Automakers: Page 422

Occupied Chrysler--Time to change your ways or sell it off, Juergen

Sometimes things just don't work out." I remember Henry Ford II saying that when he fired his president - and a very good man, too - Bunkie Knudsen. Remember that quote. I'll get back to it later.Back on Sept. 2, my editor suggested I write this column on DaimlerChrysler. I wrote it Sept. 30, but you're not reading it until some time in November. I just want you to understand the time problem, because

By Jerry Flint • Nov. 1, 1999

NEW MEXICO FORD DEALERS FORM THEIR OWN “COLLECTION” AS AN ALTERNATIVE

Three Ford dealers in Albuquerque, NM, formed their own co-operative, and are presenting an alternative to other strategies.The three Ford dealers, anxious to remain competitive but achieve economies of scale in non-competing areas, formed the Zia Automobile Group.It's billed as an alternative to Ford's beleaguered Collection plan.The automaker took two months to approve the group. One of its goals

Nov. 1, 1999

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

HURRICANE FLOYD GOES EASY ON DEALERS - EXCEPT ONE

When the remnants of Hurricane Floyd rolled over Danbury, CT, it dropped enough rain to wipe out the stock of Greentree Motors, a Toyota and Lincoln store. About 200 vehicles were trapped in a flooded lot and destroyed by the deluge. Danbury received some 13 inches of rain that day.It was the most serious single setback any dealer suffered from the monster storm that wreaked havoc in Georgia, the

By Herb Shuldiner • Nov. 1, 1999

Honda goes both ways with new S2000 and Insight two-seaters

Honda Motor Co. Ltd.'s model-year 2000 lineup includes two new sporty little 2-seaters that couldn't be less alike.The Honda S2000 is a rocketing push-button-start roadster, which couples a sky-high-revving, 2L 4-cyl. engine with a close-ratio 6-speed manual transmission. What we have is Honda's second rear-drive car ever to hit U.S. pavement, sporting 240 hp, and the ability to do 0 to 60 mph (97km/h)

Nov. 1, 1999

What’s the Big Deal?

Last year, General Motors Corp. acquired majority ownership of several under-performing deal-erships in California's San Fernando Valley.Fifteen other area GM dealers subsequently filed a formal protest to the plan in which GM put up $18 million and brought in dealer Wes Rydell to invest $2 million and to run the San Fernando dealerships.The protesting dealers saw the GM Motors Holding arraignment

By Maynard M. Gordon and Steve Finlay • Nov. 1, 1999

Chart topper Mercedes CL Coupe

What does $85,500 look like? For the lucky 2,500 buyers in the U.S. next year it looks like the new Mercedes-Benz CL Coupe.Mercedes would use words like dream car, pure seduction, technological trendsetter or "car for whom good just isn't good enough" to describe its top-of-the-line vehicle. These descriptions are accurate but, really, would you expect anything less from Mercedes' big coupe?"The coupe

Nov. 1, 1999

Toyota takes on the youth market

Despite selling more pass-enger cars than any other maker in the U.S. market last year, Toyota Motor Corp. knows that if it doesn't find a way to appeal to young buyers, its future is bleak. One of Toyota's little secrets is that the average age of its buyers is disturbingly Buick-like.To address that problem, Toyota is looking to lure Generation Xers, as well as those coming up behind them, with

By Barbara McClellan • Nov. 1, 1999

Mazda hopes to attract more families with its new MPV

Mazda Motor Corp. believes its all-new front-wheel-drive '00 MPV (multipurpose vehicle) will be the siren's song that lures young families to its brand. The stylish short-based minivan is one of the smaller vehicles in its segment and is priced affordably, starting at $19,995.Mazda wisely benchmarked the Honda Odyssey, which can't be produced fast enough to meet U.S. demand. MPV offers dual sliding

Nov. 1, 1999

Can Cadillac Come Back?

