MMAL's Bosses comments on VE commodes

[Ext User(Dan---)]

Which is funny because MMAL cant give away their 380's for free,



Mitsubishi's boss tells BRUCE NEWTON why he thinks sales of the next
Commodore may not match the current range.



One of the early architects of Holden's vital new VE Commodore predicts the
car will not have the same sales success as the record-setting current VT-VZ
group.

Robert McEniry, now president and chief executive of Mitsubishi Motors
Australia, believes rising fuel prices, more flexible vehicle financing and
lifestyle changes have eroded the base upon which traditional Australian
large cars have built their sales base.

"I would be surprised if VE was 80 per cent as successful as VT," Mr McEniry
says. "That's my gut feel."

Holden has spent about $1 billion on the VE. Its styling will be revealed
next Sunday.

Despite his prediction, Mr McEniry does expect the VE to be an outstanding
vehicle - and he should know. Even though he left Holden and General Motors
in 2000 after a long career, his last task was developing a global
rear-wheel-drive architecture strategy, and elements of that have flowed on
into the VE.

Mr McEniry would like to see the VE energise the large-car market, working
on the theory that interest would spill over to the Adelaide-built 380,
which is averaging only 1100 sales a month.

"If the VE spikes the market, then an extra 3000 or so sales a year would
put (Mitsubishi) in a pretty good position," he said. "But if it doesn't we
are at a point where we can bungle along until the next recovery when people
get over the fuel shock.

"The question will be whether that will ever happen.

"The other factor playing on this is that in the good old days you had the
fleet market to support those big cars, and novated leasing has changed that
dramatically.

"Then there are lifestyle needs that have changed. The price of things such
as our new Triton are so competitive now that you can actually change from
car to car as you go through your life.

"So the dynamic of what you want and what you buy has changed significantly,
and that I think will have an impact on that segment as well."

Mr McEniry said a slow-selling Commodore also meant problems for the
components industry that supplies parts to the local manufacturers.

"If the VE doesn't get the result for the total segment and the others start
to decline as well, what is the impact on the local supplier network, and is
that a house of cards?

"Our supplier network has been incredibly supportive, and the fundamental
reason is that the volume of Mitsubishi work in their total volume is not
do-or-die stuff. But if the others aren't getting their volume then the
supplier investment base starts to change. That's the hazard."

GM Holden will officially reveal its VE Commodore in Melbourne this Sunday.

Drive Online will cover the event with live updates from Sunday afternoon.
On Monday, Holden will detail the design influences behind its new large
car, and the engineering influences on July 24. The launch campaign ends
with a drive program at the end of this month.


--
Regards
Dan
Heaven is Hell.

[Ext User(Ron)]

"Dan---" <575hp@detroitdieselpower.com> wrote in
news:12b9e0jrgvqb94a@corp.supernews.com:

> Which is funny because MMAL cant give away their 380's for free,
>
>
>
> Mitsubishi's boss tells BRUCE NEWTON why he thinks sales of the next
> Commodore may not match the current range.
>
>
>
> One of the early architects of Holden's vital new VE Commodore
> predicts the car will not have the same sales success as the
> record-setting current VT-VZ group.
>
> Robert McEniry, now president and chief executive of Mitsubishi Motors
> Australia, believes rising fuel prices, more flexible vehicle
> financing and lifestyle changes have eroded the base upon which
> traditional Australian large cars have built their sales base.
>
> "I would be surprised if VE was 80 per cent as successful as VT," Mr
> McEniry says. "That's my gut feel."

His gut feel is way off :-)
He said the 380 Magna would get Mitseeshitsee out of the DooDoo :-)
ROTFLMAO..

> Despite his prediction, Mr McEniry does expect the VE to be an
> outstanding vehicle - and he should know. Even though he left Holden
> and General Motors in 2000 after a long career, his last task was
> developing a global rear-wheel-drive architecture strategy, and
> elements of that have flowed on into the VE.

