How Dealers Saved Lexus

In 1995, Toyota's fledging Lexus brand was hit by currency fluctuations, low volume and a trade-dispute threat of a 100% tariff on foreign luxury vehicles. Confidence in the then 5-year-old luxury brand was pretty low, Irv Miller, group vice president of Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. tells the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants' National Auto Dealership Conference in Baltimore, MD. What's

By Steve Finlay • Dec. 1, 2005

Zetsche Gave Chrysler a License To Thrill

LAS VEGAS DaimlerChrysler AG Chairman-Elect Dieter Zetsche promises to maintain close ties with Chrysler Group dealers as he bids them farewell during a sentimental and off-beat send-off here. Zetsche, who relinquished leadership of Chrysler in September, received a standing ovation from the 7,000 dealers and dealer representatives gathered to say and to the charismatic executive who engineered the

By Eric Mayne • Dec. 1, 2005

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

Ford’s Way Forward

Ford Motor Co. plans to reduce its salaried personnel costs in North America by an average of 10%, Wards has learned. The sweeping move will cut the equivalent of about 4,000 positions as part of its restructuring plan, referred to as Way Forward, which will be announced in January (see story, p.30). The involuntary cuts will involve the reduction of salaried, agency and purchased services, according

Dec. 1, 2005

New and Modern Dealerships Keep Coming

New dealerships are opening across the country. Dealer principals include a famous sports legend. Designs include a 2-story showroom with room upstairs for displaying dozens of cars. Here are some recent openings: Baseball legend Hank Aaron adds to his dealership holdings with the opening of Hank Aaron Toyota in McDonough, GA. The 52,000-sq.-ft. facility incorporates Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A.'s new

By Steve Finlay • Dec. 1, 2005

Hits & Misses

It was love at first sight, even though Jacquelyn Koslowski only could see the back of the all-new '06 Volkswagen Passat. The rest of it still was shrink-wrapped, freshly delivered to a car dealership near Boston. Koslowski, 52, went to the dealership in July intending to buy a previous-generation Passat. When she expressed an interest in the newly delivered car, it was unwrapped, test driven, purchased

By Steve Finlay • Dec. 1, 2005

Ford Averts Potential Boycott

Ford Motor Co. has averted a boycott scheduled for Dec. 1 by the American Family Assn. (AFA), Ward’s has learned. The proposed boycott, which was halted in June, a few weeks after its start, was in protest of what the AFA calls an “enthusiastic” support of the gay rights agenda. In averting the AFA boycott, Ford may have made some concessions in its policy of advertising and support of gay publications

By Cliff Banks and Steve Miller • Nov. 30, 2005

Chrysler’s ‘Everyman’ CEO Promises to Continue Momentum

AUBURN HILLS, MI Frankness comes naturally to Tom LaSorda, who is more Everyman than executive. His forthright manner makes life interesting for those charged with crafting the official corporate image that emanates from Chrysler Group headquarters. In an exclusive interview with Ward's, the new CEO broaches the subject of supplier bankruptcies. Every year, LaSorda says, Chrysler evaluates the financial

By Eric Mayne • Nov. 30, 2005

Nissan to Focus on New Small Cars, HQ Move

It isn't often an auto maker picks up and moves its headquarters 2,000 miles (3,219 km), especially if the former location is in sunny Southern California, home to a booming car culture. But Nissan North America Inc. will be doing just that next summer. Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. and Renault SA CEO Carlos Ghosn announced in early November the auto maker would hitch up the moving van and say so long to

By Christie Schweinsberg • Nov. 30, 2005

Jeep, Hummer, Suzuki?

In Europe, the Suzuki Grand Vitara is a segment leader among compact SUVs, distinguished by its off-road capability. Suzuki Motor Corp. took great pains, in switching to a cross/utility vehicle architecture for the all-new '06 model that replaces both the Grand Vitara and Vitara SUVs, to preserve that rugged image. The new vehicle is a bit wider and 11.5 ins. (29.2 cm) longer, but the overhangs are

By Alisa Priddle • Nov. 1, 2005

Inner Strength

It was P. Diddy. Now it's just Diddy. It was Jetta GLI. Now it's just GLI. When you're struggling with an identity crisis, less often is more. Hip Hop impresario Sean Combs, aka Puff Daddy and P. Diddy, is struggling to remain fresh and relevant with a young, fickle audience constantly looking for something new. The GLI is fighting much the same battle. Plus, Volkswagen AG is hoping to build the same

By Drew Winter • Nov. 1, 2005

Appearances Really Do Count

AUBURN HILLS, MI Claiming an industry first, General Motors Corp. has established a design studio that focuses exclusively on developing vehicle accessories. Set up with supplier Plastech Engineered Products Inc. in February, the GM Accessory Design Studio in Auburn Hills, MI, employs about 15 people who work with suppliers and the nearby GM Design Center to develop aftermarket parts during the vehicle-development

By Brian Corbett • Nov. 1, 2005

5 Dealer Guys’ on Forbes Rich List Again

Five billionaires with auto dealer interests continue to occupy spots on the latest Forbes 400 roster of the richest people in America. The five with dealer ties include James Moran, 87, inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame last month. The owner of the Southeast Toyota distributorship and the JM&A finance and insurance organization, he has a net worth of $1.4 billion, according to Forbes. The

Nov. 1, 2005

Nanotech Embraced

Ford Motor Co., The Boeing Co. and Northwestern University are linking up to research and develop commercial applications for nanotechnology, which the auto maker says could lead to advancements in hybrid-electric and hydrogen-powered vehicles. Nanotechnology is the branch of molecular-level engineering that deals with things smaller than 100 nanometers. Applications exist in automobiles today, including

