Automakers: Page 418

VW Dealership Breaks Ground in Texas

Park Cities Volkswagen in Dallas, TX, broke ground last month on a new stand-alone dealership.Currently part of Leo Griggs' Park Cities Chrysler-Plymouth-Jeep-Volkswagen, the new VW store will be a 36,000-sq.-ft. building formerly occupied by Friendly Chevrolet."Volkswagen is to this decade what Honda was in the '80s," says Mr. Grigg. "They have the designs and features consumers demand, and with

April 1, 2000

Ford dealer victorious in Disney race

Indianapolis area Ford dealer Robbie Buhl won the first major auto race of the millennium when he took the checkered flat at the Delphi Indy 200 at Walt Disney World.Mr. Buhl, who owns Robbie Buhl's Smart Ford-Mercury in Danville, IN, started 22nd and worked his way to the front with a masterful pit strategy and tenacious driving."We had a car capable of winning and put ourselves in a good position,"

April 1, 2000

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

Back to Basics for BMW

Wanna buy BMW?That's a question WAW asked a year ago (see WAW - April '99, p.28), and the answers came back loud and clear. A resounding "Yes" from nearly every carmaker in the world with the means, an even more emphatic "We're not for sale" from BMW AG executives and controlling shareholders, the Quandts (48%).Officially, those positions haven't changed. But with last month's sale of Rover to turnaround

By David E. Zoia- with Said Deep • April 1, 2000

From ‘Drive by Wire’ to Adjustable Pedals

It started out as a small contract held by a company Teleflex Automotive acquired in 1997.Teleflex, a supplier of automotive cables and shifter control systems, wanted Comcorp Technologies of Warren, MI, for its expertise in "drive by wire" electronic throttle controls. Today, that small contract for adjustable pedals on some Ford Expeditions has blossomed into much more.Besides being offered as standard

By Drew Winter • April 1, 2000

Fiat, GM Ripe with Overlap

When they announced a strategic alliance and stock swap in March, General Motors Corp. and Fiat SpA said that despite their new relationship, they wanted to remain competitors. That shouldn't be difficult considering the overlap they have in product segments, manufacturing footprints and world markets.The deal calls for GM to pay $2.4 billion for a 20% stake in Fiat's auto operations. In exchange,

By Brian Corbett and Andrea Wielgat- with Bill Diem • April 1, 2000

Speedy Delivery

General Motors Corp. has, for years, been groping for ways to arrest its declining market share. One of its latest brainstorms is to jump onto the Internet band-wagon with a plan that would allow customers to order precisely the models and the options they want, over the Internet, and have the car delivered in four to 11 days.Wow! That sounds great, considering the car I just bought took three months

By STEPHAN SHARF • April 1, 2000

Audi Allroad Marks Successful quattro Era

GENEVA - Audi AG celebrates 20 years of quattro (all-wheel-drive) technology with the launch of its '01 Allroad quattro, a beefy luxury car-based crossover.Top Audi executives held a private anniversary dinner with a candlelit cake here preceding the Allroad's European introduction at the recent Geneva auto show. The car, which goes on sale in Europe in May and in the U.S. this fall, makes its U.S.

By Barbara McClellan • April 1, 2000

Ford hit with lawsuit over Rouge explosion

Ford Motor Co. finds itself involved in another lawsuit because of an explosion on Feb. 1, 1999, that killed six workers at the automaker's Rouge manufacturing complex. Five insurance companies of Rouge Industries Inc. have filed a $25 million lawsuit against Ford alleging the automaker's negligence led to the blast. This newest lawsuit, filed in Wayne County, MI, comes a mere week after another Rouge

By WARD'S AUTO WORLD STAFF • April 1, 2000

Leading Honda Back to F-1

Takefumi Hosaka Managing director at Honda R&D Co. Ltd. For Takefumi Hosaka, Saturday the 12th of March will be one of the biggest days of his career. The 50-year-old executive, together with 15 of his juniors, plans to be in Melbourne for the 16th running of the Australian Grand Prix.The date marks Honda's return to Formula One racing and is the first of 17 Formula One races on this year's calendar.When

By WARD'S AUTO WORLD STAFF • March 1, 2000

Auto Talk: Arvin Wants to Clear the Air on Cobra

Wes Vance doesn't want to reopen old wounds, but he would like to clear his company's name.The president of exhaust at Arvin Industries Inc. says his company was unfairly blamed for horsepower deficiencies identified by owners of Ford Motor Co.'s '99 Mustang SVT Cobra.Owners complained that the Cobra didn't generate the advertised 320 hp, and Ford attributed much of the problem to excessive backpressure

By WARD'S AUTO WORLD STAFF • March 1, 2000

THE KIDS (AND GRANDKIDS) ARE ALL RIGHT

Former dealer Nat Shulman gets this magazine's last word because his column appears on the last page.This month he uses that forum to take exception to the notion that Henry Ford is the automotive person of the century.It's a provocative column, noting that Mr. Ford, while indeed an automotive pioneer, had some deep character flaws.But what's ironic to look at, too, are the lives of Henry Ford's descendants,

By Steve Finlay • March 1, 2000

FORD TESTS NEW DEALERSHIP SIGN

A new sign to identify Ford dealerships is being tested at a store down the street from Ford Motor Co. headquarters in Dearborn, MI.By 2003, Ford Division hopes signs just like it will be completely installed at its 4,200 dealerships across the nation.The first, at Village Ford, is undergoing tests for durability and readability.The sign features the familiar blue Ford oval atop a pedestal."The blue

March 1, 2000

Brand Spanking New

It's no silver bullet - it won't solve all of General Motors Corp.'s production problems. And it definitely isn't Yellow-stone, company executives admit.But the new assembly plant now under construction in Lansing, MI, is expected to be the most efficient and flexible facility in GM's global empire. It's also a 3-D brick-and-mortar testament to the automaker's new philosophy to develop common best

