Automakers: Page
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The Mayne Objective: Props, Chops and Missed Ops
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. Press days conclude at another auto show and once again, Volkswagen leaves me wanting. Sure, the up! minicar is perky. And its potential ...
Sept. 16, 2011 -
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Poor Sales Doomed Mazda6 in Flat Rock JV
Production and sales volumes of the midsize Mazda6 have fallen far short of the 100,000-unit target set for North America when the second-generation sedan launched in 2008.
By Tom Murphy • Sept. 15, 2011 -
Explore the Trendline➔
Courtesy of Toyota Motor North America
TrendlineTop 5 stories from WardsAuto
Automakers are evaluating their long-term strategies, revisiting their product mix, and approach to both retail and manufacturing approach along the way.
By WardsAuto staff -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
U.S. Prius, Future Toyota EVs to Make More Noise
Toyota’s VPNS system emits a car-like – albeit science-fiction-leaning – whirring noise to alert pedestrians to the approach of an often-silent-running hybrid or EV.
By David E. Zoia • Sept. 15, 2011 -
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Daimler, Renault-Nissan Partnership Proving Promising
The relationship is centered on three pillars – joint development and/or technology sharing for small cars, engines and light-commercial vehicles.
By Byron Pope • Sept. 14, 2011 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Ford Van Lineup Merging
Ford Chief Financial Officer Lewis Booth delivers a slide presentation that shows a platform convergence between the Ford Transit and Ford E-Series van.
By Eric Mayne • Sept. 14, 2011 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Toyota Makes Good on Safety R&D Pledge
Initial research is aimed at improving safety for young children, teenagers and the elderly and involves everything from gathering statistics on real-world car crashes to bettering education for first-time and aging drivers.
By David E. Zoia • Sept. 14, 2011 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Honda Plans to Double Civic Sales in Europe
Honda CEO Takanobu Ito says the auto maker aims to sell 100,000 units annually, more than double the current volume.
By Byron Pope • Sept. 13, 2011 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Ford’s Odell Has High Hopes for 1.0L EcoBoost, Concerns Over Greece
The auto maker’s smallest production engine ever will be offered in European versions of the Focus C-car, C-Max and B-Max CUVs, and Stephen Odell predicts there will be “quite a high take rate.”
By Byron Pope • Sept. 13, 2011 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Fiat Freemont a Hit With Europeans
Skeptics crowed when Fiat announced the Freemont, a reworked and rebadged version of the Dodge Journey CUV, would join its European lineup.
By Byron Pope • Sept. 13, 2011 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Fiesta ST Concept Boasts Racing Heritage
The performance concept, based on Ford’s global B-car platform, was inspired by the Ford Fiesta WRC, which has performed well on rally-racing circuits.
By Byron Pope • Sept. 13, 2011 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Ford to Offer Focus ST Wagon in Europe
The Focus ST wagon is destined only for European markets, while the 5-door version will be offered in more than 40 markets beginning next year.
By Ward's Staff • Sept. 12, 2011 -
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Ford to Offer 1.0L EcoBoost in European Models
Installed in the Focus, the 1.0L 3-cyl. delivers more power than the current 1.6L 4-cyl. gasoline engine, while emitting less than 120 g/km of carbon dioxide, the auto maker says.
By Ward's Staff • Sept. 12, 2011 -
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New VW Beetle Woos Male Buyers
VW touts the finished product as a “reinvented” car, a modern interpretation of a venerable model that dates to 1938.
By Steve Finlay • Sept. 12, 2011 -
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Kia Soul Likely to Surpass 100,000 Units This Year; ’12 Model Launching
The South Korean brand’s boxy compact, which gets new engines and transmissions for ’12, already has surpassed its 2010 sales and is headed toward 106,000 units for 2011, according to WardsAuto data.
By Christie Schweinsberg • Sept. 9, 2011 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
GM China Names Design Director for New Studio
Former BAIC and Mercedes designer Wulin Gaowa will be the first to run the new GM China Advanced Studio in Shanghai.
By Vince Courtenay • Sept. 8, 2011 -
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Volvo to Feature Swedish Styling Flair, Interactive Tech
Although public perception is that Volvo is closely aligned with safety, a strength in which the auto maker takes pride, having safe cars is not enough to distinguish the brand from other luxury competitors, its global marketing chief says.
By Byron Pope • Sept. 8, 2011 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Toyota Boosts ’12 Camry’s Strength; Cuts Noise, Weight
“We created the new Camry with a lightweight design, which contributes to better fuel economy, as well as improved handling, acceleration and enhanced braking performance,” Chief Engineer Yukihiro Okane says.
By Christie Schweinsberg • Sept. 7, 2011 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Mazda Stop/Start Coming to U.S., But Not Yet
The auto maker’s top North American executive says i-stop could be across the lineup within five years. But the soon-to-launch ’12 Mazda3 and CX-5 will not have it in the U.S.
By Tom Murphy • Sept. 7, 2011 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
GM to Hike Chevrolet Output in Kazakhstan
While Asia Avto built 468 Chevrolet vehicles from semi-knocked-down kits in the first half of the year, plans call for the assembly of up to 10,000 Chevrolets in 2012.
By Peter Homola • Sept. 6, 2011 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Flooded Showrooms Overshadow Brisk Mazda Sales
Vehicle deliveries in North America are up for the Japanese auto maker, but East Coast flooding will cause some vehicles to be scrapped in the near-term.
By Tom Murphy • Sept. 6, 2011 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Mercedes SLK Technologically Advanced, But Stays True to Roadster Formula
The ’12 Mercedes SLK350’s exterior styling takes many cues from iconic Mercedes models of the past, most noticeably the 190SL of the 1950s.
By Byron Pope • Sept. 6, 2011 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
GM’s Chief Marketer Unfazed by Popularity of Ford’s EcoBoost
Chris Perry says the Silverado and GMC Sierra boast competitive fuel economy, and next-generation models could leverage a suite of performance enhancers.
By James M. Amend • Sept. 6, 2011 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Optima Production Begins at Kia’s U.S. Plant
The South Korean auto maker’s hot-selling midsize sedan is being built in the U.S. after Kia invests $100 million in its Georgia plant.
By Ward's Staff • Sept. 2, 2011 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Kia Working on Next-Gen Telematics System for Global Application
The South Korean brand’s AVN touch-screen technology features a screen that, like a tablet computer, lets the user choose from a series of icons and change screens by swiping a fingertip.
By Christie Schweinsberg • Sept. 2, 2011 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Toyota Scrambles to Meet Camry Demand
Toyota’s U.S. light-vehicle sales totaled 129,482 last month, 16.1% less than like-2010 and 106 units fewer than Chrysler’s August tally. Toyota’s result improves on its 19.7% slide in July.
By Eric Mayne and James M. Amend • Sept. 1, 2011
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