Automakers: Page 438

Automakers need 250,000 more workers

Just when the job-eating, downsizing management mindset seems to be spinning out of control, here comes a group of cock-eyed optimists from the University of Michigan's Office for the Study of Automotive Transportation.The Big Three will hire 250,000 over the next eight years -- that's in the United States alone. Up to 129,000 of those hires could happen in Michigan.That's the thrust of "Driving America's

March 1, 1996

GM VLEs learn to lean to the left

When it comes to reinventing itself, General Motors Corp. is quite familiar with consultants. Kinsey & Co., A.T. Kearney Inc., you name it, any major consulting firm worth its fees, has taken a whack at the organizational thicket enshrouding the world's largest automaker.But for guiding the training of GM's 13 vehicle line executives, GM has linked up with Alfredo (Fred) M. Kofman, an Argentine-born,

March 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

Catera tests GM’s global strategy

While Acura is launching its first American-engineered model, Cadillac is leveraging General Motors Corp.'s European resources, gussying up the Opel Omega platform into the long-awaited Catera.This project, which has been in the works for more than three years, is not driven by currency forces. To build on its rather sparse cadre of under-50 buyers, Cadillac clearly needs to offer an entry-level rear-drive

By Gardner, Greg • March 1, 1996

Ford Credit rolls the dice

With consumer debt at or near record levels and incomes growing hardly at all, Ford Motor Credit Co. is forming a new subsidiary whose strategy is to find customers who haven't qualified through conventional lending channels and take a chance on them. It's called "sub-prime" financing because the borrowers' credit records indicate they may not be able to repay. The incentive for Ford Credit: charging

March 1, 1996

A different kind of car guy: Verbal becomes first African American tohead SAE

The new president of the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) is a different kind of car guy.Claude Verbal, 53, is a licensed hypno-therapist who meditates every day and wears double-breasted suits. During his 32-year career at General Motors Corp., he has worked as a design engineer, an operations and manufacturing engineer and he's now the plant manager of Gm's Service Parts Operation in Lansing,

By Frank Washington • March 1, 1996

Escort: Ford’s 15 years on a learning curve.

VPCs, VLEs, brand managers. Nineties-speak for today's efforts at organizing the oft-blurry idea of world-car management and engineering structure.In 1980, it was "project centers" that Ford Motor Co. concocted for its first fullbore crack at developing a vehicle for global markets -- the 1981 Escort.Louis R. Ross, at the time Ford's executive vice president-car product development, explained that

By Bill Visnic • March 1, 1996

007’s BMW Z3: U.S.-built roadster expands German automaker’s world-car tradition

With all the fanfare surrounding the introduction of Ford Motor Co.'s Mondeo in Europe and the Contour/Mystique stateside, one might think that they were the first-ever world cars.BMW AG likes to note that it has been building and selling cars around the globe for many years, although not with the kind of volume and differentiation of the Ford effort.BMW's latest is the Z3 roadster, which will be

By Tim Keenan • March 1, 1996

Snake’s alive!

Skies were overcast and conditions rainy at Daytona International Speedway early in February for the Rolex 24-hour endurance race, but the outlook for the Dodge Viper GTS-R -- Chrysler Corp.'s race-only version of the '96 Viper GTS Coupe -- is bright indeed.Canaska/Southwind, the automaker's North American development team, put a new Viper GTS-R in the eighth position (out of 76) on the starting grid,

By Tim Keenan • March 1, 1996

JCI, Chivas Products get GM business for 2000

General Motors Corp., Johnson Controls Inc. and Chivas Products Ltd. are combining for a large boost to Detroit's new federal Empowerment Zone. GM announces it will award JCI and Chivas a six-year contract worth an estimated $900 million to produce interior components and systems for model-year 2000 vehicles and beyond.Detroit Mayor Dennis Archer and Harold Kutner, GM's purchasing vice president,

March 1, 1996

Japan: one size doesn’t fit all; matching models to markets is key global strategy.

TOKYO - Global engineering has been a natural fit for Japanese automotive designers and engineers. After all, they are firm believers in matching models to markets. Because tastes, policies and regulationsvary, they feel one-size-fits-all "world cars" are limited in appeal and saleability. Consequently, all major Japanese automakers have established research and development centers in the U.S. and

By Mack Chrysler • March 1, 1996

Hey buddy, can you spare a gear? Expect more - and less - from transmissions

Mike Kluger manager-automatic transmission technology section at Southwest Research Institute (SWRI), has authored or co-authored numerous SAE papers relating to transmission technology and SWRI tests. He also evaluates transmissions for many of the world's major automakers. Mr. Kluger recently shared his thoughts on near-term automatic-transmission development with WAW.The industry has experienced

By Kluger, Mike • March 1, 1996

Why is Charlie Baker special?

