Automakers: Page

*Volvo now stresses delight as well as safety and durability

It has been a year of change for Volvo Cars of North America. First, was the big move from New Jersey to Irvine, CA with Ford Motor Co.'s other Premier Automotive Group (PAG) brands. And, as of November 1, there is a new man at Volvo's helm. Dan Werbin has been with Volvo since 1973 and is a product guy. Then there is the evolution of Volvo's brand. Mr. Werbin explains, Since 1927, the guiding principle

By Cliff Banks • Nov. 1, 2001

GM delays mammoth 6-door Suburban

Citing a lack of engineering and other resources at this time, GM quietly admits that it has dropped plans to bring out a 6-door version of the Suburban. A spokesman says that a prototype was actually built, but the company was not satisfied with the results. It is seeking other engineering solutions to give greater access to the third row of seats in the giant SUV, the spokesman says. But he declined

By Compiled by the staff of: WARD'S AUTOMOTIVE REPORTS • Nov. 1, 2001

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

Presidential visit

Mercedes-Benz USA President and CEO Paul Halata (left) stopped at Mercedes-Benz of Laguna Niguel during a visit to Southern California. Hosting him at the 21-acre dealership, one of Mercedes-Benz' fastest growing in the nation, is dealer principal Lorelei Pingree and Pat Bolter, general manager.

Nov. 1, 2001

Spotlight on Glare

The National Highway Traffic Safety Admin. (NHTSA) may need lightning in a bottle in its current bid to resolve the issue of headlamp glare. That's because, industry insiders suggest, many motorists have yet to enter the age of headlight enlightenment. And as a result, automakers and suppliers are left to contend with a wide spectrum of variables beyond their control. Nevertheless, NHTSA is subjecting

By Eric Mayne • Nov. 1, 2001

Asia/Pacific Prepares for Another Downturn

Asia/Pacific automakers already were looking to the future with cautious optimism, aware that things could get worse before they got better. Now the fallout from the Sept. 11 terrorist assault on the U.S. has the region bracing for a definite downturn. Well beforehand, road signs were indicating a slowdown. Ripple effects from a prolonged Japan Inc. stagnation coupled with aftershocks from the region's

By KATHERINE ZACHARY with Alan Harman in Australia • Nov. 1, 2001

I’ll TRADE MY WIFE FOR THAT COOL CORVETTE

A major auto supplier has just the car for people who like the 1953 vintage look of the original Chevrolet Corvette but want modern conveniences. It's the Commemorative Edition Corvette, produced by Magna Steyr, a division of Magna International that wants to become a contract assembler of specialty niche vehicles. To prove its capabilities, Magna engineers took a new Corvette and redesigned it to

Nov. 1, 2001

Tech firm holds its breath as a dealership tests its product

Don Palombi, the general manager for AutoWest Honda in Roseville, CA, had a decision to make. It's one that virtually all dealers encounter at one point or another: which up-and-coming new technology applications to put in place at the dealership. The decision is neither simple nor cheap. If a dealer makes a bad choice, a lot of money in technology and products go unused at the dealership. Driving

By Cliff Banks • Nov. 1, 2001

Still a Soft Roader

NEMACOLIN, PA There's a new Honda CR-V in this woodsy eastern Pennsylvania town. Normally, that would mean it's High Noon for the competition. It's just that town's a lot bigger place than it used to be. When Honda Motor Co. Ltd. launched the CR-V compact sport/utility vehicle (SUV) in '97, it immediately emerged as the dominant player in a fledgling segment, handily beating even Toyota's RAV4 and

By Bill Visnic • Nov. 1, 2001

**Kia’s products are the key to success

Things are looking very good for Kia Motors America. The Korean company recently named Peter Butterfield to the position of executive vice president of sales, marketing and fixed operations. He most recently was with Lincoln Mercury and comes to Kia as it is experiencing dramatic success in what is a down market. Kia Motors America has had the most success this year percentage-wise among the Korean

By Cliff Banks • Nov. 1, 2001

Rich Hartman opens new store in Tacoma, WA

Rich Hartman, president of Five Star Dealerships, opened a new store, Five Star Mitsubishi in Tacoma, WA. Other franchises in Mr. Hartman's group include Ford, Toyota, Chevrolet, Lincoln Mercury, Buick and Pontiac.

Nov. 1, 2001

How they sell cars on the Internet in Europe

(Editor's Note: We know how cars are sold over the Internet in America. But as connected as Americans are, European car buyers are certainly using the 'Net, too. The following story gives a different perspective on how vehicle e-sales are done overseas.) When Volvo Cars, based in Stockholm, Sweden, decided to try selling cars on the Internet, it set up its test site in Belgium. If we succeed in Belgium,

Nov. 1, 2001

****Nissan: We’ve got to take it to the next level

It's been an interesting 10 years as a Nissan dealer, says Vince Sheehy who observed that milestone in September. Sometimes it's been too interesting, he says referring to the tough times from which Nissan is attempting to rebound. I remember being told at the 1992 NADA convention that I came aboard Nissan at the right time because they were coming out with the Altima, says Mr. Sheehy. And the Altima

By Steve Finlay • Nov. 1, 2001

Smyrna: Another defeat for UAW

What appeared to be a legitimate chance to organize workers at Nissan Motor Mfg. Corp.'s Smyrna, TN, assembly plant crumbles into the fourth humiliating defeat at Smyrna for the United Auto Workers union after hourly workers reject unionization by more than a 2:1 margin. Some 3,103 of 4,589 eligible workers cast ballots Oct. 3 under the watchful eye of the National Labor Relations Board. UAW leaders