Bullshit!

He fucked up badly in his current job :-) How in hell can he comment on
GMH!!!!

>
> Mr McEniry would like to see the VE energise the large-car market,
> working on the theory that interest would spill over to the
> Adelaide-built 380, which is averaging only 1100 sales a month.

His cars are utter CRAP! GMH is way ahead.....

> "If the VE spikes the market, then an extra 3000 or so sales a year
> would put (Mitsubishi) in a pretty good position," he said. "But if it
> doesn't we are at a point where we can bungle along until the next
> recovery when people get over the fuel shock.

Don't hold your breath :-)
There will be plenty of 2006 Magna 380 left for 2008 :-)

>
> "The question will be whether that will ever happen.
>
> "The other factor playing on this is that in the good old days you had
> the fleet market to support those big cars, and novated leasing has
> changed that dramatically.

Yep, now moving to LPG..

> Mr McEniry said a slow-selling Commodore also meant problems for the
> components industry that supplies parts to the local manufacturers.

Slow selling?????

What an all time looser...No small wonder MMAL grabbed him LOL :-)

Ron

[Ext User(Noddy)]

"Dan---" <575hp@detroitdieselpower.com> wrote in message
news:12b9e0jrgvqb94a@corp.supernews.com...

> "I would be surprised if VE was 80 per cent as successful as VT," Mr
> McEniry says. "That's my gut feel."

Given that not one single prediction this wanker has made about the 380 has
come anywhere near being true, I doubt anyone at Holden will be shaking in
their boots.

MMAL can't do *anything* other than talk at the moment.

--
Regards,
Noddy.

[Ext User(Spear and Magic Helmet)]

Noddy wrote:

> MMAL can't do *anything* other than talk at the moment.

Incorrect. They can also pray that people listen :)

[Ext User(Noddy)]

"Spear and Magic Helmet" <speed_saves@yahoo.com.au> wrote in message

> Incorrect. They can also pray that people listen :)

Touché.

It ain't working though :)

--
Regards,
Noddy.

[Ext User(Dan---)]

On Wed, 12 Jul 2006 09:48:22 +0000, Noddy wrote:

>
> "Dan---" <575hp@detroitdieselpower.com> wrote in message
> news:12b9e0jrgvqb94a@corp.supernews.com...
>
>> "I would be surprised if VE was 80 per cent as successful as VT," Mr
>> McEniry says. "That's my gut feel."
>
> Given that not one single prediction this wanker has made about the 380 has
> come anywhere near being true, I doubt anyone at Holden will be shaking in
> their boots.

Yeah sounds McEniry has a chicken bone stuck in his gullet. Nervous people
like him comes up with some bullshit excuse. :-)


--
Regards
Dan
Heaven is Hell.

[Ext User(Dan---)]

On Wed, 12 Jul 2006 09:20:14 +0000, Ron wrote:


>>
>> "I would be surprised if VE was 80 per cent as successful as VT," Mr
>> McEniry says. "That's my gut feel."
>
> His gut feel is way off :-)
> He said the 380 Magna would get Mitseeshitsee out of the DooDoo :-)
> ROTFLMAO..

That gut feeling is severe nerves really. The new Camry/Aurion and VE is a
major threat to MMAL.

>
>> Despite his prediction, Mr McEniry does expect the VE to be an
>> outstanding vehicle - and he should know. Even though he left Holden
>> and General Motors in 2000 after a long career, his last task was
>> developing a global rear-wheel-drive architecture strategy, and
>> elements of that have flowed on into the VE.
>
> Bullshit!
>
> He fucked up badly in his current job :-) How in hell can he comment on
> GMH!!!!

He is an EX GMH manager but probably couldn't manage a root in a brothel
with a fist full of cash.

>
>>
>> Mr McEniry would like to see the VE energise the large-car market,
>> working on the theory that interest would spill over to the
>> Adelaide-built 380, which is averaging only 1100 sales a month.
>
> His cars are utter CRAP! GMH is way ahead.....

