Automakers: Page

Citroen Stretches Spectrum at Geneva

GENEVA – Automobile Citroen extends its range of products at both ends of the spectrum at the Geneva auto show, with the addition of the new Citroen C1, slotted in the small city car segment, and the C6, which will chase BMW 5-Series and Mercedes-Benz E-Class sedans. The C1 is the small car shares its platform with the Peugeot 107 and Toyota Motor Corp.’s Aygo. The three small cars debut at the show

By William Diem • March 1, 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

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

Everything BIG

There was an abundance of at last month's Chicago auto show, although few of the new production and concept vehicles displayed seemed to add up to anything but small potential sales gains for an industry eager to light a fire under 2005's projected flat sales figures. The Chrysler Group's Dodge division typically isn't shy, and Chrysler's chief unveiling in Chicago was the appropriately named Dodge

By Ward's Staff • March 1, 2005

Pininfarina, Motorola Create Maserati Techno Concept

Italian design house Pininfarina SpA teams with Motorola Inc. and Maserati SpA to create a technological concept car, unveiled at the Geneva auto show this week. The prototype “is a rolling high-tech sculpture that demonstrates technologies that are imaginary but possible,” a statement released by Pininfarina says. The car was conceived as an afterthought to a deal Pininfarina had with Motorola to

By Ward's Staff • March 1, 2005

On Skeptics, Dealers, C.S. Lewis, Freud and God

Ward's interviewed Carlos Ghosn just before he delivered his keynote speech to the 2005 National Automobile Dealers Assn. convention in New Orleans. Here's an edited version of the interview: Ward's: When Renault acquired control of Nissan, a lot of Detroit folks, remembering the failed Renault-American Motors Co. merger, said it wouldn't work. Why were they wrong? Ghosn: People are usually pessimistic

By Steve Finlay • March 1, 2005

That Car Looks Great On You

Customers show tremendous confidence in an auto maker when they buy one of its vehicles, says James J. Padilla, president of Ford Motor Co. It's the most expensive suit of clothes they'll ever buy and they want to wear it proudly, he says. It's up to the auto maker to develop and produce a product that not only inspires consumer loyalty and confidence, but also pays mind to costs or you end up upside

By Steve Finlay • March 1, 2005

Ideas, Barbs Spice Event

NEW ORLEANS New ideas for dealers and their products have been a National Automobile Dealers Assn. convention trademark, but perhaps never more so than at this year's sessions held here Jan. 29-Feb. 2. For the first time, even the sponsoring NADA and No.1 auto maker General Motors got into the new-ideas rollout scenario. The atmosphere for concepts and programs was contagious on the exposition floor,

By Mac Gordon and Steve Finlay • March 1, 2005

Peugeot Unveils Final 407 Coupe Prototype, Czech Car at Geneva

GENEVA – PSA Peugeot Citroen presents a nearly finished version of its 407 coupe, billed as the Prologue concept car, at the Geneva auto show here, as well as its version of the 107 small car to be produced by the Toyota Motor Corp.-PSA partnership, based in Czech Republic. The 407 coupe will be sold with a 2.7L V-6 turbodiesel developed with Ford Motor Co., connected to a 6-speed Aisin automatic

By William Diem • March 1, 2005

1 Buys Other

A long-established remarketing provider, Vehicle Inspection Services (VIS) of Solon, OH, is now owned by Atlanta-based DataScan Technologies, which furnishes wholesale floorplan finance accounting and risk management systems throughout the U.S. One of the chief functions of DataScan, says its president and CEO, Tom Martin, is to perform floorplan audits at dealerships for financial institutions and

March 1, 2005

Quadrasteer Off Course

General Motors Corp. will discontinue its Quadrasteer 4-wheel steering technology as an option on fullsize pickups and SUVs by the end of the '05 model year, Ward's learns, and the feature will not appear on the next-generation GMT900 fullsize vehicles, which begin production next year. Quadrasteer, developed by Delphi Corp., was an expensive option that was extremely popular with a small number of

By Tom Murphy and Brian Corbett • March 1, 2005

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

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

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

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

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

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