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Aston-Martin back in the U.S. market

EAST HAMPTON, NY -- You pull up to the club in your brand new 12-cyl. BMW 850 coupe and ... drat, everyone seems to be driving one. What's a refined multimillionaire to do? Ferraris are so obvious, and $120,000 Mercedes SL600s are so, well, common.Here in the Hamptons, where you can spend $150,000 to $300,000 renting a home for the summer, this is a serious concern.British supercar manufacturer Aston

By Drew Winter • Dec. 21, 2000

Toyota North America

2 million sales target set for American market Toshiaki (Tag) Taguchi doesn't mince words about the space North America occupies in the pie chart of Japan's leading vehicle maker: more than one-third and rising.In fact, Mr. Taguchi, president of Toyota Motor North America, says "the U.S. and Canadian markets not only fit into Toyota's past, present and future but are crucially important to our global

By Mack Chrysler • Dec. 1, 2000

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

Buick banks on Tiger and Rendezvous to attract younger buyers

A TV ad during the Summer Olympics featured golf superstar Tiger Woods winning a gold Buick, rather than a gold medal. The humor of Mr. Woods throwing an iron instead of a javelin and hitting an archery bull's eye with a golf ball is an indication of the division's attempt to attract a younger audience to its vehicles."We view 2000 as a year when we're setting the stage," says Roger Adams, Buick's

By Tim Keenan • Dec. 1, 2000

LincolnMercury looks to Mountaineer to boost Mercury side of house

The year 2000 has been an up-and-down period for Ford Motor Co.'s Irvine, CA-based LincolnMercury Division. But, the unit's general marketing manager, Jim Rogers, says 2001 should be more up than down with the addition of a new Mercury Mountaineer SUV.LincolnMercury's total 2000 sales are expected to be down 7% overall from 1999's 614,493 tally. Lincoln sales will be up about 14% while Mercury sales

By Tim Keenan • Dec. 1, 2000

Deville, Escalade catapult Cadillac

The strength of Cadillac's new Deville and its first SUV, Escalade, are expected to give the division a 10% increase in sales in 2000 compared to 1999.Cadillac dealers will sell close to 100,000 Devilles in 2000, up 20% over the previous year. Escalade, which is an admitted re-badge job of a GMC Denali - a stop-gap until a true Cadillac SUV was ready - has been very good for GM's luxury division."The

By Tim Keenan • Dec. 1, 2000

In the Driver’s Seat

GM's new CEO is optimistic but ready for a downturn Next time you see a Pontiac Aztek coming down the road, look carefully at who's driving. It might be G. Richard Wagoner Jr., General Motors Corp.'s chief executive officer. The Aztek is his latest company car.It's a fitting choice for Mr. Wagoner. The quirky Aztek symbolizes what is arguably his biggest challenge for the next several years: spicing

By Drew Winter • Dec. 1, 2000

GM plans to shore up entry-level market share losses

LAS VEGAS - Admitting that nearly all of General Motors' widely publicized market share loss since 1977 has come in the entry level segment, the company's president for North America, Ronald L. Zarella, says the world's largest vehicle manufacturer has a plan in place to regain some of that lost share."In the next four years, we will introduce seven all-new new vehicles in a coordinated effort to

By Tim Keenan • Dec. 1, 2000

Reinventing the Rouge

Ford merges environmental design with industry icon History is being rewritten at Ford Motor Co.'s manufacturing icon, heretofore known as The Rouge.That name is out. Now it's officially called the Ford Rouge Center.This poster child of the industrial revolution will be replaced by an eco-factory with air and natural light skylights, meadows and a 454,000-sq-.ft. (42,000-sq.-m) roof sprouting groundcover

By Alisa Priddle • Dec. 1, 2000

Pontiac-GMC’s Lynn Meyers says “Keep the momentum going”

We'll pretty much keep the momentum going we have now, which is very strong," says Lynn Meyers, general marketing manager for Pontiac-GMC, about her 2001 goals for the division she has led for two years.In 2000, Pontiac will sell about 20,000 more vehicles than it did in 1999. GMC, during the same period, could set its eighth straight sales record."We're feeling pretty good about that," says Ms. Meyers.

