Automakers: Page 408

Customers line up for DC super cars

DaimlerChrysler AG has more than 40 orders in France and the U.K. for expensive cars that won't reach the market until 2002 or 2003. The company in March started accepting $81,000 deposits for the Maybach, a Rolls-Royce competitor, and the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren, a 198-mph sports car. A DC spokesman in Stuttgart won't say how many deposits have been made worldwide. The SLR McLaren will be the first

By Compiled by the staff of: WARD'S AUTOMOTIVE INTERNATIONAL • July 1, 2001

Bell & Howell moves GM parts catalog to the Internet

Bell & Howell is helping approximately 1,500 General Motors dealerships lose their old-fashioned microfiche parts catalogs by putting the parts numbers on line. Eventually, even the higher-tech compact disc and DVD parts catalogs may be replaced by the Internet-based catalog. We're trying to penetrate all segments of the market to give smaller dealers the ability to get away from microfiche, explains

By Tim Keenan • July 1, 2001

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

Quotes

Chevrolet! I mean, its one of the best brands in the world. I mean it's a c-a-a-a-a-a-r brand. I mean, who doesn't want to participate in the next Corvette or C/K (pickup truck)? Bryan Nesbitt, chief designer of the popular Chrysler PT Cruiser, who jumped ship to join GM as chief designer for its Chevrolet Division. This partnership is a lot like a marriage - we're finally going to make it work. John

July 1, 2001

The QUALITY CRUNCH

If you only read the headlines, it doesn't look like Ford Motor Co. can do much right these days. Besides its high-visibility fight with Bridgestone/Firestone Inc. over tire recalls and sport/utility vehicle (SUV) rollovers, it seems like the company has forgotten how to build quality cars and trucks. Ford's problems already have been well documented: Its Escape small SUV has been recalled five times

By Drew Winter, Brian Corbett, Eric Mayne, Tom Murphy, Alisa Priddle, Cliff Banks, David C. Smith • July 1, 2001

Not Just Another Small Car

LONDON Nearly 42 years ago, Alec Issigonis's Mini redefined small cars. The new, reincarnated Mini model may not inspire generations of imitators, but neither is it just another small car. This is BMW AG's Mini, a German-conceived and developed baby that's packed with contemporary technology and far from the simplicity (sliding windows, wire door handles, push-button starter) and packaging miracle

By Peter Robinson • July 1, 2001

Toyota prods suppliers to be green

Bill Ford gets lots of attention these days for nurturing environmental initiatives at Ford Motor Co., but the lack of spotlight hasn't deterred Toyota Motor Corp. from its goal of becoming the industry leader in environmental performance. The No. 1 Japanese automaker, which first laid out its goal in 1992 with its Earth Charter, now is imposing the same standards upon its suppliers. Toyota Motor

By KATHERINE ZACHARY • July 1, 2001

COLORADO AVALANCHE: A HOCKEY TEAM AND 2 NEW TRUCK NAMES

General Motors will rename two pickup trucks, the compact Chevy S-10 and the GMC Sierra C3 performance model, Ward's has learned. Letters and numbers are out. Rugged geographic names are in. The Sierra C3 would be redubbed the Sierra Denali, probably beginning with the 2002 model year. The S-10 is expected to be renamed the Colorado next year when an all-new 2003 model debuts. Colorado is in keeping

July 1, 2001

GM buys into hydrogen storage maker

GM cleared a hurdle in the race to make the first mass produced fuel-cell-powered vehicle with its announcement in June that it acquired 20% stake in Quantum Technologies Inc., maker of hydrogen storage tanks. The company expects to produce a tank that can hold enough hydrogen to travel 300 to 500 miles (480 to 800 km). Quantum's tank, the same size as one introduced last year, features several layers

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

Dealers weigh in on those quality issues

We asked dealers what they thought about today's vehicle quality, all those manufacturers' recalls, warranty work and such. Here's what they had to say: Don Wessel, owner, Don Wessel Oldsmobile Honda, Springfield, MO: Is there a quality problem? I'm convinced that the problems started when guys like Lopez and Nasser came in and started cutting supplier costs. The cuts have resulted in a reduction

By Cliff Banks with Maya Rhodes • July 1, 2001

Six Sigma to save Ford $300 million

Ford Motor Co. expects its 15-month-old quality improvement system, consumer-driven Six Sigma, will add $300 million to its bottom line this year, says Louise Goeser, the automaker's vice president-quality. The boost, which comes on the heels of a $52 million gift in 2000, will come from warranty cost savings and improved manufacturing efficiency. Ford also will require its suppliers to adopt stricter

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

Fiber Meets Frugality

Two cars shriek to a stop at a red light: a luxury Mercedes-Benz S600 and a Ford Taurus. As an onlooker, can you guess which car will boast a better sound and navigation system in the near future? You might be surprised at the answer, because luxury car technology will soon be available to more frugal consumers. D2B SmartWire, developed and introduced in 2000 by Communication and Control Electronics

By MAYA RHODES • July 1, 2001

MINI PREPARES TO GRANT 70 DEALERSHIP FRANCHISES

MINI, a new division of BMW of North America, sent letters of intent to 70 dealer candidates, generally located in major metropolitan and progressive urban areas in 29 states. The letters signify MINI's intent to give dealership franchises for the new generation of MINIs, a small vehicle which BMW plans to sell worldwide. The brand plans to sell 18,000 annually in the U.S. when the $18,000 Cooper

