Tom Lane, an American who runs Nissan’s Product Strategy and Product Planning, had some surprising things to say at the 2008 Detroit Auto Show. While car manufacturers were busy wheeling out prototypes and promoting the latest-and-greatest designs against a glitzy backdrop, Lane spoke of a future world in which cars would play a lesser role.
In a recent interview with Fortune magazine, he pointed to global trends that may spell a carectomy-friendly shift towards mass transportation and away from automobiles. Younger consumers in Japan prefer to spend their money on cellphones and internet access. The expense of car ownership coupled with new congestion pricing structures in Europe steers the population away from buying cars.
Although the U.S. market – where there’s cheaper gas, more open space, and huge subsidies in place to keep the auto industry afloat – lags behind these trends, "the U.S. is headed that way," says Lane. "The challenge for us, going forward, is a more interesting offer. Doing a better Sentra or an Altima isn’t going to do it."
The key for Nissan and other auto companies will be figuring out how they can fit into this new transportation model. Nissan, unlike the allegedly “green” company Toyota, isn’t shying away from the new fuel efficiency standards of 35mpg by 2020. But Lane is looking past this myopic view of transportation solutions.
Fuel efficient cars are a step in the right direction – but it’s a band-aid fix to our transportation problems. It’s really impressive, and encouraging, to hear a big-wig industry insider like Lane speak so frankly about the decreasing role the car will play in the world’s transportation.
As rising economies (China, India, et al) are on the cusp of exploding onto the automobile market, established economic powerhouse nations may be ready for the transition to more sustainable solutions. If the move happens soon enough, perhaps the transportation model for developing nations to emulate won’t be centered on gas-guzzling cars.
by timtak & LeeLeFever
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Joshua,
I’m still not sure what trickle down effect really is. Are you saying the challenges of becoming a racer discourages you from commuting totally?
I do see the disparities in cycling teams choosing certain regions for training camps and the overall health of the region’s population. Thats a compare and contrast situation, I don’t really think racing discourages commuting.
All the folks I have known have turned to things like commuting to school or to work in winter to accumulate base miles. You can try that too?
Yet, I have to stick with you on the fact that not a lot of high professional cycling teams advocate cycling in general. They’re all there for the passion, money and fame. Nowadays you find bike companies doing things for advocacy.
The other irony is how top professional bike racers buy flashy cars and other expensive transportation means that are known to smoke out hydrocarbons. (Boonen for Lamborghini…)
But I guess when you’ve worked your butt off for most of the year on the cobbles of Paris and the mountains of the Alps, you have your right to do whatever you please with the money.
Professional bike racers get a lot of prize money and other royalty from media publicity, at least the successful ones. The idea that they live lavish lifestyles and don’t really commute by bicycle per se may mean something but I don’t know how true that is.
Thanks.