News From the Auto Industry

Ford Motor Co. and the Chrysler Group of DaimlerChrysler AG saw sales increases of 36.3 percent and 5 percent, respectively. Part of the sales surge tied to the offer of no-interest financing, which GM, Ford and Chrysler initiated in a bid to get consumers spending again following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Talley Defense Systems, a Mesa, Ariz.-based company, designs, develops, tests and manufactures high reliability propellant-related components and sub-systems used in military aircraft and missiles, as well as ordnance systems.

Q: Speaking of flexibility, how will GM respond if the price for fuel continues its rapid upward spiral?

While the no-interest financing resulted in a sales spike, it also took a deep bite out of each automaker’s profit margins. GM said it will extend the zero interest offer until early January, and other auto producers will likely follow GM’s lead.

Talley Industries is a diversified designer, manufacturer and supplier of aerospace, industrial and commercial products and services including high-reliability electronic components and stainless steel rod and bar products.

There are other hurdles such as the availability of low-sulfur fuel and a solution to the particulate-emissions problem. California standards in the proposal stage are intended to kill diesels entirely. Unfortunately, the technical solutions are very costly. Some give and take will be necessary between manufacturers and regulators for diesels to be viable.

To counteract the expected revenue shortfall, GM is setting its sights higher for cost cutting, a spokesman said.

Five new engine families will soon handle 90 percent of GM’s worldwide needs. Each architecture provides a range of piston displacements and some, such as the new Vortec I-6, can easily be built as a 4-, 5-, or 6-cylinder engine. These new engines are also engineered for various technologies to be added as needed, such as displacement-on-demand and direct fuel injection.

A: I firmly believe that diesels can be an effective means of improving efficiency. BMW and Mercedes diesel-powered luxury sedans are wonderfully quiet and well-integrated vehicles. We’ll need a high-end model like that to help regain diesel credibility in the American market.

Our manufacturing flexibility comes from new equipment capable of producing both I-6 or V-8 crankshafts, and machining cells that can be reprogrammed to quickly switch from one cylinder head to another. With our partners, Suzuki, Fuji and Isuzu, we own 24 percent of the world’s light-duty powertrain capacity; so whenever we need to move to a smaller four or a different six, it’s easy for us to tap under-utilized equipment.