He Never Stopped Calling on Dealers

James O'Connor, a former dealership general manager who became a top Ford Motor Co. executive, is retiring after 40 years with the auto maker. He most recently served the company as group vice president-North America marketing, sales and service. Earl Hesterberg, vice president-Ford of Europe marketing, sales and service, will replace him. A longtime sales and marketing executive, O'Connor considered

Oct. 1, 2004

GM’s Great Car Giveaway

The first 1,500 all-new Pontiac G6s were shipped Sept. 10 from General Motors Corp.'s Orion, MI, assembly plant to dealerships just days before one of the most ambitious marketing stunts ever kicked off advertising for the sedan. GM gave away 276 G6s Sept. 13 to every audience member of The Oprah Winfrey Show daytime TV program. The gimmick cost about $7 million and delivered a huge media splash for

Oct. 1, 2004

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

Growing Georgia County Gets 1st Dealership

Fairway Toyota is the first new-car dealership in Lee County, population 27,875, in southwest Georgia. The 23,000-square-foot facility in Leesburg combines the newest technology with innovative architectural and design details built to enhance customers' buying experience. Fairway Toyota has 55 associates. One of Toyota's primary goals is to emphasize the entire ownership experience, says dealer principal

Oct. 1, 2004

Nissan Confirms New Small Car for N. America

Nissan North America Inc. confirms it will bring a new small car, positioned below the Sentra in size, to North America in calendar 2007. The auto maker won't say precisely whether it will fill the slot with an all-new model or import a car not currently sold in North America. But it says the current Cube and March/Micra small cars are examples of the type of vehicle it has in mind. Nissan executives

By Ward's Staff • Oct. 1, 2004

How a Dealership Should Hug Its Customers

Have you hugged your customer today? That's a question Stefan Schuett asks dealerships? But how does a business hug its customers? Should personnel get that up close and personal? Not literally. Rather, hugging is a customer-oriented mindset throughout the organization, says Schuett, who oversees Customer Relationship Management (CRM) strategies at BMW of North America LLC. It means listening, understanding

By Steve Finlay • Oct. 1, 2004

GM Chief Urges Health Care Action

DETROIT It's time for Republicans and Democrats to begin laying a foundation that will address rising health-care costs in the U.S., says General Motors Corp.'s top executive. The real arguments in Washington tend to settle around the poles of a complete free-market system to national health care, GM Chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner says at an industry trade conference here. I suspect we're not going

By Brian Corbett • Oct. 1, 2004

GMAC Tries One More Time

General Motors Acceptance Corp., 85 years old this year, is aggressively returning to a vehicle insurance product sold by GM dealers in the early 1920s. Regarded by some dealers as a addition to the F&I menu, and to others as a low-profit nuisance, vehicle insurance is an initiative gathering momentum for a 47-state rollout within the next year. GMAC Insurance steps up the organizing pace and potential

By Mac Gordon • Oct. 1, 2004

Mini Steps Up Performance

PARIS Already one of the industry’s hottest-selling cars, BMW AG’s Mini is getting a new tuning kit this fall for its Cooper S performance model. Developed by West Sussex, U.K.-based John Cooper Works, the tuning kit gives the engine an additional 40 hp and boosts torque by another 18 lbs.-ft. (25 Nm), the auto maker says here at the international motor show. Maximum output now is 210 hp. “Mini clearly

By Brian Corbett • Sept. 29, 2004

Nissan Considers Russian Plant

PARIS Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. says it could make a decision within the next 18 months on whether to build a vehicle manufacturing plant in Russia. The auto maker has seen its sales in the former communist country rise more than 200% within the past year, which is forcing it to look at new ventures to support growth there. “At the end of last year we sold 9,000 cars, and this year we (will sell) nearly

By Kevin Kelly • Sept. 28, 2004

GM Debuts Korean-Built Chevys in Paris

PARIS General Motors Corp. is moving forward with plans to make Chevrolet its biggest worldwide brand, unveiling several new models here at the Mondial de l’Automobile 2004. They include two concepts and two products derived from South Korea-based GM Daewoo Auto & Technology Co. architectures. GM announced earlier this month it will phase out use of the Daewoo nameplate in Europe and replace it with

By Brian Corbett • Sept. 24, 2004

BMW 1-Series, M5 Debut

PARIS – Continuing its move down market, BMW AG uses the auto show here for the official world debut of its 1-Series compact car. “This car is a major milestone in the expansion of the BMW Group,” says BMW Chairman Helmut Panke. “So it is fair to say that the BMW 1-Series marks the re-entry of the BMW brand into the compact class. We are back.” Panke says BMW is making the move into the segment because

By Brian Corbett • Sept. 24, 2004

GM Downplays Meeting With Fiat

PARIS Officials from General Motors Corp. are downplaying their meeting here this week with Fiat Auto SpA regarding the Italian auto maker’s money-losing operations. “We meet with them on a regular basis,” GM Chief Financial Officer John Devine tells Ward’s at the Paris auto show. “So typically, at an auto show we do get together (to) look at how (our joint venture is) going and what we want to do

By Brian Corbett • Sept. 24, 2004

Fiat’s Stilo Range Expands

PARIS – Fiat Auto SpA hopes to jump-start interest in its ailing Fiat Stilo product range by adding two new variants to the lineup, both of which go on sale in 2005. The Italian auto maker expands Stilo’s reach via the Multi Wagon Uproad, which features a more rugged appearance than other Stilo Wagon models thanks to its revised front and rear fascias, new alloy wheels and revamped interior. Stilo