Cadillac hasn't competed in the grueling 24-hour LeMans race since 1950, but come next June 12 it'll go head-to-head in the French classic with 47 world-class cars seeking one of racing's most prized trophies.The specially built car will be powered by a twin-turbocharged version of Cadillac's Northstar V-8. Whether it wins, places or even finishes really doesn't matter too much: Simply showing up

By Drew Winter, David C. Smith • Nov. 1, 1999

Merger? What Merger?--Clearly now, DaimlerChrysler is a German company

DaimlerChrysler AG co-chairman and CEO Juergen Schrempp has put his management team in place.In a move to speed DaimlerChrysler's consolidation into one company, Mr. Schrempp streamlined the management board, created three global automotive divisions and disbanded the integration committee, allocating its ongoing initiatives to line businesses. Out of the shakeup comes an Automotive Council, in effect

By Frank S. Washington • Nov. 1, 1999

With a new PAG, is Ford in the driver’s seat?

If there ever was a chance for Ford Motor Co. to make money in the small car market, 2000 is the year.With the arrival of the Focus, Ford believes it has the product to go bumper-to-bumper with the imports and still pad the company's bottom line.It won't be easy. The small car buyer has no less than 31 models to choose from, but the Focus does represent the company's best shot at compact-car profit-making

By SAID DEEP • Oct. 1, 1999

European Importers--VW sales surpass even executives’ projections

Consistently beating sales records month after month, Volkswagen AG is riding a virtual sales tidal wave into the new millennium.Thanks to new products and improved quality, VW is enjoying stellar U.S. results. During the first eight months of the year, the automaker's sales jumped 38.5% to 211,629 units.Even VW seems surprised by its U.S. performance. When the company launched the New Beetle in January

By Andrea Wielgat • Oct. 1, 1999

‘If Possible, Make a U-turn’

It's interesting that the approach to in-vehicle navigation has come from an eclectic batch of companies with varied expertise. Bosch made its name in braking and steering components. Siemensbegan as a telegraph company in 1847, Alpine came from the car audio side of the dashboard and Denso first earned its reputation in engine components.Now they're battling it out in a big part of what the GPS Industry

By Mike Arnholt • Oct. 1, 1999

A new meaning to ‘wind-cheating’

In a quest to create its own super family sedan, General Motors Corp. says it has designed the slipperiest midsize car ever.At 0.163 Cd, the car even beats GM's own EV1 electric vehicle, hailed at its launch as the world's most aerodynamic production car.The aerodynamic efficiency exercise is a component of GM's Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles (PNGV) effort. PNGV is a coalition of U.S.

By NATALIE NEFF • Oct. 1, 1999

Falling Out of Love with Front-Wheel Drive

If you're not young enough to be a Gen-Xer, you know the tale:It's 1973. The Arab oil embargo throws a thunderous scare into the industrialized world, particularly the car-happy U.S., heavily dependent on inexpensive imported crude oil.A year before The Embargo, General Motors Corp., true to its reputation for conducting exhaustive in-house research, formed a group dubbed the Energy Task Force. An

By Bill Visnic • Oct. 1, 1999

ANX Urged for B2B

With only 200 trading partners connected so far, the Automotive Network eXchange (ANX) has a long way to go before it is the dominant mode of business communication within the auto industry.But the ANX, the private network linking suppliers and automakers, remains a priority for the industry. The purchasing chiefs of General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and DaimlerChrysler Corp. recently sent a letter

By Tom Murphy and Brian Corbett • Oct. 1, 1999

Honda spans the spectrum

Honda Motor Co. Ltd.'s model-year 2000 lineup includes two new sporty little 2-seaters that couldn't be less alike.The Honda S2000 is a rocketing push-button-start roadster, which couples a sky-high-revving, 2L 4-cyl. engine with a close-ratio 6-speed manual transmission. What we have is Honda's second rear-drive car ever to hit U.S. pavement, sporting 240 hp, and the ability to do 0 to 60 mph (97km/h)

