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Courtesy of WardsAuto
SAAR Falls Below 12 Million as Toyota Sales Plummet
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.U.S. Sales Summary Table SAAR finishes at 11.76 million units U.S. Light Vehicle Sales fell to an annualized rate of 11.7 million units i...
By John Sousanis 1 • June 1, 2011 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Recall-Like May Tally for Toyota; Lexus Hits 12-Year Low
The only silver lining for Toyota was that its sales were not usurped by Hyundai-Kia, although it was overtaken by Chrysler.
By Christie Schweinsberg • June 1, 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
Fiesta Closing In on Small-Car Lead
Fiesta sales in May tallied 7,120, outpacing the segment-leading Nissan Versa.
By Byron Pope • June 1, 2011 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Dealers Get Closed-In Feeling
Dealer George Glassman is hit with the occasional lawsuit. It is part of doing business in a litigious society. He typically doesn't get too irked about it. Nor did he get mad, at least not at first, when the friendly process server stopped by the other day. I even know the guy, says Glassman, an attorney as well as head of Glassman Kia in Southfield, MI. But he started fuming when he saw who is suing
By Steve Finlay • June 1, 2011 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Fred Anderson Flies High
As a 21-year-old college graduate, Fred Anderson had a choice in 1970. Go into the dealership business or fly airplanes as a professional pilot. General Motors took a chance on him, and his life has never been the same. Chuck Green, then a Chevrolet zone manager, knew the Anderson family well and offered the young graduate a spot at a Chevrolet-Oldsmobile store in Canton, NC, a tiny rural town. The
By Lillie Guyer • June 1, 2011 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
General Motors Loyalist Ed Bozarth Sells Chevys in Big Way
Ed Bozarth is a megadealer who focuses on one brand: General Motors' Chevrolet. That's reflected in the name of his 5-store group, Ed Bozarth #1 Chevrolet based in Las Vegas. He sells Chevys there as well as Topeka, KS; Grand Junction, CO; and Aurora, CO, a Denver suburb. What carries the market out here in the Mountain West is that everyone else advertises against Chevy, even GMC, Bozarth says, referring
June 1, 2011 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Texas Dealership Retains Title as Best-Selling Chevy Store
The battle for No.1 in Chevrolet sales saw Classic Chevrolet retain its crown in new-unit sales for the fifth year in a row in 2010. It helped lift its ranking on the Ward's Dealer 500 to No.4, with total revenues of $293.9 million and vehicle sales of 7,500. Classic has been a dominant factor in the Dallas-Fort Worth market for 30 years after Tom Durant built it on an undeveloped tract in the suburb
By Mac Gordon • June 1, 2011 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Lutz: GM in Good Hands
HIS NEW BOOK IS TITLED CAR GUYS VS. Bean Counters: The Battle for the Soul of American Business, but former General Motors Vice Chairman Bob Lutz has only good things to say about the financial executives currently in charge at GM. They don't have the 30-year history of being trained to run the automobile business in the U.S. the wrong way, he says during a book-signing reception at the Ward's Auto
By Drew Winter • June 1, 2011 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Paul Rusnak Loves and Sells Premium European Cars
A newcomer to the Ward's Megadealer 100 is Pasadena, CA-based Rusnak Auto Group, celebrating its 45th year as a purveyor of highest-priced European supercars. Led by founder Paul P. Rusnak, the group's 11 dealerships distinguish themselves by specializing in ultra-luxury brands Bentley and Rolls-Royce as well as the premium nameplates of BMW, Jaguar, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Audi and Volvo. Then there
June 1, 2011 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Dealership Selling 63 Ultra-Lux Cars Lands on Ward’s Dealer 500
To sell only 63 new cars and yet land on the Ward's Dealer 500 list has never happened. Until now. The list, with rankings based on total revenues, now includes the Ferrari-Maserati dealership in Penske Automotive Group's luxury-brand mall in Scottsdale, AZ. Prices run in the six figures for ultra-luxury cars such as Ferraris, spurring the Phoenix-area dealership to total revenues of more than $45
June 1, 2011 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Dealership Service Department Goes from Zero to Hero
When Mickey Blank became the fixed operations director at Greentree Toyota in Danbury, CT, he inherited a service department that was dead-last in customer satisfaction in their region. Not only were the auto maker's customer satisfaction survey results bad, but Greentree's own internal customer surveys told a sad story. Not surprisingly, the dealership also was dead-last in regional service-department
By David Linton • June 1, 2011 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Early-Bird Florida Dealer Catches Snowbirds as Well as Locals
Since 1960, when Ed Morse acquired his first dealership in what was then sleepy Delray Beach, FL, he has been a leader in new-car sales in one of the nation's fastest-growing states. The Ed Morse Automotive Group's first brands were Ford, Chevrolet and Cadillac. As Florida grew, so did the Morse network, establishing buy Morse credentials among locals as well as the growing flock of northern acquiring
June 1, 2011 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Toyota Tunes in Entune
The Japanese auto maker’s new infotainment system uses a cellular data network to run automotive versions of popular smartphone apps.
