Automakers: Page 443

Chrysler: our minivans are safe

Chrysler Corp. has no plans to alter its safety-laced marketing strategy for the '96 minivans even though there are claims the vehicles had problems with federally mandated crash tests. "The Chrysler minivan is among the safest vehicles on the road today," says Ted Cunningham, general manager-minivan operations and executive vice president-sales and marketing. He says Chrysler plans to tout safety

April 1, 1995

Osram Sylvania responds to changing lighting market

Luminari sounds like a description of the Academy Awards' audience, but it's also the name of Osram Sylvania Inc.'s new family of lighting systems designed to meet the changing needs of automakers.The product lineup increases design flexibility as well as performance and safety, says the company, as the systems make their debut at the SAE Exposition in Detroit. The lineup includes Luminarc, a high-intensity

By Gazdik, Tanya • April 1, 1995

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 story behind GM’s costly J-car launch

LORDSTOWN, OH -- it looked great on paper: An ingenious plan to convert General Motors Corp.'s huge assembly and stamping complex near this small northeastern Ohio town into a super-efficient manufacturer of high-quality, low-cost small cars -- the new-generation 1995 J-body Chevrolet Cavalier and Pontiac Sunfire.The original blueprint called for Lordstown to be the cornerstone of a $1 billion investment

By Tim Keenan, David Smith, Lowell, Jon • April 1, 1995

Ford execs move on

As an international organization, the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) is well suited to its new president's goal in pursuing more globalization for the group.As Ford Motor Co.'s executive engineer for production vehicle safety and compliance, SAE's new boss, John M. Leinonen, knows all about the industry's global trend. He says the society has a lot to offer engineers, particularly in Asian

March 1, 1995

Strong yen threatens Japanese auto industry

More than any potential U.S. sanctions, the continuing appreciation of the yen threatens Japan's auto industry, says Hiroshi Okuda, executive vice president and chief financial officer of Toyota Motor Corp. "Stupefied" by the yen's skyrocketing value, Mr. Okuda says Japan faces unemployment rates as high as those in Europe and the U.S. (5%-plus vs. 3% now in Japan) if the yen remains strong. Reason:

March 1, 1995

Honda increases prices without U.S. intervention

While the industry braces for a trade war that could cause the prices of Japanese vehicles to increase in the U.S., American Honda Motor Co. Inc. - like other Japanese automakers - is raising stickers due to the strong yen. Starting in mid-April, Acura prices increase an average of 1.5%, or $349, and Honda-badged models jump an average of 0.7%, or $117. Also on the pricing front, American Suzuki Motor

March 1, 1995

It’s all in the name

Wanting to push itself even farther from parent GM, the Automotive Components Group (ACG) Worldwide has a new name: Delphi Automotive Systems. Last year, the components operation became a separate operating sector to help convince customers that it has an arms-length relationship with the automaker. The name change takes the split a step farther. Although many thought the new name would include the

March 1, 1995

Honey, I shrunk the ECUs: multiplexing, miniaturization help free space underhood

If you've looked under the hood of almost any car in the last five years, you might have noticed that there isn't a lot of room in there. The proliferation of electronic controllers and other components in the engine compartment combined with the push for more room in the passenger compartment is placing a premium on underhood real estate.With automaker engineers acting like high-stakes land brokers,

By Tim Keenan • March 1, 1995

Who are those guys? AlliedSignal Plastics comes to town with guns blazing

MORRISTOWN, NJ - "Who are those guys?" Robert Redford and Paul Newman kept asking each other that as they watched a posse relentlessly stalking them in the classic Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.To those of us who follow the automotive plastics industry, it wasn't surprising to have the phrase or the movie clip crop up in a recent AlliedSignal Plastics promotional video.The company is the second

By Drew Winter • March 1, 1995

Team Avalon: Toyota’s U.S. arm finally gets a chance to spread its wings

GEORGETOWN, KY - The launch of the '95 Toyota Avalon might also be called the internationalization of Keith Kidd - and many of his colleagues.Long considered children in Toyota Motor Corp.'s expansive international network, the No. 1 Japanese automaker's U.S. manufacturing operation finally has proven itself and is getting to spread its wings. In a complete role reversal, the Toyota Motor Mfg. USA

By Sorge, Marjorie • March 1, 1995

Back in the spotlight: composites move out of aluminum’s shadow

Ford Motor Co. did more than simply make a flashy design statement in January when it introduced the compositeskinned GT90 supercar at the North American Intertional Auto Show. It also brought composite materials back into the spotlight after several years of standing in aluminum's shadow.Automakers have been making flashy - and some not-so-spectacular - concept cars out of glass- and carbon fiber-reinforced

By Drew Winter • March 1, 1995

Inside GM Purchasing: sorting out the winners and losers

In April, WAW detailed what goes on inside General Motors Corp.'s Worldwide Purchasing organization leading up to the actual awarding of contracts. The following article focuses on the awards process.Everything starts with the "annual costbook value." That's what the costs analysts deep in the bowels of General Motors Corp. come up with for what they think GM can afford for the components, machine

By David C. Smith • March 1, 1995

Young lions roar: A.O. Smith Barrie team practices cutting-edge management

BARRIE, ONT. - A.O. Smith Corp.'s module manufacturing plant is on the cutting edge of the industry's modularization trend, supplying front- and rear-axle and engine-cradle modules just-in-time to Chrysler Corp.'s Bramalea, Ont., LH assembly facility. But that's not the only aspect of this 44,000-sq.-ft. (4,080-sq.-m) plant that pushes the tradition envelope.From the minute you hear the rock and roll

By Tim Keenan • March 1, 1995

Waste is a tissue issue at Chrysler

Chrysler Corp. President Robert A. Lutz vowed several years ago to attack waste wherever he could find it. He even threatened to cut out danish at early morning press conferences. Now, he tells reporters at a Chicago Auto Show press conference, Chrysler's eliminating waste by slashing the use of "hygenic paper" (toilet tissue) by 50% company-wide. He skips the details, but boasts: "That's really how

March 1, 1995

Big Three find common bond: QS-9000 marries automaker quality standards.

