Daimler to Dump Sterling Truck Brand

Suffering the effects of Sterling’s demise will be plants in St. Thomas, ON, Canada, and Portland, OR, both of which will be shut down by mid-2010.

By Ward's Staff • Oct. 14, 2008

Yontrakit to Reintroduce Peugeot Vehicles in Thailand

Yontrakit will assemble the Peugeot Expert van using semi-knocked-down kits imported from France.

By Alan Harman • Oct. 14, 2008

Explore the Trendline➔

Artificial 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

Japan’s Aisin Maintains Low Profile While Growing Global Supplier Business

Japan’s third most-profitable parts maker and second-largest member of Toyota’s keiretsu, with nearly 150 associated companies and subsidiaries, slowly has built a global business that includes $3.7 billion annual revenues in North America.

By Roger Schreffler and Mack Chrysler • Oct. 14, 2008

Magna to Curb Chrysler, Jeep Output

Production of Chrysler 300C cars and Jeep Commander and Grand Cherokee SUVs will shut down temporarily sometime in November.

By Peter Homola • Oct. 10, 2008

Pelata Named Renault COO

CEO Carlos Ghosn will continue to oversee directly all strategic decision making and finance and public affairs functions.

By Ward's Staff • Oct. 10, 2008

GM Won’t Rule Out Plastic Body Panels

“If ever there was a time to get back into plastic, now is the time,” General Motors executive Maureen Midgley says at an automotive conference, in response to exorbitant increases in steel.

By Tom Murphy • Oct. 10, 2008

Lincoln MKS Holding Own in Difficult Market

Lincoln paid particular attention to instructing dealers how to sell the MKS, launching a nationwide training program seven months before Job One.

By Byron Pope • Oct. 10, 2008

Toyota Opens New Tech Center Campus in Michigan

Despite having other tech centers in California, the two Michigan sites make the region Toyota’s “center for automotive R&D in North America,” TTC President Shigeki Terashi says.

By Christie Schweinsberg • Oct. 9, 2008

Ford’s MyKey No Replacement for Parental Involvement, Safety Advocates Warn

The MyKey system allows parents of teen drivers to program a key that can limit a vehicle’s top speed and restrict audio-system volume.

By Byron Pope • Oct. 8, 2008

Mitsubishi Workers Accept Concessions in Close Vote

Of the workers to cast ballots, 54% approved the deal, while 46% were opposed, says a terse posting on a UAW website.

By Ward's Staff • Oct. 6, 2008

Renault Reveals New Meganes in Paris

The new Meganes will offer four diesel options, with 90- and 110-hp versions emitting less than 120 g/km of carbon-dioxide.

By William Diem • Oct. 2, 2008

Volkswagen Debuts New Golf, GTI Concept in Paris

Volkwagen’s restyled Golf moves touts fuel economy and offers numerous upscale electronic and safety features.

By Drew Winter • Oct. 2, 2008

Citroen CUV May Hint at C6 Replacement

Citroen and Peugeot will begin spreading a new generation of stop/start micro hybrid technology across its range of gasoline and diesel engines in 2010.

By William Diem • Oct. 2, 2008

GM Needs Volume to Make Small Cars Profitable

Joliet, Il General Motors Corp. Vice Chairman Bob Lutz says the industry will not sell small cars profitably until consumer demand swings further towards the segment. Part of it is getting the supply and demand dictated, Lutz tells journalists at GM's recent '09 product preview here. The profitability of fullsize SUVs was only there because that was what the public demanded. The profit always goes

By James M. Amend • Oct. 1, 2008

Ford Blue Oval Fight Carries On In Court

Ford dealers are awaiting a court decision which could strike a blow to the auto maker's controversial Blue Oval awards program for dealers. The U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia is deciding whether to extend to all Ford dealers, not just nine plaintiff dealers, class certification that would protect them from potential negative aspects of the long-standing Blue Oval program. The plaintiffs

By Mac Gordon • Oct. 1, 2008

Chrysler May Simplify Surveys

Ward's has learned Chrysler LLC may pare down its satisfaction surveys to two fundamental questions for dealership customers: 1.Would you buy another vehicle from this dealership? 2. Would you return to this dealership for service? A source says those bottom-line queries would replace longer surveys based on numeric index scoring. Critics say the customer-satisfaction index system is flawed. Auto

By Steve Finlay • Oct. 1, 2008

AutoNation CEO Says GM Neglects Chevy

General Motors Corp. should pay more attention to Chevrolet, its flagship division, says Michael Jackson, CEO of AutoNation Inc., the nation's largest dealership chain. He's baffled GM has tried to bolster weaker brands, such as Buick and Saturn, by giving them preferential treatment with new-product infusions at the expense of Chevrolet. You don't treat your strongest brand like that, Jackson says,

Oct. 1, 2008

Head-Restraint Tweak Boosts Crash Ratings

A tweak earlier this year to the head restraint design of General Motors Corp.'s midsize cross/utility vehicles help the quartet earn a Top Safety Pick from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. The insurance group's highest safety ratings for the GMC Acadia, Saturn Outlook, Buick Enclave and newly launched Chevrolet Traverse arrived less than a week after two of the auto maker's small CUVs

By James M. Amend • Oct. 1, 2008

Volvo Hybrid Bus Bows Using In-House Drive Technology

The parallel hybrid system also will be used in trucks and construction equipment manufactured by Volvo Group.

By Herb Shuldiner • Sept. 29, 2008

African Locust Inspire Volvo’s Quest for Crash-Proof Car

Researcher Claire Rind’s studies of the African locust reveal that during migratory flights the insects do not collide even though they travel in swarms of millions.

By Herb Shuldiner • Sept. 29, 2008

Hyundai Union Ratifies Wage Package; Co-Chairman Moves to Mobis

A tentative Kia agreement reached late Thursday matches Hyundai’s terms, except the incentive bonus is less at 3.6 million won. A date for next week’s ratification vote has not been announced.

By Vince Courtenay • Sept. 26, 2008

GM’s Top-Selling Chevy Dealer Out of Business

Bill Heard Enterprises, which sold more than 40,000 new vehicles last year, is shuttering its dealerships.

By Cliff Banks • Sept. 25, 2008

Nissan VQ Enjoys 14 Years of Accolades

Nissan’s 10 Best Engines-winning DOHC V-6 keeps getting better – and bigger. With V-6s this good, who needs a V-8?

By Gary Witzenburg • Sept. 25, 2008

Chevy Volt Makes Green-Leaning Filmmaker a GM Cheerleader

A change to the Volt’s operating system switches from an ICE continuously recharging the Li-ion battery to one that powers an onboard generator that sends electricity to the drive wheels.

By James M. Amend • Sept. 24, 2008

Toyota to Stick By NiMH

Too much has been invested in nickel-metal-hydride technology for Toyota to make a sudden, wholesale move to lithium-ion batteries, a top research executive says.

By David E. Zoia • Sept. 18, 2008