SRT-4 Targets Youth

It's built off the same platform as the Neon small car, but Dodge's SRT-4 will not carry any visible notations of the Neon brand when it goes on sale next year. That's because the SRT-4's target market has an unfavorable view of the Neon, according to Chrysler Group's top marketing executive. The problem in that set (of buyers) was Neons aren't cool, Executive Vice President Jim Schroer tells Ward's.

Dec. 1, 2002

No Fear

Attention critics of General Motors Corp.: It's time to stand up and be counted or be forgotten by Gary Cowger. The president of GM's North American operations wants to make sure the auto maker's detractors are genuine. What critics? We've gained share year over year. Our product portfolio is getting better. We've made double-digit improvements in quality and productivity. Who are these critics? Bring

By Brian Corbett • Dec. 1, 2002

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

Ford, GMAC Set Loan Caps

Stung by suits charging inflation of interest rates to minorities, Ford Credit has capped the dealer markup on consumer loans at three percentage points. The action, effective in November, follows a similar rate ceiling that GMAC set in August. Announced at a Detroit meeting of Rev. Jesse Jackson's Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, the auto maker curbs on dealer markups came on the heels of suits filed in Tennessee

By Mac Gordon • Dec. 1, 2002

$3 Billion Loan Sale Buoys Ford Credit

In a sign of investor confidence after a rocky year, Ford Credit has sold $3 billion of auto loans to a subsidiary of New York investment house Bear Stearns Companies. The agreement gave the Ford Motor Co. subsidiary an unusual proviso. The lender was exempted from being required to set aside about $200 million to cover loan defaults, a step normally required by asset-backed bond investors. In addition,

Dec. 1, 2002

Are We There Yet?

According to Greek fable, slow and steady wins the race. But the characters that demonstrated this enduring proverb were likely on familiar turf. And they didn't have to satisfy an impatient investment community. Such is not the case with Ford Motor Co. as it tries to put its troubles behind. Employing Aesop's strategy, it strides purposefully if gradually toward revitalization. But in the midst of

By Eric Mayne • Dec. 1, 2002

Will Curtailed Blue Oval be Worth it?

Will it be worth it to dealers if Ford Motor Co. cuts back on its Blue Oval certification payments as proposed? That's what some dealers are asking in light of Ford Division President Steve Lyons announcing plans to reduce the reward payments for complying dealers. Ford's initial proposal would reduce the current payment of 1.25% of the sticker price for each vehicle sold to 0.5% in 2005. Now Ford

By Cliff Banks • Dec. 1, 2002

Supercar Revisited

Ford Motor Co.'s GT project is as much about building an engineering base as it is about building an American supercar, executives say. The auto maker hand selected engineers to put meat on the bones of the GT40 concept car unveiled at the Detroit auto show last year, says Chris Theodore, vice president-North American product development. Numbering about 30, they've accomplished in just over 20 months

Dec. 1, 2002

New School Named in Honor of Retired Dealer

A new school is named after a retired dealer, Richard Duncan. The honor stems from Duncan's strong and positive 40-year presence in the community, according to the Utica (MI) Community Schools' Board of Education. Along with partner Larry Jerome, Duncan opened the Jerome-Duncan Ford dealership in 1956. Daughter Gail Duncan now operates the dealership in Sterling Heights. It's still hard to realize

Nov. 1, 2002

Chrysler Plans Two Plants

The Chrysler Group appears to be planning at least two greenfield plants as it prepares to add new vehicles and powertrains to its lineup. Chrysler Group President and CEO Dieter Zetsche tells WAW that plans for a new world engine include a greenfield engine assembly plant. DaimlerChrysler AG, Hyundai Motor Co. Ltd. and Mitsubishi Motors Corp. formed Global Engine Alliance L.L.C. for a new family

By Alisa Priddle • Nov. 1, 2002

From Exotic to Whimsical

PARIS Paris in September: When one's automotive thoughts wander to the whimsical and the exotic. Lovers of sheet metal used the romantic city to escape the real world and gaze upon ultra-luxury offerings such as the new Maybach and the Volkswagen Phaeton at the 2002 Paris Mondial de l'Automobile. They also were treated to a first look at the Ferrari Enzo (399 will be built) and new flagships in the

By Alisa Priddle • Nov. 1, 2002

3rd Quarter Bruises Big 3

At least two of the U.S. Big Three were being hammered by Wall Street even before unassuming third-quarter earnings were announced. Ford Motor Co. Chairman Bill Ford Jr. is vowing to leave the capital-expenditures budget untouched in the face of accelerated cost-cutting as the auto maker reports results in which losses were stemmed at $326 million, down from losses of $692 million in last year's third

By WAW Staff • Nov. 1, 2002

Ford Rethinks Supply, Demand

Meet a kinder, gentler Ford Motor Co. As the auto maker approaches suppliers for help with its latest cost-cutting strategies, it wants consultation, not concessions, says Nick Scheele, president and chief operating officer. We've taken a look at supplier relationships and it was clear that we got ourselves in a situation with some suppliers where we were asking them to do an awful lot, Scheele tells

By Eric Mayne • Nov. 1, 2002

Toyota Adopts New Flexible Assembly System

GEORGETOWN, KY Look out world, Toyota Motor Corp. just found a way to get more efficient. A lot more efficient. Acknowledged as a global authority on all things Toyota recently unveiled for journalists here its Global Body Line, a radical, company-wide overhaul of its already much-envied flexible manufacturing process. GBL totally revamps Toyota's previous Flexible Body Line assembly philosophy that's

