Automakers: Page 420

Auto Talk: Ford: ‘C’ Stands for Underachiever

Remember in school when a "C" was acceptable, a mark of an average student who lagged behind the brains but stood ahead of the truly challenged?Forget those days. At Ford Motor Co., a new evaluation system is under way to trim marginal employees from its salaried workforce (100,000 strong), and as many as 2,000 employees annually could be looking for new work because of it, Ward's has learned.The

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

Toyota Motor Corp.

4L DOHC V-8 All right, we've finally got our arms around the gem-quality Toyota Motor Corp. Lexus 4L DOHC V-8. Here it goes:Think of some of the existing luxury/sport V-8s out there as representing various members of the Corleone family of Godfather fame. There are very telling similarities that get to the "personality" of V-8s.The Godfather himself? It has to be BMW's strong, silent and confident

By WARD'S AUTO WORLD STAFF • Jan. 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

The Contrarian: Accentuate the Positive

This was going to be another column about the mistakes of the automakers, which is easy because fresh mistakes are always being made.I was going to call the column "Foibles." I would explain how killing Plymouth was dumb and would cost Chrysler business. I would explain to Jac Nasser why a table of organization is absolutely necessary (Jac seems to want to do without one) and why you get chaos without

By Jerry Flint • Jan. 1, 2000

Ford Motor Co.

3.9L DOHC V-8 Hey, the Ford Motor Co. itself admits it. Right in the press kit, it says the Lincoln LS 3.9L DOHC V-8 "is derived from the acclaimed 4L AJ26 in the Jaguar XK8."A Jag engine - and a cracking good engine it is - for Lincoln money? We call that the bargain of this young century.Alright, so displacement is down a tenth of a liter from the Jag 4L (actually, it's a just a single millimeter

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

Auto Talk: Stallkamp Lands at MSX, Talks of Merger Pitfalls

With his chances of advancement stifled at DaimlerChrysler AG, Thomas Stallkamp finally lands a top job - as vice chairman and chief executive officer at MSX International Inc.For Mr. Stallkamp, who was ousted from his job as DaimlerChrysler president at the end of the year, the new post is a fitting achievement for a man who nurtured a new era in supplier relations.Headquartered in Auburn Hills,

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

The 4s: Honda Motor Co. Ltd.

2L DOHC I-4 You just don't ignore an 8,900-rpm redline. You definitely don't ignore it when the tach in Honda Motor Co. Ltd.'s S2000 roadster sweeps past 6,000, your boot's hard on the throttle and the 2L DOHC VTEC 4-cyl. has cleared its pipes to bark the howl of Cerberus at you and every other road user in the parish.The hellish allusion is apropos. Because Honda's 2L screamer, when opened up in

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

LOOK FOR CAMARO, FIREBIRD RETRO RESURRECTIONS

Two General Motors sports cars -the Chevrolet Camaro and its platform cousin, the Pontiac Firebird - are bound for the history books.But if history repeats itself, so sometimes do discontinued car lines. They can come back with new looks for repeat runs. The Camaro and Firebird will go out of production in 2002, but may resurface a few years later with retro looks.The same thing happened with the

By Steve Finlay • Dec. 1, 1999

NVG Wins Work for BMW, VW, Ford

Nine years ago, New Venture Gear was an idea launched in desperation, a last-ditch effort to turn around General Motors Corp.'s transmission plant in Muncie, IN, and then-Chrysler Corp.'s transfer case plant in East Syracuse, NY.Both facilities had tenuous futures. The Chrysler plant was barely breaking even, and the GM plant was losing money. A driving force of the partnership was the ability to

By WARD'S AUTO WORLD STAFF • Dec. 1, 1999

BENTLEY TO REVAMP U.S. DEALERSHIPS ALONG WITH INTRODUCTION OF ARNAGE

Rolls-Royce and Bentley Motor Cars Inc. is counting on the debut of a new Bentley sedan, plus launch of a pumped-up adver-tising campaign and a program to revamp its dealer showrooms, to increase future sales for the ultra-luxury marque.To pave the way for Bentley growth in the U.S., the carmaker expects to spend $3 million-$4 million on advertising this year. And it is undertaking a program with

