Automakers: Page 301
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Courtesy of WardsAuto
Are Motorists Next Hacker Victims?
Will the next victims of computer hackers be motorists? The risk is real, not only possible but plausible, given the vulnerability of the 250 million or more cars, trucks and buses currently operating in the U.S. alone, all computer-controlled to a significant degree. Wherever there is a computer, there is a threat, Chris Preuss, president of General Motors Co.'s OnStar operations, tells Ward's. It's
July 1, 2010 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
BMW Financial Services Began Small, Grew Steadily, Gets Creative
COLUMBUS, OH The youngest captive auto lender has become one of the most aggressive in creating new products and promoting the vehicles of its parent, BMW North America LLC. BMW Financial Services NA LLC was established in the U.S. in 1993, starting slowly along the conventional models of two long-standing financial arms, General Motors Acceptance Corp. and Ford Motor Credit Co. BMWFS has grown steadily
By Mac Gordon with Steve Finlay • July 1, 2010 -
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
Unprecedented Efficiency, Refinement
Few would dispute Toyota Motor Corp. is the established industry leader in hybrid-electric vehicles, at least in terms of sales volume, yet Ford Motor Co. now is emerging as a hybrid-technology leader in both energy efficiency and customer-pleasing refinement. Ford's leadership begins with the numbers. Ward's 10 Best Engines '10 Ford Fusion Hybrid delivers an eye-opening 41/36 mpg (5.7-6.5 L /100
By Gary Witzenburg • July 1, 2010 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Mystery Shop Videos Capture F&I Goofs
LOS ANGELES Some training videos show what to do. Others, often painfully and unwittingly, demonstrate what not to do. Joanna Sherry of VW Credit Inc. shows a few of the latter, shot with hidden cameras as mystery shoppers at dealerships test how artfully staffers handle the finance-and-insurance process. In some cases, it looks like a lost art. Take off your corporate hats and put on customer hats,
By Steve Finlay • July 1, 2010 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
How, Why We Saved Detroit
I traveled to the Motor City to hear what Steven Rattner had to say at a conference presentation entitled How and Why We Saved Detroit. Rattner is a former counselor to the Secretary of Treasury and a member of the government automotive task force overseeing General Motors and Chrysler Group LLC's post-bankruptcy plans. He worked closely on the rescue mission with a couple of cohorts, Ron Bloom and
By David Ruggles • July 1, 2010 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Honda CR-Z Suffers Split Personalities
With three driving modes and two transmission choices, the Honda CR-Z sport hybrid has two individual identities, but they don’t blend well together.
By Christie Schweinsberg • June 28, 2010 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Ford 2.5L I-4 Hybrid: Unprecedented Efficiency, Refinement
Ford’s truly impressive Gen II hybrid system in the substantially upgraded ’10 Fusion midsize sedan is a whole new ball game.
By Gary Witzenburg • June 25, 2010 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Grand Cherokee’s Quiet Cabin Echoes Marchionne’s Resolve
Chrysler’s “articulation index,” which measures the ability to hear speech in a vehicle cabin, shows the redesigned Grand Cherokee performs 12% better than its previous generation.
By Eric Mayne • June 24, 2010 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
BMW Financial Started Small, Grows Steadily
With total assets of more than $24 billion, the captive offers a range of leasing, retail and wholesale financing services to BMW customers and dealers.
By Mac Gordon • June 21, 2010 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Honda Eschews 4-Cyl. for New Odyssey
The No.2 Japanese auto maker says its revamped minivan is a 100% American development, with new interior features including a cooled beverage box and bigger third row.
By Christie Schweinsberg • June 18, 2010 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Chrysler Forging Ahead in Europe
“Working with Fiat, there are lots of opportunities,” Mike Manley says, reasserting plans to build Jeep vehicles in South America.
By Eric Mayne • June 17, 2010 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
GM Looks to Make Inroads in Competitive HD-Pickup Segment
Winning over buyers in the heavy-duty pickup segment is close to impossible because of the segment’s fierce brand loyalty.
By Byron Pope • June 15, 2010 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Mercury’s 71-Year Run Coming to End
Ford says it will halt Mercury output in the fourth-quarter to concentrate more resources on its Lincoln luxury marque, which will benefit from an exclusive engine.
By Byron Pope • June 2, 2010 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
GM China to Provide Blueprint for Future Transportation
By 2025, 60% of the world’s 8 billion people will live in cities, requiring “new ways of organizing and managing transportation,” one analyst says.
