Automakers: Page
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Courtesy of WardsAuto
Hunt, Beavis Out at Kia
Kia officials say the two men resigned, but several dealers and others attending the NADA annual convention here tell Ward’s the two men were dismissed.
By Cliff Banks • Feb. 10, 2008 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
GM Rental-Fleet Business ‘Very Profitable’
When it comes to hot-selling products, such as the redesigned ’08 Chevrolet Malibu, if retail sales are high enough, rental companies might not get the vehicle.
By Byron Pope • Feb. 9, 2008 -
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 Honors Dealers for Top Community Service
The honorees "epitomize the spirit of corporate citizenship that my great-grandfather built into the fabric of Ford Motor Co. more than a century ago," Edsel Ford II says.
By Ward's Staff • Feb. 9, 2008 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Chrysler Taps Sidoti to Lead Supplier Quality Efforts
Sidoti arrives at her new position from the auto maker’s assembly plant in Sterling Heights, MI, where she served as plant manager.
By Ward's Staff • Feb. 8, 2008 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
High Gas Prices Not Slowing Camaro Interest, Chevrolet Says
GM still is trying to determine what the demand mix will be for the V-6 vs. the V-8 engine, but the V-8 is expected to rule initial production.
By Jim Mateja • Feb. 7, 2008 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Chrysler Seeks Long-Term Supply Fix
A dispute with Plastech cost Chrysler a day of production this week. The parties have a temporary supply agreement, but Jim Press says the auto maker is looking for “some other source.”
By Tom Murphy • Feb. 7, 2008 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Oldest Family-Owned Dodge Dealership Faces Flak from Auto Maker
Chuck Tator says he is clinging to his business by his fingernails, fighting to keep Chrysler from revoking his 94-year-old franchise.
By Herb Shuldiner • Feb. 6, 2008 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Acura Hopes RL Refresh Will Boost Sales
About 80% of the RL has been changed or updated for the ’09 model year, including the vehicle’s grille, which resembles the Acura MDX face.
By Christie Schweinsberg • Feb. 6, 2008 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Subaru Sets Sights on Regaining Lost Ground in U.S.
Despite last year’s launch of a refreshed Tribeca CUV and all-new Impreza, Subaru sales declined 6.7% to 187,206 units.
By Christie Schweinsberg • Feb. 6, 2008 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Ford to Launch European Transit Connect Van in U.S.
The auto maker believes the Transit Connect will appeal to urban-based businesses in North America with small-package deliveries.
By Byron Pope • Feb. 6, 2008 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Kia Names Ahn Head of U.S. Sales Arm, Georgia Plant
Byung Mo Ahn currently is president of parent company Kia Motors Corp.
By Christie Schweinsberg • Feb. 5, 2008 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Chrysler Assembly Network Threatened by Plastech Bankruptcy; Decoma Angling for Supplier’s Business
If an alternate supply agreement is struck, it would mark the second time in recent years that a Magna company has come to Chrysler’s aid.
By Eric Mayne • Feb. 4, 2008 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Mercedes Makes Niche Markets Its Strategic Focus
Sportiness and utility are the themes behind Mercedes-Benz Cars' nine global product launches planned for 2008. With the new C-Class contributing to the sales momentum begun by the redesigned '07 S-Class, the auto maker is striving to open up new market niches, Daimler AG Chairman and Mercedes division chief Dieter Zetsche says at the Detroit show. New are two iterations of the next-generation SL
By Eric Mayne • Feb. 1, 2008 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
5 Product Teams for Chrysler
Detroit Chrysler LLC is expanding its product-development process, internally and externally, in an aggressive bid to satisfy consumer demands in an increasingly competitive environment, the auto maker's top executive says. Internally, Chrysler has replaced its architecture-oriented product-development structure with five product teams that feature a segment or brand focus. Externally, the auto maker
By Eric Mayne • Feb. 1, 2008 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
What’s the Matter With Kids?
