Automakers: Page 430

All-Wheel Drive Revolution? New Venture Gear leads a shift in AWD technology

Down underneath, where the greasy driveline bits strain in doing their part to convert reciprocal motion into rotary motion, there's a quiet revolution under way: The mechanics of driving all four wheels are advancing.New Venture Gear, the 1990 joint-venture of General Motors Corp. and former Chrysler Corp. transmission/driveline expertise, has made quite a name for itself and its myriad 4-wheel drive

By Bill Visnic • Feb. 1, 1999

Temporary Setback?--Magnesium meltdown doesn’t discourage Ford

Despite recent developments that could be viewed as setbacks to the magnesium market, an executive at Ford Motor Co. is predicting automotive use of the light metal will increase tenfold by 2020.Ford is by far the world's top automotive magnesium consumer, claims a report by Hydro Magnesium Marketing SA. Says Gerald S. Cole, a senior staff technical specialist in Ford's Manufacturing Systems Dept.,

By Brian Corbett • Jan. 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

January Means . . . NORTH AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL AUTO SHOW

Last year it was the Volkswagen AG New Beetle that captured the hearts of show-goers at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. This year Ford Motor Co. has the chance to do the same when its Thunderbird concept breaks cover.It's been more than 44 years since the first T-Bird rolled out of Ford's Dearborn Assembly plant on Sept. 9, 1954, and on to the road to becoming an American icon.Ford

By SAID DEEP and BRIAN CORBETT • Jan. 1, 1999

The short, troubled life of Samsung Motors?

Epitaphs were being prepared in December for South Korean upstart Samsung Motors Inc., which officially entered the auto industry last May with the launch of its Nissan Maxima-based SM5 car and already may be on its way to becoming a footnote in the annals of automotive history. Under government pressure designed to shore up struggling conglomerates, Daewoo agrees to swap its electronics unit for

Jan. 1, 1999

A Formula for Success?--GM, Montell jointly announce new composite

Formulating a genuinely new and better type of plastic isn't easy, and - some would argue - doing it in concert with General Motors Corp., makes it doubly hard.Not only is GM tough on price, but it also is notoriously reluctant to give suppliers credit for their innovations. It is perhaps the last vestige of the infamous "not invented here" syndrome that nearly sank the U.S. auto industry in the 1970s.

By Drew Winter • Jan. 1, 1999

More Than Skin Deep-New IP covers represent big technological strides

Just what makes an attractive, high-quality instrument panel? Ask designers and you'll get one set of answers, ask engineers and you'll get another. Consumers will give you still different opinions.What's more, a recent study by the ITB Group Ltd., an international consulting company, shows that automakers in Europe, Japan and the U.S. don't even agree on the importance of basic instrument panel styling

By Drew Winter • Jan. 1, 1999

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Productive PartnersSubaru-Isuzu Indiana plant closing in on record year

With four hot models to produce, Subaru-Isuzu Automotive Inc., projects that it will assemble 227,000 vehicles this year, the most in its 10-year history. The Lafayette, IN, facility expects to assemble 126,000 Isuzus and 101,000 Subarus by the end of this month. That will eclipse the 194,871 vehicles the plant produced in 1996.However, Ann McConnell, a spokeswoman for SIA, says the plant's production

By Herb Shuldiner • Dec. 1, 1998

The State of General MotorsSo you think your job is hard

Consider Gary Cowger.General Motors Corp.'s new head of labor relations walks into the debris left from last summer's 54-day, $2 billion strike by the United Auto Workers union at two Flint plants. He points to his track record as a plant manager throughout the 1980's. Former UAW local leaders vouch for his honesty and people skills. He certainly understands how parts come together to make a complete

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

Is GM Softening on Pay-to-Play Policy?

In the face of sustained protest and threatened lawsuits, General Motors Corp. might be retreating from a controversial practice that has required certain suppliers on high-volume programs to pay up front the savings GM expects them to realize over the life of the contract.Dubbed "Current Savings," the program has allowed suppliers to write GM a check up front to eliminate the uncertainty that they

Dec. 1, 1998

Q&A with Bob Eaton

Here are key excerpts of Daimler Chrysler Co-Chairman Robert J. Eaton's interview with WAW Editor-in-Chief David C. Smith and Senior Editor Greg Gardner:Q. What is your outlook for 1999 in the U.S. and North America?A. It's going to be a good year. We're still looking at a projection in the U.S. of 15 million to 15.2 million. The domestic economy still continues to look good. I think that's probably

Dec. 1, 1998