Automakers: Page 437

Nissan Truck Gets a Name Solid Frontier Battles the Big Name

NASHVILLE, TN - The vehicle formerly known only as Nissan Truck finally joins an elite group of pickups that have actual names - sans an alpha-numeric designation. The Frontier, as it now is monikered, marks the seventh generation truck to emerge from Nissan Motor Co. Ltd.'s fold, and the third to be built in the U.S. at the automaker's Smyrna, TN, plant.Frontier's bragging rights include claim to

By NATALIE NEFF • Nov. 1, 1997

Transplants start truckin’

The strengthening dollar is making the U.S. less attractive as a low-cost manufacturing site, but you'd never get that impression looking at the expansion plans launched by most foreign-based automakers in the U.S. and Canada.Honda, Toyota and Nissan all are planning to build more vehicles and components in North America during the next several years, and more aggressive expansions - possibly even

By Drew Winter, SAID DEEP • Dec. 1, 1996

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

The Pentastar sparkles: there’s nothing dull about Chrysler’s resurgence

These are heady days for Chrysler Corp. It earned more money in the first nine months of this year - $2.68 billion - than in all of 1995: $2 billion. Chairman Robert J. Eaton & Co. are on track to top 1994's record profit of $3.7 million, which generated an average profit-sharing payout of $8,000 per workerChrysler has grabbed 1.6 percentage points of combined car and light-truck market share in the

By David C. Smith, GREG GARDNER • Dec. 1, 1996

Asia/Pacific is on fire: despite high risks, automakers scramble

The world's major automakers continue to woo the untapped Asia/Pacific region, hoping to reap the whirlwind of tremendous economic growth expected there in the 21st Century. The potential is enormous, but so is the financial risk.Stretching is size from Turkey to Japan, including the Middle East, Australia, China and the Indian subcontinent, the area contains some of the richest and poorest nations

By McClellan, Barbara • Dec. 1, 1996

Honda profits surge

Honda Motor Co. Ltd., spurred by a weaker yen and stronger than expected sales of new models, reports that its pre-tax profit for the first half of its fiscal year ended Sept. 30 quadrupled from a year earlier to 162.4 billion [yen] ($1.45 billion). Vice President Yoshihide Munekuni says Honda should earn about 345 billion [yen] ($.1 billion) pretax for the year ending March 31, 1997. Of the 92 billion

Dec. 1, 1996

Morgan Stanley calls Toyota, Honda, BMW ‘great car companies.’

Investment consulting firm Morgan Stanley has issued a report that says Toyota, Honda and BMW are "truly great global car companies." Ford Motor Co., General Motors Corp., Mazda and Volkswagen are "almost great," says the report.Morgan Stanley says it embarked on the report seven months ago to present a comprehensive view of 21 industries' competitive landscape, country by country.In the automotive

Dec. 1, 1996

GM’s Jack Smith: room with a view

It's official: General Motors Corp. moves its world headquarters from the venerable GM Building (GM types simply call it "The Building) in midtown Detroit to the Renaissance Center downtown, overlooking the Detroit River. GM purchased the "Ren Cen" complex - a 73-story cylindrical hotel surrounded by four 39-story cylindrical office towers - in May for a paltry $72 million. Chairman John F. (Jack)

Dec. 1, 1996

Where LucasVarity is heading: September merger boosts technical and global capabilities

BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND - You can't buy shares in Delphi, ford Automotive Components or Bosch. "Therefore, you should buy shares in LucasVarity," advises Victor Rice.The new chief executive officer of the company formed in the September merger of Britain's Lucas Industries plc and U.S.-based Varity Corp. says that not only is LucasVarity one of only a few publicly traded companies on the automotive supplier

By Ferris, Deebe • Nov. 1, 1996

Creativity is back: automakers enter new era of styling experimentation

Some very funny things have been said about car design. I think it was K.T. Keller, head of Chrysler in the early 1950s who said something like: "Americans want a car they can wear their hats in, not piss over." He then brought out a line of cars that were shorter, higher and narrower while everyone else was going longer, lower, wider. That disaster made Chrysler turn to fins.Then there was George

By Flint, Jerry • Nov. 1, 1996

Intelligent transportation: Chrysler learns valuable ITS lessons fromautomated test track

ORLANDO, FL - Driverless cars on automated highways are fodder for great science fiction. But as 1996 draws to a close, intelligent vehicles and smart roads inch slightly closer to science.As industrial and governmental leaders from around the globe gather here for the Third Annual World Congress on Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) to proclaim the incredible potential of smart highways and

By Tim Keenan • Nov. 1, 1996

GM woos NUMMI with discounts

New United Motor Manufacturing Inc. (NUMMI) is a 50/50 joint venture between General Motors Corp. and Toyota Motor Corp., but Toyota runs the outfit. Based at a previous GM plant in Fremont, CA, NUMMI builds Toyota's Corolla and Tacoma and GM's Geo Prizm knockoff of Corolla. NUMMI employees have enjoyed Toyota's special discounts for years. Now GM belatedly is wooing NUMMI folks with the same employee

Nov. 1, 1996

Chrysler claims it’s recession-proof; 20% market share in U.S. ‘not out of the question.’