It started out innocently enough as a conversation about Christmas gifts. People my age value experiences over material things, my 21-year-old told me. I assumed he was just politely asking for cash and didn't think much of it. Then, during a recent meeting with Ward's editors, Ford sales analyst George Pipas used almost exactly the same words to explain the entire Millennial generation, people born
By Drew Winter • Feb. 1, 2008 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
New Ram Boasts More Power and Storage Room
Chrysler LLC was thinking out of the box during development of its flagship Dodge Ram pickup for '09. The vehicle not only features an upgraded 380-hp 5.7L Hemi V-8 with a Cummins turbodiesel promised after 2009 and a 2-mode hybrid system scheduled for model-year '10 it also boasts a segment-first coil-spring multi-link rear suspension, styling and innovative storage options. How innovative? The Rambox,
By Eric Mayne • Feb. 1, 2008 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Chrysler Sourcing Too NAFTA-Centric
Chrysler LLC's new global purchasing chief wants financially healthy parts producers and will look beyond North American shores for high-quality, cost-competitive components, as well as vehicle-engineering services. John Campi became Chrysler's executive vice president-procurement Jan. 3 after spending more than 35 years in sourcing, some of it in automotive. He spent the last three years at Home
By Tom Murphy • Feb. 1, 2008 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
$13 Per Gallon Will Get Their Attention
Gasoline prices must quadruple to motivate consumers enough to demand the types of expensive technologies auto makers require to comply with upcoming tougher fuel-economy standards, a Chrysler LLC economist warns. Assuming Americans will want the same utility and performance they enjoy in today's vehicles, Chrysler ran a computer simulation of conditions required to generate market in 2020, when a
By Eric Mayne • Feb. 1, 2008 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Relatively Speaking, It’s a Big Engine: Honda Motor Co. Ltd.’s 3.5L SOHC V-6
As much as everyone respects Honda Motor Co. Ltd.'s engine-development abilities, the company hasn't won that many 10 Best Engines awards. We figure it's due to Honda's overwhelmingly conservative philosophy. While it's always stretching the boundaries of engineering, its production engines tend to be comparatively unassuming in specification. It is the only one of Japan's three major auto makers
Feb. 1, 2008 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Yum, Yum It’s Good: BMW AG’s 3.0L Turbocharged DOHC I-6
BMW AG's 3.0L turbocharged DOHC I-6 couldn't be more delicious if its internals were cast from solid Noka chocolate. The seminal BMW inline 6-cyl. format is the best of the best on just about any day, but when its engineers strapped on a couple of the quickest-acting turbochargers we've ever experienced, the result is pure engineering bliss. By today's standards, the absolute figure of 300 hp isn't
Feb. 1, 2008 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Keystone Ford Ends 39-Year Run in L.A.
Keystone Ford, a prominent dealership in the Latino district of southeast Los Angeles, ceased operations on Dec. 31 after a 39-year run that ended in declining sales and increasing losses. Owner Norman Stutzke, 75, says he accepted a closing offer from Ford Motor Co. after unsuccessfully trying to sell the Norwalk, CA dealership. About 400 Ford dealerships in the U.S. were closed in 2006 and 2007
By Mac Gordon • Feb. 1, 2008 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
GM Surprises Show With CTS Coupe Concept
General Motors Corp. delivers the first surprise of the auto show with a Cadillac CTS concept coupe, a vehicle that exemplifies the luxury brand's future design direction and confirms a new diesel-engine application. It's a little too early to announce production, but if you look underneath, you can see that it's a real car, says GM Vice Chairman and product boss Bob Lutz. We call it a concept coupe,
By James M. Amend • Feb. 1, 2008 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Body Shop Beefs Up Business
It's been a long time since a privately owned dealership invested in boosting customer satisfaction by enlarging his body shop and constructing a stand-alone store that sells detailing products and vehicle-tweaking accessories. Robert J. Feeny, 50, is an innovative expansionist, to say the least, at his namesake Chrysler-Dodge dealership in the mid-Michigan city of Midland, home of Dow Chemical's
By Mac Gordon • Feb. 1, 2008 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
May Be the Best in 14 Years: Nissan Motor Co. Ltd.’s 3.7L DOHC V-6
By now, Nissan Motor Co. Ltd.'s all-conquering VQ V-6 architecture needs no introduction. The 3.7L variant's 2008 10 Best Engines award marks the 14th consecutive win for the VQ, and it is the only engine to do that It features refinement and ultra-low noise, vibration and harshness levels. Like many rivals, however, Nissan has not resisted the temptation to increase displacement, and over the years
Feb. 1, 2008 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
He Runs Largest Lexus Store
JM Lexus in Margate, FL, has been the top-selling Lexus dealership in the U.S. for 16 years, reaching record sales of 7,786 new vehicles in 2006 and about 8,000 in 2007. Ward's interviewed James Dunn, general manager and vice-president of the dealership which employs 414 people. Ward's: When was JM Lexus founded? Dunn: We were founded by Jim Moran, the head of JM Family Enterprises and the Toyota
By Mac Gordon • Feb. 1, 2008
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