Automakers: Page
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Courtesy of WardsAuto
iPads Give Mercedes Dealers Freedom of Movement
“This is about dealer mobility instead of a deskbound system,” Mercedes-Benz Financial’s Anreas Hinrichs says of iPads at dealerships.
By Steve Finlay • Feb. 16, 2011 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Hyundai Debuts Refreshed Genesis; Veloster to Rallycross
The 5.0L direct-injected V-8, with a higher 11.5:1 compression ratio, is exclusive to the R-Spec version of the ’12 Genesis.
By Christie Schweinsberg • Feb. 9, 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
Ford Launches Social Media Campaign for Explorer
The auto maker will select consumers with the best ideas to live out their dream adventures in the all-new SUV.
By Jim Mateja • Feb. 9, 2011 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Hyundai Walking Supply-Side Tightrope With Dealers
“We’re very self-conscious right now about expanding too quickly,” says HMA CEO John Krafcik. “(But) we don’t want to get complacent.”
By Eric Mayne • Feb. 7, 2011 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Clock Ticking for Lincoln Dealers
Ford wants a trimmer Lincoln distribution network made up of elite dealers. “Without those two elements, everything’s lost,” says Ken Czubay, vice president-sales and marketing.
By Eric Mayne • Feb. 7, 2011 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
OnStar Secret GM Sales Weapon
The vehicle-telematics service counts 31,000 users of its recently released smartphone application. That number is growing by 10,000 every month, the auto maker says.
By Eric Mayne • Feb. 6, 2011 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Hyundai’s Top U.S. Designer Heading Back to GM
The departing Phillip Zak started his career at General Motors in 1988 and spent 20 years at the Detroit auto maker.
By Drew Winter • Feb. 5, 2011 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Mitsubishi to Assemble Outlander Sport in U.S.
The compact CUV will take the place of the three midsize models built at Mitsubishi’s Illinois plant.
By Christie Schweinsberg • Feb. 4, 2011 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Chrysler’s 3.6L Pentastar DOHC V-6: Refinement Champ
Occasionally, a nominee finds itself in the running for a Ward's 10 Best Engines award for reasons that extend well beyond the spec sheet. If the competition simply were a horsepower race, then several other high-output engines would have made the list. The must make sense from a cost and manufacturing perspective, and extra points are awarded if an engine turns an auto maker's powertrain strategy
Feb. 1, 2011 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Nissan Dealership Staffers Learn How to Sell, Service Leaf EV
Nissan North America Inc. has put dealer personnel selling and servicing the Leaf electric vehicle through intense training. The Leaf initially will be available in five U.S. markets: California, Tennessee, Oregon, Washington and Arizona, with Texas and Hawaii coming online in January. So far, about 250 Nissan dealers in those markets have opted to sell the EV. Because of the new technology, you have
By Christie Schweinsberg • Feb. 1, 2011 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
How to Lower Staff Turnover
Ford Motor Co. a few years ago added a section to its financial statement that allows dealers to track the tenure of their sales personnel and service advisors. Using this information, I tracked the Ford and Lincoln-Mercury dealers I worked with and detected an implied correlation between such tenure and dealership profitability. Carrying this research a step further, I concluded dealers with a lower
By Tony Noland • Feb. 1, 2011 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Marchionne Succession Plan Unclear
Sergio Marchionne is one amazing guy. First, he takes over the old Fix It Again Tony car company and straightens it out in record time. Then they give him a basket case called Chrysler and he pulls another rabbit out of his hat. Unlike other top executives who regale in the pomp and circumstance their heady status affords them, Marchionne likes to saunter into meetings wearing his trademark sweater
By John McElroy • Feb. 1, 2011 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
BMW’s 3.0L N55 Turbocharged DOHC I-6: Ridiculously Efficient
The temptation may have been great for BMW AG to rest on its laurels and feel confident its inline 6-cyl. engines had secured their place in the pantheon of powertrain excellence over the past 40 years. After all, the Bavarians have amassed more Ward's 10 Best Engines honors than any auto maker on the planet 25, and counting, since the competition began in 1995. And 20 of the awards were for I-6 gasoline
Feb. 1, 2011 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
GMT900 Retains Platform Crown
General Motors Co.'s GMT900 again was the top-producing light-vehicle platform in North America for 2010, a year where major gains were seen from a recessionary 2009. GM's fullsize truck and SUV platform, which underpins 10 models including the Chevrolet Silverado, accounted for 974,017 vehicles in 2010, up from 673,307 in 2009, according to Ward's data. From 2009 to 2010, the GMT900 more than doubled
By Christie Schweinsberg • Feb. 1, 2011 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Volvo’s 3.0L Turbocharged DOHC I-6: For Real
