AD #1608 – Big Trucks Drive Bottom Line, Takata’s Airbag Mystery, BMW’s Airbag Jacket
April 28th, 2015 at 11:47am
Runtime: 6:52
- Battle of the Bottom Lines
- The Mystery of Takata Airbags
- Audi Joins Mobility Game
- Best 3rd-Party Auto Sites Ranked
- BMW’s Airbag Jacket
- California’s Classic Car Exemption
Visit our sponsors to thank them for their support of Autoline Daily: Bridgestone, Dow Automotive Systems and BorgWarner.
»Subscribe to Podcast | 
| 
| Listen on Phone 
| 
On today’s show… BMW puts airbags in motorcycle jackets, California exempts classic cars from emissions tests–after you pay hundreds of dollars, and Daimler shows why luxury cars and heavy trucks are good for the bottom line. All that and more coming right up on Autoline Daily.
This is Autoline Daily for April 28th, 2015.
BATTLE OF THE BOTTOM LINES
Three major automakers released their financial earnings for the first quarter of 2015 and it makes for a fascinating comparison. Ford sold over 1.5 million vehicles, while Honda sold 1.2 million and Daimler sold 641,000. Ford pulled in nearly $34 billion in revenue, compared to $28 billion for Honda, but look at the number at Daimler: over $37 billion. EBIT, or earnings before income taxes at Ford came to $1.4 billion, Honda hit $981 million, but Daimler raked in more than $3 billion. And the bottom line tells a similar story. Ford’s net profit came to $924 million, Honda netted $821 million, while Daimler cleared more than $2 billion. These numbers show why having a successful luxury brand is so critically important to an automaker’s earnings. And it also shows that heavy trucks can be a significant contributor to the bottom line. Daimler’s strong position in those categories make it much stronger financially than either Ford or Honda. Of course, the weak Euro and Yen put Ford at a disadvantage in this comparison. But the point still stands. Luxury cars and commercial trucks are a powerful combination to have in your portfolio.
| OEM Financial Earnings Q1, 2015 |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| Ford | Honda | Daimler | |
| Sales | 1.56 M | 1.2 M | 641,000 |
| Revenue | $33.9 B | $28.1 B | $37.4 B |
| EBIT | $1.4 B | $981 M | $3.2 B |
| Net Profit | $924 M | $821 M | $2.1 B |
THE MYSTERY OF TAKATA AIRBAGS
Remember when we told you that ten different automakers had banded together to try and figure out why those Takata airbags were failing? Well, they’re still trying to figure it out. Part of the reason is that these failures are extraordinarily rare. Takata says there are only 0.000006 failures per airbag deployment. So it may be next to impossible to find the root cause of the problem. Takata continues to replace the old airbags, and NHTSA says it’s satisfied the new ones have been properly redesigned. But no one knows for sure.
And we’ll be back with more right after this.
AUDI ON DEMAND
Audi is jumping into the mobility game. The company just launched a pilot program in San Francisco that allows you to rent any car from most of its line-up. To make a reservation, you’ll need to download the Audi on demand app with your iPhone. A concierge will deliver the car and also take time to explain all of its features. Or you can pick the car up at a location of your choosing. And these aren’t stripped versions, all rentals come with Premium Plus trim, satellite radio, navigation and all-wheel drive. Prices vary by model and you’re charged on an hourly basis. Audi plans on expanding the program to other cities in the U.S. over the next few years.
WHICH WEBSITE?
Whether looking for a new or used car, the vast majority of shoppers take to the internet far before even thinking of stepping foot in a dealer showroom. But with the number of sources to turn to seemingly growing by the day, how’s one to know which sites aren’t wasting their time? Well J.D. Power set out to answer that in its third-annual Third-Party Automotive Website Evaluation Study. After measuring information/content, appearance, navigation and speed, the research company ranked NADAguides #1 for overall satisfaction. Cars.com, The Car Connection, CarGurus and AutoTrader.com round out the top 5. Dealer’s should take note of the top performers as well. The study also showed that shoppers who are highly satisfied with their experience on a third-party site are 10 times more likely to request information from a dealership than those who have a poor experience.
Coming up next, BMW puts airbags in motorcycle jackets.
AIRBAG JACKETS
To help keep riders safe, BMW’s cycling arm has teamed with Alpinestars, a manufacturer of protective gear for motorcycles, to offer innovative motorcycle safety clothing systems. The first article to hit shelves will be a jacket with Alpinestars’ Tech-Air airbag system that protects the shoulders, back and front torso area. By mounting sensors in the jacket close to the rider’s body, the airbag system activates without the need for additional sensors on the bike. The jackets will go on sale in both male and female versions after a public presentation that will be held later this year.
CLASSIC EXEMPTION
California residents are required to get a smog test for their vehicles every two years but a new proposal would exempt classic cars from that check-up. Currently vehicles built in 1976 or later have to get the test but Edmunds reports a new bill would allow cars 30 years or older to get an exemption. The car would have to fail two tests after repairs were made and the owner would then be able to pay a $200 fee to avoid further testing. The bill is currently being debated in committee but it’s likely to face opposition from environmentalists.
