International Business article on drifting

[drifts135]

So for my International Business class I have to do a presentation on an article that is about something I'm interested in, but has to pertain to international business. I'm searching and searching for some sort of article involving drifting, d1, anything around the motorsport that has some sort of numbers or fiscal measurement of how the expansion of D1GP and drifting are being affected positively or negatively by performing in events in new and foreign nations beyond Japan and the US.

IE. Something relating to how the Drift World Series in the US with drivers from Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, Australia, etc. had some sort of positive/negative affect on D1, the market, something/anything.

Any help is appreciated because I am coming up empty-handed right now and have been searching for a while. Thanks.

-Jesse

[WanganRunner]

This is a stretch, lol.

Talk about Grameen Bank and microfinance or exchange-rate arbitrage for Euro investors in US securities or something like that. Something where it sounds like you know what you're talking about.

Trying to make an Int'l Biz presentation on drifting is trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. It's going to come off as forced and ridiculous.

[azndoc]

You should talk about how drifting ruins lives.

It ruined mine.

Done and done.

[drifts135]

Word.

Since the prof said to do the presentation on something of interest to you I figured I'd shoot for something outside of gas prices, securities, and stock. The only other paper/presentation done so far was on NBA players going to Europe so I figured 'what the hell' and give it a shot on something I have a little bit of interest in.

Being that the presentation would be on drifting too, it would be fairly easy for me to stretch and bs the topic and information since it would be on a topic no one in the class would have a clue about, unlike something dealing with oil and stock where I actually may have to have a clue about something I'm not as informed on or easy to bs to a class full of people who are fairly well informed on the same topic.

Just trying to avoid the generic topics, especially because finding an article seems to be my biggest hiccup in getting this whole paper/presentation done.

[HyperTek]

talk about the increase of ebay knock off drift parts putting japanese companies out of business.. lol jk


you could talk about D1s global expansion... back in 01 it was pretty small.. as it gained popularity, and i think thanks to the internet, people started realizing what they where doing with these cars, and internet videos started popularizing the sport in different countries.

SHould do Formula 1.. better topic as it is a world sport and theres tons of info to find on the internet=easy.

[UfoZ8myCow]

Seriously... Pick a better topic for your presentation. A much better international business presentation would be on an actual car company (if you want to stick to cars because you're an enthusiast). Pick Nissan if you're in love with them. Their financial information is readily available, almost always current, and there are a myriad of ways to research the company because it is publicly traded (all unlike D1GP or Formula D).

I used to LOL so hard at the fanboys who would try to do various drifting/tuner scene/i love cars presentations in communication/marketing/business/accounting classes. It always came off as forced, with not enough actual information, and the prof always inevitably asked the same question: why on earth did you decide to present on this? And why didnt you ask me about it during office hours? Because I would have said NO then and you would have had time to do a real presentation.

If you decide to stick with it... Good luck finding any numbers regarding the earnings of any one of those entities (be it Formula D, D1GP, etc). They are all technically privately owned companies and their financial information is not readily available. And dont think that an article you read in Super Street counts as a good source of reliable information, either. Trust me, I was going to try and do it too back in the day but gave up on it after about 12 minutes of research. Who knows, maybe there is more info now then there was a few years ago when I was in undergrad.

Either way, good luck.

[GSXRJJordan]

You should talk about how drifting ruins lives.

It ruined mine.

Done and done.

Hahahaha.

Seriously though, lol.

Actually I don't think it's a bad idea - there's a lot of ways to take it, and there's a great chance that no one else (professor included) knows shit about drifting/the automotive industry/etc - so no one is going to call you out on facts (like they would with gas prices/stocks/economy).