Safety and Scandinavian design have been hallmarks of the Volvo brand for decades. Now, powertrain excellence can be added to that list. The auto maker's 3.0L Turbocharged I-6 in the all-new S60 sedan truly is deserving, with its meaty mid-range power band, minimal turbo lag, expressive exhaust note and outstanding NVH characteristics. The all-aluminum I-6, internally known as the B6304T, features
Feb. 1, 2011 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
I’m Always Looking to Grow
ST. GEORGE, UT Stephen Wade, the National Automobile Dealers Assn.'s 2011 chairman, started in the car business 41 years ago as general manager of a new Mazda dealership in Salt Lake City. Many franchises later, the Stephen Wade Auto Center is headed by a growth-minded entrepreneur with dealerships in St. George, UT, and the northern California city of Chico. Wade, 67, co-founded the SunFirst Bank
By Mac Gordon • Feb. 1, 2011 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
MultiAir Strategy Multi-Faceted
Schaeffler Group will launch U.S. production of the MultiAir valve-control system for Fiat Automobiles SpA in June, beginning what could be the start of something big in North America for the German supplier. The first Cheraw, SC, MultiAir units will be headed to Dundee, MI, to support production of 1.4L FIRE engines for the North American market Fiat 500, slated for assembly at Chrysler Group LLC's
By David E. Zoia • Feb. 1, 2011 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Nissan’s 80kW Synchronous Electric Motor: Love that Leaf
A new day has dawned, and purveyors of petroleum should be plenty nervous. Vehicles running on electricity have arrived and more are on the way from well-known brands such as Ford, BMW, Mitsubishi, Toyota and Smart. But the EV that sets the benchmark for others to meet because it's the first one to be affordable, functional for five occupants and practical for everyday driving is the Nissan Leaf.
Feb. 1, 2011 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Critics Need to Drive New Chryslers
As controversial as the U.S. government bailout of General Motors remains, the rescue of Chrysler is even more so. In the dark days of 2009, even President Obama's Automotive Task Force was prepared to let the legendary auto maker, and its iconic Jeep, Dodge and Hemi brands, slip into oblivion. As task force leader and Car Czar Steven Rattner recounts in his book one of the key arguments for saving
By Drew Winter • Feb. 1, 2011 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
BMW Mini’s 1.6L Turbocharged DOHC I-4: Big Difference
Few engines got more raves this year than the not-so-new turbocharged engine in the Mini Cooper hardtop. We tested this engine for the first time in the Mini in 2007, but were not all that impressed, even though it was a huge improvement over the previous Pentagon engine, which actually made our list in 2003. More on this later. The big difference this year is the addition of BMW AG's excellent Valvetronic
Feb. 1, 2011 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Hyundai’s Tau 5.0L DOHC V-8: Look Out
After introducing the astonishingly good 4.6L Tau V-8 two years ago, Hyundai Motor Co. Ltd. could be forgiven if it chose to sit back and recoup some of its investment for at least a 4-year product cycle. But the word must not be in the vocabulary of the hard-charging South Korean auto maker. For the '10 model Genesis, engineers added another 10 hp, bringing total output to 385 hp, and winning another
Feb. 1, 2011 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Dealer’s Dad Taught Him Well
Mike Sullivan recalls his father’s decision to sell his VW store to him in the mid-1990s. “It was such a concession for him, it was so final.”
By Lillie Guyer • Feb. 1, 2011 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Tau V-8 Continues to Improve
IT'S HARD TO MAKE IT ONTO WARD'S 10 BEST ENGINES LIST, AND with powertrain technology advancing at a breakneck pace, it is harder still to maintain a spot multiple years in a row. But Hyundai Motor Co. Ltd.'s Tau V-8 has managed to stay on the list for a third year thanks to major technological advancements and improvements in specific output. For the '11 model year, Hyundai won over the judges by
By Drew Winter • Feb. 1, 2011 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Audi’s 3.0L TFSI Supercharged DOHC V-6: Massive Torque
Creating a V-6 worthy of replacing Audi AG's superb 4.2L V-8 represents an especially tough challenge. That's because consumers say they want better fuel economy, but performance-car buyers are notoriously fickle. They like to talk about efficiency, but if it results in a tad less low-end torque or an exhaust note that lacks gusto, many walk away. That's why Audi's 3.0L V-6 makes Ward's list for the
Feb. 1, 2011 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
General Motors’s 1.4L DOHC I-4/111kW Drive Motor: Game Changer
Timing, as they say in the watch business, is everything. In the case of this year's Ward's 10 Best Engines testing, the Chevrolet Volt had the good fortune of arriving at our offices in mid-November, the day after we finished evaluating the Nissan Leaf electric vehicle. Don't get the wrong impression. Our time with the Leaf was uplifting. But some of us had limited exposure to the strange new world
Feb. 1, 2011
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