By KATHERINE ZACHARY • Oct. 1, 1999

Mazda looks to move ahead with new MPV

Mazda Motor Corp. believes its all-new front-wheel-drive '00 MPV (multipurpose vehicle) will be the siren's song that lures young families to its brand. The stylish short-based minivan is one of the smaller vehicles in its segment and is priced affordably, starting at $19,995.Mazda wisely benchmarked the Honda Odyssey, which can't be produced fast enough to meet U.S. demand. MPV offers dual sliding

By Barbara McClellan • Oct. 1, 1999

One Down, Two to Go--UAW may have upper hand in Ford negotiations

As the pattern-setter in this year's contract talks, DaimlerChrysler Corp.'s deal with the United Auto Workers union may give UAW President Steve Yokich and his team the upper hand in its negotiations with Ford Motor Co.That's not to say a nasty standoff is imminent, times are still too good for either side to play that tough, but Ford's top executives likely won't get through talks this year without

By SAID DEEP • Oct. 1, 1999

Future Still Uncertain, But Looking Up for Saab

The future is uncertain for Saab Automobile AB. The upcoming year will bring not only several new niche models but also a change in the ownership structure of the company.General Motors Corp. and Investor AB now share 50/50 ownership of the company. But GM soon must decide if it will buy all or a portion of Investor's shares. If GM decides it does not want the company, Investor has the option to force

By Andrea Wielgat • Oct. 1, 1999

The Gloves are Off--It’s ‘no holds barred’ at Frankfurt show

FRANKFURT - The message at September's auto show here was clear: It's no holds barred in the European auto market in the new millennium.Automakers used this biannual exhibition as a dueling ground, throwing down gauntlets in the form of new concepts and production models and declaring no market niche safe from widespread competition.Volkswagen AG kicked things off with the unveiling of its Concept

By Andrea Wielgat, Brian Corbett and Tom Murphy • Oct. 1, 1999

SIEMENS DIAGNOSTIC TOOL FINDS FAULT

Siemens Automotive, the Germany-based supplier of original equipment electronic systems, is trying to convince various automakers to adopt its Siemens Diagnostic Information System (SIDIS).BMW and Volkswagen dealership service departments already are using versions of SIDIS, which consists of a set of three integrated components - SIDIS-R, SIDIS-D and SIDIS-W.SIDIS-R generates diagnostic trees based

By Tim Keenan • Sept. 1, 1999

Wow! What a Concept

BLACKHAWK FARMS, IL - Everyone's well aware the former Chrysler Corp. set the standard for creating over-the-top concept cars that evolved into real stuff you could buy.So stalwart Chrysler supporters will be gratified to know that the company's merger with Daimler-Benz AG hasn't squashed the "Let's-make-it-into-a-production-car" philosophy that in the last few years had made Chrysler concept cars

By Bill Visnic • Sept. 1, 1999

SPX offers a way to keep track of tools in service depts.

About 1,000 General Motors Corp. dealership service departments, a couple of Ford Motor Co. shops and at least one DaimlerChrysler service point have no problem keeping track of their specialty tools. That's because they've subscribed to SPX Corp.'s tool organization system.The manufacturer claims that a well-organized specialty tool area positively affects productivity, customer satisfaction and

By Tim Keenan • Sept. 1, 1999

FORD DIV. PREZ DOES THE DEALERSHIPS

"BILL, THERE'S THE TOWN'S FORD DEALERSHIP," says Ford Div. President James G. O'Connor, looking out the window of a new Ford Focus that Public Affairs Manager Bill George is driving in Manchester, NH.Mr. O'Connor wants to stop in and say hello to the local dealer. It's something he often does when he's on the road "even when he is 'off-duty' and with his wife," says Ford Public Affairs Director Anne

By Steve Finlay • Sept. 1, 1999