RealityDriven

My How Things Have Changed

    by Chis Olliff, Senior Editor

When I moved to Detroit just 7 years ago, things were different. Besides the fact that no one knew about Bluetooth, IPODs, self-parking vehicles, ect….The auto industry was actually a fun, exciting place to work. I remember as a “welcome to Michigan” event, my good friend Steve brought a fleet vehicle from GM for us to take on an off-road adventure. There were many fun rides in different vehicles from the GM competitive fleet, such as my memorable ride to Frankenmuth in the back of a BMW 740IL traveling up I95 at 100mph. Uh……I mean…..75mph. And, who could forget sloshing around in my first Michigan winter in an Audi TT with summer tires….who could know that a car with ABS could slide all the way through an icy intersection…

Fast forward to 2006…. Gone are the vast and fun multi-brand competitive fleets at GM and Ford in the name of cost savings, and gone are the big team lunches we would all go on. Heck, I hear that you can not even get a Ford fleet vehicle to take home if you work there.

Besides all of the missing perks, the main thing that has changed is passion and excitement. No one seems to be excited to work in the industry anymore. With all the talks about big financial losses, layoffs, and buy-outs, it seems that most folks in this town are more focused on survival than more motivational factors. And this is not limited to the general level. It seems now that, instead of an overall attitude of “making the best products out there”, many engineering and design meetings are now about how to keep costs in line and get the cheapest solution. Granted, fuel and material costs have put a damper on things, but the passion and drive has definitely been lower of late. I guess a big sign of the of the times is the large number of die hard workers who have signed up to take a package and move out of the industry.

I think through all of this, one of the main things I have learned is that you can be passionate about something and not have to work in that industry. No one around here loves cars more than I do, but I have lost my interest in working in the industry. Yes, the ideal situation is to do what you love, but sometimes things change and you must adapt accordingly. Just ask the guy on the assembly line who has poured his life into building cars and now must either go back to school of find a new job in a new state.

Perhaps, in the next five or so years, the industry will pick up and the cycle will start again. There will be others to follow in our steps, and we can only hope that their road has less bumps than ours…

The Hidden Force Behind SUV Sales

 by Steve Lovett, Senior Editor

With fuel prices near all-time highs, and average fuel economy somewhat stagnant, much attention is being paid to the need of SUVs. Many are questioning the necessity of these and other light trucks such for family duty.

When I was a small child, I remember many road trips with my family of four. We’d load up ourselves and all our stuff in our 1979 Ford Pinto Squire 2-door wagon and traverse much of the countryside. We had plenty of room for ourselves and our baggage, and never had a complaint. And we weren’t alone. Many families were perfectly content with daily use and vacation travel in small and midsized cars. One of our editors at this publication can remember cross-country trips with 5 passengers in a Plymouth Horizon.

So why do today’s families drive vehicles that are so much larger than they drove 25 years ago? Have people become larger? While obesity rates are on the rise, this is hardly the reason. Do we carry more gear? Not likely. Not enough to make up the difference between a Pinto and an Expedition. 

The hidden cause behind the shift to light trucks being necessary for family transport is an increased emphasis on child safety. Twenty-five years ago, kids didn’t wear seat belts. Booster seats were for restaurants, and nobody used child safety seats. As a result, we could do more with less. Back in those days, people believed that you really didn’t need to wear seat belts, especially if you were in the back. Back seats were a virtual cocoon, which protected its occupants against anything that could possibly happen. John Kapla, an engineer in Detroit recalls, “I remember there were three kids. On trips, one of us slept across the rear seat, one slept across the floor and the third slept across the rear package shelf.” And that felt fine, everyone was safe because they were in the back seat.

Fast forward. Today’s kids are growing up riding bikes with helmets and knee pads. When I grew up we had knee pads alright; they were called scabs! Child safety seats, booster seats and seat belts are now the norm. Britney Spears was publicly lambasted recently for driving with her infant in her arms. Today, there is a completely different outlook on child safety.

If you’ve ever installed one of these bulky child safety seats in a vehicle, it becomes very clear why larger, three row vehicles are now necessary. These seats are not only heavy and cumbersome, but they take up a lot of real estate. So much, that two seats in the second-row of a sedan almost touch one another in the center, and three abreast is simply out of the question. Not to mention space to store bottles, toys and other gear. John Kapla’s family today would abeslutely require a three-row light truck of some sort, likely a Caravan or Suburban. It’s simply a reality for families today.

Are today’s families buying utility that they don’t need? Are they buying SUVs and vans to keep up with the Jones’? No. They are simply doing what we did twenty-five years ago in the context of today. They’re buying vehicles that allow them to transport their families and their stuff with safety and comfort. Back then, safety was simply the back seat. Today it’s the added complexity of the child safety seat.