D-Sourced

Mitsubishi Motors Corp. decides it now will not use a new D-segment platform it co-developed with Chrysler Group. The Japanese auto maker says it plans to continue to use the smaller C-segment platform, but will forgo development of D-segment products. We recently decided to cancel the D portion and develop derivative products off the C-segment on our own, a Mitsubishi spokesman tells Reuters. The

March 1, 2005

Public Will Help Determine Dodge Nitro Fate

CHICAGO – The Dodge Nitro concept SUV unveiled at the Chicago Auto Show here could come out in production form as early as 2006 for the '07 model year. "Nitro was inspired by another concept, the Dodge M80," says Dave McKinnon, vice president of design for Chrysler Group. (See related story: Dodge Thinks Small With Nitro SUV Concept) Based on the midsize Dodge Dakota, the M80 pickup concept was shown

By Jim Mateja • Feb. 11, 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

Dodge Reveals Entry-Level Car Concept

Chrysler Group’s Dodge brand is ready to shake things up in the entry-level C-segment marketplace with its Caliber hatchback concept. The vehicle provides a strong hint of what is to come for the Neon replacement in 2006. Chrysler will show the concept to the public at the Geneva auto show next month. Based on a vehicle platform co-developed with Chrysler’s Japanese partner Mitsubishi Motors Corp.,

By Kevin Kelly • Feb. 11, 2005

Mercedes: Carbon-Ceramic Brakes Not Priority

CHICAGO – Launching a car with 600-plus horsepower makes it incumbent on an auto maker to provide brakes with commensurate capability. Vehicles capable of high velocity require brakes with mighty stopping power, or the driver might find himself on the wrong end of the adage, “You can’t change physics.” The S65 AMG introduced by Mercedes-Benz USA at the Chicago Auto Show here has some of the largest-diameter

By Bill Visnic • Feb. 10, 2005

Kia Says No to Second-Row Stow

DETROIT – When Kia Motors America unveils its new ’06 Sedona minivan this week at the Chicago auto show, don’t look for a stowable second row. (See related story: New Civic Headlines Chicago Show Menu) Kia says having a stowable second row in the minivan, akin to what Chrysler Group has done with its minivans, is not feasible in the Sedona because it would mean sacrificing comfort. A Kia spokesman

By Christie Schweinsberg • Feb. 9, 2005

Dodge’s Mega Cab Pickup Proves Size Matters

Chrysler Group hopes to infect its competitors with a case of cab-size envy as it introduces its ’06 Dodge Ram Mega Cab pickup truck at the Chicago auto show. Built off the Ram Heavy-Duty pickup chassis, the Mega Cab features a voluminous passenger cab, with class leading 44 ins. (112 cm) of rear legroom and a total of 145 cu.-ft. (4 cu.-m) of storage space. The cab is stretched 20 ins. (50.8 cm)

By Kevin Kelly • Feb. 9, 2005

GM Debuts Airbag Technology

CHICAGO – A little more than one week after disclosing plans to equip all of its vehicles with electronic stability control, General Motors Corp. makes another major safety-related announcement. This time it is the introduction of the industry's first passenger-side frontal airbag that customizes restraint by deploying in two different sizes and at different pressures. GM's dual-depth airbag technology

By Brian Corbett • Feb. 9, 2005

Toyota FJ Cruiser Designed for Young Male Buyers

CHICAGO – Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. Inc. blatantly will pursue young males and damp down demand from environmental groups and mature drivers for the ’07 FJ Cruiser SUV. The vehicle, built on a shortened version of the 4Runner chassis, is slated to go on sale in first-quarter 2006 and will be shipped to the U.S. and Canada from Japan. Toyota is targeting 40,000 units out of the gate, but Chief Operating

By John D. Stoll • Feb. 9, 2005

Buick Adds Lucerne to Lineup

CHICAGO – Already, the ’06 Lucerne large sedan is off to a better start than two recently introduced Buicks. Lucerne, which replaces the LeSabre, shares its name with a beautiful city in Switzerland – a far better association than the embarrassingly titled LaCrosse (just ask any French Canadian) sedan or the awfully named Terraza minivan. Monikers aside, Lucerne is similar to the LaCrosse and Terraza

By Brian Corbett • Feb. 9, 2005

Toyota FJ Cruiser Unveiled in Chicago

Toyota Motor Corp. unveils its ’06 FJ Cruiser SUV at the 2005 Chicago Auto Show. Set to go on sale in the U.S. in early 2006, the vehicle is a production version of the concept Toyota rolled out at the 2003 North American International Auto Show in Detroit. “The FJ Cruiser effectively fills a gap in the Toyota lineup which was once our core heritage – affordable and durable vehicles that are youthful,

By Christie Schweinsberg • Feb. 9, 2005

Opel Makes 3

General Motors Corp.'s Opel/Vauxhall brands by 2007 will import into Europe a version of the Saturn Sky roadster from the Wilmington, DE, assembly plant. In addition, GM Europe President Carl Peter Forster tells Ward's Adam Opel AG will look at various opportunities within GM's North American manufacturing base for product sourcing in the future. He says the Sky-based vehicle will be the test case

Feb. 1, 2005

VW Pioneers Free Insurance

Buy a car, get collision insurance free. That idea hits the sales stage in a trial run by Volkswagen of America at its 44 Illinois and Wisconsin dealerships. The concept of connecting dealers with vehicle insurance has been turned into a sales incentive for the first time by VW's In the Car initiative. General Manager Tony Scala of Autobarn Volkswagen, Evanston, IL, estimate the plan is tantamount