If it were me, I'd talk about how this once "cottage industry" sport of drifting has sparked the interest of car lovers the world over, tapping into America's multi-billion dollar aftermarket automotive industry to be the biggest growing segment of the aftermarket - then you'd have to tie in how this helps some people (those quick to adopt, those already interested, etc) and hurts others (think domestic-only shops/parts warehouses). Don't just stick to D1GP as an enterprise - relate to the aftermarket industry around the world, and how the "drifting explosion" has changed things within the aftermarket, and how it's changed where the aftermarket sits in relation to other industries. Also - a tie in to which things affect the "drift world" and which don't - for instance, rising gas prices doesn't stop anyone from drifting, but a recession in your local economy (less expendable income) certainly does/would.

Like any college-level work, stating the facts is only the beginning, it's how you tie those facts into your world that gets you a great grade.

I pwn'd school.

[HyperTek]

go watch a few nissan documentarys, esp on that foreign guy who saved nissan in the last decade.. bam your presentation is done lol

[drifts135]

Thanks fellas, appreciate the thoughts. While I do really like all of the ideas and want to follow through with any one of them, the only problem is that I have to find an actual news article about them.

Although I did specify drifting, really, I am just looking for anything automotive-related. I named drifting because it seems to be the general 'niche' of this site and figured it would be quicker to grab attention as a thread title versus formula 1, nissan automakers, and so on.

The only key thing is that I have to find an article relating all of this, and my lack of internetting abilities is making it fairly difficult for me to find anything when I search since I'm trying to find something pretty simple and straightforward with relation.

As said by someone else, I normally like to relate to outside topics beyond the basic global market to something others may not know about or have an interest in because it does make it easier for me to present on something I'm familiar with, and also something that I know no one in the class will be able to question.

Thanks again, if someone could help my idiotic self find an article on pretty much anything automotive-related to international business I'd love you. I can't get the search function to work for some reason on any of these major news broadcasting websites.

[Brian]

All Star Bash had people come from all around the globe.
All I do is make Microsoft Paint flyers....

[punxva]

All Star Bash had people come from all around the globe.
All I do is make Microsoft Paint flyers....

quoted for the truth, you could really go in depth on how companies like Trust or greddy, have been forced out of the market by cheaper copies of R&D by other companies. that's where i'd go with it, if i really wanted to stick with that genre or presentation

[drifts135]

I like it, but the only problem is that I have to find an actual article about it.

bleh.

[punxva]

Japanese tuning firm Trust/Greddy declares bankruptcy - Autoblog (http://www.autoblog.com/2008/09/10/japanese-tuning-firm-trust-greddy-declares-bankruptcy/)

is this credible enough?

[drifts135]

I love you. If I could + rep I would.

[DMaxUSA]

aaahh...good old International Business presentations....I don't miss them one bit!!

I dont think you will find any credible sources of info and data on drifting that will justify a well-thought presentation. What point would you even want to make? That drifting is popular? Because technically, it is NOT popular when compared to other motorsports franchises.

If you want to do something motorsport related, talk about how a victory in a race series leads to more car sales. i.e. the winning years for the BMW F1 team is followed by a year of increased car sales, hence the HUGE budgets they are willing to spend on the F1 teams. (I personally think that it is interesting that since Toyota has put the Camry in Nascar, that the Camry is now America's #1 selling vehicle, while it does not perform that well in other markets.)

[GSXRJJordan]

What point would you even want to make? That drifting is popular? Because technically, it is NOT popular when compared to other motorsports franchises.

No, that's its growing faster. If the viewing/ticket sales numbers don't tell the story, use percentages. There's no other motorsport that's experienced some 500% growth in the last few years.

If you want to do something motorsport related, talk about how a victory in a race series leads to more car sales. i.e. the winning years for the BMW F1 team is followed by a year of increased car sales, hence the HUGE budgets they are willing to spend on the F1 teams. (I personally think that it is interesting that since Toyota has put the Camry in Nascar, that the Camry is now America's #1 selling vehicle, while it does not perform that well in other markets.)

The only counterargument to that is Ferrari - they do it for the heritage, because I'd imagine Fiat's sales are largely unaffected by F1 wins. BMW would probably work :)

And haven't the Camry/Accord swapped being best-sellers in America since the Taurus dropped that crown, decades ago? Mel would probably have the actual dates/etc lol.