Welcome to IMVP
The International Motor Vehicle Program
Welcome to our recently upgraded website. Please browse the various sections, learn about the IMVP, and contact us if you have questions. We will be adding to the site over the coming months, and are especially eager to link to other automotive-related researchers and research consortia, so feel free to send us information about yourself or your organization if that makes sense. Please note that, while hundreds of research documents are available here, the most recent ones are available in full only to IMVP sponsors. Contact us if your organization would like to become a sponsor. Welcome to our site, and let us know your suggestions for improvements!
The Conundrum of the American Car Dealership System
Posted 9/7/2008 by Glenn Mercer
On the one hand, the franchised dealer system we see in the USA seems inefficient and antiquated: would another industry retailing $30,000 items park a few hundred thousand of them in the open air for 2 or 3 months before selling them? Would another industry effectively prohibit true internet sales of its goods? On the other hand, the system has been in place for about a century and shows no signs of going away soon. So what is behind its stubborn (and proud!) persistence? A recent
speech at a conference of dealers holds out some speculation about the answer
s.
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Is the Excitement About Low-Cost Cars Starting to Subside?
Posted 7/21/2008 by Glenn Mercer
Ever since the days of the Model T, the automotive world has been fascinated by the idea of somehow breaking the current paradigm and producing a viable car that is half the cost or less than most rival models. With the impending launch of the Tata Nano excitement about the low-cost car concept is reaching heights normally reserved for the debut of a new iPhone or a Batman movie. Take a look at a recent IMVP presentation on the topic and see what you think.
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The wonderful world of automotive regulation
Posted 6/23/2008 by Glenn Mercer
The auto industry is one of the most highly regulated in the world, because first it poses numerous environmental and safety issues, and second because it generates vast amounts of revenue and so is of great interest to customers and tax authorities alike. Thus regulators are constantly busy coming up with new rules, intended of course to advance the public good. But the devil is in the details, as we see that the best intentions often go astray when the regulations meet the road as it were. This IMVP presentation at the recent GERPISA conference shows how the unintended consequences of automotive regulation can be significant and in some cases quite negative.
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A handy guide to the great PHEV battery debate
Posted 5/21/2008 by Glenn Mercer
As gasoline hovers near $4/gallon in the USA, interest in plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs) is reaching great heights. A major hurdle in getting these cars to market is the viability of the large battery packs these cars are equipped with. The debate around battery technology choices (lithium? NiMH? what type of lithium cathode?) is vivid, to the point of being acrimonious. For a handy and seemingly unbiased guide to the various technology choices, check out a very new paper from the University of California - Davis's Institute of Transportation Studies.
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Welcome
Posted 5/20/2008 by Glenn Mercer
As our new website "goes live," we invite all members of the global automotive academic community to visit, explore, and suggest improvements.
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