Automakers: Page 377

Venerable VW Dealer Dies

Ralph Sharrett, 94, founder of the second-oldest continuously operating Volkswagen dealership in the U.S., died April 10. He established Sharrett VW in 1953 in Hagerstown, Md. Ralph played a significant role in Volkswagen's history, says Len Hunt, Volkswagen of America's executive vice president. Mr. Sharrett was a dealer his entire adult life. He was preceded in death by his wife. He is survived

May 1, 2005

Ford Exec Tries Hand at Running Dealerships

Earl Hesterberg, after a short stint as group vice president-North America marketing, sales and service for Ford Motor Co., becomes president and CEO of Group 1 Automotive Inc., a big dealership chain based in Houston, TX. Hesterberg, 51, had been at his Ford position since Jan. 1. He succeeded the retired Jim O'Connor. Steve Lyons, 56, Ford division president for the last three years, assumes Hesterberg's

May 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

GM: Asian Supply Base Not Mandatory

DETROIT – General Motors Corp.’s head of purchasing uses the Society of Automotive Engineers World Congress here to set the record straight on GM’s position with regard to automotive suppliers locating in the rapidly growing market of China. Earlier this month, Bo Andersson, vice president-worldwide purchasing, and his top lieutenants spoke at a meeting hosted by the Original Equipment Suppliers Assn.

By Tom Murphy • April 19, 2005

Ford Won’t Prosper Without Stable Suppliers, Martens Says

DETROIT - Ford Motor Co.'s success is tied directly to the performance of its supply base, the auto maker's product czar says. Ford last week adjusted its earnings guidance through 2006, saying it would miss its $7 billion profit target for next year and fall short of its initial expectations for 2005. (See related story: Ford Backs Off $7 Billion Target, Cuts 2005 Outlook) Speaking at the annual

By John D. Stoll • April 14, 2005

BMW Targets More R&D Outsourcing

DETROIT – BMW AG says it expects in-house development of components and systems to drop to 45% by the end of this year, a sharp decline from the 70% level of less than a decade ago. The German luxury auto maker says most of the increase in outsourcing will focus on the areas of electronic systems and technology. Burkhard Goeschel, BMW management board member responsible for product development and

By Kevin Kelly • April 13, 2005

GM Mulling Development Base for Next-Generation Delta

DETROIT – General Motors Corp. likely will decide by year’s end where to center development of its next small-car platform, a top program manager says. GM, which earlier this month re-jiggered its executive ranks, shifting Bob Lutz’s responsibilities to global product development, is in the process of redefining its vehicle-engineering game plan and assigning new-vehicle development programs to its

By David E. Zoia • April 13, 2005

Hydro Magnesium Energized by New Alloys, Applications

DETROIT - BMW AG isn't the first high-volume auto maker to spec lightweight magnesium for a new engine block, but it is the first in a number of decades. The new magnesium block debuted on some versions of the 6-Series sold in Europe last year and will be used for BMW's all-new, high-volume 3-Series launching this year. This high-profile application, along with several others including the new Mercedes-Benz

By Drew Winter • April 12, 2005

Full Cooperation

Delphi Corp. CEO J.T. Battenberg III says his decision on Feb. 23 to retire after 44 years with the $28.7 billion automotive supplier and its former parent, General Motors Corp., has nothing to do with an accounting scandal that cost chief financial officer Alan Dawes his job and sent the company's stock price plummeting. Delphi will restate its earnings for 2001 and subsequent years because of improper

April 1, 2005

Real Car Guys Use ‘Net

NANUET, NY Walk into the showroom at Honda of Nanuet and all you see are used cars all of them accessorized. The new cars are outside. This way, we can advertise that we have an indoor used-car showroom, chuckles Jack Ryan, general manager. And the accessories help us sell them faster. Old-time, hard-core sales guys. There is no other way to describe the management team of this dealership. Always

By Cliff Banks • April 1, 2005

Quality Redemption

Mercedes-Benz is battling to retain its once-stellar quality image. The German auto maker's reputation has slipped; consumer complaints with some new models are stacking up. The effort to halt the luxury brand's quality decline begins this spring, when Mercedes debuts the all-new '06 M-Class family of cross/utility vehicles. The M-Class was one of the first players in the luxury SUV segment in 1998

By Kevin Kelly • April 1, 2005

Caliber-Rated

Chrysler Group will begin construction in summer 2006 at its assembly and stamping plants in Sterling Heighs, MI, to make way for its new D-segment line of passenger cars. The plant will have the flexibility to build both C- and D-segment vehicles, with a maximum of five variants running down the same final assembly and body shop lines. Plans are to invest $506 million in both facilities, adding as

April 1, 2005

VW’s Sedans Sprout Sportier Wagons

Volkswagen AG has athletic plans for the next-generation Jetta and Passat wagons, the company's North American chief says. Currently, the auto maker offers traditional box-on-sedan wagon versions of both vehicles. Neither comfortably fit into the European sportwagon mold that has sprouted in recent years, compared with offerings from BMW AG, Volvo Car Corp., Saab Automobile and VW's luxury brand Audi.