By Vince Courtenay • June 2, 2010 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
GM Rethinks MacPherson Strut
General Motors Co. adds a new front suspension to the redesigned-for-'10 Buick LaCrosse, virtually eliminating the torque steer inherent to front-wheel-drive vehicles and improving overall drivability. Called High-Performance Strut, or HiPer Strut as GM has branded it, the new setup comes as standard equipment on top-of-range LaCrosse CXS models. The rollout of HiPer Strut coincides with the launch
By James M. Amend • June 1, 2010 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Ford Sticking With BP Relationship
The long-standing relationship between Ford Motor Co. and BP plc does not appear to be in jeopardy, despite the energy company's massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. But marketing experts say the disaster could negatively impact the environmentally conscious auto maker. I hope (Ford) takes a look at (the partnership), says University of Detroit-Mercy marketing professor Mike Bernacchi. If they're
By Byron Pope • June 1, 2010 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Ford to Push Residual Value Message
Ford Motor Co. will trumpet the rising residual value of its vehicles with an aggressive marketing campaign. Resale value is absolutely central to explaining to customers that Ford represents the best value in the market, and we expect to leverage (that message) extensively, says Jim Farley, group vice president-global marketing. According to the Automotive Lease Guide's latest Perceived Quality Score
By Byron Pope • June 1, 2010 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Recession Affects Design in Many Ways
The recession has taken a financial toll on the automotive industry, but from a design perspective it serves as inspiration, OEM panelists say. It's been tough over the past few years at (General Motors Co.), but at the design center we managed to stay focused, and I witnessed some of the best work ever, Crystal Windham, director-North American passenger car design, says during a panel on Designing
By Byron Pope • June 1, 2010 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
It’s a Dealership Ghost Town
KILMARNOCK, VA This small city 50 miles (80 km) northeast of the state capital of Richmond is a car dealership ghost town, haunted by the recession, domestic auto makers' drives to reduce dealer count and rapidly changing demographics. For decades, Kilmarnock boasted General Motors Co., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler Group LLC dealerships. Now there are none. Some just up and closed. Two now are used-car
By David C. Smith • June 1, 2010 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Prius Improves Both Power, Efficiency
Everyone knows Toyota Motor Corp.'s first Prius was no picnic to drive. But the Echo subcompact-based hybrid-electric vehicle did deliver very good fuel economy. That was the point. The second-generation U.S. Prius on an all-new dedicated compact platform was a lot better in every way. Hardly a sport sedan, it could at least get out of its own way and save a bunch of gas in the process. Who knew there
By Gary Witzenburg • June 1, 2010 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Outlook Cloudy for Chrysler
The Dodge Challenger has stirred up more excitement around me than any other car in years. Strangers came up to touch it. They didn't ask whether Chrysler was going to survive, they just loved the car. This was an arrest-me red model, with hood scoops and wide black stripes down the center with a $28,980 sticker. I was driving it for a weekend in New York. Manhattan could not get enough of the car.
By Jerry Flint • June 1, 2010 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
And Then There Were None
For 55 years, the Dalgleish family sold Cadillacs in Detroit, three blocks away from the former General Motors Corp.'s old world headquarters building. But Dalgleish Cadillac is no more, a victim of the new General Motors Co.'s plan to reduce its dealership ranks. The shutdown admittedly was a bitter pill for family members Charley Dalgleish Jr., 84, his younger brother, Douglas Dalgleish, Sr., and
By Mac Gordon • June 1, 2010 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
The Qvales Expand to Florida
The Qvale family, a West Coast dealership institution of sorts, has expanded its business to Florida with the purchase of what had been one of the largest Audi dealers in the country. The Qvale Auto Group acquired Champion Audi in Coral Springs, FL, and renamed it Audi Coral Springs. The group plans to relocate Champion Audi's Pompano outlet to Fort Lauderdale. With three Audi stores already under
June 1, 2010 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Why Mess With 5-Series Success?
Clearly, BMW was happy with the previous-generation 5-Series and saw little need for a clean-sheet redesign. The sheet already was pretty clean to begin with.
By Tom Murphy • June 1, 2010 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Buick Regal Sales, Inventory Build Under Way; Lucerne’s Future Dim
The cars arrive in batches of 500 to 1,000, depending upon the vessel, to Newark, NJ; Brunswick, GA; and Port of Hueneme, CA.
By James M. Amend • May 28, 2010
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