1. U S.AUTO SCENE - METRO-EOITION • SEPTEMBER 20, 1999. PAGE 9
De lte B
Not Re--------­By Joseph Cabadas
News Director
Don' t exp ect th e auto mobile
companies to tout the advantages
of aluminum, said Jason Vines,
Nissan vi ce presid ent, to a gath­
er ing of aluminum industry r ep­
resentatives.
Vi nes, a I S-year veteran of the
former Chrysler Corp. and now
vice president of Nissan North
America Corporate Communica­
ti ons, spoke Sept. 9 to atte ndees
of The Aluminum Asso ciation's
dinner at Th e Henry Ford Mu­
seurn, Dearborn.
Vin es' comments were inter­
laced with various jo kes: Ford
Motor Co. is supposedly deciding
to build an all-aluminum version
of the Expedition s po rt-utillty-ve­
hicle, he said , on e that could be
slightly smaller than a Boeing 747
because of the weight savings.
Or poking fun at the Cadil lac­
Lincoln controvers y, and whi ch
domestic luxury di vision actually
had the No. 1 sales month earlier
this year, com menting that th e
Cadil lac Division of General
Motors Corp. announced sales for
the month of September.
When questioned why they an­
nounced sales bef ore th e month
was actually comp lete, a Cadi llac
spokesman said th e figures were
just an estimate either way , Vines
joked.
On a more serious note, Vines
advised th e attendees of the Alu­
minum Association conference
that they should "not just preach
about their product's benefits to
the detriment of co mpetitors" ­
i.e., that aluminum is "better" than
iron and steel because of its
lighter weight and recyclabil ity.
The comnanles of th e alu minum
fits, Automakers
to Ad t Aluminum
industry have to think like auto ­
motive suppliers and not just be
commodity peddlers , Vines said.
Th e best way to do this is to mov e
from the attitude of "we sell alu­
minum" to "we sell solutions,"
even if that means working in con­
cert with "your enemies" - i.e.,
the steel industry.
"We know that most likely, dur­
ing our lifetime, automobiles will
be composed of a number of dif­
ferent materials and th e alu minum
industry needs to share its re­
sources to help original equip­
ment manufact urers (OEMs) meet
th eir needs and the problems they
face and not just sell a nonferrous
metal," Vin es said.
Or iginally, aluminum was looked
at as a hi gh-t ech solution becaus e
of its light weight, he continued,
but aluminum pr oducts are so
commo uplace now that aluminum
companies shouldu't rely on the
auto industry to promote their
product.
Th e aluminum industry needs to
pr omote its product and have
more information than th eir cus­
tomers, the auto compani es.
"The aut om otive companies
aren't promoting the use of steel
- th e st eel industry is doing
that," Vin es said, to contrast th e
two metal industries' approaches.
Vin es also advised th e group
not to get sucked into a fight with
it s competitors for a competitive
edge, because the uglier and more
vocal a media war becom es, the
mo re li kely it is that th e indus­
try's customers, the auto compa­
ni es, may decide on a "winner ,"
which may not be the alumin um
industry.
"Play well with your peers " and
avoid one-upmanship," Vin es said.
"Oftentimes, one-upmanship leads
JASON VINES
companies to cutting off one of
their legs if it causes their com ­
peti to r, or competi tors, to los e
both legs.
"Y ou may win in th e press, bu t
yo u're still going tu limp wh en it s
over.
"The automobile indust ry has
been a benchmark for on e-up man­
sh ip," he co nti nued . "One com­
pany anno unced to a large col­
lection of auto moti ve journ ali sts
that they would soon come out
wit h a clean SUV. Not a cleaner
SUV, mind you, but a clean SUV.
"So, where does that put the in­
dustry, including the company
making the bold statement'? To the
media and to the public, the rest
of the industry was selling 'dir ty'
SUYs."
Th e alu minum industry, like the
auto industry, needs to develop a
.co hesive strategy wi th a "big pic­
ture vision," especially on public
policy issues, because it will ben­
efit its customers and each com­
pany too, Vines added.