Automotive News Europe - January 5, 2009 - 11

December 8, 2008 www.autonewseurope.com · PAGE 11 Questionnaire Poole enjoys challenges, physical and gastronomic Name: Belinda Poole. Belinda Poole, Director, Lexus (GB) Title: Director, Lexus (GB). Age: 41. Languages spoken: English plus French and German at beginner level. Nationality: British. Family: I’m not married, but have a partner who I share my life with. Countries lived in: UK, USA, Czech Republic, Belgium. Education and qualifications: A degree in mathematics and management science from the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology. What was your first car? The first car I owned was a brand new red Ford Fiesta Ghia. I loved this car and thought it was the smartest thing going. What’s in your garage? A Lexus GS 450h. I’m just about to change to an RX 400h, another Lexus Hybrid Drive product. Describe your perfect day. Lying in bed a bit longer when it’s a sunny day outside, then taking a long ride on the bike with my partner, exploring the villages of the UK countryside or along the coast. Later in the day a home cooked roast and glass of red wine. Belinda Poole studied mathematics and management science at the University Institute of Science and Technology in Manchester, England, before she joined Ford Motor Company’s order processing department in 1988. In 1995 she moved to Ford in Detroit to become marketing plans analyst. In 1998 she returned to Ford in the UK as general field manager, and the following year was appointed head of central European sales operations for Ford in the Czech and Slovak Republics. In 2001 she returned to the UK to become manager for marketing programs and communications. In 2005 she joined Toyota as marketing communications manager for Lexus Europe based in Brussels, and became general manager operations, Lexus Europe in 2006. In May 2008 she moved back to her native Britain to head up Lexus’ UK operations. What’s your greatest personal achievement? I spent some time doing voluntary work in the south of Chile with a group of people from around the world, working with local communities to help provide them new housing. What do you do to relax? Internet surfing, especially when I might be researching upcoming holidays or events. I enjoy cooking with my partner, although he’s definitely the better chef of the two of us. On holiday I enjoy outdoor activities, from hiking to scuba diving. What’s the first thing you do when you get home? Make some calls to family or friends and then cook an evening meal. If you could meet any figure from history, who would it be and why? I’d be interested to meet Charles Darwin who must have led a fascinating life, and quiz him on his journey across the world on the Beagle. I’d also be interested in meeting some of the great explorers like Scott of the Antarctic. What is your fondest memory? May I decline to answer that one? What was your last purchase? I have just moved into my new house so I have been buying things for the place like new curtains, a new lawn mower and some new furniture. What’s your greatest extravagance? Having a sabbatical to go traveling around the world. I spent time on all continents traveling across Australia, New Zealand, India, China, and Africa. How would you describe your character? Even-tempered, friendly, and fair with everyone. What traits do you dislike in others? Dishonesty and arrogance. When are you not at your best? I can sometimes get impatient if people around me are not pulling their weight or contributing as they should be. What was the most fun you had last year that had nothing to do with the car business? Traveling to Canada on vacation, a fabulous two weeks in and around Vancouver. What are your most treasured possessions? My family, friends and my partner. Where would you really like to live? Somewhere warm and sunny but with lots of life, like Barcelona or Buenos Aires, but I’m not sure if I would retire there as I would like to be close to my family in the UK. What’s your greatest regret? Not learning to scuba dive earlier. I started diving in 2003 and wish I had taken it up a lot sooner. What is your current state of mind? I have recently moved back to the UK and have settled into a new house so my state of mind is very positive and upbeat. There are plenty of things to look forward to in life at home and in business. What is your favorite restaurant? I don’t have one particular favorite. I like pretty much all foods and am always willing to try something new. I was recently on holiday in Japan and tried the deadly fugu, the pufferfish. Which extra talent would you most like to have? I’d like to be able to sing in tune, and to have a photographic memory. Ian Morton Confidential Gray cars get the breakdown blues If you want to avoid an inconvenient breakdown on your next trip, re-spray your car silver or red. That’s the bizarre message that emerges from a survey by the UK online motor magazine imotormag.co.uk. It sought to correlate a car’s paint color with its likelihood of needing roadside assistance. Blue cars are the most popular on the UK’s roads, with almost 7.5 million in circulation. According to imotormag, just two million of these – 27 percent – needed callouts in the past year. For red and silver cars the rate was just 25 percent, while for white and green models it was well over 30 percent. But gray cars topped the trouble charts with almost 39 percent requiring assistance. Even What a gray day. the few drivers brave enough to choose purple, gold or yellow paintwork were penalized with above-average callouts. By way of explanation of his seemingly inexplicable news, imotormag offers the theory that gray is the color favored by rental companies because it does not show damage and defects so easily. These cars, says imotormag, are exposed to higher mileages, so their chance of needing assistance is greater. and the originator of the idea. The line runners have a range of 25 kilometers between re-charges and – adding to their appeal – they also look like great fun! VW invests in two wheelers Volkswagen is always looking for new ways to make production faster and more efficient. The line-runner is a new idea that has been tested on production lines at VW’s Wolfsburg plant, where workers routinely need new parts to be brought to the assembly line, a task normally handled by mini-trucks. But now VW has turned to the US company Segway to add a special carrying cage to its two-wheel standup electric transportation device. Three specially adapted Segways can carry up to 25 kilos of parts along the 500 meter assembly line or to nearby halls. Running the line. The zero-emission Segways could replace the mini-trucks because they deliver parts much more quickly and efficiently according to Pierre Pommer, line runner project manager Isn’t he lovely? How do you get free tickets for a Stevie Wonder show? Easy – read the Master Blaster a review of his latest concert, Talking Book-style. That’s what Ford of Europe’s head of sales and marketing Ingvar Sviggum did when he found himself sitting next to the Motown legend on a flight back from Norway recently. Sviggum, who is Norwegian, told Wonder that his concert the previous night in Oslo had had great reviews in the newspaper. Wonder – being unfamiliar with the Norwegian language– asked Sviggum to read and translate the Stevie’s wonderarticle. fully generous. In return, Sviggum was invited to the Stevie Wonder concert in Germany the next night as the singer’s personal guest. We understand the concert was alright, uptight and, indeed, out of sight. Photo: Reuters A window into Fergie’s world. Famous addresses deleted When you’re famous and relatively wealthy, you don’t generally worry about the details. And when you sell your car, you don’t get your hands dirty deleting the address book in your satellite navigation system. Somebody else does that for you. But perhaps the rich and famous will start paying a little more attention to such details after the car used by Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, commonly known as Fergie, was sold at auction by the UK police. The new owner, taxi driver Steve Coulson, paid about ¤14,000 for the 2004, 3-liter Jaguar XJ and as an unexpected bonus, got the undeleted address book in the navigation system thrown in. Coulson told Britain’s The Sun newspaper: “The royals can thank their lucky stars the car was bought by me. I’ll just delete the addresses.” That’s what everyone would do, of course. 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Automotive News Europe - January 5, 2009

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