Automakers: Page 432

Make the Customer Happy New model year arrives with a load of suppliergoodies

Since when did suppliers find time for market research to find out exactly what the driving public wants in a personal vehicle?Consumer clinics, of course, are critical when it comes to automakers marketing their products.But it would seem difficult for suppliers to do extensive studies on their own specific products when their primary purpose must be to satisfy the ever-shifting demands of their

By Tom Murphy • Oct. 1, 1998

Bill Ford, Jac Nasser Share Leadership in Ford Succession

In a smooth transition that has been expected for many months, Ford Motor Co. has tapped 41-year-old William Clay Ford Jr. as its next chairman and Jacques A. Nasser as its next president and chief executive officer, both succeeding Alex Trotman, who will relinquish all three titles Jan. 1, 1999.It marks the first time since 1980 that a member of the Ford family has been chairman."This is the time

Oct. 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

Can Jay Alix’s Tonic Cure What Ails Peregrine?

It won't be easy, and it won't be pretty. But it is possible for Peregrine Inc., the supplier founded just over a year ago through the purchase of four General Motors Delphi Automotive Systems plants, to recover from the brink of bankruptcy.In fact, Jay Alix, the turnaround specialist who bought Peregrine earlier this year, says his restructuring plan could have the company on the path to profitability

Sept. 1, 1998

General Motors and the UAW Deserve Each Other They’re headed on a dead-endcourse

The General Motors strike is over, but a few things should be said. Imagine you are a supplier. Your best customer accounts for 30% of your business. He pays top dollar for your goods. The last few years his business hasn't been so good, so he has cut back on his orders. He complains about your prices - says you're not competitive in this global market. But he still pays top dollar for your work.

By Jerry Flint • Sept. 1, 1998

Plastics Get Smart Europe’s new micro car sports plastic panels

This year's blockbuster DaimlerChrysler merger has suppliers on both sides of the Atlantic worrying. In Europe, traditional Daimler-Benz suppliers fear they'll be asked for drastic price cuts when Daimler's purchasing department finds out what Chrysler is paying for various parts. Chrysler's vendors are leery of Mercedes' hands-on approach to supplier relations.But the marriage bodes well for at least

By STEPHEN E. PLUMB • Sept. 1, 1998

Skoda’s on a Whirl Czech carmaker is doing something right

Three years ago the most powerful Skoda packed a scant 75 hp. Today's top Octavia has 125 hp, with 150 hp in the pipeline, and the upward trend doesn't end there. Skoda, like parent Volkswagen AG, plans a new V-8. A 250-hp Skoda, no less.The Czech carmaker - by one interpretation, the third oldest in the world behind Mercedes-Benz and Peugeot - is now Europe's fastest-growing volume marque. Sales

By Peter Robinson • Sept. 1, 1998

Chrysler’s Plastic Car Push

The quest for lower-cost, lighter-weight, less-polluting vehicles is a never-ending task, but it promises to become even more challenging for automotive engineers in coming years thanks to mounting pressure to improve fuel economy and curb greenhouse gases. And it is a task in which materials will begin to play an increasingly important role.Because materials are such a crucial component of the automotive

By Drew Winter • Sept. 1, 1998

Window to the World On-glass antennas make a comeback

It's easy to see why a designer would love to rid an auto body of a radio antenna: It's unsightly and a detriment to styling. It's easily damaged and vandalized. It contributes to wind noise. The power antenna is expensive and takes a lot of abuse.General Motors Corp. and other automakers have been building antennas that are fluted, or spiral shaped, for better wind management and have been placing

By Tom Murphy • Sept. 1, 1998

Grin and Bear It Despite strike, suppliers still need GM

The 54-day strike against General Motors Corp. is over, and suppliers want to forget it as quickly as Jack Smith does.But it's not so easy when the ugly confrontation left an indelible mark on supplier profits. Of course, there is potential for more unrest in next year's contract talks with the United Auto Workers union.At some point, will all this aggravation force suppliers to reconsider how much

By Tom Murphy • Sept. 1, 1998

GM Plants: Who’s on hit list?

"We will strive for even higher capacity utilization than the current level of 94%. We will make the total production system leaner, faster and more flexible. We are planning on building new assembly plants to replace and consolidate older plants. The new plants will be lean and agile in every respect, operating 24 hours a day."- John F. Smith Jr., Aug. 5, 1998"In 1992 we had 109 models. Today we

Sept. 1, 1998

Share is Small but Growing Magnesium’s cost still a key issue

Just how badly do we need to reduce weight? This is the perennial question automotive engineers ask when evaluating magnesium applications.The ultra-lightweight metal is making steady progress. Byron B. Clow, executive vice president of the International Magnesium Assn. says that in North America alone magnesium components used by automakers have jumped from 33 in 1991 to 162 in 1997. American Metal

By FRAN SMITH • Sept. 1, 1998

Top Chrysler Execs Take

$395.8 Million Out of Daimler Deal or those who needed more proof about who is buying whom, the $395.8 million in cash and DaimlerChrysler stock to be divided among Chrysler Corp.'s top 30 executives should be sufficient.Among the details set forth in a 143-page filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission are the reasons why Chrysler Chairman Robert J. Eaton saw this as an offer he couldn't

Sept. 1, 1998

Is this the end of Saturn?

