Automakers: Page 418

A First for Corvette: Right-Hand-Drive

General Motors Corp. has approved right-hand-drive production of the next-gen Chevrolet Corvette, due out in late 2003. The move heralds GM's decision to engineer right-hand-drive capability for a far wider range of its American models, as it attempts to broaden their appeal and increase sales in countries such as the U.K., Japan and Australia.Only half of GM's models are available in rhd. The automaker

By WARD'S AUTO WORLD STAFF • Aug. 1, 2000

Rendezvous spin-off in Saab’s future

Saab Automobile will expand its lineup with a new car-based sport/utility vehicle (SUV) culled from the upcoming Buick Rendezvous/Pontiac Aztek platform, company sources say. The new crossover vehicle is part of a recently announced $3.38 billion product initiative parent General Motors Corp. has planned for Saab between now and 2004. Peter Augustsson, Saab's new president and chief executive, says

By WARD'S AUTO WORLD STAFF • Aug. 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

Toyota Shuffles Lexus Management

With Lexus sales disappointing, except for the RX300 sport/ute, Toyota Motor Corp.'s luxury division has shuffled top management.Dennis Clements, who has been chief operating officer of Central Atlantic Toyota Distributors Inc. since 1991, becomes group vice president and general manager, replacing Bryan Bergsteinsson as Lexus' top executive.During Mr. Bergsteinsson's tenure, Lexus reported record

By WARD'S AUTO WORLD STAFF • Aug. 1, 2000

GM backs U-M in suit

General Motors Corp. is going to bat for the University of Michigan, which is the target of two lawsuits over its use of affirmative action in determining admissions. In an unusual move, GM, which says it employs a large number of U-M business and engineering school grads, has filed a brief supporting the U-M's tactics. In the brief, which appears to have Vice Chairman Harry J. Pearce's personal stamp,

By WARD'S AUTO WORLD STAFF • Aug. 1, 2000

Polyurethane Capacity Lags Demand

Unless someone puts shovels in the ground soon, automakers may need to find a replacement material for polyurethane in fascias, body panels, steering wheels, door panels, instrument panels, tailgates and numerous other vehicle components as early as next year.With a new factory needed every 12 months to keep pace with 5% annual growth and none planned for next year, Robert R. Kirk of Bayer Corp.,

By Brian Corbett • Aug. 1, 2000

Better Late Than Never

SAN DIEGO - The Koreans are getting pretty good at this game - borrow a page from the competition's playbook in designing a new vehicle, and then load it up with attractive standard features that consumers might find as optional on competitive vehicles. Add a price that usually undercuts by thousands.The strategy must be working for Hyundai Motor America, which only two years ago was contemplating

By Tom Murphy • Aug. 1, 2000

More on tap from Mercedes

Mercedes-Benz USA Inc. is studying ways to broaden its lineup, including the possibility of selling the next-generation A-Class and a new baby M-Class sport/utility vehicle (SUV) in the U.S. "I believe there's room for the A-Class in the U.S., but not in its present version," says Mercedes-Benz USA President Paul Halata, who adds that DaimlerChrysler passenger car chief Juergen Hubbert is eager to

By WARD'S AUTO WORLD STAFF • Aug. 1, 2000

Chevy Traverse gets nod for 2004

General Motors Corp. has green-lighted the Chevrolet Traverse, a truck-based crossover sport/utility first shown at last February's Chicago Auto Show, GM North America President Ronald L. Zarrella says in an interview. The 4-door Traverse, which is based on GM's midsize truck platform (body-on-frame) but features more car-like styling, will mark a new direction for GM in the midsize car category when

By WARD'S AUTO WORLD STAFF • Aug. 1, 2000

Ford India could become export hub

Ford Motor India plans to export complete-knocked down (CKD) units of its midsize Ikon passenger car beginning in the fourth quarter, ManagingDirector Phil Spender explains at a function in New Delhi to showcase two Ikon c oncept models. The automaker initially will export Ikon CKDs to South America and South Africa but also is exploring other global markets. Ford will make several changes to the

By WARD'S AUTO WORLD STAFF • Aug. 1, 2000

Rearview

39 Years Ago In an age of new-model closed introductions, Ford Motor Co. in July 1961 publicly unveils details of its upcoming '62 Mercury lineup. The reason, according to auto industry insiders, is to help quash persistent rumors that the Mercury brand is going to follow the recently de-ceased Edsel into oblivion.In the same month, Chrysler Corp. President and Chairman, Lester Lum (Tex) Colbert asks

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

Pains, Gains and Automobiles

It doesn't seem that long ago that Americans in the auto industry were decidedly territorial, swinging sledge hammers at Japanese imports at union rallies and eager to castigate foreign automakers for intruding on U.S. soil.These sentiments are rarely heard today. Besides creating thousands of jobs for Americans, foreign automakers and suppliers have made U.S. automakers more competitive merely by

By Tom Murphy • July 1, 2000

2000 Harbour Report

The home team won a big one last month, and local newspapers gave it a lot of play. For the first time, an auto plant run by a Detroit automaker was ranked as the most efficient in the U.S. and Canada by the annual Harbour Report on auto plant labor productivity.But while Ford Motor Co.'s Atlanta Assembly plant grabbed the headlines by winning a high-profile battle with Japanese automakers, the Harbour

