Automakers: Page 427

Can Ford Go it Alone? Nasser

Jacques Nasser turns 51 this month and, barring unforeseen events, he'll spend the next 14 years leading what's now the world's second-largest automaker, but could well become the largest before he is finished.A major merger could hasten that day, of course, and Mr. Nasser agrees that the $22.9 billion Ford has amassed provides "quite a lot of flexibility and leaves our options open."That cash, largest

By DAVID C. SMITH and GREG GARDNER • Dec. 1, 1998

GM Plans to Stick With NUMMI

The speculation may be endless, and the production numbers may be significant, but don't count on General Motors Corp. to withdraw any time soon from the New United Motor Mfg. Inc. joint venture with Toyota Motor Corp.Toyota linked up with GM in 1984 to convert GM's Fremont, CA, plant to the Toyota Production System, a move that rescued the plant from closing and stimulated GM to push for greater

Dec. 1, 1998

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

Delphi’s Partial Spinoff Valued at $1.5 Billion

General Motors Corp. expects to raise up to $1.5 billion by selling 15% to 19% of its Delphi Automotive Systems parts unit, in the first quarter of 1999, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The documents provide the first close look at Delphi's goals, financial condition and future relationship with GM.Sometime before the end of 1999 GM and Delphi plan to distribute

Dec. 1, 1998

Q&A with Jack Smith

Q - What's your outlook for the U.S. market in 1999?A - We don't see a recession, but the growth will slow next year and sales will be a bit lower, around 15 to 15.2 million light trucks and cars. What we see is the U.S. and Europe really remaining strong, but the rest of the world is in trouble.Q - Do you think the impact of the DaimlerChrysler merger/acquisition has been overstated by the media

Dec. 1, 1998

1999 ‘Stang Gets More StingThere’s New Edge in the Mustang. And new power,too

If the folks at General Motors Corp.'s Chevrolet Div. have tired of looking at Mustang taillights in the annual sales race for the most popular "pony" car, relief is on the way:The '99 Mustang has a new rear end.With that redone tail, more ponies under the hood, numerous refinements and a few new options, Ford Motor Co. feels pretty confident that its redone '99 Mustang will be able to put even more

By SAID DEEP • Dec. 1, 1998

Smart CruiseMercedes is first with adaptive cruise control system

cartoon with tongue planted firmly in cheek? Its irreverent take on modern values through the prism of an imaginary foot-powered Stone Age is a comic howl that things never change.Mercedes-Benz is figuratively bringing the world out of the Stone Age. If you have been running and stopping your car on absolute foot-power, the latest safety feature on the 2000 S-Class may seem more like a scene from

By KATHI JACKSON • Dec. 1, 1998

Eaton’s Take: $3.7 Million Cash, $48 Million in Stock

Just how much money did Chairman Bob Eaton and other Chrysler executives take out of the acquisition/merger?Boy, is that a sore subject.The Aug. 6 Form F-4 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, contains a detailed explanation of the compensation for Mr. Eaton, retired Vice Chairman Robert A. Lutz, President Thomas T. Stallkamp, Chief Financial Officer Gary C. Valade and Executive Vice

Dec. 1, 1998

BMW’s X FactorNew sport-activity vehicle to bow in 2000

SPARTANBURG, SC - Ever since BMW Manufacturing Corp. began producing vehicles in the U.S. four years ago, the company has planned toexpand its operations here. It just didn't know what vehicle would be added to the production mix when capacity was increased.That all changed earlier this year when the company announced plans to build an all-new sports-activity vehicle in Spartanburg. The new vehicle,

By STEPHEN PLUMB • Dec. 1, 1998

Lutz of GutsChrysler’s resident iconoclast takes pen in hand

GUTS: The Seven Laws of Business That Made Chrysler the World's Hottest Car CompanyBy Robert A. Lutz, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., $24.95.This is the book you would expect from Bob Lutz: short, lively, contrarian, full of common sense observations and a terrific read. It's notAlfred Sloan's My Life with General Motors. Neither is it as salacious as the Starr Report.For example, Mr. Lutz doesn't dump on

