Automakers: Page

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

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

Explore the Trendline➔

Top 5 stories from WardsAuto

Automakers are evaluating their long-term strategies, revisiting their product mix, and approach to both retail and manufacturing approach along the way.

By WardsAuto staff

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Technology and the Merger Among Equals

Bernard Robertson, Auburn Hills' tech top dog, interprets DC's technology mantraBernard Robertson, DaimlerChrysler AG senior vice president of engineering technology, in April assumed the duties of Chris Theodore, senior vice president of platform engineering. Mr. Robertson now is DC's senior technical executive in the U.S. He speaks with WAW about the effect of executives leaving the company, how

By Bill Visnic • May 1, 1999

Audi TT

Some 19 months after the Concept 1 debuted in Detroit, Audi launched the TT show car at the 1995 IAA Frankfurt show. Like Concept 1, it was a show-grabber. Again Mssrs. Mays and Thomas had conceived a hit, but this time the roles were reversed.Mr. Thomas lays out the history: "J. asked me to go to Germany to assist him (after he had been appointed as the new head of Audi design). I said 'No' at first,

May 1, 1999

JITWhen ASAP Isn’t Good Enough

It was a dark and stormy night a little over a year ago that caused the unthinkable.Toyota Motor Mfg., the auto industry's model of efficiency, had to shut down its Georgetown, KY, plant for nearly a day because an ice storm in the Midwest left roads unpassable. Indiana and Illinois were like an Arctic wasteland, and suppliers had no way to ship parts to Kentucky. Toyota's 8,000 employees got the

By Tom Murphy • May 1, 1999

Alive and WellJIT thrives in its birthplace - Japan

TOYOTA CITY - If Toyota Motor Co. is rethinking the basics of "just-in-time" delivery at its North American plants - as some reports have indicated - it's hard to see evidence of it here in Japan.If anything, kanban, a form of "just-in-time" delivery particular to Japan, is likely to increase in importance as the industry shifts away from "mass production" of vehicles to "mixed production."Recent

By Roger Schreffler • May 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

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

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

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

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

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

Ford Focus Features Hybrid Front End

Steel, aluminum and plastic seem so often to be locked into a life-and-death struggle for the hearts and minds of engineers, it's easy to overlook the fact they can in fact be used together.A good example is the hybrid plastic/metal design of the front-end module of the new subcompact Ford Focus, introduced in Europe last spring and due in the U.S. this fall.Designed by Ford, suppliers Dynamit Nobel

By Drew Winter • March 1, 1999

Can South Africa Compete Globally?

PORT ELIZABETH, South Africa - The history of the auto industry in South Africa has been long and varied, with ups and downs that make other countries' auto industries look stable. Imports ruled from 1896 until 1924 when Ford Motor Co. opened the first assembly plant here to build Model Ts from complete knocked down (CKD) kits.General Motors Corp. followed two years later with its first assembly plant,

By JOHN RETTIE • March 1, 1999

Globalization Shifts Translation Needs Into High Gear

Of all the angles that have been scrutinized in the merger of Chrysler Corp. and Daimler-Benz AG, one fundamental question has been largely overlooked: Will employees be able to communicate effectively across the two companies?Daimler-Benz employees already understand English pretty well, partly due to the company's global customer base and an educational system in Germany that requires English instruction

By JEAN M. COOK • March 1, 1999

Dow Moves May Prompt Magnesium Coalition

Dow Chemical Co.'s at it again: after its recent pullout from magnesium production (see WAW - Jan. '99, p.57), the company now says it will license its magnesium-production technology to someone else.One Ford Motor Co. executive believes Dow's move may forge the beginning of a possible coalition among automakers that would support the development and research of magnesium through a chain of Tier 1

By Brian Corbett • 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