By Drew Winter • July 1, 2000

The Ultimate Mustang - Built by You

Apparently, father Ford knows best when it comes to Mustang performance, because the best efforts of any aftermarket tuner would not equal the FR500. The "homegrown" Ford Racing Performance FR500 is what the mass-produced Mustang was meant to be - if it didn't have to fit tamer buyers, too.Ford Racing Technology engineers set out to build FR500 as a parts showcase for Mustang Cobra owners who want

By Brian Reuwee • July 1, 2000

Zafira Brings Thai Plant to Life

RAYONG province, Thailand - The domestic market here is almost incidental to the new $640 million plant General Motors Corp. officially opened May 8. The name of the GM game in Thailand is, in a word, "exports."During ramp up this year, 85% of the 8,000-plus 1.8L Zafira multi-purpose vehicles (MPVs) rolling out of final assembly will be shipped overseas, mostly to Europe, where the popular model was

By Mack Chrysler • July 1, 2000

Just a Lot of e-Hype

Auto executives let a few e-confessions slip at a recent manufacturing conference in Alabama.They stayed true to the "e is good" theme in their presentations, but there were a few admissions."At the moment, everything with 'e' as a first letter is hype," says Guenter Klamer, vice president of logistics and information technology and quality management for BMW Mfg. Corp. That said, BMW is working on

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

WTO deals deathblow to AutoPact

The Canadian government's loss in a discrimination case brought on by non-AutoPact manufacturers Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co. Ltd. means the likely death of the U.S./Canada AutoPact. Canada will be forced to impose a 6.1% tariff on all overseas auto imports to comply with a ruling by the World Trade Organization. The 1965 AutoPact agreement requires carmakers to build as many vehicles in

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

Lord Vader, Your Z06 has Arrived

AKRON, OH - Not that there was anything wrong with the current-generation (C5) Corvette.Yet for 2001, here we go again, because the engineers, Chevrolet and GM, true to the Corvette's legacy, are pushing the envelope with even more performance and technology. There's even a strong whiff of nostalgia thrown in.Hold your breath, 'cause the '01 Corvette line now includes the modern-day reincarnation

By Bill Visnic • July 1, 2000

Blue Oval too Blue Collar?

The unmistakable blue oval that graces millions of Ford Motor Co. products worldwide no longer sits atop the automaker's world headquarters in Dearborn, MI. In a heavily debated move, the more than 50-ft. long Ford oval, which has adorned the "Glass House" since the late 1960s, was quietly stripped from the 12-story building in late May, slated to be replaced by the Ford Motor Co. script "trust mark."Ford

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

Kia rolls dice on new U.S. product assault

LAS VEGAS - To put in the local parlance of this gambling mecca, Kia Motors America Inc. appears to be a sure thing.The Korean importer, already on a roll with sales up 17% in the first quarter (including a 30% rise in retail sales) and the second best-selling small sport/utility vehicle (SUV) in America, is planning a string of new models over the next 18 months that will more than double the breadth

By Dave Zoia • July 1, 2000

A Better Idea for Ford

This month I've decided to push up those poor auto stocks. The carmakers can break sales records every month and profit records every quarter. They buy back stock, and still their stock prices suck.Yes, that is the correct word for heart-breaking P/E ratios of 9 or 10 or 11. The poor partsmakers are worse, and if General Motors Corp.'s stock is the best of the bunch, it's only because GM owns Hughes

By Jerry Flint • July 1, 2000

SATURN GETS 14 HENDRICK STORES AND $1.5 BILLION ‘INFUSION’ FROM GM

Saturn Corp. has received three "infusions" in an attempt to overcome a somewhat disappointing 2000 model year and regain momentum for 2001.The infusions are headed by a $1.5 billion cash investment from parent General Motors Corp., but also delve into the dealer area.Fourteen Saturn dealerships owned by the Hendrick Automotive Group in four states have been sold to the automaker-owned Saturn Retail

By Maynard M. Gordon • July 1, 2000

Renault-Nissan drive ahead in Brazil

Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. will invest $300 million in South America over the next five years in an effort to build sales in the region to 150,000 units by 2010. The automaker will use majority-owner Renault SA's factories and dealers, plus the two automakers will unite back-office functions. Nissan first plans to produce the Frontier pickup at the new Renault factory located on the outskirts of Curitiba,

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

The Sounds and Silence

It's really getting down to the detail work when the guys over in Engine Development get the call saying, "We've discovered that the Lincoln LS intender wants a throatier exhaust tone. Make it happen."An oversimplification, maybe, but that's pretty much what's going on at Ford Motor Co. (and doubtless in other automakers' labs as well). Ford's even got a catchy buzzword for the work: "psychoacoustics,"

By Bill Visnic • July 1, 2000

DEALER SELLS 4 STORES BUT KEEPS 8

Veteran Cleveland dealer Lee Seidman and Cleveland native Roger S. Penske, both alumni of Shaker Heights High School, agreed on a deal bringing the Penske-led UnitedAuto Group into the northern Ohio metropolis for the first time.UAG purchased Mr. Seid-man's two Mercedes-Benz and two Infiniti stores in the Cleveland suburbs of Bedford and North Olmsted, OH, and appointed James Pilla as president of

July 1, 2000

Ford taps new Volvo chief

Hans-Olov Olsson, a 34-year veteran with Swedish carmaker Volvo Car and recently president of its North American operations, is appointed president of the wholly owned Ford Motor Co. subsidiary, effective July 1. He succeeds Tuve Johannesson, named president in 1995, who now becomes vice chairman. The shuffle was engineered by Wolfgang Reitzle, head of Ford's Premier Automotive Group (PAG), who reportedly

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