Automakers: Page

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

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

Explore the Trendline➔

Top 5 stories from WardsAuto

Automakers are evaluating their long-term strategies, revisiting their product mix, and approach to both retail and manufacturing approach along the way.

By WardsAuto staff

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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 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

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

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

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

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

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