By Christie Schweinsberg • June 1, 2011 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Toyota Matrix on Bubble
The hatchback reached its pinnacle in 2002, selling 66,836 units, Ward’s data shows. Annual deliveries have declined since then, except for 2008, the second-generation model’s first full year.
By Christie Schweinsberg • May 31, 2011 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Mercedes Polishes Reputation With Assault on U.S. Gas-Guzzler Tax
For model-year ’12, the tri-star brand will have at least two fewer models on the annual hit list published by the U.S. Department of Energy and the EPA.
By Eric Mayne • May 27, 2011 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Honda Redesigns Civic Seats for Safety, Comfort
The Japanese auto maker switches from movable front head restraints in the previous-generation Civic to fixed restraints and softer seatbacks.
By Christie Schweinsberg • May 25, 2011 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
VW Passat Finally Made for Masses
Critics call it boring, but the new Passat is everything a midsize car buyer could want: efficient, quiet, thrilling and $7,000 cheaper. This is not dumbing down German design. This is smartening up the bottom line.
By Tom Murphy • May 23, 2011 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Nissan NV Primo Rock Roller
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.[caption id="attachment_136" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Think of the exterior graphic possibilities for band logos."][/caption] ...
By Tom Murphy • May 21, 2011 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
The Mayne Objective: To Each Their Own, Indeed.
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 Honda Civic is, arguably, the compact segment's benchmark vehicle in the U.S. Smart and sensible, it's been among the nation's top f...
May 16, 2011 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Cadillac Sets Orderly Sell-Off of Big Cars Before XTS Debut
STS production ended three weeks ago, and DTS builds probably will be halted in about three or four weeks, James R. Vurpillat, Cadillac's global marketing director, tells Ward's.
By Herb Shuldiner • May 16, 2011 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Targeting BMW, Volvo I-6 Turbo World-Class on All Fronts
The single most impressive thing about this world-class 3.0L turbo 6-cyl. is the fact it fits transversely between the shock towers of the midsize S60.
By Gary Witzenburg • May 13, 2011 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Lincoln Restructuring on Track
The Ford family’s so-called “super shares” have been a hot-button issue at most shareholder meetings, but the stock structure is not that uncommon.
By Byron Pope • May 12, 2011 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Toyota Blue Springs on Track for Fall Start
Hiring, training and equipment installation is under way at Toyota’s eighth North American vehicle assembly plant, which will see a return of U.S. Corolla production.
By Christie Schweinsberg • May 12, 2011 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
New Chrysler-Owned Dealership Faces Challenge
A petition to a state board says Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep dealers “are fierce competitors, but they cannot fairly compete against a Chrysler-owned dealership in their own backyard.”
By Erik Derr • May 11, 2011 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Ford Manufacturing Strategy Taking Shape
Ford’s flexibility strategy revolves around reprogrammable body-shop tooling, standardized paint-shop equipment and a common final-assembly build sequence.
By Byron Pope • May 11, 2011
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