By Tim Keenan • Dec. 1, 2000

Olds wants to woo the young crowd

Oldsmobile is General Motors' oldest nameplate, with, alas, many of its oldest customers. That has fueled rumors of its impending demise over the last several years.Now it has established itself as GM's up-scale import-fighting division, separating itself from Buick and Cadillac. For Oldsmobile, that repositioning was like a trip to the fountain of youth.Last year, the division dropped the last of

By Tim Keenan • Dec. 1, 2000

Ford’s Nasser Upbeat Despite Firestone Fallout

Give Jacques Nasser credit for candor. Asked what he has learned about tires in the wake of the Firestone tire recall, he throws his hands up and replies: "More than I ever dreamed I really needed."Most arrows for Ford and the 32-year Ford Motor Co. veteran and president and CEO since Jan. 1, 1999, were pointing upward until the Firestone firestorm erupted in August, triggering the recall of 6.5 million

By David C. Smith • Dec. 1, 2000

Dealer Website Review

"Oldtimer" brings his dealership into the new-age web world When it comes to the Internet, Ed Rufo of James Corlew Chevrolet - Cadillac - Oldsmobile in Clarksville, TN, has acted like anything but the "oldtimer" he claims to be.Mr Rufo, the dealership's general manager, saw the value two years ago of getting in on what he calls "the wave of the future." He began to transform himself into an Internet

By Cliff Banks • Dec. 1, 2000

GM, Ford unveil biggest and fastest pickups at SEMA

LAS VEGAS - SEMA is as interesting a show for new-car dealers as any auto show. Not only can retailers get an idea of what's coming from the automakers but they can get ideas on what accessories are available to make the new models more profitable.Vehicles revealed at SEMA are usually equipped with the latest and greatest accessories, most of which are currently available or will be soon.This year,

By WARD'S DEALER BUSINESS STAFF • Dec. 1, 2000

DOWN-HOME DEALERSHIPS

His family is big on small-town stores PINCONNING, MI - Thirty years ago, Dean Arbour, age 32 at the time, decided it was time for a change."I was selling cars for Jerry McCarthy Chevrolet in Detroit," he recalls, "and frankly wanted to find a small-town Chevy dealership to buy. Our kids were small and we were anxious to get out of the fast lane and settle down near the lakes and the forests."But

By Maynard M. Gordon • Dec. 1, 2000

Ford expects to continue winning ways in 2001

2000 should set record despite Firestone recall and uneasiness about Blue OvalLAS VEGAS - Sitting amid the new and hopped-up Ford vehicles in his company's SEMA exhibit, it's easy for Ford Div. President Jim O'Connor to be optimistic, even at the end of a year marred by one of the worst customer-satisfaction crises since the Pinto.Despite the Firestone tire recall on millions of Explorers, Mr. O'Connor

By Tim Keenan • Dec. 1, 2000

GM’s dealer relations “a hell of a lot better”

Things settle down after last year's donnybrook General Motors dealers were furious with the company at this time last year. The reason? The automaker's plan to acquire up to 800 dealerships throughout the U.S.Dealers went ballistic, then mobilized for a fight. Law suits were threatened. The National Automobile Dealers Association loudly decried GM's proposal to join the dealer ranks. Feeling the

By Steve Finlay • Dec. 1, 2000

Park Cities VW plans new store

Park Cities Volkswagen in Dallas, the largest VW store in Texas, broke ground at the former site of Friendly Chevrolet.Currently sharing facilities with Park Cities Chrysler-Jeep, the new building will be a 40,678-sq.-ft. dealership on 3,891 acres of land. It is expected to be the largest VW flagship store in the nation.Bob Beck and Leo Griggs are partners in the Beck Automotive Group, of which Park

