Cadillac’s New Northstar

General Motors Corp.'s Cadillac division unveils a wholesale reworking of its signature engine, the Northstar, as engineers prepare the V-8 to power two all-new models. The Northstar V-8 retains its 4.6L displacement, 90-degree layout and DOHC architecture but is heavily revised to fit longitudinally and drive the rear wheels or all wheels in two '04 Cadillacs, the XLR roadster and SRX cross/utility

By Bill Visnic • Oct. 1, 2002

Factory Ready

For decades, loyal Jeep buyers have been modifying the world's most famous off-road vehicles, making them even more capable of gobbling up the toughest of terrain. Bigger tires, locking axles, heavy-duty driveshafts and diamond-plate sill protectors are among the aftermarket goodies that 4-wheeling enthusiasts have purchased for their Jeeps. With the arrival of the '03 Wrangler Rubicon, Jeep buyers

By Tom Murphy • Sept. 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

Hy-wire Act

With a promise to have compelling and affordable fuel cell vehicles on the road by the end of the decade, General Motors Corp. rolls out the first photos of its Hy-wire, the world's first drivable vehicle that combines a hydrogen fuel cell with by-wire controls. The roll-out will culminate in a live demonstration of the Hy-wire, a working version of the AUTOnomy concept that bowed at the Detroit auto

By Mike Arnholt • Sept. 1, 2002

Class action against captive lenders denied

Federal judges have handed setbacks to Hispanic and black consumers suing Ford Credit and GMAC on charges of inflating loan interest rates. U.S. District Judge Suzanne Conlon in Chicago for the second time denied a request for class-action status in a suit against Ford Credit by Rudi Rodriguez. A Nashville, TN suit against GMAC on behalf of Addie Coleman, a black, was initially approved for class-action

By Mac Gordon • Sept. 1, 2002

Bigger digs for top-seller Gwinnett Place Honda

Gwinnett Place Honda becomes one of the largest Honda retailers in the world in its new home in Duluth, GA, near Atlanta. The new store features 135,000 square feet of showroom, automotive repair and office space on a 19-acre lot. There's also a new car delivery area, children's play room, 66 service bays and Internet access for customers. The Hendrick Automotive Group dealership, ranked 97th on this

Sept. 1, 2002

GM Cuts Midsize Car Lineup to 10

General Motors Corp. plans to reduce its number of midsize market entries from 15 to 10 nameplates in the next four years, but improve its performance and profits with several all-new products, says Gene Stefanyshyn, vehicle line executive for GM's midsize vehicles. Over a 3-year period, GM's global front-wheel-drive/all-wheel-drive Epsilon platform team will churn out six products and four body styles

By Brian Corbett • Sept. 1, 2002

GM courts Ste. Therese buyers

General Motors Corp. has received inquiries regarding the availability of its Ste. Therese, Que., Canada, assembly plant, which is scheduled to close Aug. 30, Michael Grimaldi, president-GM Canada tells Ward's. We have various interests who have been in contact, Grimaldi says, declining further details. The Canadian Auto Workers is hoping the plant eventually will be used in some fashion to help save

Sept. 1, 2002

Building a Family Legacy

Two years ago, newly widowed Lillie Biagas struggled with whether to sell a dealership that her late husband, a black man with a vision, had owned. Today, the retired telecommunications executive runs the Cadillac store. Moreover, she just became the first African-American woman dealer in General Motors Corp. history to obtain five GM franchises in one location. It took guts, a crash course on dealership

By Cliff Banks • Sept. 1, 2002

If History Only Repeats

In 1975, Peter Butterfield, a 22-year-old dealership field representative on his rounds for Ford Motor Co., spotted a small boxy blue car in a service stall at a rural Indiana Ford store. What's that? he asked a service technician. That's a Honda, said the technician. They mostly sell motorcycles. I don't know why they're now trying to sell cars in this country. Looking back, Butterfield understands

By Steve Finlay • Sept. 1, 2002

Chrysler Plays Matchmaker

While Internet dating may be en vogue, the Chrysler Group believes better matches are made in person. That's the thinking behind the company's minority supplier Matchmaker program, which provides an opportunity for minority businesses to show their wares to Tier 1 and Chrysler purchasing staffs face to face. For the third year, Chrysler invited select minority-owned parts companies to attend a daylong

Sept. 1, 2002

GM Wants to Double Goodwrench Dealers

General Motors Corp. wants to expand its Goodwrench parts and service brand virtually to all of its dealers. Currently only half of them participate now. But not all of them want to. Potentially doubling the number of Goodwrench dealerships would offer GM's Service and Parts Operation (SPO) an opportunity to sell more parts. It's also intended to clear confusion as to where GM customers can go to

By Steve Smith • Sept. 1, 2002

Deliverance

How fitting that Ford Motor Co.'s Special Vehicle Team chooses a southern setting to play possum. Until now, the word understated has never been applied to any SVT product. But it's appropriate here. Still smarting from braggadocio that proved hollow some years back, SVT engineers and publicists purposefully low-ball the horsepower generated by the '03 SVT Mustang Cobra. With poker faces firmly fixed,

By Eric Mayne • Aug. 1, 2002

BMW FINDS BIG DEMAND FOR NEW MINI

It's the kind of problem most auto makers want. BMW AG can't build the new Mini Cooper compact car fast enough to satisfy customer demand. Waiting lists per dealership are about 200-people long. The wait for the base model is about two months, and some buyers must wait up to seven months for delivery of the performance S model. Through 70 dealers in mainly metro markets, BMW of North America Inc.