You've heard of global sourcing of components, and the concept of global manufacturing is old hat. But As the relatively weak dollar and trade pressures lure German and Japanese automakers to boost their investments in the U.S., and American automakers increasingly expand overseas in search of new markets and better economies of scale, these megatrends are changing the lives of not just the workers

By Drew Winter, GREG GARDNER, Visnic, Bill • March 1, 1996

GM moves to shake midsize malaise

It's far too early to declare that General Motors Corp.'s new family of 1997 midsize cars will rebuild the near devastation left by the infamous $7 billion GM-10 program of the 1980's.But GM's much-maligned Midsize Car Div. seems to have leaRNed some crucial lessons. Here are some hopefUl signs detected from initial inquiries about the new Pontiac Grand Prix, Buick Century, Oldsmobile intrigue and

By Gardner, Greg • Feb. 1, 1996

Refining the ride

After more than 100 years of engineering, you'd think there would be little new under the sun in the world of automotive suspensions. Yet just like powertrains, new developments and refinements continue to surprise, delight, and sometimes amaze consumers and engineers alike.Two new systems in particular are getting noticed: the four-link front suspension on the '96 Audi AG A4 and the SLA setup on

By Drew Winter • Feb. 1, 1996

Aluminum comes out swinging

The steel industry knocked the collective wind out of them late last summer, but aluminum producers straightened up and came out swinging last month at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.Two very significant aluminum-intensive vehicles -- General Motors Corp.'s EV1 electric car and Chrysler Corp.'s Plymouth Prowler -- were introduced there, and the aluminum folks worked hard to

By Drew Winter • Feb. 1, 1996

Toyota targets 1.2 million North American sales by 2000

Toyota's new message is clear: no more Mr. Nice Guy. No more holding back while the harsh winds of trade politics blow over. Toyota wants to boost its North American sales to 1.2 million cars and trucks by 2000, up from slightly more than 1 million last year. That's a lofty goal given industry projections showing sales remaining flat through the rest of the decade. The target only slightly exceeds

Feb. 1, 1996

Daewoo advances on Europe

South Korea's Daewoo Group continues its push into Europe with a letter of intent to take a 65% stake in four of eight vehicle and component operations belonging to Austria's Steyr-Daimler-Puch AG, the same company that builds Chrysler's minivan in Europe. Under the agreement, Daewoo will invest $260 million in the operations, including the $1 1 0 million purchase price for the equity. Daewoo expects

Feb. 1, 1996

And now, a word from our sponsors

Long before the Olympic torch begins its cross-country trek to Atlanta, automakers are hustling to turn the quadrennial global sportsfest into a marketing bonanza.Remember the days when there was one official camera, film, soap or soft drink of the Olympic games? Forget that.Those inclusive folks at the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games have done their best to spread the wealth, especially when

By Gardner, Greg • Feb. 1, 1996

Chrysler extends Lutz’s contract

How do you tell a guy who has championed cars like the Dodge Viper and Plymouth Prowler that he's too old for the business? If you're Chrysler's board of directors, you don't. Robert A. Lutz, Chrysler Corp. president, is having so much fun, the board is extending his contract two years beyond the company's mandatory retirement age of 65, which he will reach in February 1997. Of course we all remember

Feb. 1, 1996

Chrysler finishes ‘95 with strong profit surge

It's not quite the average $8,000 windfall they got last year, but Chrysler Corp.'s 72,700 U.S. hourly workers will receive an average profit-sharing check of $3,200 Feb. 16, based on the company's $2 billion profit for 1995. And Chrysler's 27,000 salaried troops stand to get even more, although a company spokesman declined to disclose the average white-collar payment. Meanwhile, the folks from Auburn

Feb. 1, 1996

Big three want warmer reception in Chile

It's not likely to happen this year, but U.S. automakers are eager to see Chile gain entry into the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Adding Chile to NAFTA (with the U.S., Canada and Mexico) could be a big boost for Detroit's automakers, which now supply only 3% of the Chilean passenger vehicle market from their U.S. plants. With Chile in NAFTA, that could jump to 10% within two years,

Feb. 1, 1996

NAIAS ‘96: everybody’s got an SUV

If you can say SUV, you can sum up this year's North American International Auto Show in Detroit. It's easier these days to name which automakers aren't promoting some sort of new sport/utility vehicle. Almost everyone and their brother is jostling for elbow space in a segment already clogged with a SUV aimed at every demographic imaginable.Topping the list of "new" SUVs at the record-breaking Detroit

By Bill Visnic • Feb. 1, 1996

The Russians are coming

Russian automaker Avto VAZ Inc., in an unprecedented move, will soon begin assembling small cars in Uruguay and Colombia -- mainly for export to Mercosur and Andean Pact nations. The company will begin early this year by manufacturing 300 units a month in Cali, Colombia, through a joint venture, says Rafael Anssens, sales manager for Motores Internacionales SA in Panama, which has exclusive Lada distribution

Feb. 1, 1996

Toyota recycles ASR

Toyota Motor Corp. says it has developed the world's first technology to sort and extract polyurethane foam and fabric granules from automotive shredder residue (ASR). The sorted material is used to mass-produce automotive soundproofing products in the form of a mat lining. ASR, usually disposed of in landfills, is a mixture of ground-up plastics, rubber, fabrics and dirt remaining after a vehicle

Feb. 1, 1996

Straight talk in teamland

Team development has been deemed the holy grail, the organizational wonder drug that is transforming the U.S. automotive industry into a competitive powerhouse.But it's not "an immaculate conception," says G. Glenn Gardner, who led Chrysler Corp.'s full-size LH platform team from start-up in 1988 until the cars moved into production during 1992.Mr. Gardner retired in 1994 as general manager of Chrysler's

By McCann, Hugh • Feb. 1, 1996