By Compiled by the staff of: WARD'S AUTOMOTIVE REPORTS • Nov. 1, 2001

Brazil, Argentina Brace for Road Ahead

This was to be the year of Brazil's big comeback. Production was set to soar toward the lofty heights of 1997, when domestic automakers built 2.07 million cars, vans and trucks compared with last year's 1.67 million vehicles. The industry pinnacle was reached before the bottom fell out of Asia in 1997, the Russian economy crumpled in 1998 and the drastic free fall of Brazil's currency caused economic

By Barbara McClellan • Nov. 1, 2001

FORD DOESN’T WANT TO SEE NADA’S BLUE OVAL SURVEY OF DEALERS

The National Automobile Dealers Association in August finished a survey that earlier asked Ford dealers what they thought of the automaker's controversial Blue Oval Certification program. The NADA had hoped to present the survey results to Ford Motor Co. But NADA Chairman Robert Maguire says Ford executives show no interest in the survey. Ford Division President Jim O'Connor, in a letter to Mr. Maguire,

By Cliff Banks • Nov. 1, 2001

Accord Topples Camry as Best-Selling U.S. Car

In the battle for sedan supremacy, Honda Motor Co. Ltd.'s Accord knocks Toyota Motor Corp.'s Camry out of the top spot as the best-selling car in America for the '01 model year. Accord posted sales of 412,074 vs. Camry's 388,512. Ford Motor Co.'s Taurus placed third with 349,742 units sold. The '01 Honda Civic is the best-selling small car in the U.S. for the fourth straight year with sales of 323,074,

Nov. 1, 2001

DC and Mitsubishi Learn to Share; Crossfire Gets New Platform

DaimlerChrysler Corp. and Mitsubishi Motors Corp. appear to be a giant step closer to firming plans to co-develop small C- (Dodge Neon/Mitsubishi Mirage and Lancer) and D-segment (Chrysler Sebring/Dodge Stratus/Mitsubishi Galant and Eclipse) car platforms, but a DCC official promises two unique-looking vehicles from the outside. The two automakers already have formed a joint procurement and supply

Nov. 1, 2001

Ford sales fly in October

Finally, some good news for Ford Motor Company. U.S. customers purchased or leased 418,243 cars and trucks from Ford, Mercury, Lincoln, Jaguar, Volvo, and Land Rover dealers in October, soaring 34.4 percent higher than a year ago, and setting a new October sales record. The previous record (375,797) was set in 1977. Ford F-Series, America's best-selling truck since 1977, achieved an all-time truck

By Wire Reports • Nov. 1, 2001

20 Years of Zero PPM

THIONVILLE, France It's been 20 years since Renault SA opened a piston manufacturing plant here in the northeast, just across the border from Germany and Luxembourg. And in that time the plant has never shipped a bad piston. OK, it's surely produced a few bad pistons since 1981, but Daniel Preslier is proud to say that none of them has ever made it out of the plant door. Besides a bearing, can you

By Tom Murphy • Nov. 1, 2001

Need a lift?

Rinspeed Design, the Swiss design and engineering company known primarily for souping-up German performance and luxury vehicles, has teamed with the Mopar parts division of the DaimlerChrysler Group and Stellar Industries Inc. to launch the X-Tra-Lift loading system for pickup trucks. The X-Tra-Lift debuted at the Specialty Equipment Manufacturers Assn. exposition in Las Vegas late last month, enhancing

By Compiled by the staff of: WARD'S ENGINE AND VEHICLE TECHNOLOGY UPDATE • Nov. 1, 2001

Toyota and Universal Technical Institute form new educational partnership

Toyota Motor Sales (TMS), U.S.A., Inc., has formed a new educational partnership with Universal Technical Institute (UTI), a national private career college. Toyota Professional Collision Training (TPCT), a program between the two organizations, is designed to recruit, train, and develop entry-level collision repair technicians exclusively for selected Toyota and Lexus dealerships. Meeting the growing

By Wire Reports • Oct. 31, 2001

“A new day,” says Ford Dealer Council Chairman Jerry Reynolds

Ford dealers are reacting positively to today's news that Ford Chief Executive Officer Jac Nasser has been replaced by William Clay Ford Jr. according to Jerry Reynolds, a Texas Ford dealer and chairman of the Ford Dealer Council. Dealers have viewed their relationship with the automaker with quiet frustration. While dealers have been rather circumspect in their recent comments regarding the automaker,

By Cliff Banks • Oct. 30, 2001

Honda speeds up new factory launch because of Odyssey minivan demand

TOKYO – Honda Motor Co. Ltd. plans for Job One at its new Alabama facility on November 15, six months ahead of schedule, says Honda President Hiroyuki Yoshino. The plant, which was constructed in a compact yearlong time frame, currently is doing pre-builds of the Odyssey minivan. The decision to move up the start of production, says Yoshino, was based on customer demand for the popular Odyssey, currently

Oct. 25, 2001

New rumor says Jacques Nasser’s days are numbered at Ford

A person close to the company says Ford Motor Co. CEO Jacques A. Nasser will probably be out of a job by the end of the year, The New York Times reports today. It’s not the first time such rumors have swirled around Mr. Nasser, whose last 12 months at the Ford helm have been rocky. A Ford spokesman waved off the latest report of Mr. Nasser’s imminent departure. "We wouldn't speculate on bogus speculation,"

Oct. 17, 2001

Texas dealer hosts new radio show

Texas dealer Jerry Reynolds is on the air as the host of a new Dallas AM radio show offering car-buying advice to consumers. It’s the “Jerry Reynolds Auto Advice Show” from 1-3 p.m. on KTRA 1190. The co-host is longtime Dallas radio personality Kevin McCarthy. Mr. Reynolds, a 25-year veteran of automotive retailing, is the owner of Prestige Ford in metro Dallas. He is the outgoing chairman of the

Oct. 12, 2001