Automakers: Page 425

VW’s Freeman ThomasAn underrated star designer?

No one can deny that Volkswagen is on a roll. The German automaker has come a long way from the early 1990s when VW was doing poorly in Europe and even worse in North America. It was so bad some pundits predicted VW, which rode to fame on the original Beetle in the '50s and '60s and built Rabbits in Pennsylvania in the '70s and '80s, might even abandon the crucial U.S. market.Now there's speculation

By JOHN RETTIE • May 1, 1999

Plastic Gains Ground in Ips

Thanks to the growing emphasis on modules, instrument panels with structural plastic innards are winning acceptance on some high-volume car programs after a long trial period. Sources say General Motors Corp. plans to use structural plastic IPs for its upcoming Delta Program small cars. It also is evaluating them for its larger Epsilon program vehicles, which include midsize sedans such as the 2004

By Drew Winter • May 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

Ford Shuffles the Deck, TooNasser puts his stamp on the upper echelon

Jac Nasser has never been one to let an opportunity pass. Which is why few at Ford Motor Co. - or any of his competitors, for that matter - are surprised at the speed at which Ford's new chief has moved to put his stamp on the world's No. 2 automaker.Mr. Nasser grabbed executives from some of his rivals and from places such as Whirlpool Corp. and General Electric, people he believes can help him strengthen

By SAID DEEP • May 1, 1999

What’s in a Name?Impala is not an endangered species

The Impala is back - again. This spring, as Chevrolet resurrects one of the most successful badges in American motoring history, it's betting that 200,000 buyers will want to park the historic marque in their garages each year.That's a lot of Impalas. A lot more, at least, than the last generation - the Caprice-based, enthusiast-pleasing Impala SS - sold, but only a fraction of the over-1 million

By Brian Corbett • May 1, 1999

Mercedes Breaks New Ground to Lighten CL Coupe

GENEVA - Mercedes-Benz has never been known as a maker of lightweight cars, but it has taken a very serious stab at weight reduction with its new flagship CL Coupe: It's smaller and about 750 lbs. (340 kg) lighter than its hulking predecessor, which weighs almost 5,000 lbs. (2,300 kg).Set to go on sale late this year in Europe and early next year in the U.S., Mercedes forecasts global sales of 3,500

By Andrea Wielgat and Drew Winter • May 1, 1999

The Renault Nissan Deal

PARIS - Two days after Renault SA and Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. announced their historic affiliation in March, the French auto-makers' association, CCFA, reviewed press coverage.In general, English-language publications expressed skepticism while acknowledging the opportunity. French publications showed enthusiasm while acknowledging the risk. The difference is in how you remember Napoleon: Losing at

By William Diem • May 1, 1999

Finessing Quality RatingsWhen does buttering up turn into bribery?

A man leases a new ML320 Mercedes-Benz sport/utility vehicle (SUV). The day he picks it up the salesman spends an hour cheerfully explaining every aspect of the vehicle and its operation to the man and his wife. The next day the dealership sends the man's wife a dozen long-stemmed roses, thanking them both for their business."Wow," says the man, a cynical automotive journalist. "What a shrewd move.

By Drew Winter • May 1, 1999

Jaguar S-TypeHead-turning styling backed up with solid performance

BEVERLY HILLS, CA - In this neighborhood, even the "every-day" cars are sleek, pricey and extraordinary. People still do a double-take as the new Jaguar Cars S-Type rolls by.Adequate proof, perhaps, that the styling guys in Coventry got that part right.There's more to it, of course. This marks the second all-new model for Jag since it joined the Ford family in 1990. The fears then were that Jag would

By Mike Arnholt • May 1, 1999

Plastic Displaces PlasticGM chooses RRIM Over SMC for GMT800 Panel

Body shop workers at General Motors Corp.'s Silverado/Sierra factories manually lift a big sport side fenderand fasten it to a pickup truck rolling down the assembly line.It's worth noting because in the past workers needed hydraulic assist equipment to handle the sheet molding composite (SMC) fenders used on the GMT800's predecessor, the GMT400. The new sport side panels on the Silverado/Sierra pickups

By Brian Corbett • May 1, 1999

The View from Tokyo--Japanese say Nissan got better deal

TOKYO - Analysts here are giving the recent tie-up of Renault SA of France and Japan's Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. two years, tops, before they proclaim it an enduring international love affair or a marriage made in hell.With $5.4 billion of Renault money, Nissan hopes to work down some of its bloated debt and continue unhindered with its long-term strategic plan to remain a full-line producer, while operating

By Roger Schreffler • May 1, 1999

Some key people depart; Is Daimler running the show?

EcWe will see more (departures)," says Gerald Meyers, former cheif executive of American Motors Corp. and now a professor of management at the University of Michigan. "Daimler has only started to spread its wings".Indeed, a U.S. executive who participated in planning the merger tells WAW that "more and more, Daimler is beginning to act like a company that acquired another company rather than one that

By Frank S. Washington • May 1, 1999

So Much for SynergyAre more defections coming at DaimlerChrysler?

