Automakers: Page

WHAT NOT TO DO IN A TOUGH SITUATION

Deception and denial are of little help for employers caught in business crisis situations, according to former American Motors Chairman and CEO Gerald C. Meyers.Now a professor of crisis management at the University of Michigan Business School, Dr. Meyers specifically singles out DaimlerChrysler Chairman Juergen E. Schrempp and senior executives of Bridgestone/Firestone for engaging in "D-word" reactions

By Maynard M. Gordon • Feb. 1, 2001

SOME ‘NET VENTURES ARE LEMONS; THIS IS LEMONADE

Toyota site has better closing rate than for walk-ins "The Internet a lemon?" "FounderingSales.com?"That's what banner headlines in Fortune magazine and the Detroit Free Press proclaimed, citing direct-sales dot-coms' gloom and doom in sales results, dealer satisfaction and, perish the thought, common stock values.But the publications should check out the latest report from Gulf States Toyota. Its

By Maynard M. Gordon • Feb. 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

HOW SUCCESS CAME TO TOP OLDS DEALER

"A warm spot in our hearts for that great old name" ELLISVILLE, MO - Thirty years ago, what was to become the largest-volume Oldsmobile dealership got its start here in a trailer and with a $200,000 loan from GM's Motors Holding Division.The new dealer kid on the block back then was Frank Bommarito.He had started out as a kid car washer at McMahon Ford and then did the same thing at Vincel Pontiac,

By Maynard M. Gordon • Feb. 1, 2001

Isuzu’s Axiom Crossover Makes Speedy Entrance

When they take the wraps off the 2002 Isuzu Axiom vehicle at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit Jan. 14-21, it no longer will be the concept model unveiled at the New York Auto Show only nine months ago yet it'll be almost identical: Axiom heads for production this month at the Subaru Isuzu Automotive Inc. (SIA) plant in Lafayette, IN, and will reach Isuzu's 550 dealers on April

By DAVIDC. SMITH • Jan. 1, 2001

OLDS DEALERS REACT TO BRAND’S DEATH SENTENCE

Years of speculation, rumors and guesswork finally ended last month when General Motors executives announced they would phase out the Oldsmobile brand after more than 100 years as an auto industry nameplate. The move effects 2,801 dealers, 63 of which are Olds exclusives. The phase out is expected to take about three years, which is when the cycle of the division's current product lineup ends. The

By Tim Keenan • Jan. 1, 2001

GM sees no downturn for Vitec

It has been three years since General Motors Corp., like other Big Three automakers, committed to do 5% of its business with minority-owned automotive suppliers. The No.1 automaker is keeping that pledge by fostering growth at Vitec, a fuel tank producer that recently celebrated its third anniversary as a minority operation. The company has 250 employees producing 800,000 plastic fuel tanks annually

Jan. 1, 2001

FORD SELLS SAFETY OF 2002 EXPLORER

FORD WILL SELL THE SAFETY OF THE NEW 2002 Explorer due out this spring.With good reason. The new SUV follows the Firestone tire shredding problems linked to all those fatal Explorer rollover accidents.Ford fears the fallout from that mess could mar the new Explorer's launch.It's ironic that the new SUV comes with innovative and impressive safety features, which by the way, were in the works well before

By Steve Finlay • Jan. 1, 2001

DIGITAL IMAGES LURE IN NEW BUSINESS

Dealership uses computer photos to show vehicle body damage to insurersDennis Martin, body shop manager at Lou Fusz Pontiac-Buick-GMC in St. Louis, MO, isn't convinced that "digital imaging" saves his department money. He is, however, convinced that it saves time - and has helped the shop bring in more insurance-paid repair work."We bought it primarily because one insurance company wanted us to have

By John Yoswick • Jan. 1, 2001

A C-Class act

Mercedes eyes bigger slice of entry-luxury segment Some people believe luxury car sales are the first to bear the brunt of an economic downturn.But Ken Enders of Mercedes-Benz USA says that, if predictions are correct that the economy may soften this year, luxury car companies such as his won't be the canaries in the mineshaft."I'd say it would go the other way; that the total market would get hit

By Steve Finlay • Jan. 1, 2001

Materials

Nutrition experts say the best diets reduce weight very gradually, over a long period. Automakers in North America apparently have been listening. They're expected to reduce the total vehicle weight of cars and trucks by only 10% by 2009. So no matter how many super light-weight, all-aluminum and all-plastic concept vehicles you see on the auto show circuit this year, don't expect to see a lot on

By Drew Winter • Jan. 1, 2001

The power of one

Mazda eyes more exclusive stores and a Blue Oval-like dealer programMazda has seen moderate incremental sales growth - but what it really wants to do is increase the number of its exclusive dealerships.The importer also is looking at establishing a dealership certification program along the lines of Ford's Blue Oval program.Mazda currently has about 750 retail points, 20% of which are stand-alone

By Tim Keenan • Jan. 1, 2001

`Business as usual’ at Audi

VW's luxury arm continues to improve as market softens Audi of America Vice President Len Hunt sums up 2000 in one succinct phrase: "Back to business as usual."Volkswagen's luxury division continues to fare well in the U.S., despite what many have dubbed a "softening" auto industry. "We've seen a little bit of a slowdown in terms of showroom traffic, but sales are still extremely healthy," says Mr.

