Automakers: Page

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

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

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

Dodge Right ‘Caliber’ for Europe

GENEVA – Chrysler Group uses the auto show here to launch the Dodge brand in Europe with the unveiling of the Caliber concept vehicle. While the Viper already is on sale in Europe, the true launch for Dodge begins in 2006 with the Caliber, a production-ready concept for world markets. (See related story: Dodge Reveals Entry-Level Car Concept) The 5-door hatchback slots into the C segment, replacing

By Alisa Priddle • March 2, 2005

Opel, Chevy Join Cadillac, Saab in Geneva

GENEVA – Not to be overshadowed by the debuts of the more luxurious Cadillac BLS sedan and Saab 9-3 SportCombi wagon, Adam Opel AG’s redesigned Zafira monospace, an updated Chevrolet Matiz minicar and new Opel Astra OPC coupe also bow on the General Motors Corp. stage at the auto show here. “This is the embodiment of a multi-brand strategy,” says GM Europe Chairman Fritz Henderson. The 7-seat Zafira,

By Brian Corbett • March 2, 2005

Dodge Will Not Change Character for Europe

GENEVA – Now that Chrysler Group has made the decision to go all-out with plans to launch Dodge in Europe, executives caution not to look for a change in the brand’s design to cater to European tastes. Dodge’s “in-your-face” design cues are seen as archetypically American in the minds of many Europeans and could work for and against the brand. But Chrysler has no plans to drastically compromise design

By Kevin Kelly • March 2, 2005

Saab Honing Premium Status

CHAMONIX, France – As the decision nears on the fate of Saab Automobile operations in Sweden, Christopher McKinnon, Saab 9-3 brand manager, smiles and plugs ahead with his job of making sure customers know just what a Saab is. McKinnon lives and works in Trollhattan, Sweden, which is awaiting the March decision by parent General Motors Corp. as to whether the next-generation Epsilon platform (Saab

By Alisa Priddle • March 1, 2005

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

Kia Wants Plant

Kia Motors America still wants a U.S. manufacturing plant and a fullsize body-on-frame pickup truck. Right now we need to build in the U.S., KMA President and CEO Peter Butterfield tells Ward's. He says when U.S. sales reach 300,000 units, Kia will build a plant. He declines to set a timeframe on a pickup. We are continuing to talk about North American manufacturing, and our positioning is not a question

March 1, 2005

Saab Debuts New GM Turbo V-6

Making its debut powering the high-performance Saab Aero SportCombi this fall is a new, General Motors Corp.-made all-aluminum 2.8L turbocharged V-6 that also will be made available for the '06 9-3 Aero Sport Sedan and 9-3 Aero Convertible. With 32 valves, variable intake valve timing and twin-scroll turbocharger, the V-6 pumps out 250 hp and, true to Saab heritage, the performance centers on low-end

March 1, 2005

Flooring It

The fifth-generation Chevrolet Corvette pulled off a technological feat when it was introduced in 1997 with marvelously engineered floor panels consisting of lightweight balsa wood coated with fiberglass and polyester resin. Each floor panel was about 4 ft. (1.2 m) long, 2 ft. (0.6 m) wide and about a half inch (1 cm) thick and would contribute significantly to improved ride and handling that, until

By Tom Murphy • March 1, 2005