Automakers: Page

Silence of the cams

Anyone who remembers the 1994 Jeep Grand Cherokee commercial in which the vehicle's window rises to eliminate the sound of a background waterfall understands that quiet sells in today's automotive marketplace.Automakers discovered several years ago that safety sells, now they are becoming aware that silence is golden as well. Instead of using Band-Aid fixes at the assembly plant or relying on the

By Tim Keenan • Sept. 1, 1995

Delco Remy America; Sperlich shuns retirement, takes company global

Delco Remy America (DRA), the privately held company spun off nearly a year ago from the Delco Remy Div. of General Motors Corp., is alive, on track and operating among other places in Budapest, Hungary.DRA is headed by Chairman Harold K. Sperlich, one-time Ford Motor Co. senior executive and president of Chrysler Corp.'s automotive operations, who, for the first time, finds his own money on the line."(It's)

By Houston, Tom • Aug. 1, 1995

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

American Axle; former Chrysler VP takes old operations to new heights

What do you get when you cross a string of well-worn General Motors Corp. parts plants scattered throughout the "rust belt" with a zealot who wrote a book on manufacturing? At least in one case the result is an efficient, profitable private company called American Axle & Mfg. Corp. (AAM).Last year a small group of investors, spearheaded by former Chrysler Corp. executive Richard E. Dauch, bought a

By Jakobowski, Tom • Aug. 1, 1995

BMW’s $20,000 318ti; features hatchback styling

BMW says it's using the new model to expand its appeal and get back to its roots as a producer of affordable sporty cars, and reminds that it isn't the first hatchback BMW has ever made. In 1971 the automaker introduced a hatchback designated as a Touring model. That name continues today on BMW's station wagons.Unfortunately, U.S. consumers usually associate hatchbacks with entry-level economy cars,

Aug. 1, 1995

Toyota says sayonara to Fiero-fighting MR2

Toyota Motor Corp. drops the sporty MR2, ending a 10-year run. The Pontiac Fiero-fighting MR2's best year was 1985, when it debuted, as Americans snapped up 32,314. Even so, it long outlasted Fiero, which suffered burnout in 1988. Dubbed "Mr. Two" by its cultish following, the 2-seater fell victim to its high price, $24,000 to $30,000, and a soft market for sporty coupes. During this year's first

Aug. 1, 1995

Ford, Engelhard ready to test smog eaters; drive your car, clean the air.

Ford Motor Co. and Engelhard Corp. have begun a nine-month test program for their new, jointly developed "PremAir" automotive catalyst system that the companies think will take pollution control beyond today's exhaust treatment schemes.The PremAir system employs a vehicle's radiator and air conditioning condenser -- coated with a special catalytic material -- to clean ground-level, smog-producing

By Bill Visnic • Aug. 1, 1995

Mercedes’ China deal: politics or policy?

Merdedes-Benz AG's recent triumph over Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler Corp. in winning rights to a key minivan deal in South China last month, raises the question of whether China's decision was based on deteriorating political relations with the U.S. or rooted in the best interest of China's new automotive policy.The German giant, previously believed to be the runner-up due to its inexperience with

Aug. 1, 1995

Skirting the issue: AE Goetze increasing coated-piston production

While teams of advanced engineers around the globe search for tomorrow's alternatives to the internal combustion engine, automakers and suppliers are refining current powerplant designs to meet the demands of today's consumers obsessed with longer vehicle life and less engine noise.Ford Motor Co. and AE Goetze North America -- part of the British T&N plc's Piston Products Group -- worked together

By Tim Keenan • Aug. 1, 1995

Ford 2000 gets mixed reviews

Infinity may sound like the name of a worthy luxury competitor but it also can be a label for Ford 2000 -- the global, pedal-to-the-floor endeavor that aims to wrest world leadership from ancient rival General Motors Corp. and create annual savings of $3 billion by the end of the century. At the halfway point of its first full year, Ford 2000 is getting mixed reviews, if not outright hostility by

By Rothenberg, Al • Aug. 1, 1995

Spinoff: life after GM

Three years after it began, a strategy to divest several business units of General Motors Corp.'s Delphi Automotive Systems comes to a close with the late June sale of Magnaquench magnets to a Chinese consortium with offices in Delaware. GM officials are pleased with the results of the program, and the new owners of the divested operations feel likewise.Simplification was the rationale when GM's Automotive

By Tim Keenan • Aug. 1, 1995

Bribery probe reaches high execs at Opel

FRANKFURT -- An investigation into bribery and kickbacks at Gerneral Motors Corp.'s Adam Opel AG unit and German construction firms encompasses more than 200 people -- 40 Opel employees.Opel began an internal investigation into "improper gifts from suppliers" to managers in its manufacturing engineering department in May 1994. The cases involved a number of construction firms whose employees allegedly

Aug. 1, 1995

Chrysler eyes steel crossmembers

After having supply problems earlier in the year with the innovative cast aluminum crossmembers on its new minivans, Chrysler Corp. reportedly has reached an agreement with The Budd Co. to supply conventional steel crossmembers. It is not known if the steel will be used to replace the aluminum versions or will simply be used as an additional supplier -- nobody at this point is talking. One other theory

Aug. 1, 1995

Ford’s margin down but optimism still strong

Ford says its earnings reflect a drop in overall U.S. automotive profits, primarily due to lower per-vehicle margins. Worldwide revenues rose to $36.4 billion from $33.8 billion a year earlier but worldwide vehicle sales dipped to 1,811,000 vs. 1,850,000 units. Ford's U.S market share, however, climbed to 26.2% in the quarter, up from 25%. In Europe, combined car and truck share was 12.2% vs. 11.9%.

