Automakers: Page 431

DMAX - A natural step for Isuzu,GM

It seems like a natural progression. General Motors Corp. already builds trucks with Isuzu Motors Ltd. at its plants in Shreveport, LA, and Janesville, WI, so expanding the relationship to include diesel engines for trucks shouldn't surprise.The partners announced recently that they will launch a joint venture to build a new plant in Moraine, OH, for production of the next-generation 6.6L turbodiesel

Dec. 1, 1998

Honda of America ‘Global regions’ strategy pays off

Examine the multitudinous "global domination" philosophies in the automaking business - and there is no shortage of these strategies - and Honda Motor Co. Ltd.'s idea of producing a few platforms, then modifying them to suit various world regions, holds up particularly well.Especially in North America, where Honda continually and steadfastly is increasing production and local sourcing. In the U.S.,

By Bill Visnic • 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

Dare We Say, ‘Go Blue?’ Automakers definitely have the blues for 1999

Did you ever play the "car" game as a child? You know the one. On long road trips each player chooses a particular color. The winner is the one who has seen the most cars of "their" color by the end of the journey. A sure winner for 1999 and beyond would be anything blue.North America's fall line of cars and trucks will be showcasing a full blast of blue that include: Intense blue; Patriot blue; Island

By KATHI JACKSON • 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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Restless Ruble Currency crisis mars Moscow show, but automakers say they’llstay

MOSCOW - While visitors to the recent Moscow auto show admired the new Lada Niva, three Volga concept cars, and upscale Jaguars, Ferraris and Maseratis, auto executives exhibited worried faces.But facial expressions and financial turmoil aside, automakers continue to reaffirm their long-term commitments to Russia."Carmakers such as GM/Opel, Fiat and Renault and some of the Korean OEMs are proceeding

By Peter Homola • Oct. 1, 1998

Saturn, Cadillac and Yellowstone I tried to stop writing about GM, but . . .

I keep promising myself to stop writing about General Motors, but they keep doing these things. This company will make one great Harvard Case Study some day. Right now, Saturn, Cadillac, and Yellowstone all deserve some critical comments.First, Yellowstone (the U.S. version of GM's Brazilian Blue Macaw venture):n The prototype plant, Blue Macaw in Brazil, isn't even in production, yet here is GM promising

By Jerry Flint • Oct. 1, 1998

A Plethora of Pickups Are the full-sizers headed for their peak?

Despite Toyota Motor Co.'s reputation for impeccable quality and a new, multivalve 4.7L V-8 engine, its Tundra full-size pickup truck enters the market at a time when demand in this highly profitable segment is beginning to slow and competitors are upgrading their offerings.General Motors Corp. is ramping up production of its 1999 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra, powered by its enhanced family

By GREG GARDNER • Oct. 1, 1998

In the Headlights: ‘99 BMW 3-series

It's a little longer. A touch wider. Wheel base is stretched a tad. Engines are improved.Sounds like the formula for anybody's new car. But this is the all-new 3-series. Like the generation before it, you can bet the new "3" will be the same uncatchable mechanical rabbit, out of reach for its competitors.Yes, the previous 3-series' attributes magically meshed to make it the unchallenged segment leader,

By Bill Visnic • Oct. 1, 1998

AAMA Will Disband; What’s Next Is Unclear

Shareholder approval of the DaimlerChrysler AG merger marks the end of the automotive industry's political Cold War. Consequently, the American Automobile Manufacturers Assn. has little to do.So the domestic industry's lobbying arm will disband by the end of this year.The association's bylaws say members can't be owned or operated by a foreign company. Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Corp. have

Oct. 1, 1998

In the Headlights: Suzuki Grand Vitara

Controversy is the last thing most automotive executives want in the final months before a new vehicle launch.But for American Suzuki Motor Corp., its spat with General Motors Corp. over its new V-6 engine actually could serve as a great marketing tool for the Grand Vitara, the company's small sport/utility vehicle equipped with the new 2.5L powerplant.Grand Vitara is the much-refined offspring of

By Tom Murphy • Oct. 1, 1998

Saturn Returns to Orbit

After months of treating Saturn Corp. like any other business center that must meet profit targets to justify new investment, General Motors Corp. has agreed to build a new small sport/utility vehicle in Spring Hill, TN, and substantially boost the capacity from about 320,000 cars a year to 420,000.Early reports that the expansion could hike Spring Hill's potential output to 500,000 are predicated

Oct. 1, 1998

Give Me the Night (Vision) Techy military tool takes to the streets in 2000

Night driving is dangerous - in fact it's more than three times more likely to end in a fatality than daytime driving, safety experts tell us.Since the first autos crept out after sundown with their acetylene lamps glaring, automakers have looked for ways to make night driving safer.Borrowing heavily from the military, both General Motors Corp.'s Cadillac Motor Car Div. and Ford Motor Co.'s Jaguar

By KATHI JACKSON • Oct. 1, 1998

More Than a Mini Success Chrysler minivans mark 15th anniversary

For a product that changed the face of the auto industry and will celebrate its 15th anniversary next month, the minivan several times had to avert disaster from its product development stages to its ceremonial rollout Nov. 2, 1983, at Chrysler Corp.'s Windsor, Ont., assembly plant.That's when company Chairman Lee A. Iacocca drove the first production version of the T-115 minivan off the assembly

By Brian Corbett • Oct. 1, 1998

Making Horses - and Using Them ‘99 drivetrain advances are as much aboutusing horsepower as making it

Drivetrain development has reached a fascinating new plateau.First, nobody's suggesting anymore (with the possible exception of Toyota Motor Corp.) that electric or hybrid vehicles will be a significant force in the car business for a number of years.Powertrain engineers from all over are asserting the new empowerment of internal-combustion engines: electronic controls are evolving to new levels of

By BILL VISNIC and JEFF GREEN • Oct. 1, 1998

Tracking Toyota’s Tundra How rising stars at GM came to lead an army ofhand-picked Hoosiers

PRINCETON, IN - Seizo Okamoto dances around the question of which competitor Toyota Motor Manufacturing Indiana Inc. benchmarked in developing its new Tundra full-size pickup truck."It is very difficult to tell which is best," says the president and chief executive officer of Toyota's newest U.S. plant just south of this southwestern Indiana city."In size, our Tundra is smaller than Ford's F-150,

By GREG GARDNER • Oct. 1, 1998

Desert Storm Comes to the Family Garage

CARMEL, CA - I recently sat behind the wheel of a 2000 Cadillac DeVille staring into the dark night, unable to see beyond the glaring headlights of a bus deliberately parked about 50 yds. (46 m) ahead. Then a General Motors Corp. engineer flicked a switch to turn on a new, infrared (IR) night-vision system. A head-up display (HUD) projected ahead of the windshield.With the HUD image, I now could easily

Oct. 1, 1998