Ford Looks For Small-Car Sales

DETROIT – Ford Motor Co. sees the North American market as ripe for small cars and is considering more than one entry in the B-segment, says Jim Padilla, president and chief operating officer. Ford uses the North American International Auto Show here to unveil the Reflex, a small sports car concept, which opens the door to similarly sized cars. “There is room for several possibilities, several entries

By Alisa Priddle and Steve Miller • Jan. 8, 2006

Padilla Not Leaving Ford

DETROIT – “I’m not dead. I’m here,” Jim Padilla, Ford Motor Co. president, says at the North American International Auto Show here. Padilla opened Ford’s presentation Sunday against a backdrop of media reports he will be leaving the company. Speculation has been rife in recent months, as Padilla seemingly has taken a backseat in preparations to announce restructuring of Ford’s North American operations

By Alisa Priddle • Jan. 8, 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

Hyundai Unveils New Santa Fe in Detroit

DETROIT – Hyundai Motor America unveils the all-new ’07 Santa Fe cross/utility vehicle today at the North American International Auto Show here. Set to be built alongside the new Sonata sedan at Hyundai’s U.S. assembly plant in Montgomery, AL, this spring, the Santa Fe will go on sale this summer in the U.S. Hyundai says some early Santa Fe CUVs, however, will be built at Hyundai Motor Co. Ltd.’s

By Christie Schweinsberg • Jan. 8, 2006

New Lexus LS Unveiled in Detroit

DETROIT – Some 17 years after the first-generation model debuted here, the all-new Lexus LS 460 is unveiled today at the North American International Auto Show. Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. Inc. President Jim Press says it is one of 12 new Toyota, Lexus and Scion models launching this year in the U.S. Notable features of the Lexus flagship include the world’s first 8-speed automatic transmission, mated

By Christie Schweinsberg • Jan. 8, 2006

Hyundai Debuts HCD9 Talus in Detroit

DETROIT – Hyundai Motor America unveils the HCD9 Talus concept car here today at the North American International Auto Show. The vehicle is a rear-wheel-drive, 2+2 sports car/SUV hybrid that HMA design chief Joel Piaskowski says is “for a person who has grown accustomed to the needs and benefits of an SUV but desires the emotional gratification of sports car styling and performance.” Piaskowski says

By Christie Schweinsberg • Jan. 8, 2006

Audi AG 4.2L DOHC V-8

It's no secret there are a lot of premium V-8s out there. BMW, Cadillac, Lexus, Infiniti. Even safety-first Volvo Car Corp. has a V-8. In fact, some say development has converged to the point where the world's premium V-8s as a group, those generally of 5L displacement or less are all but indistinguishable. Not so with Audi AG's superb 4.2L DOHC V-8. The reasons Audi's V-8 returns for a third consecutive

By Bill Visnic • Jan. 4, 2006

BMW AG 3L DOHC I-6

In 12 years of creating the Ward's 10 Best Engines list, probably nothing caused more consternation among judges than shutting the door on BMW AG's classic high-volume inline 6-cyl. for the past two years. This was deeply troubling, as there is perhaps no finer volume-production engine, all things considered, than BMW's standard inline 6-cyl. Yet, not to be ignored was the onrush of high-powered V-6s

By Bill Visnic • Jan. 4, 2006

Ford Motor Co. 4.6L SOHC V-8

Most of the conversations about Ford Motor Co.'s 4.6L SOHC V-8 during Ward's 10 Best Engines testing went something like this: “You drive the Mustang yet?” “Yeah. The four-six is nasty. Goes like stink in that car.” “Sounds awesome, too. Perfect muscle-car sounds. Perfect muscle-car V-8, as a matter of fact.” Associating Ford's spectacular 4.6L V-8 so closely with the Mustang is both boon and curse.

By Bill Visnic • Jan. 4, 2006

General Motors Corp. 2.8L Turbocharged DOHC V-6

The dominant engine layout in the U.S. is the V-6. Last year, about 44% of the vehicles produced in North America came so equipped, and V-6s beat every other engine layout in terms of total sales. Strangely, though, there are few V-6s using forced induction to generate big performance. In the U.S., if you want a V-6 with better performance, you buy a V-8. So it is a special day to see an all-new turbocharged

By Bill Visnic • Jan. 4, 2006

Mazda Motor Corp. 2.3L DISI Turbocharged DOHC I-4

Big-horsepower engines are nothing new to the Ward's 10 Best Engines competition. Even big-horsepower engines at incredibly accessible prices are not unusual. Those two attributes provide the foundation of a good 10 Best Engines resume. It's no wonder, then, Mazda Motor Corp.'s sizzling new 2.3L DISI turbocharged DOHC I-4 lands in the winner's circle for 2006. Few hoods in the U.S. market cover a

By Bill Visnic • Jan. 4, 2006

Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. 3.5L DOHC V-6 update from January 2006

An engineer for one of Nissan Motor Co. Ltd.'s rivals recently groused, “You know, you really ought to call it 'Ward's 9 Best Engines,' because Nissan automatically gets a win every year.” The comment was offered good-naturedly but with a twinge of frustration. With a record 12th consecutive win for its landmark 3.5L VQ DOHC V-6, Nissan is making a case for the engineer's suggestion. It has been a

By Bill Visnic • Jan. 4, 2006

’07 Chevy Tahoe on Heady Mission

PHOENIX – This is the big one for General Motors Corp. The ’07 Chevrolet Tahoe is the first of the GMT900 family of fullsize trucks to hit the streets, and it needs every bit of its increased dimensions and high-strength steel. The load – expectations of maintaining high-volume sales and profits – is so crucial that GM accelerated development of this mega-platform. The first GMT900-based SUV, the

By Alisa Priddle • Jan. 3, 2006

Geely Bound for U.S.