>
>> "If the VE spikes the market, then an extra 3000 or so sales a year
>> would put (Mitsubishi) in a pretty good position," he said. "But if it
>> doesn't we are at a point where we can bungle along until the next
>> recovery when people get over the fuel shock.
>
> Don't hold your breath :-)
> There will be plenty of 2006 Magna 380 left for 2008 :-)

By then they would be recycled into sheet irons for roofs or sheds. :-)

>
>>
>> "The question will be whether that will ever happen.
>>
>> "The other factor playing on this is that in the good old days you had
>> the fleet market to support those big cars, and novated leasing has
>> changed that dramatically.
>
> Yep, now moving to LPG..

Yup VE LPG model is on the list.

>
>> Mr McEniry said a slow-selling Commodore also meant problems for the
>> components industry that supplies parts to the local manufacturers.
>
> Slow selling?????
>
> What an all time looser...No small wonder MMAL grabbed him LOL :-)

Probably thought it would be a tax write off. :-)

--
Regards
Dan
Heaven is Hell.

[Ext User(Noddy)]

"D Walford" <walford@iprimus.com.au> wrote in message
news:44b4f1a7$0$488$61c65585@uq-127creek-reader-

> Depends how the "80% as successful" is measured.
> If he's talking about total sales he doesn't have to predict much, sales
> of all large cars are well down, a new model will bring a temporary sales
> increase but I doubt it will last long.

A lot of that depends largely on the car itself though I expect.

His comments seemed to leave a lot of room for ambiguity, in that if the car
*isn't* as successful as GM would like it to be, he can claim he "predicted"
it without really stating why it failed. It it fails to sell because it's a
shit car, he'll cop that just as much as he will if it fails because petrol
prices are hurting people.

All he's really done is taken a guess that large car sales will be down, and
my sister could have done that.

> IMO unless fuel prices stabilize or fall sales of large cars will continue
> to plummet and there isn't much chance of either happening.

I tend to agree, although I'd add that it will affect some more than others.

I mean, it's doing it right now. Petrol prices are getting close to $1.50 a
litre here in Melbourne yet Holden are still managing to sell 5 and a half
thousand Commodores a month. MMAL, on the other hand, is really *struggling*
to move 1500 380's, despite them being offered at more competitive prices,
having better warranties and being somewhat cheaper to run.

At the end of the day, while petrol prices will influence the choice of some
people, there will still be a considerable number who won't give a shit.

> Only thing that may save the traditional large Aussie car would be LPG and
> the manufacturers haven't been falling over themselves promoting LPG or
> making LPG equipped cars cheaper.

No they haven't, and this really surprises me.

LPG as a motor fuel is as close to perfect as you can get in my opinion, and
I haven't owned at least one car without it in the last 20 years. The
technology exists today for some *very* elaborate lpg systems to be
implemented on the assembly line which would most likely see slight
performance *gains* while cutting running costs by better than half, yet the
manufacturers seem to be doing absolutely fuck all about it in the main.

When they do, like Ford's dedicated Egas Falcon, it ends up being a piss
poor offering that is problematic, which allows them to conclude that lpg
powered cars aren't worth the touble.

Fucking idiots.

I can tell you right now that if I was in charge of one of our local
manufacturers, the very first thing I'd be doing would be getting a reliable
direct gas injected lpg model onto the market as quickly as possible, and
offering it up to the media for them to blurt about it's cost effectiveness.

Why MMAL aren't doing this is fucking amazing.

> Ford's E gas car has a poor reliability reputation and Holdens optional
> LPG must be so expensive I don't think I've ever seen one.

Me either.

--
Regards,
Noddy.

