Cuneo Leaves Toyota for Law

Cuneo was in charge of selecting manufacturing sites for the auto maker, which he joined in 1984.

By Ward's Staff • Oct. 11, 2006

Subaru Goes From Snowbelt to Sunbelt

New dealership in Texas represents a fresh look and a new strategy.

By Steve Finlay • Oct. 10, 2006

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

Volvo Prices New S80 Sedan

Both the I-6 and V-8 mills will be mated to a 6-speed automatic transmission with Geartronic sequential shifting.

By Ward's Staff • Oct. 10, 2006

Ford to Supply E-Series Chassis Cabs for Hybridization

The heavy-duty hybrid-electric vehicle system was developed in-house by Azure, with some guidance from Ford engineers.

By Byron Pope • Oct. 10, 2006

Citroen Considers Selling Cars in Canada

Citroen has been expanding rapidly overseas, last year selling 244,000 vehicles, 17.5% of its total deliveries, outside of Europe.

By William Diem • Oct. 5, 2006

Saturn, Opel En Route to Complete Integration

"From now on, whenever we develop a vehicle, we have to make sure we can export it to the U.S., and vice versa," says General Motors Europe President Carl-Peter Forster.

By Alisa Priddle • Oct. 4, 2006

Groundbreaking Ceremony Set for Kia Plant

As ground already was broken for the $1.2 billion plant in West Point, GA, the ceremony is an opportunity for officials from the state and Kia to formally gather.

By Ward's Staff • Oct. 3, 2006

Ford Belt Driven

Ford Motor Co. says it is making passenger safety an even greater priority starting with its '07 lineup. The auto maker will make standard a bevy of safety features and currently is working on cutting-edge technology, such as 4-point and inflatable seatbelts. Side airbags, as well as side curtain airbags, will be standard equipment on 14 '07 models, including the upcoming Ford Edge and Lincoln MKX

By Byron Pope • Oct. 1, 2006

Ford OKs Fairlane, Keeps Town Car

Deep in the throes of massive restructuring, Ford Motor Co. charts the Way Forward with new products soon to launch. The auto maker says 70% of Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles will be new or significantly upgraded between now and 2008, including a completely redesigned Ford F-150 pickup. The Ford Fairlane CUV will go on sale in 2008 and be built at Ford's Oakville, Ont., Canada, assembly plant,

Oct. 1, 2006

Horsepower No Longer Rules the Day

Ford Motor Co., General Motors Corp. and the Chrysler Group are launching a rash of new models, and that's generally good news. Trouble is, the lion's share happen to be trucks and SUVs. Now, all you have to do is predict whether the “newness” of these out-of-sync '07s can offset the alarmingly rapid customer shift to more fuel-efficient alternatives and away from the trucks and SUVs that have made you a fortune in the last decade (you have made a fortune, right?).

By Bill Visnic • Oct. 1, 2006

Improved, But Dull

Sans badging, casual observers would be hard-pressed to guess the car being test-driven in California in mid-August hails from Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. Isn't this the auto maker that clawed its way back to profitability and acclaim with bold, eye-catching styling, evident on the current-generation Altima and Infiniti G35? Shiro Nakamura, Nissan's global design chief who has risen to rock-star status

By Christie Schweinsberg • Oct. 1, 2006

Active In Deactivation

A new day is dawning for cylinder deactivation. The technology that idles unneeded cylinders in V-6s and V-8s during light-load driving cycles had been shelved after General Motors Corp. engines so equipped in the 1980s performed miserably. But over the past several years, as the popularity of big engines collides with volatile fuel prices, cylinder deactivation has become increasingly attractive

By Tom Murphy • Oct. 1, 2006

Nissan Mulls Pathfinder Platform

As consumers continue moving away from traditional body-on-frame SUVs, a Nissan North America Inc. official says the auto maker is mulling the future direction of its Pathfinder model. The midsize Pathfinder originally rode on a body-on-frame architecture and moved to a unibody, or monobody, platform in its second generation. In '05, it went back to being truck-based, employing the F-Alpha platform

Oct. 1, 2006

Young Guy, Big Plans

Ten years ago, 26-year-old Chad McWhinney went to see Joe Gebhardt, owner of Davidson Chevrolet here, to convince him to participate in building a large auto mall in town. McWhinney recently had purchased a car for his mother-in-law and was dissatisfied with having to drive several miles from dealership to dealership to find the right car. As a result, McWhinney wanted to include an auto

By Cliff Banks • Oct. 1, 2006

Project Driveway

General Motors Corp. will launch a large-scale experiment involving fuel-cell vehicles (FCVs) next year when it gives the keys to 100 hydrogen-fueled Chevrolet Equinox cross/utility vehicles to consumers in three U.S. cities. The auto maker takes the wraps off its adapted '07 Chevy Equinox FCV, which it will lease to select drivers in Los Angeles, New York and Washington in 3-month stints. Expected

Oct. 1, 2006

Seeking Status

It might have been too obvious if Toyota Motor Corp.'s luxury division held its press preview for the fourth-generation Lexus LS 460 sedan in the industrial city of Stuttgart, home of arch-rival DaimlerChrysler AG's luxury car division, Mercedes-Benz. Instead, the Lexus event is staged in the venerable Tyrolean city of Salzburg, Austria, which is just 189 miles (302 km) from Mercedes' headquarters;

By Steve Finlay • Oct. 1, 2006

Dearborn’s Dark Day

Ford Motor Co.'s Way Forward restructuring plan, barely eight months old, has been pulled way forward. The plan to restore North American profitability to the Dearborn auto maker calls for additional plant closings, the shuttering or selling off of former Visteon Corp. plants, a 30% reduction in its salaried workforce and buyout offers to all of its United Auto Workers union employees. These and other

By Byron Pope • Oct. 1, 2006

Ford Unveils ’08 F-Series Super Duty Lineup

The F-450 rides on its own unique chassis and incorporates a new rear leaf spring and radius-arm suspension from the F-450 chassis cab.

By Byron Pope • Sept. 29, 2006

Toyota, GM to Invest in NUMMI

Toyota denies the investment in the northern California plant is a way to strengthen its relationship with General Motors.

By Ward's Staff • Sept. 29, 2006

Ford Credit to Restructure, Cut Staff

Changes at Ford's finance arm include about 2,000 job cuts and the consolidation of 59 U.S. branches into six existing service centers.

By Ward's Staff • Sept. 29, 2006

GM to Build RWD Cars in Numerous Countries

The program can yield high, low, medium, long and sporty cars from the same chassis and structural supports, giving it enormous breadth.

By Alisa Priddle • Sept. 29, 2006

Mondeo Debut Boosts Genk

Mondeo production will push capacity utilization to more than 100% at Ford's Belgium plant.

By Eric Mayne • Sept. 29, 2006

International Team Creates GM’s Most Global Concept Ever

The way in which the world-touring car took shape is indicative of Chevrolet's international alignment and intentions as a brand.

By Alan Harman • Sept. 28, 2006

Nissan Smyrna Begins ’07 Altima Production

Since June 1992 Nissan's Smyrna plant has built 2.4 million Altima sedans.

By Ward's Staff • Sept. 27, 2006

DC, Tiriac Holdings to Establish Import JV in Romania

The newly formed DaimlerChrysler Automotive Romania will take over sales of all DC brands effective Jan. 1.

By Peter Homola • Sept. 27, 2006