Aug. 1, 1995

BMW looks beyond the mandates

With increased prosperity and the associated growth, corporations are challenged to accept broader responsibilities, including those relating to the environment.Fortunately, it is that very prosperity that allows us to be environmentally conscientious. Although regulatory mandates in the past have driven many of the industry's responses to those challenges, customers increasingly expect companies

By Ziwica, Karl-Heinz • July 1, 1995

Ford, Mazda cutting back at Flat Rock facility

AutoAlliance, the joint venture between Mazda and Ford, is cutting 90 salaried jobs at its assembly plant in Flat Rock, MI, home of the Ford Probe and Mazda MX-6 and 626. About 90 more administrative and technical jobs will be trimmed as part of the cut-back program. Those jobs consist of open positions resulting from retirement and a previous hiring freeze and about 30 Japanese staff members who

July 1, 1995

GM ironing out Russian Blazer deal

General Motors Corp. is in final negotiations to form a joint venture to assemble Chevrolet Blazer compact SUVs in Russia. The deal may be signed by September. GM is negotiating with ELAZ, which has a massive unfinished automotive complex in Yelabuga, Tatarstan, Russia. ELAZ conducted long, fruitless negotitations with Fiat SpA to build the A93 small car, engines and transmissions at the site, originally

July 1, 1995

Volvo seeks partner to build vehicle in N. America

AB Volvo is studying a plan to set up production in North America for a new SUV, Volvo Cars of North America Inc. executives tell Ward's. The Sweden-based automaker is discussing a joint-venture for the project with Mitsubishi Motors Corp., as well as several other companies, the VCNA executives say.

July 1, 1995

Ford adjusts schedule despite May sales increase

Ford Motor Co. sees a 2.5% boost in May sales -- mostly in the hot sport/utility vehicle (SUV), pickup and minivan segment -- but announces plans to cut back production of passenger cars by 16.5% in the third quarter due to less-than-enthusiastic spring sales. General Motors Corp. and Chrysler Corp. sales drop 5.7% and 3%, respectively. Overall U.S. vehicle sales are down 1.3%, the fifth straight

July 1, 1995

VW’s Lopez finally gets a plant to call his own

Volkswagen AG's controversial chief of purchasing and production, J. Ignacio Lopez de Arriortua, finally gets to put his stamp on an all-new assembly plant. VW Brazil will build a revolutionary new plant to build buses and trucks in Brazil. The facility will have a central corridor with eight lateral sheds, four to a side. Each of the sheds will essentially belong to a Tier 1 supplier. The plant will

July 1, 1995

Exide completes European acquisition strategy

Battery and accessory manufacturer Exide Corp. says with the purchase of Compagnie Euopenne d'Accumulateurs SA (CEAc) from Fiat SpA its European acquisition strategy is now complete.Exide officials say it now has 40% of the European battery market and a comparable share in North America. In addition to CEAc, Exide recently has picked up battery makers in Spain, the United Kingdom and Germany.

July 1, 1995

New Taurus/Sable hurts Ford’s productivity

ATLANTA -- Ford Motor Co.'s plant here often is ranked as one of the most efficient in the U.S. But despite spending $250 million for tooling and employee training, its productivity is dropping because of the complexity of the new 1996 Taurus/Sable models being produced here. The old vehicles required about 16 man hours per car to build, while the new ones will require about 17 man hours. That translates

July 1, 1995

Chrysler hits stride in St. Louis ramp up

Chrysler Corp. isn't letting the Kerkorian distraction upset its normal operations. Last month it hit full production at its St. Louis South Assembly Plant, one of three plants that will produce its new generation of minivans. The plant is now turning out 1,150, long-wheelbase Chrysler Town and Country and Dodge Caravan minivans per day. This month St. Louis will begin producing short-wheelbase versions

July 1, 1995

GM’s land yachts gone? Not quite

Whoa! Wrapup reported in last month's issue that General Motors Corp. intended to halt production this summer of its boulevard boats -- the Buick Roadmaster, Cadillac Fleetwood and Chevrolet's Caprice and Impala SS. We were wrong. GM says production of its land yachts will be halted not this summer, but the summer of 1996. So for all those folks who like the feel of the ocean while driving down the

July 1, 1995

Alcoa Fujikura acquires Electro-Wire Products

Alcoa Fujikura Ltd., a partnership between Pittsburgh's Aluminum Co. of America and Tokyo's Fujikura, will purchase Electro-Wire Products of Dearborn, MI. Combining the two electrical distribution systems manufacturers creates what officials call "a worldwide enterprise with annual revenues of about $1.35 billion." Electro-Wire is headed by Oscar B. (Bud) Marx III, former Ford Motor Co. vice president-automotive

July 1, 1995

Kerkorian offers $50 for 14 million Chrysler shares

In an apparent bid to better position himself for another Chrysler Corp. takeover attempt, Kirk Kerkorian and his Tracinda Corp. announce plans to offer $50 cash per share for up to 14 million shares of the corporation's common stock, "to anyone that wants to sell their stock," says a Tracinda spokesman. At press time the stock is valued at $47.63. Chrysler spokesperson Rita McKay says the company

July 1, 1995