Floods disrupt auto production in Thailand

BusinessWeek

BANGKOK
Severe flooding has forced a halt to Honda's and Toyota's assembly lines in Thailand that account for about 7 percent of their combined global car production. American automakers Ford and General Motors are faring better.

Typhoon-driven flooding has whipsawed the Southeast Asian country since late July, killing more than 280 people and inflicting billions of dollars in damage. Flood waters from higher ground in northern and central Thailand are now menacing the capital Bangkok.

The disruption to production at Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co. comes just as they bounce back from the March 11 earthquake and tsunami in Japan that destroyed autos parts suppliers and upended car production around the world.

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Cuba lifts 50-year ban on buying and selling cars

HAVANA: Cuba has authorised auto sales among individuals easing a 50-year-old ban that has helped make the island a living museum of vintage cars.

Until now, Cubans have only been permitted to sell each other vehicles built before the country's 1959 revolution, which has given long life to the US chrome and fin-tail antiques that swarmed pre-revolutionary Havana.

The new regulations, published in the Official Gazette, had been expected as part of a series of reforms being undertaken by President Raul Castro to ease state controls on the economy and encourage some forms of small-scale private enterprise.

The regulations provide for "the transfer of ownership of vehicles for purchase-sale or donation among Cubans living on the island or foreigners who are residents of Cuba."

Ordinary Cubans will still be prevented from buying new cars, which are restricted under the new rules to buyers with dollars or convertible pesos engaged in "work on assignment by the state or in its interest".

But tens of thousands of Cubans who were allowed to buy Soviet-made vehicles through their workplace before 1990 will now be able to sell them legally.

Also on the market will be newer imports that the government has allowed artists, athletes and doctors working in overseas missions in places like Venezuela to bring home with them.

Foreigners living in Cuba will be allowed to buy or import up to two vehicles under the new rules.

Cubans who emigrate - some 38,000 a year - will now be allowed to sell their vehicles or transfer ownership of them to family members.

For retired musician Lazaro Gonzalez, the new measures provide the long-awaited opportunity for him to buy a Russian Lada from his sister, who works in Chile.

"This (transaction) is something normal, which never should have been banned," Gonzalez said. "It's another one of these absurd prohibitions that Raul Castro has removed since coming to power."

Allowing car purchases and sales is seen as among the most important of some 300 reforms adopted in April by the Communist Party Congress, which aimed at keeping the centrally planned system from collapse but stopped short of embracing a market-led economy.

Other measures expected to shake up the lives of ordinary Cubans included introducing the right to buy or sell homes or receive a bank loan.

Most Cubans own their homes and do not pay taxes but have only been allowed to exchange, not sell them until now. Details on the home sales measure should be published before the end of the year, sources said. – Bernama-NNN-Mercopress

Women prefer men to take the lead - in car maintenance

 The Star Motoring: Saturday, July 16, 2011 (SOURCE) 

Women prefer men to take the lead - in car maintenance

LONDON: Women are still passing on the responsibility of car servicing to male counterparts, according to new research from car servicing network, Bosch Car Service.

Just three in 10 women said that they take their own cars for a service, compared with seven in 10 men. While neither men nor women expressed a particular ‘dread’ towards car servicing when asked to compare it with any other household chores, a significantly greater number of women (35%) stated that they were not confident that they would get a good experience from a car service, as opposed to just 24% of men.

“It is clear that there is still a feeling of discomfort amongst women drivers towards taking their cars in for a service, which could be why they are leaving it up to men”, said Bosch Car Service Concept manager, Howard Price.

“The majority of customers in general (70%) already feel confident that they will get a good experience of getting a car serviced, and this is good news for the profession. However, there are still discrepancies according to gender and age; car servicing professionals need to continue to do all they can to build the same levels of confidence among all customers, regardless of whether they are male or female, old or young.”

The survey was conducted to compare drivers’ perceptions and to highlight any concerns amongst the public towards car servicing. Almost half of the women asked stated that they leave car servicing up to the men in their families, with 36% leaving it to husbands, 6% boyfriends and 4% dads.

Bosch Car Service, which has over 500 garages in its British-wide network, recently released the results of its annual customer satisfaction survey, scoring 99% for overall customer experience.

The survey also revealed that three in ten drivers under the age of 24 admitted to letting mum and dad deal with the responsibilities of car maintenance, and just three in ten took their own cars in for a service.

This was significantly less than the percentages from other age groups that take their own cars to be serviced – with all other age groups showing as approximately 50%. In contrast, younger drivers didn’t express any greater concern about car servicing experience in general than any of their older counterparts.

Howard continued: “With younger drivers, the reason for leaving it up to parents is most probably because of inexperience – as well as cost – rather than feeling unconfident in the experience of car servicing.”

Although younger drivers expressed no greater dread or concern about car servicing overall, they were significantly more concerned than any other drivers about garages overlooking faults, with 20% stating this as their biggest concern. This varied significantly with the thoughts of older drivers, who – at aged over 35 – averaged just 8% who had the same concern.

“This could indicate a wider lack of confidence in vehicle maintenance amongst newer drivers”, continued Howard.

“Garages need to reassure younger and newer drivers, and make an effort to explain to them about any problems that are detected in their vehicles to make sure they gain an understanding – and therefore a confidence – in maintaining a car, detecting faults, and staying safe on the roads.”