By Kevin Kelly • Sept. 23, 2004

Citroen Accents Safety, Environmental Features in Paris

PARIS – Automobiles Citroen filled out another position in its letter-number lineup, presenting the C4 at the Mondial de l’Automobile in Paris. The car, which will compete with models such as the Renault Megane, Peugeot 307 and Volkswagen Golf, offers a technology that’s a first for any segment – a lane-departure warning system. The device puts a virtual rumble strip under the driver’s flank when

By William Diem • Sept. 23, 2004

Mitsubishi Could Hurt Platform Profitability

PARIS Incremental profitability targets and cost savings for the jointly developed D-segment platform between Chrysler Group and Mitsubishi Motors Corp. could be missed if the Japanese auto maker changes volume projections and usage, a Chrysler executive tells Ward’s. Eric Ridenour, Chrysler head of product development, tells Ward’s it remains open whether Mitsubishi will use the D-segment platform

By Kevin Kelly • Sept. 23, 2004

Nissan Plans 600k Units From F-Alpha

Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. says the body-on-frame platform underlying the new Pathfinder SUV will generate 600,000 units of production annually. F-Alpha is one of five key global architectures remaining in Nissan's platform consolidation plan with alliance partner Renault SA. Other Nissan vehicles using F-Alpha include the '04 Titan fullsize pickup, '04 Armada SUV, '04 Infiniti QX56 SUV, '05 Frontier small

Sept. 1, 2004

Detroit’s Only Ford Dealership Stays Upbeat

A $5 million bet on downtown Detroit's revitalization is paying off for the newly opened Bob Maxey Ford on Jefferson Ave. Detroit's only Ford dealership has already reported increased sales and service department visits. The 40,000-sq.-ft. facility features a new grand showroom, enhanced service areas (including 30 bays), drive-through car wash, customer parking, private sales offices, state-of-the-art

Sept. 1, 2004

Cadillac’s Charm

The third time is a charm, as the saying goes. For General Motors Corp.'s Cadillac Div., it's definitely true. The '05 STS midsize sedan, which replaces the Seville, is the third all-new vehicle based on GM's luxury rear-wheel-drive/all-wheel-drive Sigma platform. The CTS entry-luxury sedan was Sigma's debut and has been a huge sales hit. The SRX cross/utility vehicle's public reception has not been

By Brian Corbett • Sept. 1, 2004

New Tacoma: Big Toy for Big Boys

Toyota's Scion brand pursues buyers who are young and urbane, but marketers of a new-generation '05 Toyota Tacoma pickup truck will target a different youth group: boys who like their toys. Tacoma is the prime source of bringing young male buyers into the Toyota family, says Robert Carter, vice president of sales for Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A.'s Toyota Div. He says the Tacoma is an extremely important

By Steve Finlay • Sept. 1, 2004

Bose Knows Shocks?

One of the world's foremost audio innovators has its eye on the suspension business. It started with a '58 Pontiac's air-suspension system, recalls Massachusetts Institute of Technology Prof. Amar G. Bose. I owned the car 10 years and got to know its suspension, he says. I spent as much time under the car as in the driver's seat. That triggered a life-long fascination with the dynamics of vehicle

By Herb Shuldiner • Sept. 1, 2004

United States’ Rolls-Royce Dealers on a Roll

Rolls-Royce dealers in the U.S. are doing a better job at selling the ultra-luxury British car than their counterparts elsewhere in the world, and consequently are getting a larger allotment than originally planned. Rolls-Royce is on track to sell 500 cars in the U.S. this year, a spokesman says. The company's target was originally 400 units, but because other Rolls-Royce markets are lagging the U.S.

By Herb Shuldiner • Sept. 1, 2004

Made in the U.S.A.

The year was 1979. Gasoline prices were soaring, the U.S. was in a tense showdown with Middle Eastern extremists, Chrysler Corp. was awash in red ink but on the verge of a strong product revival, and Starsky & Hutch had come and gone from the screen as quickly as their tomato-red '76 Ford Gran Torino muscle car. U.S. consumers were appalled to spend more than $1 for a gallon of gasoline. The aging

By Tom Murphy • Sept. 1, 2004

Why GM, Ford Can’t Catch Toyota

Try as they might, General Motors and Ford will not catch up to Toyota's level of profitability before 2020 if then. Both of the American auto makers are scrambling to put as many of their vehicles on common platforms as possible, sharing as many components as they can. Yes, even in the 21st Century, economy of scale still is the key to making money in this business. But with all the brands and with

By John McElroy • Sept. 1, 2004

New-Wave Look for Mazda

About 30 more dealerships nationwide will adopt Mazda's Retail Revolution new design look by early next year, with another 35 to follow soon after, says James O'Sullivan, president and CEO of Mazda North American Operations (MNAO). Since the first such store opened (Bountiful Mazda in Bountiful, UT) in early 2003, five more have followed. The latest is Sterling Mazda, moving to its new digs in Sterling

By Cliff Banks • Sept. 1, 2004

Magna Gets GM Pickup Integrator Role?

General Motors Corp., for several years, has been pursuing a strategy to appoint supplier to oversee development of interiors for future vehicles. The strategy remains in place, but the players appear to be changing. GM announced in January 2002 that Magna International Inc.'s Intier division would coordinate the interiors for the next-generation fullsize SUVs, while Lear Corp. would integrate interiors

Sept. 1, 2004