In a recent day-long presentation more tightly scripted than either Democratic or Republican convention, Chrysler Corp.'s braintrust tries to convince a gaggle of reporters that it will be the first U.S. automaker to endure a recession without losing money."We went into the last recession selling K-cars and with no money in the bank," says Chairman Robert J. Eaton. "Today we've got a whole new product

By Gardner, Greg • Nov. 1, 1996

Lean Thinking

Have you ever sat in an airport for hours and wondered why it'll take you seven hours to reach your destination when a small charter plane could've gotten you there in two? Or what about shivering for a small eternity in a cold hospital gown wondering, what could happen if doctor's offices and hospitals operated as efficiently as Toyota?James P. Womack and Daniel T. Jones, two-thirds of the trio that

By Drew Winter • Nov. 1, 1996

EV1 on sale Dec. 5; leases range from $480 to $640

It's not in the Neiman Marcus catalog, but General Motors Corp.'s EV1 will go on sale before Christmas, at least at 26 Saturn stores in Los Angeles San Diego, Phoenix and Tucson.For those who must be the first on their block, Dec. 5 is the first day anyone can take delivery. The plug-in-and-drive-away car will carry a sticker of $33,995 but don't let that overwhelm you. Saturn expects that nearly

Nov. 1, 1996

GM lost about 90,000 vehicles from Canadian strike

The three-week strike by the Canadian Auto Workers in October against General Motors Corp., which ended Oct. 22, cost the company about 90,000 vehicles, nearly a third of which were trucks, estimates Michael Robinet, a market researcher with CSM Forecasting in Farmington, Hills, MI. The remaining two-thirds ranged from the Cadillac DeVille, Seville and Eldorado to the Chevrolet Cavalier and Pontiac

Nov. 1, 1996

Malibu’s big, inexpensive - and an unexpected pleasure

Malibu, Ca - General Motors Corp.'s Chevrolet Div. has an all-new platform for its 1997 Malibu, and executives and engineers attending the new Malibu's press launch here believe the car perhaps represents Chevrolet's first legitimate chance at snagging not only a significant portion of traditional midsize buyers - but also the elusive import-biased customers the U.S.'s Big Three automakers covet.The

By Bill Visnic • Nov. 1, 1996

Oh, Canada....

Despite parting ways during the '80s, the U.S. United Auto Workers and the Canadian Auto Workers remain "brothers." Still, with Canada on strike against General Motors Corp. for much of October, numerous GM-U.S. plants relying on Canadian components closed down. You don't make profits when plants are shut: The 17-day UAW strike at GM plants in Dayton, OH, last March cost the No. 1 automaker $900 million.

Nov. 1, 1996

Third-quarter profits exceed forecasts at Chrysler and GM, on target at Ford

It was a prosperous third quarter for each of the Big Three. Chrysler's $680 million net was clearly toward the upper end of Wall Street's range of expectations, and GM's $1.27 billion was a very pleasant surprise, especially when bolstered by news that the General added another $1.5 billion to its cash reserves, now at a robust $14.5 billion. Meanwhile, Ford, which relied on financial services once

Nov. 1, 1996

Canada: view from the roof; production’s growing, but the market is sluggish.

CAMBRIDGE, Ont. -- From a vantage point on the roof of the Toyota Motor Mfg. Canada Inc. plant, you can see the future of Canadian auto production taking shape.By the end of 1997, the construction going on below is expected to add capacity for 120,000 vehicles a year to the sprawling complex near Kitchener -- one of several assembly plant expansions under way this summer in Canada.On the other side

By Green, Jeff • Oct. 1, 1996

Branding irons hot at Chrysler

How seriously does Chrysler take brand management? Even design interns working at the automaker last summer were involved with it.Assigned to create 1/4-scale concept cars for the year 2005, they had to research and interpret what each brand meant before designing their individual Jeep, Dodge, Plymouth or Chryslerbadged vehicles. They even had to visit dealerships and pose as buyers interested in

By Drew Winter, Washington, Frank • Oct. 1, 1996

Can cars be sold like Crest? Ask former P&G and GM chairman John Smale

John Smale did a lot more than shake up the hierarchy at General Motors Corp. in 1992 when he grabbed the reins as chairman and put John F. (Jake) Smith Jr. in as president (since elevated to chairman, replacing Mr. Smale).A long-time GM board member, who retired as chairman of Procter & Gamble Co. in 1990, Mr. Smale also is credited as the architect behind GM's now blossoming brand-imaging strategy

By Rothenberg, Al • Oct. 1, 1996

At Saturn, everyone’s a brand manager

Ironically the one organization within General Motors Corp. that perhaps most effectively manages its brand --Saturn Corp.--has no one called a brand manager.From the 1994 Homecoming, when thousands of owners drove their cars to Spring Hill, TN, where they were built, to the ads featuring the Saturn cycling team that ran during the Atlanta Olympics, the company has used its own start-up story to project

By Gardner, Greg • Oct. 1, 1996

Steve Miller takes reins as Federal-Mogul ousts Gormley

First Chrysler, then the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, then Idaho-based mega-contractor Morrison-Knudsen, now Federal-Mogul. Former Chrysler number cruncher Robert S. (Steve) Miller Jr. is stepping into the breach at Federal-Mogul Corp. after the board of directors gave the heave-ho to Chairman and CEO Dennis Gormley citing insufficient progress on the repositioning of the engine bearing and seal maker

Oct. 1, 1996

Managing import brands

The term "brand management" may be a buzz word contrived by Americans, but U.S. automakers are not the only ones practicing the art. In fact, it's entirely possible that import and transplant automakers have managed their brands so well that they triggered the Big Three's new marketing maneuvers.With few exceptions, import and transplant automakers have not resorted to as much brand jockeying and

By Tim Keenan • Oct. 1, 1996

GM may mothball dual-cam 3.4L DOHC V-6

Various sources both inside and outside of General Motors Corp. have suggested GM is ready to scrap its 3.4L DOHC V-6 engine, not to be confused with the above mentioned overhead valve 3.4L in the new GM front-drive minivans. One source in GM manufacturing says the company already has decided the engine--currently GM's only overhead cam V-6-must go. Penetration for the engine is no greater than 10%

Oct. 1, 1996