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Scion Banks on Long-Term Profits

Toyota Motor Corp.'s new Scion line of priced-to-sell, youth-oriented vehicles may not be a sure-fire money-making venture for the auto maker. Define says Jim Farley, who was promoted to vice president of Toyota's new Scion division last month. Farley confirms Scion will cover Toyota's initial investment which he declines to disclose. We can do it. But Scion, which launches in California in June 2003

Jan. 1, 2003

Lutz Chides Media for Import Bias

With General Motors Corp.'s product offerings and quality improving, Bob Lutz says the biggest challenge he faces during his remaining tenure is changing the public's perception of the company's cars and trucks. We simply have to work very hard to change public opinion, Lutz says at the Detroit Science Center during a preview of GM vehicles that will appear at auto shows next year. While acknowledging

Jan. 1, 2003

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

A New Endeavor

Mitsubishi Motors Corp. chose the name for its new cross/utility vehicle because lots of Fords start with an jokes Pierre Gagnon, Mitsubishi Motors North America Inc. president and CEO. But besides sporting a name that easily could slot into Ford Motor Co.'s dominating SUV lineup, the Endeavor is less an Explorer pretender than something designed to combat the Toyota Highlander and Honda Pilot. Now

By KATHERINE ZACHARY • Jan. 1, 2003

Big Changes in the Works for Lincoln Dealers

Lincoln dealers can expect some wholesale changes in the retailing of their vehicles. We are looking at the entire culture of the Lincoln retail environment, says Darryl Hazel, president of Ford Motor Co.'s Lincoln Mercury division. We need to have a better program for our dealers and consumers. He told dealers we should be embarrassed about the 2% market share Lincoln Mercury holds. We need to retail

By Cliff Banks • Jan. 1, 2003

Tale of the Tape

An ugly secret is causing Ford Thunderbird owners to blow their tops, Ward's has learned. About 90% of the more than 20,000 '02 Thunderbirds sold by Ford feature a removable hardtop. But when deployed, the bottom edge which is trimmed with a gasket rubs against the painted surface of the rear deck lid. As a result, disgruntled owners say, paint gets smudged, scuffed and even scratched. Mark Scanlon

Jan. 1, 2003

Blow In My Ear And I’ll Follow You Anywhere

I'm sorry, Katherine. And I'm ready to admit the truth: You are insightful, while I am shortsighted. Civic Hybrid is a technological tour de force and Honda deserves my never-ending admiration for advancing the cause of cleaner combustion. By the closest of margins, its gas-electric powerplant finished just short of my personal Best Engines list. I don't know what came over me. I've never disputed

By Eric Mayne • Jan. 1, 2003

He’s Hoodwinked, Then Honored by the Dealer Boss

SAN ANTONIO Herman Ford, COO of Red McCombs Automotive, walked into a staff meeting he'd organized for his boss, Red McCombs. It seemed a little odd that among the group were some people who wouldn't ordinarily attend a breakfast meeting such as this. When McCombs opened the meeting, Ford knew he'd been had. We're here today for one purpose only, said McCombs. To celebrate Herman Ford's 30 years of

Jan. 1, 2003

Prescription for Success

LA JOLLA, CA Toyota Motor Corp. created the luxury cross/utility (CUV) segment in 1998 with the Camry-based Lexus RX 300. Now, even though the market niche is overrun with top-flight competitors such as the Acura MDX, BMW X5, and Volvo XC90, the aging RX still is holding its own, selling strongly even while Lexus gets set to introduce its successor, the RX 330, this spring. If only we all could age

By Drew Winter • Jan. 1, 2003

Saturn’s Mission: Lassoing those Young ‘Uns

DETROIT The Saturn division of General Motors Corp. wants to sell 500,000 vehicles annually by 2005 in large part by introducing fresh products with youth appeal, says Jill Lajdziak, Saturn vice president-sales, service and marketing. Saturn currently is losing money, and Lajdziak won't say if it will become profitable by increasing its sales to 500,000 within three years. The whole key is to run

By Brian Corbett • Jan. 1, 2003

CTS Exports to Begin in ‘03

General Motors Corp. will finalize plans by mid 2003 to ship its Cadillac CTS to Europe and Japan, officials say. It won't be a big, full-scale assault. We'll kind of ease them in, says Cadillac Marketing General Manager Mark LaNeve. There also is serious interest in the CTS from the Middle East, China, Taiwan and South Korea, LaNeve tells Ward's. Before CTS went on sale in '01, Cadillac planned to

Jan. 1, 2003

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

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

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

$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

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

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

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

Collector Calls it Quits

Ford Motor Co.'s Robert Rewey was bleary-eyed tired as he flew on a company jet from Cleveland back to Detroit through late-night stormy weather in 1997. As lightning crackled outside, Rewey put down the pinkish pages of the Financial Times he was reading, and spoke to a fellow passenger about H. Wayne Huizenga, an aggressive entrepreneur down in Fort Lauderdale, FL, who had started buying auto dealerships

By Steve Finlay • Dec. 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

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

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

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

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

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

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