By WARD'S DEALER BUSINESS STAFF • Dec. 1, 2000

Chevrolet cuts into Ford’s market-share lead, looks for future gains

Chevrolet and Ford have been fighting for the top domestic brand title for years. In recent history, Ford has been the king, but Chevrolet is back in the battle and gaining ground.General Motors' bow tie division will sell 2.7 million cars and trucks in 2000, up from 2.61 million in 1999.The division also narrowed the gap with arch-rival Ford from 5% to 4%, says Kurt Ritter, Chevrolet's marketing

By Tim Keenan • Dec. 1, 2000

Dodge keeps on trucking

"We'd like to sell more conventional cars but..."Even without a Dodge edition of the torrid Chrysler PT Cruiser... Despite the U.S. Chrysler Group's financial problems this year...In the teeth of rough competition in the truck/van/SUV arena...The venerable old Dodge brand has held fast to its third-place ranking in new-car and truck sales and for 2000 should equal or surpass its previous all-time

By Maynard M. Gordon • Dec. 1, 2000

LINCOLN MERC AN EMBATTLED SPECIES?

Well, it's doing terrific in this Texas town SAN ANTONIO, TX- LincolnMercury an embattled species?Not in this home of the legendary Alamo, where North Park LincolnMercury has led the L M list on the Ward's Dealer 500 for the second year in a row, and the only consonants in "Alamo" are "L" and "M.""Lincoln Navigator and Mercury Mountaineer have been real attractions for the core LincolnMercury market

By Maynard M. Gordon • Dec. 1, 2000

THE EYES OF THE FORDS ARE UPON YOU

Henry Ford II once said he could do things other CEOs couldn't do because "my name is on the building."A visitor to Ford world headquarters in Dearborn, MI seldom forgets that this publicly owned company is in other ways still a family business.A statue of Henry Ford II greets visitors in the lobby. That's a start of the Ford family presence in art form.In the lobby of the executive suites is a statue

By WARD'S DEALER BUSINESS STAFF • Dec. 1, 2000

Video e-mails enliven dealers’ messages to customers

Two Texas Chevrolet dealer-ships are among the first businesses on the web to utilize video e-mail technology, according to Peter Martin Jr., founder and president of ExpandMail.com.Friendly Chevrolet, in Dallas, and Graff Chevrolet, in Grand Prairie, are using it to distribute customized vehicle information and personal messages to online car shoppers.When consumers contact Graff Chevrolet's web

By WARD'S DEALER BUSINESS STAFF • Nov. 1, 2000

Exports Rule in Thailand Revival

In early 1997, Thailand's auto industry was poised to take its rightful place as the automotive capital of Southeast Asia. Strong sales caused the world's automakers to start setting up shop in Thailand's Eastern Seaboard Industrial State - proudly marketed as the "Detroit of the East."But not everything goes as planned. General Motors Corp., for example, broke ground on its plant just weeks before

By KATHERINE ZACHARY • Nov. 1, 2000

Small-town dealership maintains a big time web site

Dan Lynch started Lynch Ford's web site two years ago to satisfy what he calls "a demand in the marketplace." Internet shoppers represent an increasing market segment, and having a web presence is important for his Iowa dealership, Mr. Lynch believes.The store's web site is designed to reflect the dealership's commitment to customer service. Lisa Jess, Lynch Ford's Internet service manager, says "The

By Cliff Banks • Nov. 1, 2000

`Tower of Babel’ Hit by Wrecking Ball

Software to boost quality, close communications gap The "secret" to Japanese quality manufacturing, as exemplified by Toyota Motor Corp. - the acknowledged leader - is no secret to Dale B. Mahrle, president of Quality Measurement Control Inc. based in Auburn Hills, MI."Why are the Japanese so good? Because they use the same designers, engineers, suppliers, diemakers and machinery builders from one

By DREW WINTER and DAVID C. SMITH • Nov. 1, 2000