Does Marketing Green Vehicles Matter in a Try-To-Survive Market? Topic Opens Tuesday at ATX - Consulting4Drive Business Forum at SAE

Telematics Provider Adds Automobile Business Discussion to Traditional Technical Presentations

DETROIT, April 14, 2009 -- Rising fuel efficiency standards, gasoline prices, and global temperatures have combined to drive automobile manufacturers to offer "green," alternative fuel vehicles. But is the global auto market truly along for the ride?

That question will be the focus of a two-hour panel, beginning at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, April 21, 2009, at the ATX - Consulting4Drive Executive Business Theater at the Cobo Center in Detroit. The three-day Executive Business Theater program is held in conjunction with the annual Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) World Congress.

Led by ATX President Steve Millstein, the session will explore whether international automobile manufacturers now face more challenging marketing issues brought on by the global financial crisis than marketing more environmentally friendly vehicles, whether alternative fueled vehicles will be relegated to niche market status, and if "green" vehicles have as much impact in foreign markets, particularly in the large emerging markets for vehicle sales such as China, India, Russia and Eastern Europe.

Joining Millstein on the panel will be Scott Miller, chief executive officer of Synovate Motoresearch; Alexander Edwards, president-automotive, Strategic Vision; and Paul Taylor, Ph.D., chief economist for the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA).

Millstein said the panel will also discuss whether automakers must have a hybrid-fueled vehicle to effectively compete in today's marketplace, or if it is sufficient to pursue a less expensive path - by simply boosting fuel efficiency through better engines, lower vehicle weight and engine idle-stop.

The panel also is expected to review the impact of a turbulent market on consumers' vehicle purchasing decisions around the globe, how much consumers will factor fuel efficiency and emissions control into their forthcoming vehicle purchasing decisions, and what in-vehicle features will be deemed by consumers as more critical than hybrid fueled in their next vehicle purchase.

ATX, one of the world's leading providers of customized connected vehicle (or telematics) services to global automobile manufacturers, teamed last year with Consulting4Drive to introduce the first Executive Business Theater at the traditional automotive engineering conference as a way to emphasize that technical advancements in the automotive industry must be balanced with the economic realities of today's rapidly changing business environment.

Over the course of the Business Theater's three days - April 20-22 - panel discussions are also planned on the challenges of selling cars in a downturn, moving vehicle production to a flexible solutions configuration, what kind of partnerships are critical to growth for today's vehicle manufacturers, and a long-term view of where the car industry may be headed.