By Bill Visnic • Nov. 1, 2002

Rethinking Telematics

Count Johnson Controls Inc. among the suppliers whose appetite for telematics business went unsatisfied. In the mid-1990s, the supplier wanted to launch a program similar to General Motors Corp.'s OnStar, with 2-way messaging, remote door unlocks, roadside service and perhaps cellular phone service. But we struggled on how to make money, says Jim Geschke, vice president and general manager of JCI's

By Tom Murphy • Nov. 1, 2002

Ford Launches Dealer Portal

Ford Motor Co. launches a second generation of its web-based dealer communications system. The new system, FMCDealer.com, is an integrated Internet portal. Ford and Lincoln Mercury dealers using the old system would have to log into three separate sites (one for each division and a separate one for service and repair information) to communicate with the factory. The new system integrates all three

By Cliff Banks • Nov. 1, 2002

Nissan’s Dynamic Duo

Nissan Motor Co. Ltd.'s 350Z may be the most highly anticipated new car of the '03 model run, but its sibling, the Infiniti G35 sport coupe, is no slouch. In some ways, it will prove more desirable to many buyers. The G35 coupe is the smaller sibling to the G35 sport sedan, which arrived in March to universal raves with its segment-dominating power (260 hp), compelling style and world-class ride and

By Tom Murphy • Oct. 1, 2002

Ford dealer council names new officers

J. Michael Kennedy of John Kennedy Ford in Feasterville, PA is the new elected chairman of the Ford Division's National Dealer Council. New vice-chairman is Frank J. Rodriguez, owner of Greenway Ford in Orlando, FL. New chairwoman of the Select Dealer Council is Jayne L. Mann, co-owner of Wortman Motor Co. in Aurora, NB; vice chairman, Jim M. Hayden, president of Jim Hayden Ford in Osage, IW. The

Oct. 1, 2002

WARD’S REAR VIEW MIRROR

58 YEARS AGO Oct. 24, 1944, marks the death of Louis Renault in a French military prison hospital an accused Nazi collaborator. Born to a middle class Parisian family in February 1877, Louis was the youngest of five children. Renault hated school but had strong mechanical ability. In 1896 Renault patented a steam generator, and three years later formed Societe Renault Freres with brothers Marcel and

By Compiled by Al Binder and the Ward's staff. • Oct. 1, 2002

Better with Age

Although it's darn near unpatriotic to admit it, I've never found much to love in the Viper. Once you drove one for 10 or 15 minutes, the point-and-shoot audacity of it all soon wore thin, and you realized DaimlerChrysler AG's V-10 muscle car was just that: a muscle car too ridiculous even for muscle-car devotees. In exchange for wowing the clerks at 7-Eleven, you were subjected to ride quality and

By Bill Visnic • Oct. 1, 2002

Leipzig is Porsche’s Crown Jewel

Three years after announcing plans to build a new assembly plant in this small former communist East German town, Porsche AG launches production of its new Cayenne cross/utility vehicle. The auto maker invested E127 million ($123 million) in the facility its first greenfield plant, marking a new chapter in Porsche's product history that tests unchartered waters. Porsche's Zuffenhausen plant, a former

By Kevin Kelly • Oct. 1, 2002

How to Build Low-Cost Cars

Now, maybe the Big Three can't do it with every single model, but here's a strategy to keep costs low, strengthen brand identity, and build it all with United Auto Workers labor in the good ol' U.S.A. The key is to amortize cars over longer periods of time. Take the Ford Mustang. It's built on the Fox platform that was introduced in 1978, and began development around 1974. The chassis and powertrain,

By John McElroy • Oct. 1, 2002

Residual Values are on the Minds of Volvo Brass

SANTA BARBARA, CA Before Volvo's first-ever SUV hits the U.S. market, company executives are focusing on what it will be worth in a few years as a used vehicle. The launch of an all-new vehicle may seem premature to discuss future residual values. But it reflects how important those are to manufacturers, especially premium car companies such as Volvo that depend heavily on residual-driven leasing.

By Steve Finlay • Oct. 1, 2002

Do or Die

Every morning when Chet Huber climbs into his Cadillac Escalade at his Grosse Pointe home in suburban Detroit, he issues a command to his OnStar Virtual Advisor. Give me my traffic, he says. Within a minute, a pre-programmed route to his office in Troy or to Metropolitan Airport in Romulus is overlaid with Westwood One's Metro Networks traffic grid for the Detroit area. That same grid generates the

By Tom Murphy • Oct. 1, 2002

680 Down, 2,121 to Go

For Oldsmobile dealers the clock is ticking. Sometime in 2004 General Motors Corp. has yet to set a final execution date the 105-year-old Oldsmobile brand will end. Since nearly two years ago, when GM announced the impending demise of the division, some Oldsmobile dealers have struggled with accepting a monetary settlement that they say doesn't come close to covering the emotional ordeal of closing

By Cliff Banks • Oct. 1, 2002

Gramps’ 1949 Chevy leads way to new dealership

Jill Hattan drove a 1949 Chevy sedan one of the first my grandfather sold from Don Hattan Chevrolet's current showroom in Wichita, KS, up I-35 to its future home just outside Park City. For Ms. Hattan, manager of the third-generation store, the drive represents where we've come from, and how that heritage continues to carry us forward. Her father, Jim Hattan, made his ceremonial drive to the same

Oct. 1, 2002