Lincoln Zephyr to Get Duratec 35 in ‘07

Ford Motor Co.'s new 3.5L Duratec 35 V-6 will power the Lincoln Zephyr beginning with model year '07, Ward's has learned. Built at Ford's Lima, OH, plant, the 250-hp engine is the same one that will be used to power the upcoming Ford Edge and Lincoln MKX cross/utility vehicles, unveiled at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. The plant was given a $335 million overhaul in 2003 and

Feb. 1, 2006

Detroit’s Great Metamorphosis

Local dealers are responsible for transforming the Detroit auto show from a regional exhibition into a huge international event. The success of the show is due to daring dealers here, says Robert Thibodeau Jr., a Ford dealer and co-chairman of the Detroit automotive extravaganza now called the North American International Auto Show. The first Detroit show was in 1907, sponsored by 17 dealers and staged

By Steve Finlay • Feb. 1, 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

Camry’s Mixed Bag

An auto maker redesigning one of its best-selling models must proceed with caution. If the next-generation vehicle is too radical a departure, the company risks a backlash. Play it safe, though, and it invites accusations of being too conservative. The higher the volume, the more intense the pressure to get it right. Toyota Motor Corp. understands this in redesigning the Camry, America's best-selling

By Christie Schweinsberg • Feb. 1, 2006

Rugged Appeal

Loyalists may find the new FJ Cruiser far out, as Toyotas go. But it's no Scion in spite of a boxy appearance that draws comparisons with the youth brand's xB model. The 2-tone color scheme a white roof, colored body panels and rugged demeanor ensure it will stand out. Even dressed in boring burgundy, the FJ garners flirtatious glances from men and women in the hills of Santa Barbara. Toyota is hoping

By Christie Schweinsberg • Feb. 1, 2006

Humble Beginnings

Attracting a huge crowd at Detroit's Cobo Center, Geely Automobile Co. becomes the first Chinese auto maker to hold a press conference at the Detroit auto show. Geely says it plans to begin selling cars in North America at the end of 2008. The company told Ward's it planned to sell cars in the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico in 2008 and likely would enter the North American mainland in 2009. John Harmer,

Feb. 1, 2006

Spade Takes Swipe at Dodge Neon

Comic David Spade took the stage at the Detroit auto show with Chrysler global marketing and sales chief Joe Eberhardt for the unveiling of the '07 Dodge Caliber. Designed to replace the Neon small car, the Caliber offers more content than the Neon for $410 less than the Neon's starting sticker. Dude, anything looks good compared with a Neon, Spade deadpans.

Feb. 1, 2006

A Breed Apart

Mazda North American Operations has had a string of good luck since it launched its Mazda6 midsize car three years ago, eventually available in sedan, wagon and hatchback body styles. The Japanese auto maker now unleashes the Mazdaspeed6, bridging its best-selling midsize car with its Mazdaspeed performance brand. Mazda has modest expectations for the Mazdaspeed6, which comes only in the sedan body

By Christie Schweinsberg • Feb. 1, 2006

Ford Dealers Join Activists’ Go-Green Efforts

By soliciting the backing of several Ford dealers, a movement to force Ford Motor Co. to improve its fuel economy ratings and build more hybrid vehicles inadvertently evokes support for the direction Chairman and CEO Bill Ford is taking the family business. Jumpstartford.com, a coalition of activist groups that have demonstrated at Ford dealerships, presented pre-written letters to dealership managers

By Steve Miller • Feb. 1, 2006

New Tundra, Hyundai Van Bow in Chicago

Toyota Motor Corp.'s fullsize Tundra pickup and Hyundai Motor Corp.'s Entourage minivan headline a raft of new product unveilings expected for the Chicago Auto Show this month. The all-new Tundra is Toyota's first full-blooded stab at the heart of the U.S. big-pickup market and will be built at a new plant in Texas. Hyundai hopes to maintain sales momentum with the all-new Entourage, its first minivan,

Feb. 1, 2006

Ambitious Mall Gets 1st Dealership in CO

Motorplex at Centerra, an ambitious auto mall being developed in Loveland, CO, has its first dealership: Co's BMW, which relocated from Fort Collins. The 100-acre auto park, Colorado's only master-planned auto park, is part of a developing 3,000-acre mixed-use community near Denver. The upscale center will be the largest gathering of auto dealers in Northern Colorado and set the tone for leading automotive

Feb. 1, 2006

4 Million Subscribers

OnStar works. That's the message from OnStar President Chet Huber, who says the telematics service fast is becoming a big plus for General Motors Corp. and a huge competitive advantage others will have a difficult time matching if they are even bold enough to try. Now in its 10th year of operation, OnStar is on the verge of hitting the 4 million mark in active subscribers this month, and the service

By David E. Zoia • Feb. 1, 2006

Cosmai Out At Hyundai Motor U.S.