[Ext User(Jason James)]

"D Walford" <walford@iprimus.com.au> wrote in message
news:44b4f1a7$0$488$61c65585@uq-127creek-reader-03.brisbane.pipenetworks.com.au...
> Noddy wrote:
> > "Dan---" <575hp@detroitdieselpower.com> wrote in message
> > news:12b9e0jrgvqb94a@corp.supernews.com...
> >
> >> "I would be surprised if VE was 80 per cent as successful as VT," Mr
> >> McEniry says. "That's my gut feel."
> >
> > Given that not one single prediction this wanker has made about the 380
has
> > come anywhere near being true, I doubt anyone at Holden will be shaking
in
> > their boots.
>
> Depends how the "80% as successful" is measured.
> If he's talking about total sales he doesn't have to predict much, sales
> of all large cars are well down, a new model will bring a temporary
> sales increase but I doubt it will last long.
> IMO unless fuel prices stabilize or fall sales of large cars will
> continue to plummet and there isn't much chance of either happening.
> Only thing that may save the traditional large Aussie car would be LPG
> and the manufacturers haven't been falling over themselves promoting LPG
> or making LPG equipped cars cheaper.
> Ford's E gas car has a poor reliability reputation and Holdens optional
> LPG must be so expensive I don't think I've ever seen one.

Agree,..there are some pretty frightening predictions on the price of petrol
in the next even just 5 yrs,..when you cruise the secondhand yards, they are
full of unsold Falcodores. The public should be persuaded to get over the
natural disinclination they have for LPG, cause without it, the large car
market will not do as well as recent yrs again,...I mean the average Joe
only has so much money for fuel.

Medium sized large fours with all the multi-valve, VVT and turbo-models for
high performance, are the way as far as I can see,..unless, this continual
price rising stops.

I mean, they can produce a universal 4 cyl "super-motor" with bullet-proof
internals, and have "dial your hp" available with turbos. Pretty
radical,..and we've seen "world this and that " not come to fruition before
eg Austin 1800 and the Camira "J" car were touted as world cars, till the
end of the century in the case of the 1800 IIRC. But powerplants, the
probable most expensive part and the heart of where most of the economy
comes from, could be univeralised.....just me thinking :-)

If you do need a large vehicle, and dont want a 300hp four cyl "supermotor",
then there's the option of a larger motor still.



Jason

[Ext User(Dan---)]

"Noddy" <dg4163@dodo.com.au> wrote in message
news:44b4fc6b$1@news.comindico.com.au...
>
>
> I can tell you right now that if I was in charge of one of our local
> manufacturers, the very first thing I'd be doing would be getting a
> reliable direct gas injected lpg model onto the market as quickly as
> possible, and offering it up to the media for them to blurt about it's
> cost effectiveness.

Man you and me run GMH the Efijy would be born and some serious muscle cars
would be made for sale not just a pipe dream. :-)

--
Regards
Dan.

[Ext User(Dan---)]

"Noddy" <dg4163@dodo.com.au> wrote in message
news:44b4fc6b$1@news.comindico.com.au...

>
> I can tell you right now that if I was in charge of one of our local
> manufacturers, the very first thing I'd be doing would be getting a
> reliable direct gas injected lpg model onto the market as quickly as
> possible, and offering it up to the media for them to blurt about it's
> cost effectiveness.

If Ford or Holden offered direct injection LPG system on their V8's (prefer
the Gen 4 V8) donk I would seriously switch to dedicated LPG in a flash.

Oh well I haven't really whinged about fuel costs because I know it aint
gonna do nothing to change the current prices.

And I still think the mrs is more expensive than my damn Calais or 4x4 ute.
;-)

--
Regards
Dan
Heaven is Hell.