By Dave Zoia • Dec. 1, 1999

Staying Connected

Jac Nasser is sweating.This is the afternoon shift at Ford Motor Co.'s Wayne Assembly Plant. And amid the noise, heat and the curious eyes of dozens of workers, Mr. Nasser is trying hard not to fall behind as he struggles to install wiring harnesses on Escorts.This is one of the more difficult jobs at the plant, as Mr. Nasser himself has discovered.With some 30 different wiring harnesses to choose

By Said Deep and Drew Winter • Dec. 1, 1999

VP leaves Ford to start website centering on auto repairs and parts

Dr. Ronald E. Goldsberry is leaving his Ford Motor Co. vice-presidency Jan. 1 to become chairman and chief executive officer of a new San Francisco-based website seeking to establish an online auto repair and parts marketplace.Called Carstation.com, the new website would link dealer service departments, body shops, parts vendors, insurance companies and consumers in cooperative systems designed to

By Tim Keenan • Dec. 1, 1999

FORD SELLING COLLISION INSURANCE

Ford Credit Co. is taking a major step towards adding vehicle collision insurance to its portfolio of F&I products.After pilot programs in Florida by Ford in the last few years and GM's Motors Insurance previously, Ford teamed up with Connecticut's huge Hartford Financial Services Group to offer vehicle coverage to all its customers, starting with Florida and adding 10 more states before year-end.Florida

By Maynard M. Gordon • Dec. 1, 1999

DCC Has Just One Word for You: ‘Plastics’

Offering further proof that it is serious about someday producing plastic-intensive vehicles, DaimlerChrysler AG reveals last month it plans to offer 4,000 or 5,000 Jeep Wranglers with unpainted, thermoplastic hardtops beginning in '01. The new removable thermoplastic caps will replace those made of painted, thermoset sheet molding composite (SMC) material.The new top weighs just 47 lbs. (21 kg).

By David Zoia and Drew Winter • Dec. 1, 1999

Auto Talk: GM: Canada Should Levy Tariffs, If Canada’s Auto Pact’s Scrapped

It's not often an automaker will ask a government to apply tariffs on imports. But that's the position General Motors Corp. is taking in Canada, where status of the Auto Pact - a 34-year-old trade deal with the U.S. - is being threatened.Earlier this year the World Trade Organization issued a preliminary finding that the Auto Pact discriminates against certain companies and countries, thereby violating

By WARD'S AUTO WORLD STAFF • Dec. 1, 1999

A New Way to Do Business

The contracts have been signed. The press conferences have been held. The auto industry is taking a great leap forward into the electronic age.If the first century of the automobile was devoted to selling the concept of affordable personal transportation, the next century begins with an eagerness to rethink the enormously complex process of manufacturing and selling these highly engineered machines.The

By Tom Murphy • Dec. 1, 1999

DaimlerChrysler: “The gloves are off for 2000”

The year-long Daimler-Chrysler marriage may have upset some Chrysler Corp. exec-utives and shareholders, but sales executives are blissfully celebrating the union."Dodge trucks, Jeeps and Chrysler-brand cars are so strong that we don't think the company and its dealers have enjoyed a better year in sales volume, profitability and enthusiasm since the Forward Look models of 1957," says M. John MacDonald,

By Maynard M. Gordon • Dec. 1, 1999

‘Country dealer’ eager to head NADA

WHITEVILLE, NC - He's a "country dealer" and proud of it. But big-city dealers anxious about looming national issues needn't worry about the dedication of the National Automobile Dealers Association's new chairman, Harold B. Wells.After 43 years as a GM and Chrysler Corp. dealer in this small Southern town, Mr. Wells is ready to carry the banner of all franchised dealers against any threats to a franchise

