"Balloon payments" - where consumers pay only a small sum of money up front for a car but are later subject to stiff interest payments - make customers captives of one brand and are not always explained adequately to young buyers, says Mr Arnold O'Byrne.

Mr O'Byrne, who stood down this week after 15 years as chairman and chief executive of General Motor's Irish subsidiary, Opel, says he is concerned by the practice which encourages young people to buy a car for as little as £29.99 (€38) up front.

"There's an explosion of young people buying new cars and the insurance factor is not as big an obstacle as it was before," says Mr O'Byrne. "I see many people buying into these £29.99 offers but not realising that they have to pay a `balloon payment' at the end of three years."

After this period, the option is simple, according to Mr O'Byrne. "You either pay it off, and to be honest many of the guys can't afford it, or you trade the car in and the price of the trade equates to what you owe. So you become a captive customer of one particular brand."

Such deals should be clearly flagged and explained to customers in a similar way that cigarette companies must advertise warnings that smoking is dangerous to your health clearly, says Mr O'Byrne.

This consumer-focused philosophy has marked out Mr O'Byrne's career in the Republic. For much of his career he has been known as "Mr Opel" due to his straight-talking television advertisements which redefined the company's image in the mid-1980s.

"The market was very depressed then and we decided we would show the customer the human face of the company's leadership through TV adverts," he says. "And it didn't stop there. If a customer had a complaint and I was not in a meeting I would take the call. It wasn't always a pleasant job but it succeeded."

Undoubtedly, the company and Mr O'Byrne's greatest scoop was the sponsorship of the national soccer squad immediately prior to their successes in the 1988 European Championships and 1990 World Cup. "At the time Ireland didn't have a lot to celebrate and nobody had wanted to take on the soccer sponsorship and there was a tremendous amount of good will towards us when we did and our slogan became Ireland's Number One supporter."

This run of success catapulted the Opel brand to the top and in 1996 it was the highest selling car in the Republic, a source of great pride to Mr O'Byrne.

With increased competition Opel slipped to number three behind Toyota and Ford last year. And with the loss of the soccer sponsorship in 2002, Opel could face a tough few years following Mr O'Byrne's departure.

He foresees a period of further transition and change in the international car market. "There will be major changes in the car industry over the next five years," says Mr O'Byrne. "The in-word in the industry is strategic alliance and everyone is getting in to them, indeed we recently got involved with Fiat."

These alliances offer manufacturers greater expertise in engineering, savings on administration and importantly considerable increases in combined purchasing power, says Mr O'Byrne. In the long-term alliances will result in the rationalisation of dealers in the Republic, he adds.

The alliance between Fiat and GM enable both companies to preserve their independence but in reality further integration is likely. A clause in the deal enables Fiat to sell the remaining 80 per cent stake of Fiat Auto to GM after 31/2 years. Mr O'Byrne believes this is a likely option.

"It is generally accepted there are too many players in the industry," he says. "Rover will only make it if they can establish a niche market," he adds.

With increasing consolidation among car manufacturers, companies won't need different facilities in each country across Europe, says Mr O'Byrne. Each country is likely to retain sales operations but the back room operations: finance, marketing and distribution will most likely be located in one location with centralisation a major theme in the next few years, he says.

But technology and regulation will also impact on the car industry, adds Mr O'Byrne. "More people will begin to order their cars over the Internet as they do for books and airline tickets," he says. "The number of car dealers in Ireland will be reduced and many of these will have to become service dealers rather than focusing on sales."

The regulatory framework will also have a major impact on the car dealers' structure, says Mr O'Byrne. The EU is examining the concept of "block excemption" - whereby car dealers only show one manufacturer's product in a showroom. If this is changed it is likely that we will see cars from several manufacturers sold side-by-side in the showroom, says O'Byrne.

"This would be a good idea for the consumer. After all you generally don't have supermarkets restricted to selling one brand," he adds.

As a former winner of the Bord Failte "ambassador for Ireland" award and a past president of the US Chamber of Commerce in Ireland, Mr O'Byrne, has been instrumental in persuading General Motors to invest in Ireland. However, he is quick to pinpoint several concerns about present Government social and economic strategy.

"I feel a sympathy for the people (refugees) coming into this country who are getting a similar response to the one I received in London when I emigrated there in 1957," says Mr O'Byrne. "At that time I went to look at flats and saw `No Irish' in the windows."

"If we don't overcome the skills shortage we're in trouble in terms of attracting inward investment," says Mr O'Byrne. He believes the policy to attract Irish immigrants back is doomed to failure and a greater emphasis should be placed on enabling immigrants to settle and work in the Republic.

The concentration on e-commerce and modern technology is valuable but we shouldn't forget about the opportunities in manufacturing, says Mr O'Byrne.

"Not everyone is willing to become highly skilled in technology," he says. He highlights that with the UK out of the euro zone there are considerable opportunities for 10,000 jobs involved in the automotive components business. "We should be holding roadshows to attract this type of business," he says.

Improving infrastructure is vital, says Mr O'Byrne, who claims it is the Government and not car manufacturers which is responsible for the current gridlock on the roads.

"We have to accept we are choking the roads," he says. "Park-and-ride facilities must be established which are safe, free and have a frequent service. This requires major public education as well." Mr O'Byrne doesn't rule out tolls to enter the city or a form of exclusion based on number plates. "We have to tackle the problem head on," he says.

Mr O'Byrne's vision of his own future is less defined. He says he is currently considering several proposals but he insists none of these will tie him down to a five-day week. And after 34 years within General Motors would he consider changing his car from an Opel?

We'll just have to wait and see, he says.