Automakers: Page

Ford 5.4L SOHC Triton V-8

Somewhere in a Ford Motor Co. meeting room, probably about seven years ago, some genuinely prophetic minds got together.The truck folks were firming up the replacement for the 17-year-old F-150. The engine crowd had mapped out an all-encompassing new modular V-8 engine program. Those engines all would have overhead camshafts.The truck folks talked to the engine crowd and it was agreed these modular

By Bill Visnic • Jan. 1, 1998

Ford 1997 will be a hard act to follow

A year of record profits at Ford Motor Co., a war chest of $19.3 billion in cash to protect against a recession and the hottest offerings in the jumbo sport/utility segment would provide reason for most CEOs to celebrate, but the mood emanating from Dearborn is downright grim."We are very hard on ourselves," says Chairman and CEO Alex Trotman. "Anyone who thinks you can sit on today's performance

By Drew Winter, GREG GARDNER • Dec. 1, 1997

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

A Global Look Big Three tread varied global paths

The U.S. Big Three are headed down different paths, keeping an eye to a common goal: making money overseas.Chrysler Corp. is doing it with exports, while Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Corp. are putting up new plants and consolidating their global engineering resources for cost-effective assaults on emerging markets.But the road is bumpy, and automakers will have to steer around several obstacles

By David E. Zoia • Dec. 1, 1997

Hot Products Drive Transplants But the boom isn’t shared by everyone

Thanks to hot products and the booming U.S. economy, major foreign-owned automakers are gearing up for another wave of expansion in the U.S. and Canada. From the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord to the Mercedes-Benz M-class and BMW Z3, just about everything the major Japanese and German transplants are building in the U.S. seems to be turning to gold.The Toyota Camry, built in Georgetown, KY, and Honda's

By DREW WINTER and MIKE ARNHOLT • Dec. 1, 1997

Upping the EV Ante Nissan hopes to charge up image of electric vehicles

TOKYO - The Japanese government's push for more environmentally friendly cars hasn't been lost on Japan's No. 2 automaker, which is hoping to charge past the competiton with the first production version lithium-ion powered electric vehicle (EV).Dubbed the R'nessa in Japan, where it also will be sold with a gasoline engine, Nissan Motor Co. Ltd.'s stylish 4-passenger wagon/minivan will make its way

By SAID DEEP • Dec. 1, 1997

Ford’s ‘Deep Dive’ Proves Prophetic Asian economic crisis wasn’t on the program

BANGKOK - Ford Motor Co. invites automotive writers and analysts here for a "deep dive" detailing its plans to capture a 10% share of the emerging Asian automotive markets by 2005.But what Ford didn't count on was the economic deep dive that would take place concurrently in Thailand and ripple throughout the region, extending to Hong Kong, South Korea and Japan and eventually South America.Ford's

By David C. Smith • Dec. 1, 1997

Sorting Out the Kia Puzzle Korean government takes control, shops for a buyer

SEOUL - A few more knots are likely to tighten before those now pulling the strings can untangle the mess at Kia Motors Corp.The recent resignation by Chairman Kim Sun-Hong eliminated one hurdle in the South Korea government's effort to reform the company, but several obstacles remain, including what could become a nasty battle with Kia's unions over the automaker's future.Mr. Kim's resignation is

By Reported for WAW by Vince Courtenay in Seoul • Dec. 1, 1997

Cadillac Says ‘Me Too’ to Luxury SUV Fever

Never let brand management get in the way of making more than $10,000 per vehicle.Cadillac will introduce a full-size sport/utility vehicle for the 1999 model year next fall. It will be based on the existing C/K full-size truck platform - not the new GMT800 foundation beneath the new full-size pickup trucks - and will be very comparable to the GMC Denali, which is scheduled to reach showrooms in February.The

Dec. 1, 1997

Ford’s New Design Chief J.C. Mays takes over as Jack Telnack retires

J.C. Mays, the 43-year-old Oklahoma-bred, European-trained outsider Ford Motor Co. tapped to replace Jack Telnack as vice president of design is quite blunt about his new job."I have been brought in to make some changes and I fully intend to do that," he tells Ward's Auto World in a joint interview with Mr. Telnack. "There's an incredible amount of talented people in this organization. Jack (Telnack)

By GREG GARDNER • Nov. 1, 1997

Hot Talk on Global Warming Will cooler heads prevail at the Kyoto summit?

Who will buy this stuff?"President Bill Clinton's quip at a recent White House Conference on Global Warming referring to ultra fuel-efficient cars under development by the Partnership for New Generation Vehicles (PNGV) sums up one of the basic fears automakers have about global warming talks.The PNGV project is an industry-government partnership fueled not by consumer demand, but government environmental

By Jeff Green • Nov. 1, 1997

Power Trip Tokyo show focuses on innovation under hood

The driving force behind this year's Tokyo Motor Show: powertrains. Japanese automakers unveiled a host of new direct-injection engines, some with advanced variable valve-timing systems, at the biennial exhibition that opened in late October. And many of the concept cars had a drivetrain focus, with several gasoline/electric hybrids and fuel cell-powered models showcased for the first time.Toyota

By DAVID ZOIA and SAID DEEP • Nov. 1, 1997

‘Entry-Level’ CLK is Still a Mercedes

SANTA MONICA, CA - This is the town where they hand out the Oscars. Where spotting a Mercedes-Benz is no novelty. Where Pacific Coast Highway runs north a few miles to fabled Malibu, home of the stars. In short, a perfect spot to introduce Mercedes' newest star, the CLK coupe. WAW already has published details of the new coupe (see WAW - June '97, p.50). Executive Editor Drew Winter won the loathsome

By David C. Smith • Nov. 1, 1997

Gravy Train Jumps Track Carron & Co. regroups after boom year with Ford

The gravy train was rolling right along for Carron & Co. in 1994. The Inkster, MI, prototyping companyhad plenty of business with its primary customer, Ford Motor Co., including converting the F-150 chassis into the Expedition.Carron also was developing a chassis system for the Econoline Super Duty van, helping fit a V-8 in the Explorer and working on the Ecostar and EV, as well as the Ranger Splash

By Tom Murphy • Nov. 1, 1997

Have We Hit Baht-tom Yet ? Currency crises raise caution flag on Asia’sshort-term growth

Japan's auto market is in a slump. Korea's overcapacity crisis has debt-ridden Kia Motors in dire straits. Currencies in Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines are plummeting. In China, huge auto inventories pile up, with only a slight recovery in sales.Is the Asia/Pacific automotive market turning into an illusion? In a quintessentially Asian view, the answer is "yes" and "no.""Asia still

By GREG GARDNER and BARBARA McCLELLAN • Nov. 1, 1997

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

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