Lexus to Offer SC Pebble Beach Edition

The special edition SC pairs an exclusive exterior color, Starfire Pearl, with a Pimento Red leather interior and black birds-eye maple trim.

By Ward's Staff • Aug. 15, 2006

SAIC Wins Bidding for Rover Name

SAIC, China's largest auto maker, already owns intellectual property rights to the Rover 75 sedan model and is readying its own brand.

By Ward's Staff From Wires • Aug. 15, 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

Lexus Seeks Higher Status With LS 460

Lexus wants to move into the high-end prestige luxury market with the new LS 460 flagship sedan.

By Steve Finlay • Aug. 15, 2006

GM CEO Visits Standout Dealership

In import-oriented California, Three-Way Chevrolet's dealer principal sets sales records, builds a new dealership and gets a visit from Rick Wagoner.

By Ann Job • Aug. 14, 2006

Honda Debates E85 Vehicle for U.S.

A Honda spokesman says it would not be hard for the auto maker to produce a flex-fuel vehicle, calling the technology “very easy.”

By Christie Schweinsberg • Aug. 11, 2006

Yazaki Foresees Little Impact From Ford’s Hybrid Decision

Hybrids remain a niche business for Yazaki North America, so the Ford cutback is "not a major issue other than, 'Too bad,'" CEO George Perry says.

By David C. Smith • Aug. 10, 2006

Covisint Wins Shanghai GM Contract

Its bubble burst along with the Internet's, but Covisint has reinvented itself and is growing again.

By Drew Winter • Aug. 9, 2006

Ford Confirms Lincoln MKS, Ford Shelby GT

The announcement comes at a time when critics are accusing the auto maker of having a dearth of new products.

By Byron Pope • Aug. 9, 2006

Ford Should Think Twice Before Jettisoning Jaguar

Ford hasn't come close to earning back its investment in Jaguar, but that doesn't mean the brand can't be lucrative if the auto maker can get the management right.

By David E. Zoia • Aug. 9, 2006

Nissan Says 80% of Nashville Jobs Filled

Nissan's Jim Morton, a close friend of Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn, was seen by many as the architect of the move to Tennessee, but he says the idea arose before his arrival.

By Christie Schweinsberg • Aug. 9, 2006

Chrysler Financial Streamlines Buyer Contract Process

More than 100 Chrysler Group dealers have begun using eContract, launched in 2005. The company expects that number to increase tenfold by year's end.

By David C. Smith • Aug. 7, 2006

Martens Sees More Supplier Consolidation

Ford's former product-development boss sees a future of heavy restructuring for the North American auto industry.

By Bill Visnic • Aug. 7, 2006

Honda Says NA Tool Industry Viable

Honda of America launched an initiative in 2002 designed to help the North American tooling industry thrive by collaborating with suppliers and tooling companies.

By David C. Smith • Aug. 7, 2006

Ford Learned Cost-Cutting Tool and Die Tricks From Mazda

By implementing Mazda, Volvo and Ford of Europe processes, Ford's North American operations were able to cut 45% off die-development lead time.

By Byron Pope • Aug. 7, 2006

Chrysler Aspen Rolls Off Assembly Line

Aspen is the first-ever Chrysler-badged SUV.

By Ward's Staff • Aug. 4, 2006

Infiniti’s Studio on Wheels Bows

The sound system reproduces music in a way that virtually puts the listener in the studio with the band.

By Herb Shuldiner • Aug. 3, 2006

Ford’s Crazy Marathon: Two Steps Forward, One Back

Faster footsteps are necessary to address circumstances the auto maker says are beyond its control.

By Alisa Priddle • Aug. 2, 2006

Mega Alliance

Asked at the New York auto show in April what advice he has for struggling General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co., Renault SA-Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. CEO Carlos Ghosn fires off a quick response. he says. Sent on a rescue mission from Renault to Nissan in 1999, Ghosn says he didn't follow any outside advice himself, mainly because it came from people lacking intimate knowledge of Nissan's staggering

By Scott Anderson • Aug. 1, 2006

Consolidation Copout

The best way to sell cars and trucks is through a dealer with just one brand in the showroom. No others. Exclusive. One hundred years of history prove it. When new makes such as Hyundai and Kia debut in a market, they often start out with other brands at a retail outlet, but as soon as they can, they try to line up exclusive dealers. Two Detroit companies are ignoring all this history: General Motors

By Jerry Flint • Aug. 1, 2006

An Exciting New Chapter

As Cerberus Capital Management moves to acquire a 51% stake in the General Motors Acceptance Corp., GM's financing arm is pursuing business expansion strategies appealing to both GM and non-GM dealers. For GM dealers, concerned whether the financing subsidiary will remain as committed to GM products as it has been since its founding in 1919, GMAC will remain the exclusive provider of GM's subvented

By Mac Gordon • Aug. 1, 2006

Kindness Pays In Service Lanes

Service advisor Sandi Nguyen of Courtesy Toyota in Tampa, FL, spots a white-haired woman stepping out of her blue Camry and planting her four-pronged cane on the service-lane floor. Clipboard in hand, Nguyen escorts the oldster to an air-conditioned service lounge, offers her a seat and asks her what needs to be done for her vehicle. Oil change? Why not review the printed service menu, suggests Nguyen

By Maureen McDonald • Aug. 1, 2006

Create Your Own Brand

Branding is an auto industry buzzword long detested, rightfully so at times. Dealers have had a hard time determining its use in the retail environment. But those who understand branding's marketing relevance embrace it. Take Palm Springs (CA) Motors, a Ford, Lincoln-Mercury dealership. From a branding perspective, this store was full of potential nightmares. First, its name excluded any product identity,

By Cheril Hendry • Aug. 1, 2006

Solid, But Lacking

It's likely a coincidence. Just as Honda Motor Co. Ltd.'s Acura luxury brand prepares to launch its RDX small cross/utility vehicle with a 2.3L turbocharged 4-cyl. and all-wheel drive, Mazda Motor Corp. rolls out its all-new CUV with the same attributes. While Acura officials insist the real competition for the '07 RDX is BMW AG's 6-cyl. X3, the timing couldn't be worse, with the Mazda CX-7 already

By Christie Schweinsberg • Aug. 1, 2006

A Woman’s Place Is Park Place

Scoot over, Jack. At Park Place Lexus in an affluent northern suburb of Dallas, you're just as likely to find Jill in the driver's seat and on the showroom floor. In an industry where men have traditionally dominated, the Plano, TX, dealership encourages women to excel in the automotive field. People don't think of women in prominent positions in the automobile industry, says Sherry Miller, vice president

Aug. 1, 2006

What’s in a Name? VW Dealers Want to Know

T-I-G-U-A-N. Word from Volkswagen AG headquarters in Germany, says that's the name of the so-called Baby Touareg a smaller, Golf-based version of the auto maker's cross/utility vehicle scheduled for production in 2008. What do U.S. dealers think of the designation? They are, uh, speechless. T-I-G? U-A-N? says Long Nguyen, sales manager of Volkswagen Pasadena, in Pasadena, CA. It sounds like Pronounced

By Eric Mayne • Aug. 1, 2006