Robert Cosmai is out as president and CEO of Hyundai Motor America. HMA has named O.S. (Owen) Koh to the top job. Bob has done a fine job of leading the company's sales efforts for five years and later serving as its president for the last two years, says Koh in a statement. We appreciate his many accomplishments and wish him the best in the future. Hyundai says it selected Koh, formerly chief executive

Feb. 1, 2006

Ford’s Major Players Talk of Way Forward

DETROIT Ford Motor Co.'s still-secret Way Forward plan is focused on customer service, “reflective learning” and efficiency, key executives say. Full disclosure of the restructuring plan will not come until Jan. 23, but Executive Vice-President and President of the Americas Mark Fields and Anne Stevens, executive vice president and chief operating officer of the Americas, say a better targeting of

By Steve Miller • Jan. 13, 2006

GM Lukewarm on Other Niche Programs

DETROIT – The Chevrolet SSR roadster pickup was a disappointment for General Motors Corp., and the plant that assembled it, the Lansing, MI, Craft Centre, is closing this year. The auto maker remains interested in unique niche vehicle projects, but it appears doubtful GM will give the go-ahead for such a program in the near term, says Gary Cowger, group vice president-Global Manufacturing and Labor

By Tom Murphy • Jan. 12, 2006

Scion Won’t Shoot for 200,000 in 2006

DETROIT –Tallying up an impressive 156,485 units in the U.S. last year, Toyota Motor Corp.’s Scion youth brand is not setting its sights any higher for 2006. Scion Vice President Mark Templin tells Ward’s in an interview at the North American International Auto Show here that the brand won’t be targeting 200,000 sales this year for fear it would lose some of its niche appeal. “No, that’s not our intention,”

By Christie Schweinsberg • Jan. 12, 2006

Quattroporte to Get Automatic Transmission

DETROIT – Maserati SpA’s Quattroporte will feature an automatic transmission in 2007. Sources confirm for Ward’s that the luxury sedan, whose sales have suffered slightly because it is not available with a fully automatic transmission, will offer the option next year. Sergio Marchionne, CEO of Maserati parent Fiat SpA, has said development of the transmission is well under way.(See related story:

By Eric Mayne • Jan. 11, 2006

Chrysler Hopes Aspen SUV Will be Profit Monster

DETROIT Meet Chrome-zilla. That is Chrysler Group's internal pet name for the '07 Aspen, Chrysler brand's first SUV due in showrooms this fall. A mid-year production start is scheduled for the 8-passenger fullsize SUV, which will share a platform with the Dodge Durango. Chrysler executives are not worried by the softening SUV market, nor the prospect that Aspen might cannibalize Durango sales. Fullsize

By Eric Mayne • Jan. 10, 2006

Chrysler Says Caliber Breaks New Ground in Hatchbacks

DETROIT – Chrysler Group’s Dodge brand could be playing Russian roulette by making its lone small-car offering, the ’07 Caliber, available only as a hatchback. But Chrysler COO Eric Ridenour is confident the design will score a bull’s eye despite the U.S. market’s preference for sedans. “To be successful sometimes mean being consistent with what the marketplace expects,” Ridenour tells Ward’s. “Sometimes

By Eric Mayne • Jan. 10, 2006

Geely Announces North American Sales Plans

DETROIT Attracting a crowd that spilled over the balconies here at Cobo Center, Geely Automobile Co. becomes the first Chinese auto maker to hold a press conference at the North American International Auto Show. Geely says it plans to begin selling cars in North America “at the end of 2008.” Geely executives told Ward's earlier at the show the auto maker planned to sell cars in the U.S. territory

By Christie Schweinsberg • Jan. 10, 2006

Kia Plant Decision Coming in Next 6 Months

DETROIT – Kia Motors Corp. likely will announce where it will build its first North American plant in the spring or summer, says its chief U.S. executive. “We haven’t yet got an official date, but I know there is a lot of activity that’s going on with regards to a production facility in America,” Len Hunt, chief operating officer, Kia Motors America, tells reporters following Kia’s press conference

By Christie Schweinsberg • Jan. 10, 2006

Mazda Shows Kabura Concept, Prices CX-7

DETROIT Mazda Motor Corp. zoom zooms into the North American International Auto Show here with the world debut of its Kabura concept, a 3+1 sports car aimed at reinvigorating driving excitement among the auto maker's younger customers. Kabura is taken from the Japanese term “kabura-ya,” meaning an arrow that makes a howling sound, which, historically, was used to signify the start of a battle. The

By Mike Sutton • Jan. 9, 2006

Premier Auto Group Puts on Positive Face for Auto Show

DETROIT – Although the Premier Automotive Group has been a money-loser for Ford Motor Co., its presentation at the North American International Auto Show bespeaks its never-say-die confidence. The group includes Volvo, Land Rover and Aston Martin brands. PAG's music here was louder and edgier and light presentations were brighter and more manic, carrying a hefty punch of authority. Among the group's

By Steve Miller • Jan. 9, 2006

Lincoln MKS Sedan Concept Looks Small But Thinks Big

DETROIT Ford Motor Co. is attempting to create a lot of excitement about the passenger-car market, altering its production mix for this year's first quarter and promising small is the new big, in so many words. So it follows that Lincoln's newest sedan entry, the MKS concept unveiled here today at the North American International Auto Show, is a fullsize luxury car that does not look big. (See related

By Steve Miller • Jan. 9, 2006

Escalade ESV, EXT Due in May

DETROIT – Style and chrome mark the ’07 Cadillac Escalade, the long-wheelbase Escalade ESV and the Cadillac EXT pickup, the stars of a party hosted by General Motors Corp. on the eve of the first day at the North American International Auto Show here. GM’s goal was to stay true to the Cadillac philosophy and offer a new Escalade that takes the fullsize SUV over the top with an opulent interior, 403

By Alisa Priddle • Jan. 9, 2006

Edge CUV Portends Future of Ford

DETROIT Ford Motor Co. follows through on its commitment to cross/utility vehicles with the Ford Edge and Lincoln MKX, unveiled today at the North American International Auto Show. The midsize CUVs ride on the CD3 platform that launched the Mazda6 and was modified to produce the Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan and Lincoln Zephyr midsize sedans. With the sedans off to a strong start in the market, Ford

By Steve Miller • Jan. 8, 2006