By David E. Zoia • Nov. 1, 2005

Ford’s Fire Sale

Detroit's newest auto supplier came into the world an orphan, unloved and unwanted by its parents and long suffering from prenatal neglect. Automotive Components Holdings LLC is a conglomeration of 23 plants and research facilities owned by Visteon Corp. for the past five years and before that by Visteon's former parent, Ford Motor Co. Visteon, struggling for survival in the face of uncompetitive

Nov. 1, 2005

Ford, Firestone Reach $240M Deal

Bridgestone Firestone North American Tire LLC will pay Ford Motor Co. $240 million to cover its obligation in connection with a pair of recalls that cost the auto maker more than $2 billion and tarnished the reputations of both companies. The joint settlement covers Ford's voluntary recall of 6.5 million tires in August 2000, and its Firestone tire replacement program, which culled 13 million tires

Nov. 1, 2005

A Manufacturing Gem

Inaugurating production Oct. 3 of its all-new 4-cyl. engine family at the Global Engine Manufacturing Alliance (GEMA) in Dundee, MI, GEMA and DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler Group executives promise the engine-manufacturing joint venture between DC, Hyundai Motor Co. Ltd. and Mitsubishi Motors Corp. will be a model of lean-manufacturing productivity. Although manufacturing of production engines officially

By Bill Visnic • Nov. 1, 2005

Titanic Performer

Bentleys used to be fuddie-duddie cars, high-powered but low-revving cruisers Hollywood dentists and screenwriters bought to prove they had arrived. But with '03's sinewy, titanically successful Continental GT and now the Silver Spur, the GT's 4-door variant that stereotype no longer is valid. These new-age Bentleys are cool, calculated and covetable in the businesslike fashion of many highline German

By Bill Visnic • Nov. 1, 2005

Delphi CEO: I’m not blaming General Motors

Delphi Corp. stock has been delisted on Wall Street; its bond rating has been downgraded; a U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New York will oversee a massive restructuring of the Troy, MI-based supplier's U.S. operations; and thousands of employees fear for the loss of their jobs and benefits. Could Delphi's Oct. 8 bankruptcy filing have been avoided if 3-way negotiations with General Motors Corp. and the

By Tom Murphy • Nov. 1, 2005

Lexus Concept Car Hints at Next-Generation LS

TOKYO Toyota Motor Corp.'s Lexus Div. uses the Tokyo Motor Show to feed the public's insatiable hunger for hybrids, while hinting strongly at the appearance of its next-generation LS sedan. Augmenting a procession of Toyota-brand hybrids, the auto maker recently took the wraps off the LF-Sh, a muscular gasoline-electric sedan concept that closely resembles the next-generation Lexus flagship, a company

By Eric Mayne • Oct. 27, 2005

Hyundai Accent, Azera Impress

LA JOLLA, CA In the late 1980s and for most of the 1990s, Hyundai Motor America was known for building small and not-always-reliable cars. But those cars, such as the subcompact Accent, helped the South Korean auto maker get a foothold in the U.S. at a time when the Big Three were focused on maximizing profits from their popular fullsize pickups and SUVs. Now, with gasoline prices still pinching U.S.

By Christie Schweinsberg • Oct. 24, 2005

Mazda Advances Hydrogen Rotary Rollout; Promises Start-Stop Technology

TOKYO Mazda Motor Corp. pulls ahead by six months its testing of a hydrogen-powered rotary engine, as the auto maker announces advanced powertrains will drive development of its next-generation product lineup. “We are making good progress towards developing a hydrogen rotary engine for a mass production vehicle,” Mazda President and CEO Hisakazu Imaki says. “We will start leasing RX-8 RE hydrogen

By Eric Mayne • Oct. 21, 2005

Mazda Designer Takes Knife to Concept Car

TOKYO There is something fishy about Mazda Motor Corp.'s Senku 4-seat rotary-engine concept car. Its exterior is reminiscent of the dramatic stainless steel finish that makes the DeLorean sports car memorable even today, nearly 30 years after the last one was built. But unlike the Delorean, the Senku is painted. Its designer was inspired by a sushi chef's knife. Franz von Holzhausen, director of Mazda's

By Eric Mayne • Oct. 21, 2005

Renault Gaining But Still Small-Volume Brand in Japan

TOKYO Renault SA is counting on its 2005 Formula 1 championship to add to its notoriety in Japan, but the auto maker says it plans no special promotion on the subject. Despite its alliance with Nissan Motor Co. Ltd., Renault is tiny in Japan. It will sell about 3,500 cars here this year, about 10% more than in 2004 and 50% better than in 2003. The F1 championship will help show Renault makes capable,

By William Diem • Oct. 19, 2005

Mazda to Debut Senku Concept, New MPV at Tokyo

Mazda Motor Corp. will be showing a new concept vehicle, the Senku, and the new Mazda MPV minivan, as well as other concept and production models at the upcoming Tokyo Motor Show this month. On Oct.19, Mazda will unveil the Senku at its press conference. The Senku, which it calls a “4-seat rotary sports car for adults,” is Japanese for “pioneer.” The auto maker wants to now shift its focus from younger

By Christie Schweinsberg • Oct. 5, 2005

BMW Tech Training Starts Early

Seventeen year-old Jonathan Alejo expertly removes the lug nuts from each tire on a 3 Series BMW as he goes over the details of the car's service ticket. After performing an oil change, he rotates the tires and sends the car off for a test drive. Alejo works in the service center on the fourth floor of the huge BMW of Manhattan dealership on West 57th Street. He's sharp, moves quickly and knows a

Oct. 1, 2005