[Ext User(Ron)]

D Walford <walford@iprimus.com.au> wrote in
news:44b58315$0$498$61c65585@uq-127creek-reader-
03.brisbane.pipenetworks.
com.au:

> Noddy wrote:
>
>
>> LPG as a motor fuel is as close to perfect as you can get in my
>> opinion, and I haven't owned at least one car without it in the last
>> 20 years. The technology exists today for some *very* elaborate lpg
>> systems to be implemented on the assembly line which would most
>> likely see slight performance *gains* while cutting running costs by
>> better than half, yet the manufacturers seem to be doing absolutely
>> fuck all about it in the main.
>>
>> When they do, like Ford's dedicated Egas Falcon, it ends up being a
>> piss poor offering that is problematic, which allows them to conclude
>> that lpg powered cars aren't worth the touble.
>>
>> Fucking idiots.
>>
>
> Couldn't agree more, its difficult to understand whats going on
> especially at Ford since Falcons have been known to run well on LPG
> since forever.
> If the aftermarket LPG specialists can fit equipment thats well
> designed and made why can't Ford, I don't believe its 100% related to
> cost although thats got to be a factor.
> I can't see why they couldn't build a dedicated gas Falcon as a no
> cost option or if there is a price difference it shouldn't be much.
>
>> I can tell you right now that if I was in charge of one of our local
>> manufacturers, the very first thing I'd be doing would be getting a
>> reliable direct gas injected lpg model onto the market as quickly as
>> possible, and offering it up to the media for them to blurt about
>> it's cost effectiveness.
>>
>> Why MMAL aren't doing this is fucking amazing.
>
> It could be the edge they need, offer LPG at no extra cost and watch
> sales increase dramatically.

LOL :-)

I think MMAL need a LOT more than that :-)
Reliability and dreadful resale is the killer.

Ron

[Ext User(Noddy)]

"Dan---" <575hp@detroitdieselpower.com> wrote in message
news:12bb1678pg5mi1a@corp.supernews.com...

> Man you and me run GMH the Efijy would be born and some serious muscle
> cars would be made for sale not just a pipe dream. :-)

That goes without saying :)

--
Regards,
Noddy.

[Ext User(Noddy)]

"D Walford" <walford@iprimus.com.au> wrote in message
news:44b58315$0$498$61c65585@uq-127creek-reader-

> Couldn't agree more, its difficult to understand whats going on especially
> at Ford since Falcons have been known to run well on LPG since forever.

We need to bear in mind that we *are* talking about people who feel it
necessary to have a simple clutch failure analyised by NASA for 6 months
while corner mechainc could have solved the problem in a couple of days :)

> If the aftermarket LPG specialists can fit equipment thats well designed
> and made why can't Ford, I don't believe its 100% related to cost although
> thats got to be a factor.

Agreed.

> I can't see why they couldn't build a dedicated gas Falcon as a no cost
> option or if there is a price difference it shouldn't be much.

Absolutely.

The equipment required isn't all that expensive, and would be remarkably
cheap if Ford were buying it in bulk for assembly line use. It would be
cheaper again with dedicated gas models when you consider the trade off of
not fitting all the necessary petrol components.

> It could be the edge they need, offer LPG at no extra cost and watch sales
> increase dramatically.

I entirely agree.

If Mitsubishi wants to have any chance at all of avoiding going into
receivership, then they need to get a low cost lpg powered version of the
380 onto the market yesterday.

The talk of them "experimenting" with Diesels is a wank, as the public by
and large isn't going to embrace diesel powered cars while they can see the
price per litre being not all that different from petrol, and implementing a
diesel engine isn't an immediate option.

However, they could have an lpg version on the showroom floor in a matter of
weeks, and that would lift their game by some significant margin I expect.

--
Regards,
Noddy.

[Ext User(Noddy)]

"D Walford" <walford@iprimus.com.au> wrote in message
news:44b5840a$0$498$61c65585@uq-127creek-reader-

> Its amazing how many people still think LPG engines don't last as long as
> petrol engines despite the opposite being true.
> Many also believe that LPG equipment is problematic which is also wrong.

Which, goes part of the way into the mindset of the manufacturers I expect.