Dec. 1, 1998

What Merger?It’s full speed ahead at MBUSI

It didn't take long to see how the DaimlerChrysler merger would affect Mercedes-Benz U.S. International Inc. (MBUSI) in Tuscaloosa, AL. Just two days after the mega-deal was finalized last month, MBUSI announced it would invest another $40 million in its two-year-old plant.In other words, it's business as usual. Since it began producing the new M-Class sport/utility vehicle in early 1997, the company

Dec. 1, 1998

Taking Mercedes’ S-Class on the RoadIn Switzerland, it almost makes youwant to yodel

VITZNAU, Switzerland - Okay, so we made a few mistakes. But Ward's Auto Dealer Editor Steve Finlay and I finally found this gorgeous spot on Lake Lucerne nestled among craggy Alpine peaks, some still topped with snow from last winter.Our "mistakes" were small ones. It was primarily a matter of getting used to the COMAND (which stands for COckpit MANagement and Data system) function on the new model-year

By David C. Smith • Dec. 1, 1998

Nissan’s Bright SpotNMMC wins praise as parent struggles

Nestled in the rolling hills of middle Tennessee, Nissan Motor Mfg. Corp. is one of the few bright spots Tokyo-based Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. has left to brag about. Hammered by Asia's ongoing recession, deep in debt and short of attractive products, Japan's second-largest automaker is struggling to survive.But in Tennessee NMMC excels, winning accolades for productivity and quality. If Nissan were the

By Drew Winter • Dec. 1, 1998

Q&A with Jac Nasser

Q - Your new chairman, Bill Ford Jr., has a high priority on environmental matters. Will that message remain consistent as new regulations come out?A - It's a mindset, an attitude. I don't view an environmental strategy or leadership as discrete from the rest of the business. It's part of the business. It's the same as quality leadership, efficiency leadership, brand leadership. That's No.1. No.2,

Dec. 1, 1998

Meet Jurgen HubbertHow Daimler’s savvy car chief views the Chrysler fit

STUTTGART - So much for the myth that German engineers are hide-bound, by-the-book technical zealots who think they're above, and oblivious to, their peers elsewhere.Dispelling that notion is personable, slim, sandy-haired Jurgen Hubbert, 59, who in the merged DaimlerChrysler AG remains as head of the pivotal Mercedes-Benz Car Div. He's ultimately responsible for the design, engineering and manufacturing

By David C. Smith • Dec. 1, 1998

AutoAlliance on the Comeback Trail

What an impact a year and two new products can make to a plant.In 1997, workers at AutoAlliance International in Flat Rock, MI, built 100,394 vehicles, less than half of the plant's 240,000-unit capacity. Of those units, about 90,000 were Mazda 626 units; the rest were Ford Probes and Mazda MX-6s, both killed in the summer of 1997.Fast forward to 1998 and the story at AAI is one of occasional overtime,

By SAID DEEP • Dec. 1, 1998

Adeus AutoEuropa: VW to build SUV at plant

Volkswagen AG may build a new sport/utility vehicle (SUV) with Porsche AG at the plant in Palmela, Portugal, it currently shares with Ford Motor Co. VW will buy Ford's 50% stake in the $2.6 billion AutoEuropa Automoveis Ltda. joint venture, which currently makes Ford Galaxy, VW Sharan and SEAT Alhambra minivans. VW is expected to gain full control of the plant on Jan. 1. AutoEuropa will continue to

Nov. 1, 1998

Well Focused Is this Ford global platform really that versatile?

Al Kammerer, Ford Motor Co.'s vehicle line director for the Focus platform team, is trying to explain to a room of skeptical journalists what his 600 team members learned from Ford's last global vehicle effort, the infamous $6 billion CDW27 program that gave birth to Mondeo, Contour and Mercury Mystique."Back in the pre-Ford 2000 days we had watchers watching the people doing," says the earnest Mr.

