Automakers: Page 284
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Courtesy of WardsAuto
Ford Researcher’s Garden Inspires Sustainable-Materials Drive
Soy foam has allowed the auto maker to cut petroleum use by 3 million lbs. annually.
By Herb Shuldiner • Oct. 17, 2011 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Toyota’s Blue Springs Plant Nears Launch
Toyota was able to keep facility and construction costs under control, investing about $800 million instead of the $1.3 billion reported earlier.
By Lillie Guyer • Oct. 17, 2011 -
Explore the Trendline➔
Courtesy of Kia Corporation
TrendlineArtificial Intelligence
Automakers and dealers alike are increasingly seeing the use case for AI within their operations. Explore some use cases in this trendline.
By WardsAuto staff -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Chrysler’s Incentive-Based Pay Formula Promising
UAW President Bob King says negotiators sought pay hikes, but that money was never on the table. The union did not dig in its heels over the issue because “we didn’t want to increase fixed costs,” he adds.
By Eric Mayne • Oct. 13, 2011 -
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Nissan Confident of Leaf EV’s Sweet Spot in U.S. Market
The Leaf’s larger dimensions and longer range mean it likely will appeal to a different buyer than Mitsubishi’s i EV, a top Nissan official says.
By Christie Schweinsberg • Oct. 13, 2011 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Fraud Claim Against Eminem-Inspired Ads Bad Rap, Chrysler Says
Marketing experts suggest the auto maker may be playing fast and loose with the facts, but advertising allows for “accepted exaggeration,” says University of Detroit professor Mike Bernacchi.
By Eric Mayne • Oct. 12, 2011 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Will Next-Gen Colorado Carve GM Bigger Slice of Small-Pickup Pie?
The Ford Ranger and Chrysler’s Ram Dakota are slated to end production this year. Consumers who favor these trucks have disparate alternate preferences, according to online-shopping data.
By Eric Mayne • Oct. 11, 2011 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
VW Group Launching SEAT Mii Minicar
The Mii arrives late this year on the Spanish market and will be exported elsewhere in Europe starting in the spring.
By Jorge Palacios • Oct. 11, 2011 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
GM Launches Sales of New Global Colorado Midsize Pickup in Thailand
“We have designed, engineered and manufactured this truck to compete anywhere in the world – it’s the truck we always wanted to build,” says Martin Apfel, president GM Thailand/Southeast Asia.
By Edd Ellison • Oct. 11, 2011 -
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Audi A6 Cracks Code of Middle-Luxury Segment
Audi’s middle-luxury sedan finally is poised to give the Mercedes E-Class and BMW 5-Series some serious competition in the U.S. market.
By Drew Winter • Oct. 10, 2011 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
It’s Now the Mercedes-Benz Superdome
Editor's note: This story is part of the WardsAuto digital archive, which may include content that was first published in print, or in different web layouts.The Superdome, home of the NFL’s New Orleans Saints, becomes the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, one of only a few major sports facilities bearing ...
By Steve Finlay 2 • Oct. 6, 2011 -
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BMW 650i Decadent Even Without Apps
The new 6-Series is wickedly fast, but smartphone links, streaming audio and other gadgets threaten to overshadow BMW’s core dynamics-centered product legacy.
By Tom Murphy • Oct. 6, 2011 -
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Hyundai Boosts Fortunes of Alabama Capital
Cumulative investment in the 6-year-old complex approaches $1.6 billion and will reach $1.7 billion when remodeling of the older of two engine shops is completed next spring.
By Roger Schreffler • Oct. 6, 2011 -
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Chevy Sonic Campaign Departs From GM Norm
GM Chairman and CEO Dan Akerson and GM North America President Mark Reuss signed off on the project themselves, Chevy marketers say.
By James M. Amend • Oct. 5, 2011 -
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GM Hopes for Chevy Sonic Boom
“We set out to outclass the class,” says Margaret Brooks, Chevrolet’s director-product marketing.