I imagine they think the public, by and large, aren't interested in lpg for
whatever reason, and while there exists a certain level of ignorance in
relation to lpg, I think the difference between the manufacturers perception
of public opinion and the *actual* public option are very different indeed.

--
Regards,
Noddy.

[Ext User(Noddy)]

"Ron" <X101@newsguy.com> wrote in message
news:Xns97FF6431DFDBEmcgricenewsguycom@129.250.170 .82...

> I think MMAL need a LOT more than that :-)
> Reliability and dreadful resale is the killer.

As much as I think MMAL is on a fast track down the S-Bend, reliability
hasn't been a problem for them in well over a decade, and doesn't affect
anything they currently offer for sale.

The First generation Magna was without doubt one of the greatest heaps of
shit ever sold in this country, and rates right up there with other notable
classics like the JB Camira. However, the problems were well sorted by the
early 90's and Magna's since then have largely been as reliable as anything
else.

Resale, however, is another issue entirely and that *is* a major problem for
them that simply will not go away, and Mitsubishi largely has no one but
themselves to blame for that.

For the most part of the last 10 years MMAL did very little to update their
Magna range in terms of design changes, and to compensate for this went on a
constant "factory discount" spree to make the cars seem continually seem
like they were good value for money.

This might have helped new car sales to a degree, but it did absolutely fuck
nothing for the value of used ones other than piss off owners who bought new
and saw their vehicles depreciate faster than Telstra shares. Of course, the
company couldn't give a shit about the value of used cars, as they've
already made their money on them.

Still, you would recon they would learn from their own mistakes.

Recent price restructuring of the 380, which was "in response to consumer
demands" (yeah, right), did very little for sales of new cars, and royally
pissed off the few buyers who bought one before the price change. Promises
of "refunds" to existing owners seem to be little more than token gestures
as well if complaints in the media of the pissy offers owners have received
are anything to go by.

--
Regards,
Noddy.

[Ext User(Dan---)]

"D Walford" <walford@iprimus.com.au> wrote in message
news:44b59b58$0$496$61c65585@uq-127creek-reader-03.brisbane.pipenetworks.com.au...

>>
> I thought you said she is a vet, she should be making a fortune with the
> fees they usually charge:-)
>

She only a vet because she loves animals.

Money well she likes to shop. :-/

--
Regards
Dan
Heaven is Hell.

[Ext User(Marco)]

Noddy wrote:
>
> I imagine they think the public, by and large, aren't interested in lpg for
> whatever reason, and while there exists a certain level of ignorance in
> relation to lpg, I think the difference between the manufacturers perception
> of public opinion and the *actual* public option are very different indeed.

I think part of the problem is the immediate loss of 50% of your boot
space if you install a dual-fuel system, so dedicated gas systems
should be the place for manufacturers to start.

But I agree, you'd think Ford would be running full page ads in all the
papers and taking out TV ads telling the world that they can sell you a
full sized family car with half the fuel costs of anything else on the
market, and in the current climate you'd be knocked on your arse in the
street by the rush of people heading for the nearest Ford dealership.

Like you, I don't understand why this hasn't happened.

Marco

[Ext User(mackeb)]

> It could be the edge they need, offer LPG at no extra cost and watch
> sales increase dramatically.

A fantastic idea.

I reckon they should offer a *high* perfromance LPG only V8. I'd buy
one and I'm sure a few others here would.

Imagine 350 kW SS on striaght LPG...

[Ext User(Fraser Johnston)]

"Noddy" <dg4163@dodo.com.au> wrote in message
news:44b58f14$1@news.comindico.com.au...
>
> "Dan---" <575hp@detroitdieselpower.com> wrote in message
> news:12bb1678pg5mi1a@corp.supernews.com...
>
>> Man you and me run GMH the Efijy would be born and some serious muscle cars
>> would be made for sale not just a pipe dream. :-)
>
> That goes without saying :)

They'd go broke in a week but it would be a fucking great week. : )

Fraser