By Mac Gordon • Feb. 1, 2005

Chrysler Boosts Hemi Output Again

To meet demand for the Hemi 5.7L V-8, Chrysler Group will invest another $70 million at its Saltillo, Mexico, engine plant. It should help boost output from approximately 480,000 units to 520,000 units once the investment is completed in 2006. Plans also call for Chrysler to boost output of Hemis equipped with the Multi-Displacement (cylinder-deactivation) System from 20% to as much as 80%, depending

Feb. 1, 2005

Jeep Merchandise Mania

If your Jeep customers aren't shopping for shirts, baby strollers and shockproof flashlights while they await maintenance on their vehicle, you could be missing an innovative revenue stream. Rodney Plack, general manager of Landers Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep in Benton, AR, reckons his new 72,000-sq.-ft. store will do $500 a month business in wearable, carry-along merchandise alone in an area set aside for

By Maureen McDonald • Feb. 1, 2005

Virtually Done

Ford Motor Co. shows off the fruit of its 3-year-old North American virtual build program with the introduction of three sedans spawned from the new CD3 (Mazda6-derived) architecture slated for '06. The vehicles Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan and Lincoln Zephyr are Ford's first cars to be completely developed in a North American-based data-driven virtual environment in which manufacturing and product-development

By John D. Stoll • Feb. 1, 2005

GM: Saturn Must Move Upmarket

General Motors Corp. is injecting some life into its anemic Saturn Corp. operation with a host of new products. But its game plan, highlighted at the Detroit auto show rollout of the Saturn Sky roadster and Aura sedan concept, has met with criticism by some analysts who say GM is moving the brand up market too far and too fast. Bob Lutz, GM vice chairman in charge of product development, insists Saturn's

Feb. 1, 2005

Too Old to Buy a Scion?

My friend Jim fits the Scion customer profile, except in one key area. Will that doom Toyota's new youth-oriented division? By most estimates, 65 million young people will turn 16 during the next 10 years a new baby boom. Every full-line auto maker wants to lure them to its brand and eventually get them to trade up to more profitable models. Toyota was one of the most successful in doing this with

By Drew Winter • Feb. 1, 2005

All American?

It's not quite apple pie and baseball, but the third-generation Avalon is the most all-American vehicle Toyota Motor Corp. has developed to date. This flagship is poised to win over more U.S. buyers with increased dimensions and added features and trim levels. Engineered at the Toyota Technical Center in Ann Arbor, MI, styled at the Calty studio in Newport Beach, CA, and built in Georgetown, KY, this

By Alisa Priddle • Feb. 1, 2005

SIA Gets CUV

A forthcoming cross/utility vehicle from Saab Automobile will be based on the Subaru B9 Tribeca and built at Subaru of Indiana Automotive Inc. in Lafayette, IN, Ward's learns. Saab will show a concept version of the midsize CUV in April at the New York auto show, and sales are expected to begin in 2006. Fred Adcock, Subaru of America Inc. executive vice president, says SIA is the production site for

Feb. 1, 2005

VW Backs N. American Supply Base

Seeking ways to offset the negative impacts of the strong euro and weak U.S. dollar, Volkswagen AG says it will move to increase purchasing from North American suppliers within the next two years. Boosting the dollar-based component content of vehicles will help the auto maker create a natural hedge to combat the currency problems on its balance sheet, VW CFO Hans Dieter Potsch tells Ward's. We need

Feb. 1, 2005

She Wants to Be No. 1

Jennifer Potter is a 37-year-old wife and mother who staffed and now runs a new dealership in the heart of the largest new-car market in the U.S. Calling herself a lucky dealer lady, she's general manager of Miller Nissan in a new building on Ventura Blvd. in the northern Los Angeles suburb of Woodland Hills, CA. The building, on a hilltop overlooking the 101 Freeway, is a Nissan structure with a

By Mac Gordon • Feb. 1, 2005

Press: Toyota’s FJ Cruiser Not Bare Bones SUV

DETROIT – Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. Inc.’s rugged and retro FJ Cruiser SUV concept, which is rumored to be debuting at the Chicago auto show next month as a production vehicle, will not be a bare bones truck along the lines of its inspiration, the original FJ-40 Toyota Land Cruiser of the 1950s. FJ Cruiser Concept shown in 2003. The FJ Cruiser is “not just basic. There’s some comfort and convenience

By Drew Winter • Jan. 12, 2005

Cho: Toyota Needs to Become ‘100% American Company’

DETROIT – In a continuing effort to win over the hearts and car-buying dollars of American consumers, Toyota Motor Corp. President Fujio Cho says the auto maker must strive to create more jobs here in the U.S. “We still have to make further efforts to become a true American company,” says Cho, speaking through an interpreter in an interview here at the North American International Auto Show. “The

By Christie Schweinsberg • Jan. 12, 2005

Kia Debuts Rio, Large SUV Concept

DETROIT – Once a marginal auto maker from South Korea, Kia Motors America is finding its way in the fierce U.S. market with attractive warranties, low-priced vehicles and, now, new product that promises to make the company even more competitive. At this week’s North American International Auto Show, Kia unveils the all-new Rio sedan. The current-generation Rio may be best known as the lowest-priced

By Tom Murphy • Jan. 11, 2005

Rolls-Royce Spins Slow Phantom Sales

DETROIT – Rolls-Royce Motor Cars had its best sales year of strictly Rolls-Royce branded cars in 14 years, and sales of its redesigned Phantom that debuted at the auto show here two years ago are up 164% compared with last year, the company’s sales and marketing director says. That’s true, but like a privileged son brought up to be CEO who only has made vice president, the Phantom, so far, has been

By Drew Winter • Jan. 11, 2005