By Steve Finlay • Oct. 5, 2011 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Product Planner Dominique Exits Nissan
Larry Dominique is considered the father of the Nissan Titan fullsize pickup truck, for which he was the chief product specialist at the truck’s 2003 launch.
By Christie Schweinsberg • Oct. 4, 2011 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Light-Truck Demand Drives Honda’s Return to Big Six
Honda’s 45,723 light-truck deliveries, good for a 3% uptick from prior-year, helped offset a 17.3% sales plunge by the auto maker’s car lineup.
By Eric Mayne • Oct. 3, 2011 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Ford Car Mix in September Hits 6-Year Low
The hard-to-get Focus and poor-performing Taurus largely are to blame for the auto maker’s anemic car mix in September.
By Byron Pope • Oct. 3, 2011 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Volvo to Cease C70 Production at Uddevalla Plant
Volvo CEO Stephan Jacoby says the plant produces high-quality vehicles, but its continued operation cannot be justified at current output levels.
By Ward's Staff • Oct. 3, 2011 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Price and Speed Become Vital
Getting pre-owned inventory to market fast and first is a goal of dealerships across the nation. Two examples are Nereson Chevrolet-Cadillac, Detroit Lakes, MN, and Rudy Luther Toyota-Scion, Minneapolis. Every morning, Nereson Internet Sales Manager Jason Tyge and Rudy Luther Internet Marketing Coordinator Jenna Kostelecky grab special cameras and start creating images of the 15 to 20 pre-owned units
By Jim Leman • Oct. 1, 2011 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Lincoln Dealer Worried, Miffed
Dear Editor: Great premier editorial by Jim Ziegler in the August issue of WardsAuto Dealer Business. I'd like to respond to the column, as well as Steve Finlay's story, Dealerships of Tomorrow, in the same issue because they are connected. I don't know how Jim Ziegler does it, but he always is spot on with what is going on with Ford. Talk to a consumer, and they see Ford as doing everything right.
Oct. 1, 2011 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Is VW Ready to Rock?
It was one of those things that caused me to spew my morning coffee out my nose in a sudden spasm of laughter, as I read the latest auto news four years ago. With tears streaming down my face, I struggled to regain composure and finished reading the article from December 2007. Volkswagen had just announced it intended to overtake Toyota in global sales. Now bear in mind, this was before the Toyota
Oct. 1, 2011 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Sorry, Not Interested
Kevin Hurst offers a gotta-have online product for auto dealerships. Or so he and his partners thought. Instead, their fledging firm, Infinity Compliance, has stumbled in trying to draw dealers' interest in software created to help them comply with a long list of federal regulations. Those range from Red Flag rules, intended to thwart identity theft, to anti-money-laundering legislation, which requires
By Steve Finlay • Oct. 1, 2011 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
My Last Pre-Modern Comet
When I acquired my hobby car, a restored baby-blue '65 Mercury Comet convertible four years ago, I did not expect it to be much different from my daily-driver Ford Focus wagon. After all, while my vintage car presented a politically incorrect (but very satisfying) V8 engine and even an automatic transmission, I thought it would be pretty much just like any other car. My first convertible had been
By Mike Davis • Oct. 1, 2011 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Car Guys vs. Bean Counters
Now in his late seventies, Bob Lutz knows his auto industry history, and his latest book, Car Guys vs. Bean Counters, provides a lot of lessons. He has lived in the most inner circles at Ford, BMW, Chrysler and General Motors. Who better to tell us the history of the struggle for authority and dominance in the various auto companies, as well as the recent history of GM's fall and rise? Lutz refers
By David Ruggles • Oct. 1, 2011 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
GM Says New Front-Center Airbag Driven by Sense of Duty
The auto maker will introduce the industry’s first front-center airbag, which aims to protect first-row occupants in side-impact and rollover crashes, with its ’13-model large CUVs
By James M. Amend • Sept. 30, 2011
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