By Steve Smith • Aug. 1, 2002

What’s the Frequency, Ford?

So-called nanocomposites are one of the hottest areas in material science today, and Ford Motor Co. has developed a new process for making them that may lead to important new applications for big parts such as body panels. The process uses sound waves to improve the compatibility between the microscopic reinforcement materials and the plastic resin that are used to make nanocomposite parts. Reinforcement

By Brian Corbett • Aug. 1, 2002

Dealership group tests the CRM waters cautiously

The Asbury Automotive Group is testing the waters as it prepares to use modern customer relationship management (CRM) in their stores. The dealership group is moving cautiously to avoid drowning in the hype. There's a lot of hype surrounding CRM, says Allen Levenson, chief marketing officer for the 89-store group based in Stamford, CT. He calls CRM one of the most overused terms in business America.

By Cliff Banks • Aug. 1, 2002

Keep it Simple, Stupid

When General Motors Corp. made the bold move earlier this year to make antilock brakes optional instead of standard on a number of vehicles, it sparked quite a debate as to whether would become an emerging trend as Big Three auto makers try to stem further market share erosion by keeping vehicle prices down. Respondents to Ward's 24th Annual Supplier Survey demonstrate how passionate the debate has

By Tom Murphy • Aug. 1, 2002

Ford Credit refocuses to recover from losses

If Ford Credit were the same company now as a year ago, it would be focusing maybe even fixating on heavy growth, largely by aggressively lending out more money. That has its pitfalls, especially if too many of those borrowers are credit risks. Ford Credit learned that as its earning fell from $1.5 billion to $839 million last year. That's when the recession took hold and marginal borrowers started

By Steve Finlay • Aug. 1, 2002

MERCEDES FACES NY PRICE-FIXING PROBE

Mercedes-Benz is under investigation for alleged vehicle price fixing in the New York area. The U.S. Justice Department served parent company DaimlerChrysler AG with a subpoena regarding collusion among Mercedes-Benz dealers in the New York region. In a statement, Mercedes-Benz USA says: The only allegations that we are aware of relate to civil litigation stemming from unsubstantiated public comments

Aug. 1, 2002

FORD WANTS DEALERS TO LEVERAGE INTERNET ENHANCEMENTS

Ford Motor Co. is improving the way it sends new and improved Web-based tools to its dealers. In the past, the automaker would deliver them in a scattered, shotgun approach, creating frustration and unnecessary expenses for the dealers. Now Ford is packaging related Internet tools for delivery. The new strategy has saved dealers $17 million so far this year, says Chuck Sullivan, Ford's e-marketing

By Cliff Banks • Aug. 1, 2002

Honda Attacks Another Key Market Segment

Anatomy of auto makers heading in different directions: Honda Motor Co. Ltd. introduced the '03 Pilot, its first-ever Honda-badged midsize SUV on June 3. In the first full year of production, Honda plans to sell 80,000 units of the around-$30,000 competitor for the industry standard Ford Motor Co. Explorer and recently reinvigorated General Motors Corp. stalwart for the segment, the Chevrolet TrailBlazer.

By Bill Visnic • July 1, 2002

He’s lauded for saving a failing dealership

Lomberto L. Perez's creative use of computer technology and the Internet dramatically turned around a failing South Florida dealership. That's earned Perez and his Autocity Buick-Pontiac-GMC in Homestead a coveted Dealer Innovation Award from the National Automobile Dealers Association. The award goes to franchised car dealers who've improved their businesses through technology. Autocity had been

July 1, 2002

State-of-the-part facility

What better facility to use as a combined parts warehouse than one that was designed and used as a parts warehouse? The Tonkin Dealerships, a group in Portland, OR, had been planning for years to merge its 10 lines of wholesale parts business into one centralized facility. The company had plans in place for a warehouse facility just south of the city. But when America Honda closed its regional warehouse

By John Yoswick • July 1, 2002

Betting on Ford

That sound coming from the future site of Ford Motor Co.'s $250 million supplier park in Chicago isn't excavation. It's the echo of rolling dice. At the table are nine suppliers. But the buzz is that up to six more could join the game, inking long-term leases on plants dedicated to serving Ford's Chicago assembly operations soon to feature a highly flexible body shop. From there in 2004, the auto

By Eric Mayne • July 1, 2002

Hemi’s Back For DC’s Heavies

CHELSEA, MI The storied Hemi engine's back from Chrysler Corp.'s past, but this time it's thanks to a little help from its friends. Chrysler's merger friends, that is, at DaimlerChrysler AG's Mercedes-Benz unit. The claim to fame for the all-new '03 Hemi Magnum V-8 to be launched this fall in DC's all-new Dodge Ram heavy-duty pickups is its unique hemispherically shaped combustion chambers. But an

By Bill Visnic • July 1, 2002

Baseball coach hits a BMW homer!

William Avelis, 34, of Kissimee, FL, (left) a minor league baseball coach for the Cleveland Indians, won a new BMW X5 Sport Activity Vehicle in a BMW Financial Services sweepstakes. It was held for BMW credit card owners. Delivering the prize is salesman Steve Deharde at Fields BMW of Orlando.

July 1, 2002