Dennis Pawley triggered a minor stir at Chrysler Corp. a few years ago when he boasted that if he and a handful of other executives were to die together in a plane crash or other calamity "I think the son of a bitch would dissolve."An executive vice president with top responsibility for manufacturing at the time, Mr. Pawley's unpublished short list included Chairman Robert J. Eaton, then-President

By David C. Smith • April 1, 1999

BMW’s Reitzle lands at Ford

Wolfgang Reitzle, the man who twice missed his shot at the top job at BMW AG, is going to get his chance at a little revenge.Late last month Mr. Reitzle, 49, who as the head of product development and marketing was seen by many as the very heart and soul of BMW, was tapped by Ford Motor Co. Chief Executive Jac Nasser to head up the newly created Premier Automotive Group. He'll oversee all of Ford's

By David E. Zoia • April 1, 1999

A heady struggle to maintain independence

On Dec. 9, 1959, BMW AG came within an ace of being bought by Daimler-Benz AG.Today the two are archrivals. But back then, Daimler was already a giant, employing 63,000 people, compared to the struggling BMW, with just 6,000 workers.BMW's erratic new model policy through the '50s served up the miniature rear-engined 600, powered by a 2-cyl. motorbike engine and with the front of the car acting as

By Peter Robinson • April 1, 1999

Wanna buy BMW?Brand equity defines its allure

What's the typical Mitsubishi driver look like? How about the Mazda owner or Oldsmobile buyer? What does the Ford brand stand for? Or how about Buick or Volkswagen?Those are tough questions to answer.Not so with BMW.Most everybody seems to have a definite notion of who BMW buyers are - affluent Baby Boomers who wear their cars like Rolex watches and Armani suits, but also express a passion for driving.That

By David E. Zoia • April 1, 1999

Tooling Up for Change

The correlation between maximizing shareholder value at an automaker and manufacturing engine blocks is hard to understand at first, but one look at an old-fashioned powertrain machining line makes it clear. These giant "transfer lines," which seem to stretch the length of a football field or longer, cost $100 million to $150 million apiece. Make mistakes with a few of these babies, and as the saying

By Drew Winter • April 1, 1999

Excursion: The Ultimate Golf Cart

The Sierra Club would love to throw stones - they'd better be big - at Ford Motor Co.'s new titanic sport/utility vehicle as another example of American conspicuous consumption.But in a way, the No. 2 automaker can't be blamed for exploiting a market that has treated it so well in recent years. From small to large, every SUV segment is saturated, and new foreign players are crowding the playing field

By Said Deep and Tom Murphy • April 1, 1999

Competitors Covet Flexibility of GMT800

Drive General Motors Corp.'s all-new Chevrolet Silverado/GMC Sierra full-size pickups and one immediately perceives a marked improvement in structural "feel." It's largely due to the automaker's newly developed design - and production process - for the GMT800's ladder frame.Customers and the jaded press have offered mostly raves about the new structure - with some notable exceptions (see sidebar,

By Brian Corbett • March 1, 1999

Alfa Romeo Solves ‘Tiptronic’ FoibleEngaging the ‘logic’ gear to improvemanual automatic transmissions

Fiat SpA's Alfa Romeo acts on an astute insight into one ergonomic problem that, to now, has vexed the new breed of sequential-shift automatic transmissions: the gear lever offers the driver no perception of which gear is being used.Many drivers of automatic-transmission vehicles equipped with a "manual" sequential-shift function - often called "Tiptronic" after the system name coined by early adopter

By Bill Visnic • March 1, 1999

1999 Porsche Carrera 4

I endured no small degree of snickering from my peers after last year's review of the all-new Porsche AG 911 - a depraved litany of biased sycophancy, scatologically tempered by allusions to the religious salvation obtainable from the 911's brilliant chassis. I'm told I should be glad the local Bishop didn't get wind of that 911 critique, or I'd have joined Madonna and Sinead O'Connor on the Vatican's

By Bill Visnic • March 1, 1999

GM Truck Frames: Taking ‘Flexibility’ Too Far?

It came out in an offhand remark during a Detroit automotive television talk show. A journalist let fly that he'd heard a rumor General Motors Corp.'s new pickups were experiencing bent frames in non-demanding circumstances.The story goes like this: GM's all-new GMT800 pickup frames were being bent on vehicle transporters. The rumor took on steam when the tale expanded to say the doors of pickups

By Brian Corbett • March 1, 1999

China FirstIt’s a sure-fire formula for despair

First it was Jack Smith of General Motors declaring that he wanted 10% of the Asian market. Ford wasn't going to be left behind or take a whit less than GM and said it wanted 10% of the Asian market.Now somebody else - it could be DaimlerChrysler or Renault, it doesn't really matter - wants up to 25% of the Asian market. I suppose before long Volkswagen and Fiat and Peugeot (or maybe not Peugeot,

By Jerry Flint • March 1, 1999

Talking the TalkYou’re global. Now how the heck do you communicate?

Everyone speaks the international language of love. Alas, the same cannot be said of engineering. One engineer's fascia, wing and sump are another's dashboard, fender and oil pan. And if you don't know what a scuttle (cowl) is ... well, what's the matter, don't you speak English, mate?Like it or not, the auto industry is globalizing at a furious pace. Automakers and suppliers are gobbling up one another

By Drew Winter • March 1, 1999

COMMUNICATION BreakdownSME awards & 1.7 million in university grants

Big industry, including automotive, is complaining loudly about the job that universities are doing in preparing future engineers. They claim a canyon-sized deficiency exists they call the "competency gap."Graduates may be future Ketterings or Fords when it comes to the guts or the production of an automobile, but they have a serious problem. They don't know how to talk about it, write about it, or

By AL ROTHENBERG and TOM MURPHY • March 1, 1999

Supply Pain ManagementGoing global is hard, but it can work

It was a minor bump in the road, really, that most people ignored when Swedish automotive suppliers began grumbling the instant that Ford Motor Co. announced recently that it was spending $6.4 billion to buy the car division of their national industrial icon, AB Volvo.But their concern was perfectly valid: How can they, as primarily regional producers, expect to keep doing business with Volvo when

By Tom Murphy • March 1, 1999