By GREG GARDNER • Nov. 1, 1998

Audi TT-errific! You say coupes aren’t distinctive? Look no further.

GUBBIO, Italy - The company that brought us the hot A4, A6,and A8 has another potential hit on its hands - one that could very easily upstage its Stuttgart and Munich rivals. Audi AG seemingly can do no wrong these days and the all-new Audi TT coupe is another head-turning example.Built in Gyor, Hungary (after the galvanized steel bodies are stamped, assembled and painted in Ingolstadt), the TT went

By SAID DEEP • Nov. 1, 1998

Asia Woes Worsen Economies still stumbling in search of recovery

t's difficult to imagine today that a mere two years ago global automakers were rushing headlong to set up shop in Asia-Pacific countries. Last year brought a major economic meltdown to the region, causing vehicle sales and production to plummet, resulting in the shuttering of many factories and forcing hundreds of partsmakers out of business.As 1998 nears an end, the markets still are a mess. Sinking

By Barbara McClellan • Nov. 1, 1998

Room for Two Simulation not a threat for real-world testing - for now

Chrysler Corp. dazzles television viewers with flashy computer graphics in its advertising campaign for the Dodge Intrepid, declaring that the car was designed digitally and tested in the "virtual world" until it was "virtually perfect."Meanwhile, Chrysler and other automakers are struggling to let go of the traditional tools used for physical testing of new products. They are building new wind tunnels,

By Tom Murphy • Nov. 1, 1998

DSM Develops Material Solution for VW

DSM Engineering Plastics' Akulon nylon will be used in all 1999 Volkswagen New Beetle engine covers. The material utilized in the development of the engine cover is Akulon K223-HGM24, a 10% glass fiber, 20% mineral reinforced resin that is specifically formulated for under-hood applications. The material provides the stiffness, high-temperature resistance and excellent surface appearance that is demanded

Nov. 1, 1998

And GM Makes Three . . . Why the No.1 automaker is consolidating globally

And GM makes three.First: Ford Motor Co. launches Ford 2000, its all-encompassing globalization plan in 1994, claims some spectacular results under Chairman Alex Trotman, prompting him to retire earlier than planned at year's end and paving the way for William C. Ford Jr. to take over as nonexecutive chairman and Jacques Nasser to move up to president and chief operating officer.Second: Chrysler Corp.

By David C. Smith • Nov. 1, 1998

Jac Shuffles the Deck Ford’s Nasser quickly moves a leaner team into place

Judging from their respective management moves of recent weeks, one might think that General Motors Corp. was sitting pretty while Ford Motor Co. was on the brink of financial ruin.In announcing his new leadership team Ford CEO-elect Jacques A. Nasser replaced seven top executives, trimmed the number of corporate vice presidents from 45 to 40 and rolled out a new performance-based profit-sharing plan

By GREG GARDNER • Nov. 1, 1998

A Car for Every Purse--From Bugatti to city cars, Paris Show has it all

PARIS - For those who arrive here on a Lear jet, there's the Bugatti EB 118, with its over the-top 6.3L18-cyl. engine raring to kick out 555 hp and packaged with full-time all-wheel-drive.For those on the Concorde there's Mercedes-Benz's new S-Class, 500 lbs. (227kg) lighter, shorter and less pompous looking than its predecessor. This group also may notice the Volvo S80, which takes the Swedish automaker

By GREG GARDNER • Nov. 1, 1998

Two, Four, Six, Eight - Everyone Deactivate! Cylinder deactivationexperiences a serious revival

Try to recall some of the industry's more notorious powertrain miscues.It didn't take long to invoke the name of General Motors Corp.'s 1981 V-8-6-4 engine, did it? The V-8-6-4 resides on the engine infamy list somewhere in the general vicinity of GM's and Volkswagen AG's '80s-vintage diesels.The V-8-6-4 employed an intricate valve-deactivation mechanism to disable combinations of cylinders, effectively

By BILL VISNIC and TOM MURPHY • Nov. 1, 1998