Auto's & Moto's

The automaker’s new $25 million, 62,000-square-foot data center is one of a handful in the United States that’s certified by the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.

By J. Nicholas Hoover
InformationWeek

Many business technology organizations are pursuing green computing, but what does that actually look like? At Honda’s new data center in Longmont, Colo., it entails floors made of recycled concrete, office furniture crafted of reused steel and newsprint, low-flow automatic faucets, motion-sensor lights, energy-efficient servers, outside air for cooling, and an Energy Star-certified roof.

Honda isn’t insulated from the economic pressures squeezing U.S. automakers; its U.S. sales fell 32% in November compared with a year ago. Honda’s green IT push should lead to lower energy costs and other efficiencies, though the bigger impetus is a company-wide commitment to being environmentally friendly, says Jennifer Sepull, CIO of American Honda.

Honda’s 61,000-square-foot data center, which opened in October, is one of a handful of U.S. data centers certified by the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design rating system for green building construction. Honda spent more than $25 million on the data center, a price that included a premium for its green design. Because the facility is only 2 months old, Sepull declined to estimate just how much Honda stands to save in energy costs.

Honda selected building materials based on proximity to the data center’s location and materials that were produced in an “environmentally responsible manner,” Sepull says. And it recycled 73% of the construction waste associated with the project. The company left much of the site undeveloped and replanted trees and shrubs indigenous to the area.

Data center administrators were trained in how to be more energy efficient. For example, they were advised to decommission unused equipment quickly and to use management tools to ensure that servers are optimally provisioned. Honda has found that energy-monitoring tools aren’t up to snuff and that the data they generate needs to be more comprehensive. “They’re just coming on the market,” Sepull says. “We monitor electricity, but monitoring will get more advanced to give us better day-to-day awareness.”

The data center is just one example of a broader push. Like other companies, Honda is using videoconferencing in lieu of air travel when possible. The conference room used by its IT department has two flat-screen monitors. Just last week, Sepull avoided a trip to Japan thanks to the setup.

The company recycles everything from old computers to server racks to batteries and overhead projectors; employees lugged in 9 tons of equipment last year from their homes and offices.

BLACK AND WHITE
It’s saving on paper and ink, too. Within the last few months, Honda set defaults to black-and-white and double-sided printing everywhere in the company. That step alone is saving tens of thousands of dollars.

During a town hall meeting last year, Sepull gave her troops a call to action. Soon after, an employee-led “official green club” sprouted to brainstorm and bring in outside speakers to talk about green IT.

Honda’s now considering eliminating screen savers in favor of having monitors turn off. It’s also looking at desktop virtualization. Consolidation of systems continues, as does an increase in shared services among the company’s regional and global divisions.

The drive toward energy efficiency will continue and, along with technologies like demand planning software, will help Honda keep moving forward in a tough economy. Says Sepull, “There’s no complacency.”
By informationweek

By Sholnn Freeman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, December 3, 2008; Page D01

Carmakers continued to load on the discounts in November, but American consumers continued to slam on the brakes.

The industry tried everything. Companies offered zero-percent financing, “red tag” sales, employee-discount pricing and even buy-one-get-one-free pickup truck deals. Still, U.S. auto sales plunged to their lowest pace in 26 years. Overall, automakers sold 746,789 cars, trucks and minivans in the United States, down 37 percent from a year earlier, according to Autodata.

All major carmakers suffered steep declines, but Detroit was particularly hard hit. General Motors’ sales tumbled 41 percent, to 152,552. Ford sold 118,319 vehicles last month, a 30 percent fall. Chrysler sold 85,260, down 47 percent.

Jesse Toprak, a sales analyst at Edmunds.com, said the incentive programs have reached a point of diminishing returns, where virtually no amount of cash on the hood will move sales. He said Americans harbor deep economic fears.

“The majority of the decline is low consumer confidence,” he said. “Consumers are not showing up regardless of what kind of deals, regardless of how low gas prices go.”

Toprak said middle-class and upper-middle-class Americans — who make up the market for new car buyers — are reeling from steep erosions in home values and losses in 401(k) plans.

“They don’t know if they are going to have a job in the next few months,” he said. “It’s a bit depressing when you put it all together. Consumers don’t want to make a big-ticket purchase, and cars are the biggest purchase after homes.” The sales figures were also hurt by would-be buyers’ inability to get financing, Toprak said.

November’s sales, translated into the closely watched seasonally adjusted annualized sales rate, or SAAR, slipped to 10.18 million, the lowest selling pace since October 1982, according to preliminary figures by Autodata. Sales appeared to slow from October, when the seasonally adjusted selling pace was measured at 10.56 million.

Economists and industry analysts yesterday were looking for signs that the market was close to bottoming out. Bob Schnorbus, the chief economist at J.D. Power and Associates, said he expected stronger November results from automakers. He said the industry was struggling to get out of “unprecedented territory” and that fourth-quarter results may represent the low point for the industry, barring other large-scale financial calamities.

“It’s probably getting pretty close,” Schnorbus said. “That’s kind of cold comfort if it turns out that the recovery is very weak and protracted.”

U.S. sales of Japanese vehicles plummeted in November, even though the companies strongly increased discounts. According to Edmunds.com, Toyota spent $1,908 on average for vehicle discounts in November, a record for the company. Sales, though, dropped 34 percent, to 130,307 — the lowest sales level at Toyota in three years. Honda increased discounts to $1,130, but sales fell 32 percent, to 76,233. It was the lowest monthly sales volume for Honda in five years.

GM and Ford responded to the poor numbers by slashing North American production. GM said it will build 835,000 vehicles in the fourth quarter, 20 percent fewer than a year ago. GM has cut its first-quarter production plan by 32 percent, to 600,000 vehicles. At Ford, North American output in the first quarter will fall to 430,000 vehicles, a 38 percent decline.

Mark LaNeve, GM’s top marketing executive, called the industry’s results “awful.” He said in a prepared statement that consumers were scared and sitting on the sideline. He said the industry needed “appropriate economic stimulus” to get customers back into showrooms.

“We have outstanding products in the market, so it is particularly frustrating when economic uncertainty takes our customers out of the market,” he said.

Still, dealers are getting creative. In Davie, Fla., Rob Lambdin’s University Dodge has offered a truck at no charge in a buy-one-get-one-free deal. Under the deal, a buyer of a 2008 four-door Ram truck would get the two-door version free.
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