By Laurel Wright • Jan. 1, 2001

The Contrarian

My column in Nov. '99 was headlined Occupied Chrysler and it was darn good, ending with Change your ways. End the occupation. Make Chrysler a true partner, or free us. And that was written well before Jim Holden got the axe. You know what happened. The iron boot came down harder. Okay, no more Mr. Nice Guy. This column is a message to all Chrysler employees: Resist. Your company was conquered with

By Jerry Flint • Jan. 1, 2001

COURT SHOOTOUT BREWING OVER FORD BLUE OVAL PROGRAM

A courtroom battle that could reach the U.S. Supreme Court is shaping up over Ford's Blue Oval certification program.Ford President and CEO Jacques A. Nasser, responding to a suit filed by five dealers in U.S. District Court, Newark, NJ, called Blue Oval a dealership program the company "can't live without" because of its customer-satisfaction merits.He warns, "Anyone who is going to hide behind legal

By Maynard M. Gordon • Jan. 1, 2001

Honda tops million sales

And it does it without a pickup truck Reaching more than a million new-vehicle sales a year without a pickup truck line has been American Honda's singular achievement in 2000 - and there's no reason why the record can't be broken in 2001.That's what they're saying at Honda's U.S. headquarters in Torrance, CA, and unless the market really tanks, doubters are few and far between.In optimistic fashion,

By Maynard M. Gordon • Jan. 1, 2001

ALL HAD TO BE CHANGED - AND WAS

"Van Tuyl style" turns Nissan dealership around ERRITOS, CA - Like the weather, customer satisfaction is something dealers and just about everyone else talk about.Ask a dealer what his top priority is. The answer most often is "customer satisfaction" or "customer loyalty."At Cerritos Nissan, they've taken that principle and yielded real results in only a few years. The Cerritos Auto Mall store in

By Maynard M. Gordon • Jan. 1, 2001

200,000 - No, 220,000 - Wait! - 240,000

"We've changed our 2000 sales estimates three different times." Robert Cosmai, vice president of national sales for Hyundai Motor America, has reason to be confident in 2001 after its sales performance in 2000.His company initially projected sales of 200,000 units in 2000. By June, they increased that estimate to 220,000. Now, they are saying they 240,000 is more like it. That represents a 46% increase

By Cliff Banks • Jan. 1, 2001

Audi gets a lift from its new Allroad

At first glance the new Audi AG Allroad looks like just another station wagon on steroids, one of a growing list coming from SUV-less automakers hoping to get a piece of the lucrative light truck market.While some automakers pursue new customers with increasingly car-like SUVs, Subaru, Volvo AG and now Audi are chasing potential SUV buyers with station wagons beefed up to be more truck-like. Jacked

By Drew Winter • Jan. 1, 2001

Toledo Gives Birth

It's industry chic cheap. The new Toledo North Assembly Plant is home to the latest member of the Jeep family, the '02 Liberty sport/utility vehicle (SUV), and it represents the latest in flexible manufacturing technology. But if you ask Frank Ewasyshyn, DaimlerChrysler Corp. senior vice president of advance manufacturing engineering, what makes this new $750 million plant stand out from the crowd,

By Alisa Priddle • Jan. 1, 2001

Liberty Call!

CHELSEA, MI If DaimlerChrysler AG can just hurry up and get this new Jeep compact sport/utility vehicle (SUV), the 2002 Liberty, to market, it'll go a long way toward balming the cross-continental squabbling. It's usually easier to bury the hatchet when you've got a winner on your hands, and after viewing and driving the all-new Liberty (internally known as KJ) at DC's proving grounds here, we're

By Bill Visnic • Jan. 1, 2001

BMW leading on sleeves?

American Metal Market says BMW AG is ahead of Ford Motor Co. in developing powder metal-type metal matrix composite cylinder sleeves for aluminum engine blocks. The sleeves are lighter than conventional cast-iron liners. If development work is successful, they will be used in an upcoming BMW aluminum V-6 engine.

Dec. 21, 2000

GM to build homes for Delphi employees in Mexico.

General Motors Corp., fresh from the huge Renaissance Center real estate deal in Detroit, is building homes for several thousand Delphi Automotive Systems employees in Mexico. An agreement with Mexico's housing authority and Michigan-based homebuilder Pulte Corp. will result in some 6,000 starter homes for Delphi employees. "Without this partnership between government and private industry, such housing

Dec. 21, 2000

Auto people on the move

Delphi President J.T. Battenberg is selected as general chairman of the SAE International Congress and Expo in Detroit Feb. 24-27. Other personnel moves: Yoshio Ishizaka becomes president and CEO of Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. Inc., replacing Shinji Sakai, who returns to Japan as senior managing director. GM's Robert W. Hendry is named president and CEO of Saab Automobile AB, while GM taps Bell Atlantic

Dec. 21, 2000

Ford, UTA settle: new VP-quality named

United Technologies Automotive says it's a coincidence, and maybe it is, as it appoints a new vice president of quality and enterprise productivity just as the dust settles from the 8.7 million-vehicle recall of Ford vehicles equipped with UTA ignition switches. More than 1,000 fires have been linked to the switch. Michael O'Day takes over the post as the automaker and the supplier agree to share

Dec. 21, 2000

Slip slidin’ away: Cadillac ICCS keeps you on straight and narrow

PHOENIX -- While Cadillac's big news for the '97 model year will be the German-built Catera, engineers from General Motors Corp.'s Cadillac/Luxury Car Div. have been busy refining the integrated chassis control system (ICCS) for up-level versions of its front-drive models: Seville STS, Eldorado ETC and DeVille Concours.Antilock brakes and traction control have reduced collision risks, but when you

By Gardner, Greg • Dec. 21, 2000