The Motor Industry

This is an intermediate level test and will test you on both business and technical aspects of motor vehicle manufacture.

First name:

Last name:

Hybrid motor vehicles combine

	a petrol engine and electric power
	hydrogen technology and diesel power
	diesel and petrol technologies
	electic power and a diesel engine

The BRIC countries are

	Belgium, Russia, Indonesia and China
	Brazil, Romania, India and Cameroon
	Brazil, Russia, India and China
	Brazil, Russia, Indiana and California

Which of the following is true of the world motor industry?

	General Motors make the most cars but BMW is the most profitable
	Toyota make the most cars and Toyota is the most profitable
	Toyota make the most cars but General Motors is the most profitable
	General Motors make the most cars but Toyota is the most profitable

Few had heard of the Toyota Production System (TPS) until three academics in the car industry study programme run by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) wrote a book in 1991 called “The Machine that Changed the World”. (Source: http://www.economist.com/displaystory.cfm?story_id=3599000) Which of the following summarises the TPS?

	At the core of TPS is the combination of companies as a family (keiretsu); and just in time ... as [part of] ... drive to eliminate muda (waste) from the manufacturing process.
	At the core of TPS is elimination of waste and absolute concentration on consistent high quality by a process of continuous improvement (kaizen). Just in time ... as [part of] ... drive to eliminate muda (waste) from the manufacturing process.
	At the core of TPS is the elimination of waste (muda) and the practice by all employees at the start of the working day of ikebana (the Japanese art of flower arranging)
	At the core of TPS is knowledge of waste and an understanding by office workers of high quality in manufacturing. Just in time ... is [also seen to be part of] ... drive to eliminate muda (waste) from the administrative processes.

A ... study of the car industry by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) points out that average worldwide [car manufacturing] plant utilisation is only 69%, compared with 80% in 1990 ... car companies traditionally make money only when utilisation is more than 80%. The likely reason why car manufacturers only make profits when capacity utilisation is more than 80% is:

	Contributions per unit in the motor industry cannot be determined
	Variable costs per unit are the dominant factor
	The break even point is usually low
	Because fixed costs of car manufacturers are high

Which of the following is true?

	The top 10 tyre manufacturers account for more than 50% of total worldwide tyre sales
	The top 13 tyre manufacturers account for more than 70% of total worldwide tyre sales
	The top tyre manufacturer accounts for more than 70% of total worldwide tyre sales
	The top 5 tyre manufacturers account for more than 90% of total worldwide tyre sales

Fuel cells helped to put a man on the moon by providing astronauts with electricity and water but they have, so far, proved far too expensive for most down to earth applications. However, how do fuel cells work?

	Fuel cells produce electricity by reacting hydrogen and helium together by combustion ... The “exhaust” from this process is water and noxious pollutants such as carbon monoxide and oxides of nitrogen.
	Fuel cells produce torque by reacting helium and nitrogen together electrochemically ... The “exhaust” from this process is petrol.
	Fuel cells produce electricity by reacting hydrogen and oxygen together electromechanically ... The “exhaust” from this process is water and ice: there are also small amounts of noxious pollutants such as carbon monoxide and oxides of nitrogen.
	Fuel cells produce electricity by reacting hydrogen and oxygen together electrochemically ... The “exhaust” from this process is water: there are no noxious pollutants such as carbon monoxide and oxides of nitrogen.

Complexity of manufacture is something that has distinguished good from bad motor manufacturers. A few years ago Honda and General Motors were asked how long would it take them to produce one of every possible combinationof its product range? Their answers were ...

	Honda 45 minutes, General Motors 7,800,000 years
	Honda 45 minutes, General Motors 7,800,000,000 years
	Honda 45 minutes, General Motors 7,800,000,000,000 years
	Honda 45 minutes, General Motors 7,800,000,000,000,000 years

Which car manufacturer is Europe's most productive?

	The Nissan factory in Sunderland.
	The Honda factory in Swindon
	The Ford factory in Dagenham
	The BMW factory in Oxford (Cowley)

The number of passenger cars (including station wagons, estate cars and taxi cabs) and commercial vehicles produced in 2005 in the UK was:

	15,595,697 passenger cars and 806,753 comercial vehicles
	5,595,697 passenger cars and 606,753 comercial vehicles
	2,595,697 passenger cars and 406,753 comercial vehicles
	1,595,697 passenger cars and 206,753 comercial vehicles