It's finally happened. The Big Three automakers are standing on common ground. Overcoming years of distrust and competitive juices, General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler Corp. have agreed to a single quality program - QS-9000. It superceds the current standard, ISO 9000 and is the most sweeping standardization system to hit the automotive industry since Henry Ford introduced mass production.

By Sorge, Marjorie • March 1, 1995

Cars sparkle in Chicago

Even after spectacular previews at the North American International and Los Angeles auto shows, the automakers still had plenty of new cars to show off in Chicago.Chrysler Corp. pulls the cover back on a rendering of its upcoming Sebring JX convertible at the Chicago Auto Show. Bowing later this year as a '96 model, the new car is based on the Cirrus platform, not the Diamond-Star Motors Corp.- built

March 1, 1995

Trotman, Eaton also reap big rewards

While it took Jack Smith a few years to catch up to his counterparts at Ford and Chrysler, Messrs. Trotman and Eaton add to their bonus stockpiles. Mr. Trotman receives $6.6 million in bonuses and other cash on top of his $1.5 million salary to reach the $8.1 million mark. Mr. Eaton takes a 33% cut in 1994 with a total of $6.2 million, but still out-earns his former GM boss. Others getting big 1994

March 1, 1995

Isuzu’s motto: share and share alike

NEW YORK - American Isuzu Motors Inc. ( AIMI) has no plans to begin a monogarnous relationship. Once again the Japanese automaker agrees to shaie products with several partners.Next year 6,000 new Odyssey minivans manufactured by Honda Motor Co. Ltd. will be sold as the front-drive Isuzu Oasis, Isuzu executives tell reporters prior to a road rally here. It has the same 2.2L 16-valve 4-cyl. as the

March 1, 1995

Ford’s performance idea.

It takes a bit of confidence to attend to "enthusiast" buyers - they're hard-core, educated perfectionists who know what they want from a vehicle and aren't likely to put up with any foolishness from dealership personnel who aren't of a similar mind.That's why few manufacturers go much further than simply advertising their "performance" entries. Targeting vehicles specifically at the enthusiast customer

March 1, 1995

Bending time: three-crew schedules put an all-new face on the clock

Dennis Sampey loves the new work schedule he started in February. The 46-year-old veteran of Ford Motor Co.'s Michigan Truck day shift has an extra day off and doesn't have to wait in line when he does errands in the morning. Joyce Ingraham, a 33-year-old with two young children likes it, too. She and her husband are able to work full time without resorting to babysitters or day care.George Mink,

By Drew Winter • March 1, 1995

Big Three bask in big bucks; who’s afraid of the big bad Fed?

Sure the Fed raised interest rates for the seventh time in 12 months to cool what Chairman Allen Greenspan thinks is an over-heated economy heading toward inflation.Still, nothing can put a damper on the heady feeling the U.S. Big Three automakers experience as they report extraordinary results for 1994.Rising interest rates aren't good for the auto industry, of course, because they make already expensive

March 1, 1995

Ford 2000 program claims victim - TRW. (TRW Inc. losing seat-belt, airbag business)(Brief Article)

TRW Inc. is losing the 80% stronghold it has on Ford Motor Co.'s seat-belt and air-bag business. The automaker recently told the supplier that the commitment for that level of sourcing will expire at the end of the 1998 model year. TRW Chairman & CEO Joseph T. Gorman says Ford's globalization efforts under Ford 2000 have "significantly influenced this decision." Mr. Gorman adds that both companies

March 1, 1995

Time to take the lead: WAW, McCall’s honor top women automakers

Ward's Auto World and McCall's are proud to announce the winners of the "Outstanding Women in the Automotive Industry" awards. The four women high-lighted here demonstrate extraordinary leadership in management, marketing, manufacturing, and design and engineering in the manufacturers category. The year we also present one woman with a Lifetime Achievement award.In today's business world it's not

By Sorge, Marjorie • March 1, 1995

What’s Chrysler’s secret? Smart packaging; it focuses on the ‘scienceof maximizing space usage

Chrysler Corp.'s re-engineered 1996 minivans face some formidable opposition that, until quite recently, has been lacking. But catching the overwhelmingly successful market leader won't be easy.The idea of a using front-drive technology to build a very passenger-friendly, garageable small van had been kicking around for years. But Chrysler, its future uncertain in the early 1980s, nevertheless moved

By David C. Smith • March 1, 1995

Healthy executive bonuses enrage UAW officials

1994 was a golden for the U.S. Big Three automakers and it's reflected in their salary, bonuses and other remuneration their top brass rake in. United Auto Workers union leaders predictably voice their disdain as Ford Motor Co. Chairman Alex Trotman pockets $8.1 million, Chrysler Corp. Chairman Robert Eaton $6.2 million and General Motors Corp. President John F Smith Jr., $6.1 million. "This kind

March 1, 1995