chinese automaker Dongfeng. It's unusual for an automaker to form a joint venture with an in-house supplier from another automaker, unless it's the prelude to a technology transfer or a complete sale.
The underlying cause of this shift should leave the industry uneasy. JCI did not pull any punches, declaring it's getting out of the automotive business because the profit margins are some of the lowest in the world of industry and commerce. Instead, JCI wants to invest in businesses with much better margins such as real estate management and industrial refrigerators. It's not a good sign for the automotive industry when one of its biggest, most important suppliers says, "Screw it, let's go somewhere else."
(AutoBlog.com)
Did You Know - Arby's Edition
11 Things You Didn't Know About Arby's
3. Vermont and Rhode Island are the only states without an Arby’s
3. Vermont and Rhode Island are the only states without an Arby’s
- One strip club and no Arby’s? How on earth was Vermont not last on this list?
- 268 of 'em, to be exact. Which makes sense, since Arby’s was founded in Boardman, Ohio. While the original location still stands today, the company is now based in Sandy Springs, Georgia.
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