And that wraps up today’s show. Please join us again tomorrow as we bring you some of the most interesting developments in the global automotive industry.
Thanks to our partner for embedding Autoline Daily on its website: WardsAuto.com
Share
Embed
Permalink
Comments (24)
April 28th, 2015 at 12:07 pm
Very interesting about the ‘Takata’ problem.What it looks like to me now was a fear induced knee jerk reaction possibly.And as John said in his report,although Takata redesigned the system,who’s to say if the ‘flaw’ was designed out?
April 28th, 2015 at 12:15 pm
It’s rather nit-picky, especially to those who are not financial analysts or so interested in numbers, but EBIT is earnings before interest and taxes. But for this reporting does it really matter? Like I said its quite nit-picky. What would be more interesting than such trivial clarifications, is what Honda’s bottom line might look like if it took into account all of it’s operations (motorcycles, lawn mowers, etc). Or did it?
April 28th, 2015 at 12:25 pm
Takata’s recall sounds reminiscent of Toyota’s ignition/acceleration issue. Difficult to replicate so who knows if its fixed. Maybe its the floor mat?
April 28th, 2015 at 12:28 pm
GM eliminated or sold off most of their large commercial truck business. Too bad.
April 28th, 2015 at 12:44 pm
@JonM – and don’t forget their aircraft side, which is probably draining tons of cash
April 28th, 2015 at 1:33 pm
However small the risks from the Takata airbags, one has to multiply the frequency of failure by the damage caused to occupants, in this case a Claymore mine in your dashboard or steering wheel.
—-
Mercedes wins-For a company that does so much leasing for its high end cars, should we be thinking about the effects easy access to capital has on the bottom line? Those big margins on uber wagons are being supported by leasing to peeps and poobahs with great credit scores.
April 28th, 2015 at 2:23 pm
Bought & rebuilt a 2010 Terrain in 2010. Spent more on airbag system than I did on body & mechanicals. Put 40k on it before Chinese metallurgy failed it, big time. 2 service depts. effed me good. Going back to Tahoes or any RWD body on frame.
April 28th, 2015 at 4:12 pm
Yep, that Chinese metallurgy will effe yoy every single time, it did a double F on me last year with a CV joint and wheel bearings. Learned my lesson, NO MORE CHINESE PARTS.
April 28th, 2015 at 4:16 pm
@2. The revenue, EBIT and Net Profit numbers do include all of Honda’s non-automotive operations (motorcycles and power products). That actually makes Honda’s Q1 numbers look disappointing. You would have thought that selling those products would have pushed its financial numbers past Ford.
April 28th, 2015 at 4:19 pm
With only one failure per 167 thousand deployments, no wonder it is hard to figure out the problem with those air bags. There aren’t that many failed ones to look at, even though there are millions of un-deployed ones in cars.
April 28th, 2015 at 4:24 pm
7 What failed on your Terrain? Was it drive train stuff, or something else? Also, was it OEM parts, or parts replaced as a result of the damage?
I’ve seen no indication that Tahoes are particularly more reliable, long term, than Cavaliers or LeSabres.
April 28th, 2015 at 5:23 pm
Kit, don’t you think the older GM truck-based SUV’s were more reliable than the current stuff?
April 28th, 2015 at 6:04 pm
12 That could be. The ones I know of with 200K+ miles are a few years old, but new enough to have the 5.3 engines.
April 28th, 2015 at 7:32 pm
@ Kit: Yesterday you said you sat in a pmc cargo van.Now with the back seat out of the wagon I will get,what’s your opinion on fitting a 1/4 scale cub fuse inside?
April 28th, 2015 at 7:33 pm
I meant to add that with the back seat out of the wagon it has the same dimensions for cargo van.
April 28th, 2015 at 7:45 pm
14, 15
The safe thing to do would be to measure the fuselage, and measure the van, but I,m pretty sure it would be long enough. The floor in my “short” gen one Caravan is about 6 feet, and I’m pretty sure the pmc is longer.
April 28th, 2015 at 7:47 pm
The Ford Transit connect passenger van has been a sales failure, why would the Dodge version be any different?
April 28th, 2015 at 7:52 pm
17 I’ve never seen either, but I’d think the appeal might be that they are smaller, lighter, and more basic than what are now calked minivans. If I didn’t have my 26 year old Caravan which I use for model air
April 28th, 2015 at 7:57 pm
planes, and occasionally for camping, I’d be more inclined to buy a pmc or tc for the purpose. I guess more people want “size and luxury,” which is why the tc wagon hasn’t done well.
April 28th, 2015 at 8:09 pm
14, 15 continued.
According to allpar, the PMC has an 87 inch load floor, which would be long enough for a 1/3 scale Cub fuselage, or nearly so.
April 28th, 2015 at 10:51 pm
Busa 1/4 scale J3=68″ fuse.It will fit,yeeehaww.
April 28th, 2015 at 10:56 pm
88 3/4″ for a 33% PA 18.I’ll bet that would fit with it angled in there,or remove the tailfeathers.
April 29th, 2015 at 11:38 am
‘Which Website’ left out my favorite, and I think a better one – http://www.Edmunds.com
April 29th, 2015 at 11:50 am
23 OK, what did they leave out?