By David E. Zoia • March 1, 2000

Pipeline: Meritor Opens Lid on New Market

Meritor Automotive, which pioneered the one-piece roof module in Europe on the DaimlerChrysler MCC Smart car, is pushing the concept globally and now has development agreements with four automakers.The Troy, MI, supplier isn't identifying the customers except to say they are considering the modules for cars and light trucks in various markets, likely by 2004.Currently, roofs are stamped, formed and

By Tom Murphy • March 1, 2000

Volkswagen Turns Up the Heat

Look, there's no arguing with Volkswagen AG's recent U.S. sales boom. The Passat started it, a blunt message that midsize sedans needn't be a styling snore. The perky New Beetle fanned the flames, and the restyled Jetta is the gasoline for the blaze, reaching the young - and young at heart - in embarrassingly effective fashion.Proof, then, that great styling sells. But we're told that "performance"

By Bill Visnic • March 1, 2000

Are you wild enough?

Dealers style showrooms to get outdoorsy customers to trek on over Although it isn't likely people will be heading to the local Ford dealership to plan their next hiking trip, dealers nationwide have started to respond in major ways to a Ford Motor Co. sport/utility vehicle-advertising program.Ford has lumped all its SUVs, the Explorer, Expedition, Excursion, Explorer Sport Trac and upcoming Escape

By Jeff Green • March 1, 2000

F&I is not Greek to new chairman

Closer relationships with dealer and consumer customers are a key goal of Ford Credit's new chairman and CEO, Don Winkler, former chief of the Finance One subsidiary of Bank One Corp.Mr. Winkler, 51, switched from Bank One to Ford Credit after Philippe Paillart unexpectedly gave up the Ford post to pursue an assignment.Mr. Paillart's resignation was announced by Ford President and CEO Jacques A. Nasser,

March 1, 2000

Here’s to you: the Rendezvous, Daewoo and Subaru

Highlights of the Chicago Auto Show: GENERAL MOTORS: Buick Division will finally get an SUV - the Rendezvous, an upscale truck that debuted at the Chicago show and goes on sale in the second quarter of 2001 as a '02 model.It will be targeted at buyers who are younger than the average age of 60 for Buick owners, says Roger Adams, the division's marketing general manager."Our research shows that the

By Steve Finlay and Brian Corbett • March 1, 2000

Auto Talk: Audi Opens Torture Chamber for Electronics

You're cruising the Autobahn at a healthy click when your dashboard lights up like a Christmas tree. So you slow down, and all is well once you get away from that annoying but powerful short-wave radio transmitter parked by the side of the road.Electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) is a hot issue for automakers who are struggling to keep on-board electronic systems from interfering with each other and

By WARD'S AUTO WORLD STAFF • March 1, 2000

GM INTRODUCES NEW A/C RECYCLER

Repairing a vehicle's air conditioning system can be a time-consuming operation fraught with problems unrelated to repairing the mech-anical parts.Ever since R12 (Freon) was outlawed, the substance has had a tendency to creep into service department equipment and customer vehicles, causing each to function below their capabilities. Such problems hurt the bottom line and customer satisfaction.General

By Tim Keenan • March 1, 2000

Florida’s Kelly Ford celebrates 25 years

It was a homecoming of sorts when Ford Div. President James G. O'Connor attended the 25th anniversary celebration at Kelly Ford in Melbourne, FL.He's a former employee of Kelly Ford in Atlanta. He was general manager of the store from 1970 to 1972.Mr. O'Connor was joined at the party by former Ford and Chrysler executive Bennett Bidwell, who is a member of the Kelly Management Corp. board of directors.Three

March 1, 2000

Materials: Boxed In

NORTH BALTIMORE, OH - It's five hours from this small town south of Toledo to Louisville, KY, and the big trucks are loaded and ready.Each truck will transport 33 sheet-molded composite (SMC) pickup boxes for the new Ford Explorer Sport Trac, a sport/utility vehicle (SUV) hybrid reaching dealerships this month, which is assembled at Ford's Louisville truck plant.The boxes are molded at the Budd Co.'s

By David C. Smith with Said Deep • March 1, 2000

New job after 30 years at Ford

Thomas N. (Toby) Hynes has joined distributor Gulf States Toyota (GST) as president and general manager, ending a 30-year career at Ford which included nearly four years of service as president and chief operating officer of Ford Credit's Primus financial division.Mr. Hynes succeeds Earl Hesterberg at Gulf States. Mr. Hesterberg, a onetime Nissan Motor Sales U.S.A. senior executive, moved to Ford

March 1, 2000

MERCEDES-BENZ GOES FOR EXCLUSIVITY WITH CL500 BILLED AS “PURE SEDUCTION”

What does Mercedes-Benz USA, which sold more luxury cars than anyone else in the nation last year, do for an encore in 2000?Ironically, one thing is to launch a vehicle with an incredibly limited production.It's the CL500 Coupe, retailing for $85,500 and billed as one of the most technologically advanced cars ever.MBUSA's allotment for this year is 2,500 units in the U.S. That's about 20% of worldwide

By Steve Finlay • March 1, 2000

GM Establishes Database for Racing Injuries

ORLANDO - While most of the General Motors Racing brain trust was sweating out the final laps of the Delphi Indy 200 at Walt Disney World in late January, at least two GM officials - Thomas W. Gideon and John W. Melvin - were more concerned about the condition of Jaques Lazier and Davey Hamilton.Long before Robbie Buhl's Oldsmobile Aurora-powered racer passed Eddie Cheever's Nissan Infiniti-equipped

By Tim Keenan • March 1, 2000