The most ironic casualty of General Motors Corp.'s push toward modular assembly and global platforms will be Saturn Corp.The different kind of car company, with the open labor agreement, factory-floor flexibility and cooperation GM could only dream about elsewhere, clearly is caught in the crossfire.In the modular assembly vision, a sprawling complex where 7,200 workers produce everything from engines

By GREG GARDNER • Sept. 1, 1998

Ford’s Sweetheart Deal Sverdrup builds new wind tunnels, allows Ford tosub-lease

Allen Park, MI, soon will be home to a revolutionary new wind tunnel testing facility. Ground was broken, cement was poured and the city officials beamed with civic pride as they welcomed Sverdrup Technology Inc. to their town.This $100 million driveability test facility will be one of a kind and will be able to replicate the conditions of any altitude or climate in the world, from the highest peaks

By Tom Murphy • Sept. 1, 1998

Two Years to Recovery Toyota chief confident of Asia turnaround

TOKYO - Hard times at home and setbacks elsewhere in Asia have not dented the ambition or optimism of Japan's No.1 automaker.For canny and conservative Toyota Motor Corp., these are considered temporary, inconvenient potholes on the road to more sales and larger market shares in the future.Nearer-term, Toyota expects its worldwide production to increase 2.3% to 4. 91 million units in fiscal 1998 (ending

By MACK CHRYSLER and ROGER SHREFFLER • Sept. 1, 1998

Nissan to slim down from 25 to 10 platforms

In a round of we'll-still-be-here-and-here's-why briefings for analysts and reporters, Nissan North America Inc. executives offer a peek at upcoming models, including a new as-yet-unnamed small sport/utility vehicle coming next summer and built off the same platform as the Frontier pickup. Other sneak peeks include the 2000 Maxima and Sentra and a 4-door Frontier pickup. President Minoru Nakamura

Aug. 1, 1998

Blast From the (Not-too-Distant) Past: Infiniti G20 Makes Its Return

SNOQUALMIE FALLS, WA - Fans of quirky TV shows may recall this location as the setting for the entertainingly bizarre Twin Peaks of the early '90s. Could it be that the folks at Infiniti are waxing with a bit too much nostalgia about the re-introduction of the G20?The first G20 bowed as a 1991 - based on the well-regarded European Primera. It was retired after the 1996 season, but has returned with

By Mike Arnholt • Aug. 1, 1998

Lincoln Mercury Sets Up Shop In California

IRVINE, CA - Lincoln Mercury opened the doors to its new world headquarters here, the first marketing division of a domestic auto company to call California home. "This move is not only physical, it is symbolic," says Mark Hutchins, the division's new general manager. "It is not only geographical, but physical. With a bold, independent point of view, we've begun a journey that will influence everything

Aug. 1, 1998

Packaging Changes Free Up Space Decorative plants replace cardboard waste

In 1995 the aisles along the assembly lines at Chrysler Corp.'s Warren Truck Assembly plant were crowded with large parts bins on unwieldy carts and often littered with discarded cardboard.In most areas of the plant today the cardboard has almost vanished, the parts are in neat, compact bins and the aisles have so much open space that employees have started to place plants the size of small trees

By Jeff Green • Aug. 1, 1998

Manufacturing Revolution Underway in Brazil Companies build Emerging-Markettemplates

CURITIBA, BRAZIL - Welcome to the Automotive New World Order.In the heart of South America's most populous nation, manufacturers and automotive suppliers are taking advantage of flexible labor forces and low-volume production to create a learning lab from which they hope to apply lessons to factories throughout the world.What grabs a visitor to factories like Chrysler Corp.'s new Dakota truck plant

By Jeff Green • Aug. 1, 1998

Solara Eclipse Solara coupe tries to blot out Camry’s bland reputation

CARMEL, CA - Yes, Toyota Camry was America's bestselling car in 1997. But Toyotamarketing officials won't be entirely satisfied until the "buff" magazines stop referring to their impeccably competent flagship as an appliance.Now, with the introduction of the Camry Solara coupe, Japan's largest automaker has a chance to prove it hasn't submerged styling and driving passion to the dictates of market

By GREG GARDNER • Aug. 1, 1998

VW eyeing Volvo one way or another

Will Volkswagen AG buy AB Volvo or just try to put it out of the car business? VW and Volvo admit to high-level talks, but both sides insist a complete merger or takeover is not in the cards. That won't stop VW from trying to take away Volvo's market share, however - via Czech-built Skodas. Don't laugh. Thanks to an injection of VW technology, Skodas are starting to make a favorable impression on

Aug. 1, 1998

Ford buys Cosworth Racing from Audi

Ford Motor Co. will buy Cosworth Racing from Audi AG, which had already bought Cosworth Engineering from Vickers plc. The purchase will allow Cosworth's racing division to continue supplying Ford with Formula One, Indy car and Touring car racing engines.

Aug. 1, 1998

Quantum Composites Lightens Load

Ford Motor Co.'s '98 Ford Explorers are lighter and cost less to produce thanks to a tough new thermoset composite material developed by Quantum Composites, a subsidiary of Premix Inc., in Midland, MI. Quantum engineers developed QPC-1977 structural molding compound, which combines a high-temperature hybrid thermoset resin with 50% glass. The result is a frame-mounted heat shield that can endure temperatures

Aug. 1, 1998

Report Card Time Ford shows big gains in annual ‘productivity’ gauge

Call it the paradox of profitability.In the 1998 Harbour Report, the annual industry report card on factory floor efficiency, Ford Motor Co. blew way past its domestic rivals, virtually caught up with the Japanese competition and overtook Chrysler Corp. as the most profitable automaker in North America on a profit-per-vehicle basis.Then there is the industry's perennial valedictorian, Nissan Motor

By GREG GARDNER • Aug. 1, 1998