Leadpile’s Blog

According to Forbes.com, the big 3 auto makers have concluded testimonies in front of Congress. They are requesting emergency financial assistance and failed in their first attempt in front of Congress. Round 2- they get another chance to plea their case. However, Congress is looking to see if these big 3 auto makers actually have a plan in place. According to Forbes, “What they likely want to see is how the carmakers will lower their labor costs and develop more fuel-efficient cars U.S. consumers will want to buy. The companies are happy to lay out their future product plans, which include more hybrids, plug-in electric cars and new turbo-charged gasoline engines that sip fuel. But the rest is tougher to do.”  Let’s see how the next week or so pans out for GM, Chrysler and Ford.  My fingers are crossed for you.

Leadpile Lead Exchange, and I am sure all other lead companies, are hoping something positive comes out of the meeting with congress. We would love to see the demand pick back up!  

Something very interesting is going to be rolled out- the 1st FEMALE test dummy for the auto industry. That’s right- those test dummies that they put in our cars to test the safety of the car, will now include a female. This will help The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration get more accurate results on automobile testing they conduct on our cars. pretty funny that it is 2008 and this is just now being rolled out.
It’s amazing that you can’t open up a business section of a news website, without seeing something new going on with the auto industry. Gas prices, hybrid cars, SUVs, crash testing and also the auto finance industry in general. The other great thing that is happening with our cars is the new safety ranking that is going to be implemented. This will help all of us with a uniform safety rating system, that will determine safety on the potential cars we want to buy. It’s almost like having consumer reports in your back pocket to help you determine the safest car to buy. Once again… another great thing implemented to help out the consumer.
I hate saying it, but maybe this gas and lending crisis is pushing some buttons on some very needy things that had to happen in this world (more fuel efficient cars, lending laws that just don’t allow ANYONE to get a loan, and now some uniform safety standards to protect the consumers). We all know auto finance will be a popular vertical in the lead exchange space, and maybe this is just the beginning of it just changing a little in favor of the lenders, and what they can do with the loans they are giving out.

Once again- glass half FULL or half EMPTY?