Geely Holding Group of China says it plans to enter the U.S. market before the end of the decade. Geely's engineers are currently working on design, engineering, and manufacturing changes that will bring their products into full compliance with U.S. safety and emission standards, says John Harmer, vice president-Geely-USA Inc., in a statement. Although Geely importer EER ISUZU de Puerto Rico has purchased

Jan. 1, 2006

Crossovers Gaining on SUVs

Cross/utility vehicles, amalgamations that look like SUVs but offer kinder rides because they are on car platforms, will outsell traditional SUVs by the end of 2006. So predicts George Pipas, manager of U.S. sales analysis for Ford Motor Co., who has tracked the phenomenal growth of since 1996. That's when the first CUV debuted, the Toyota RAV4. By 2000, crossovers still were a niche segment with

By Steve Finlay • Jan. 1, 2006

Topless Wonder

This spring, when Volvo Cars begins selling its second-generation C70 convertible, the 4-seater will feature advanced active and passive safety systems that combine to produce a high degree of occupant protection, despite the absence of a fixed roof much of the time. It is a major challenge, but today we know considerably more about safety in convertibles than we did with the first C70, says Ingrid

By Herb Shuldiner • Jan. 1, 2006

Bright Idea

Ford Motor Co.'s new electronically sensored adaptive lighting system has eyes. When the concept sedan (set to debut at the Detroit auto show) eases into a curve, its light-emitting-diode panel in the front headlight assembly glows a soft white to follow the contour of the road, giving the driver a wide view of the dark. The panels are at once a safety feature and a technological strike for Ford,

Jan. 1, 2006

Aveo Facelift

General Motors Corp.'s redesigned '07 Chevrolet Aveo sedan will make its North American debut in January at the Greater Los Angeles Auto Show. The Aveo, first introduced in December 2003, has been a solid performer for GM, becoming the leader in the subcompact segment within nine months, capturing a 41% share, says Ed Peper, general manager-Chevrolet. The 4-door gets a major facelift inside and out

Jan. 1, 2006

Asian Invasion

The Big Three U.S. auto makers traditionally hold little back as they prepare a glut of product unveilings for the North American International Auto Show held in Detroit, their backyard. This year, however, General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and the Chrysler Group dialed back the lengthy media previews of each company's offerings in the months leading up to this year's show. GM went so far as to

By Tom Murphy • Jan. 1, 2006

Tahoe’s Heady Mission

This is the big one for General Motors Corp. The '07 Chevrolet Tahoe is the first of the GMT900 family of fullsize trucks to hit the streets, and it needs every bit of its increased dimensions and high-strength steel. The load expectations of maintaining high-volume sales and profits is so crucial that GM accelerated development of this mega-platform. The first GMT900-based SUV, the Tahoe, began salable

By Alisa Priddle • Jan. 1, 2006

A Story That Won’t Die

It is the story that Ford dealers want to go away. Yet it seems there's always a new chapter. Ford Motor Co. is in the middle of a cultural battle between religious conservatives and gays. The auto maker, acting like it isn't sure what to do, has its dealers scratching their heads. After six months of a threatened boycott, secret talks to avoid a boycott, and then allegedly reneging on a deal with

By Cliff Banks • Jan. 1, 2006

Buick, Martha Stewart Launch New Sedan

Martha Stewart is pardoned, by General Motor Corp. anyway. Stewart, who has revived her media superstar career after serving prison time in an insider-trading caper, is helping GM tout its new Buick Lucerne. She gave away a Lucerne to an audience member of her daytime TV show. On her prime-time show, The Apprentice: Martha Stewart, teams competed to design a dealership launch showroom display for

Jan. 1, 2006

Ford Gay Ads Bring Threat Of Boycott

The American Family Assn. (AFA) claims Ford Motor Co. has reneged on an agreement to halt advertising of some brands in gay publications and is now considering reinstating a boycott of Ford products. We had an agreement with Ford, worked out in good faith, Donald Wildmon, chairman of AFA, says in a statement. Sources say Ford, in an effort to placate the AFA, previously agreed to pull ads for luxury

Jan. 1, 2006

Going for the Gold

High fuel prices, hurricanes and floods have not dampened the enthusiasm of James Press, president and COO of Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. Our sales have set a record pace (in 2005), he says, looking at about a 10% increase to about 2.24 million Toyota and Lexus models sold. Although the forecast for the auto industry in North America as a whole may be gloomy, the outlook he sees for Toyota is good,

By Mack Chrysler • Jan. 1, 2006

An All-New Type of Body Shop

Ken Schneider, who owns Metro Toyota Scion in Brook Park, OH, with his father, decided they needed to get into the collision-repair business. We were losing parts sales and car sales because we were sending our customers who needed collision repairs to other dealerships, Schneider says. We needed to close that loop. One problem, though. Schneider wanted to get into a business at a time when many dealers

By Cliff Banks • Dec. 1, 2005

Upside of Complaints

A customer complaint is an opportunity, but one that many dealership personnel pass up. So says Christine MacKenzie, who tracks customer satisfaction as vice president-corporate research and reporting for DaimlerChrysler's Chrysler Group. Missed or muffed chances can damage profits, even though many dealership complaints are easily resolved by an apology or giving an unhappy customer a chance to vent,

By Steve Finlay • Dec. 1, 2005