July 1, 2001

Ford to expand number of Hispanic-owned dealerships

Ford Motor Co. will expand the number of dealerships owned by Hispanic Americans by 50 over the next five years as part of a partnership between the automaker, Latino Initiatives for the Next Century (LINC) and Millennium LMI. "The fact is, independent Hispanic dealers, adequately capitalized and effectively managed, are essential to the successful marketing and sales of Ford products," says George

By Tim Keenan • June 29, 2001

GM/ Daewoo Talks Stall, Top Negotiator Resigns

SEOUL- General Motors Corp.’s attempts to acquire the assets of bankrupt Daewoo Motor Co. Ltd. have stalled for the second time in two weeks, following the resignation of the Daewoo negotiating team’s managing director, Han Young-Chul. No decision has been made as to where or when talks will resume. Negotiators for both sides met for a second time in Hong Kong on June 21 to try and iron out price

By Vince Courtenay • June 28, 2001

Ford gets out of the dealership game; leaves dealerships to dealers

Like General Motors Corp. before, Ford Motor Co. is getting out of the automotive retail business. Ford is ending a three-year experiment in which it tried to run dealerships in mid-size urban markets. The automaker announced today that it will sell the auto "collections" it runs in Tulsa, Oklahoma City, Salt Lake City and Rochester, NY. Started in 1998 as a reaction to dealership consolidators such

By Tim Keenan • June 26, 2001

F&I

TOP 20 AT A GLANCE - F&I LEADERS Top 20 F&I Revenue     Top 20 F&I % of Total Revenue   Ricart Ford $ 32,459,848   Maroone Honda of Miami 12.0% Galpin Ford $ 24,374,142   Norm Reeves Honda Superstore 11.0% Universal City Nissan $ 16,659,431   Hudson Toyota 9.0% Longo Toyota $ 14,277,000   Universal City Nissan 7.7% Hudson Toyota $ 14,250,000   Ricart Ford 7.4% Landmark Chevrolet $ 12,804,000   Potamkin

By WDB • June 22, 2001

Customer service drives the best of the best

The overriding similarity among the top 10 dealerships in the Ward's Dealer Business 500 is their commitment to customer service. No. 1, Longo Toyota of El Monte, CA, refers to its customers as "guests" and is re-doing its entire dealership with an eye on making it more guest-friendly. No. 3 Galpin Ford in metro Los Angeles, re-examined its service department to improve CSI in that area. No. 4 Fletcher

By Tim Keenan • June 21, 2001

Longo Toyota long on success

Longo Toyota on the San Bernadino Freeway in the Los Angeles suburb of El Monte has been among the nation's leading deal-erships since it moved to that location 13 years ago. What better way to celebrate being atop the Ward's Dealer Business 500 than spending $10 million over the next two years to revamp the entire facility. "Hopefully in a year or so we'll re-launch a new Longo," says Greg Penske,

By Tim Keenan • June 21, 2001

Back-End Operations Continue to Prove Their Importance

Talk about record breaking sales numbers may be the sexier subject for the automotive retail industry, but car dealers know all too well that a more revealing indicator of a dealership’s health may be the strength of it’s back-end operations. According to Morton Zetlin, co-owner of American Service Center, an Arlington, VA Mercedes dealer, “The car business is a continuum. Every department depends

By Cliff Banks • June 18, 2001

Trying to change the “worst” part of buying a car

When it comes to acquiring a vehicle, some car buyers find the financial process the worst part about their purchase. A program called Toyota Quality Financial Management is trying to change that. Customer satisfaction scores and dealer profits have risen at participating dealerships. Financial services managers, sales managers, general sales managers, general managers and dealers who have participated

June 12, 2001

GM improves its minority dealer efforts

General Motors Corp.'s minority dealer program hit all of its growth targets last year but its future may be even tougher than its imperfect past. The number of GM minority dealers grew from 320 in 1999 to 350 last year, 70% of them owned their businesses and 77% of GM's minority dealers were profitable. Those numbers are in stark contrast to 1998, when only 62.5% of GM's 280 minority dealers were

By Frank S. Washington • June 1, 2001

Connecticut dealership switches franchises from Jeep to Dodge

The former Stahl's Jeep of Derby (CT) is now Stahl's Derby Dodge. The new name reflects its new inventory of Dodge cars and trucks exclusively. The family-owned company dates to 1917. It started out repairing batteries. It started selling Hudson cars in the 1940s, then AMC products. It was a Jeep dealer for 30 years before switching to Dodge this year. Our new focus gives us a tremendous opportunity

June 1, 2001

Can This Guy Work Magic?

With breathless excitement, the U.S. Big Three automakers joined hands in February 2000 and declared war on inefficiency. Having pursued separate paths in launching business-to-business e-commerce strategies, Detroit's brass realized how wasteful that would be. They were ecstatic over the prospect of melding each company's initiatives into one colossal Internet exchange that could manage the entire

By Tom Murphy • June 1, 2001

You Need Green to be Green

Who'd have thought the two biggest players in the U.S. auto industry would be at odds with the White House over global warming with the automakers competing to get ahead of the environmental curve and the Bush Administration moving in quite the opposite direction? It wasn't that long ago that the auto industry fought increasingly stricter federal tailpipe emissions and fuel economy mandates with all

By David C. Smith • June 1, 2001

GM Axes New Crossovers

General Motors Corp. has delayed indefinitely or possibly axed completely the Epsilon-based Pontiac Banner and Buick Signia crossovers, sources say. Code-named GMX390 and GMX391, the sedan-like vans were due in the 2003-2005 timeframe. Banner was supposed to replace the Pontiac Bonneville and Signia (see cover story, Feb. '98) was to take the place of Buick LeSabre, sources say. Portions of the Epsilon

June 1, 2001