HOW THE AUTOMAKERS ARE HELPING WITH HURRICANE SANDY RELIEF

By George Kennedy, Autoblog - To help those effected by Hurricane Sandy cope with the natural disaster, automakers are stepping up in various ways.  Known to us right now are contributions of aid or assistance by Ford, General Motors, Toyota, Fisker and Nissan.  Toyota and Ford have opted to give in the most straightforward fashion: donations of money.  Ford has announced that its own employees have collected US$50,000 to donate, and Toyota has stated that it will contribute US$1 million in support of relief efforts.  Both companies have made these contributions to the American Red Cross.

Other automakers have opted to offer tangible, on-the-ground resources to the relief effort.  GM has pledged 50 utility vehicles, including Express cargo vans, Traverse crossovers and Tahoe SUVs, to the Red Cross.  The vehicles will be fitted with 200 OnStar Hands-Free calling minutes and a month of turn-by-turn navigation.  GM has also donated US$250,000 to the Red Cross.

Fisker Automotive has offered up its 3.2-million-square-foot Wilmington, DE facility as a staging area for rescue crews and power trucks.

For many, part of the rebuilding process will be replacing their flooded vehicle(s).  To that end, Nissan North America has announced that it will offer discounted pricing and financing on new cars through January 2 to help victims replace the transportation they may have lost from flood or storm damage.  For current customers, Nissan is also offering payment extensions for the next three payments without fees.  Ford has also just announced a similar program, offering a US$500 discount on new vehicles and allowing current owners to skip a payment or two.

We are certain more automakers have/will come forward with aid similar to those efforts mentioned here.

WHAT IMPACT WILL HURRICANE SANDY HAVE ON CAR PRODUCTION?

By George Kennedy, Autoblog - On Monday, with Hurricane Sandy fast approaching, Wards Auto published a report speculating on how the storm might effect the auto industry.  In a general sense, it was predicted that plants in or near the storm's path could shut down as a precautionary measure.  With Sandy now having made landfall as a superstorm, it appears several production facilities were right in her path.

Two plants in Maryland that most certainly ceased production during the storm were a General Motors powertrain facility that builds heavy duty truck and SUV transmissions, while the other is a Volvo plant that produces Volvo and Mack truck engines.  The Swedish concern also has a Mack truck plant in Pennsylvania which is currently experiencing heavy rain and flooding.

Plants located in Virginia and West Virginia are currently being blanketed by heavy snows and more than 128,000 homes are without power.  A blizzard warning has been issued in West Virginia, Ohio and Michigan, both home to many automotive production facilities, are also in the midst of heavy snow and rain.  It will be unclear just how extensive the effect is on automotive production until the storm and its aftereffects have passed.

Depending on Sandy's path, plants in Ontario, Canada and upstate New York could still be effected, though it is suspected the largest hit on the auto industry could be a drop in sales.  The Wards Auto report suggests that October's industry sales could be 200,000 to 300,000 units less than expectations.  With the storm still making its way through the Appalachian region and much of the Northeast, only time will tell the true effect on the auto industry.