April 1, 2005

Malcolm in the Middle of It All

SOUTHFIELD, MI Acting like a man who knows what he wants and expects to get it, Malcolm Bricklin arrives for an interview at a hotel bar with a small entourage, including a still photographer and son John Bricklin, 27, carrying a camcorder. Bricklin, 65, unsuccessfully tries to get a hotel staffer to turn off the background music, lest it interfere with the audio portion of John recording his father

By Steve Finlay • April 1, 2005

Ford Sport Trac Goes SVT by ‘07

Ford Motor Co.'s Special Vehicles Team (SVT) is back in business, promising a practical super truck by 2007 based on a revised Explorer Sport Trac sport/utility truck. Ford plans to unleash the Sport Trac Adrenalin, based on the next-generation Sport Trac, likely to bow in 2006 as an '07 model. It features all-wheel drive, a 6-speed automatic gearbox and a 390-hp supercharged 4.6L V-8 sourced from

April 1, 2005

Ford, Visteon Refinance

The restructuring of Visteon Corp. continues as North America's second largest automotive supplier negotiates new financial terms with its former parent, Ford Motor Co. Under the financial agreement, Ford will shoulder a larger share of the wages paid to 17,700 Ford employees leased to Visteon since the 2000 spinoff. Additionally, Visteon will not have to reimburse the auto maker for Ford profit-sharing

April 1, 2005

Redford Rebirth

Freightliner LLC will renovate the dingy, 65-year-old Detroit Diesel Corp. factory in Redford, MI, for $275 million. The investment plans call for the 3.2 million-sq.-ft. (297,289-sq.-m) facility, which currently employs 2,800 people, to become home to a new heavy-duty truck engine line, medium-duty engine assembly and expanded axle assembly by 2007. The headquarters of Freightliner's Sterling Truck

April 1, 2005

Nine Dealers Carry On Blue Oval Court Battle

A Ford Blue Oval court battle goes on, promoted by nine Ford dealer plaintiffs who are undeterred by two federal district court judges' rulings favoring Ford Motor Co. The case heads to the U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia despite Ford abandoning a controversial pricing formula used to reward certified dealers since Blue Oval's introduction in 2000 as a way to enhance customer satisfaction.

By Mac Gordon • April 1, 2005

A Strange Way to Sell

In the two years Rusty Strange has been the Internet director at Beaman Toyota in Nashville, TN, the dealership has increased its Internet sales 192%. The Internet department accounts for approximately 15% of the dealership's bottom line. Strange believes running the department is something of a science because the growth can be measured and managed. We are methodical here, he says. We've developed

By Cliff Banks • April 1, 2005

Jeep Gets Hemi Badge

NEW YORK – One of America’s emerging status symbols will make its way to the body of Jeep’s Grand Cherokee. Jeep Design Director John Sgalia tells Ward’s the Hemi badge, affixed to Chrysler and Dodge brand products, will be added to the back of Jeeps carrying the 5.7L Hemi V-8 under the hood starting in the ’06 model year. The new ’05 Grand Cherokee went on sale last year with three powertrain options:

By John D. Stoll • March 24, 2005

Martens: IRS ‘Not Necessary’ for High-Powered Shelby Cobra

DEARBORN – When Ford Motor Co.’s Special Vehicle Team (SVT) returns to the U.S. performance scene in the summer of 2006 with the Mustang-based Shelby Cobra GT500, something will be missing. Yes, it will come with output rated well in excess of 450 hp, and its price tag will toe the $40,000 line, but crawl under the rear overhang and you won’t find an independent rear suspension, even though it originally

By John D. Stoll • March 23, 2005

Dodge Nitro a Go; New Liberty to Follow

NEW YORK – Chrysler Group will build the Dodge Nitro SUV and follow it up a year later with “a major rework” of its platform-mate, the Jeep Liberty. The auto maker first showed the Nitro at the Chicago auto show last month, hinting the concept was headed for production.(See related story: Public Will Help Determine Dodge Nitro Fate) Jeep Design Director John Sgalia tells Ward’s the Nitro is a go during

By John D. Stoll • March 23, 2005

Sport Trac Gets SVT Treatment in 2007

DEARBORN – Ford Motor Co.’s Special Vehicles Team (SVT) is back in business, promising a super truck by 2007 based on a revised Explorer Sport Trac sport/utility truck. The auto maker plans to unleash the Sport Trac Adrenalin with all-wheel drive and a 4.6L V-8 – grabbed from the ’04 Cobra Mustang and fitted with a Roots-type supercharger – capable of 390 hp and 390 lb.-ft. (529 Nm) of torque. The

By John D. Stoll • March 21, 2005

Nissan Opens New $14 Million Design Studio, Shows Sport Concept

FARMINGTON HILLS, MI – Nissan North America Inc. opens a new $14 million design studio here, Nissan Design America-Farmington Hills. The studio is the second NDA facility in the U.S. The first, located in San Diego, currently is undergoing its own expansion. NDA-Farmington Hills is situated here on the grounds of Nissan’s technical center, which opened in 1989. The new 50,912-sq.-ft. (4,730-sq.-m)

By Christie Schweinsberg • March 18, 2005

Rio, Exports Top Kia’s European Agenda

GENEVA – The resurgence of Kia Motors Corp. began in North America, but the revival may be completed in Europe. Kia unveils its all-new subcompact 5-door Rio here at the Geneva auto show and predicts Europe will surpass North America as its top export destination this year. “Our total export target to European countries for the current year is just over 412,000 vehicles,” says Kim Yong-Hwan, Kia senior

By Brian Corbett • March 7, 2005

Chrysler Cautious On Sales Outlook

GENEVA – Even as Chrysler Group continues to break away from the pack reporting a 7.5% U.S. light-vehicle sales increase in February, its top sales executive says he is cautious about what the rest of the year will bring. Unlike its domestic competitors, Chrysler saw car sales increase 21% during the month, while truck sales rose 4%. (See related story: Chrysler Sees February Gain; Grand Cherokee

By Kevin Kelly • March 3, 2005