By Maynard M. Gordon • Dec. 1, 1999

Auto Talk: Delphi eyes Thailand; wins contracts in Asia

Eager to increase its Asia/Pacific presence, Delphi Automotive Systems reportedly is holding talks in Thailand on establishing a plant near new facilities set up by General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co.In the first nine months of the year, Delphi has won $1 billion in new contracts in the region that will show up in company revenues starting in 2001. Only 20% of the projects involve GM, its former

By WARD'S AUTO WORLD STAFF • Dec. 1, 1999

Nissan ‘In Bad Shape,’ But Now Has The Plan

TOKYO - Japanese interests worried that new Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. Chief Operating Officer Carlos Ghosn - whose moniker of "le cost killer" can scarcely be considered to have come to him affectionately - would do the unthinkable to "save" wallowing Nissan: close plants and cut jobs.The fears were well-founded: On the eve of the recent Tokyo Motor Show, Mr. Ghosn revealed to a startled (but not surprised)

By Bill Visnic and Mack Chrysler • Dec. 1, 1999

New Wheels: Dodge Dakota Gets Two New Doors, One New V-8

In addition to four full-size doors and a 63.1-in. (160-cm) bed, prospective Dodge Dakota Quad Cabs drivers will have the option of adding the next-generation "Magnum" V-8 power-plant.DaimlerChrysler's Dodge Div. picks up the "Magnum" moniker, but in fact the new V-8 is wholly different from the usual Magnum lineup, in that it's the new overhead-cam unit - lifted from its sole former duty in the Jeep

By Tim Keenan • Dec. 1, 1999

JUST MULTIPLY NUMBER OF DOORS BY 2

ONE OF MY FAVORITE CARS - THE BUICK RIVIERA - may be coming back, only with twice as many doors as before.General Motors Corp. last year stopped production on the luxury coupe, citing poor sales.I asked Roger Adams, general marketing manager for Buick, about the possibility of GM resurrecting the Riviera, a sculpted car if there ever was one.That car won the hearts and minds of most Buick dealers,

By Steve Finlay • Dec. 1, 1999

At Large with Dave Smith: A Marriage Made in Heaven

Pete Pestillo and Steve Yokich outwardly would seem to have little in common.Mr. Pestillo is an easterner with a law degree from Georgetown University and a long career in corporate labor relations - at the B.F. Goodrich Co., General Electric Co. and, since 1980, at the Ford Motor Co.Mr. Yokich was born in Detroit, where both of his parents and his grandfathers were active in union affairs. He proudly

By David C. Smith • Dec. 1, 1999

Tech & Trends: Nissan Producing Amazing New CVT

TOKYO. - The hot acronym here - and all over the world - is CVT. Automakers suddenly have jumped feet-first into continuously variable transmission development, and now the race is on to see who can make the most of this fascinating, though hardly new, technology.Nissan is the world's first automaker to bring the unique, "toroidal" CVT to production, although other automakers appear to have imminent

By Bill Visnic • Dec. 1, 1999

PLYMOUTH DEALERS FRET ABOUT THE END OF THE LINE AFTER 71 YEARS

DaimlerChrysler Corp.'s three stand-alone Plymouth dealers aren't the only retailers unsure about their future in the wake of the announ-cement that the Plymouth brand will be dropped at the end of 2001.Two Plymouth stores in Pennsylvania and one in Nebraska will lose their only line of vehicles. DaimlerChrysler President James P. Holden promises to "take care" of those dealers.A published report

Dec. 1, 1999

Does BMW’s ‘X’ Mark the Spot?

ATLANTA, GA - Here we go again. This month's interpretation of the sport/utility vehicle (SUV).BMW AG's been telling us for a couple of years that its SUV wouldn't be an SUV. The company's backing up the assertion with its chosen moniker for the 2000-model X5: SAV, or Sports Activity Vehicle.And, to its credit, BMW also is not ashamed to say that the new X5 makes no pretense about offering any sort

By Bill Visnic • Dec. 1, 1999