Automakers: Page
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Courtesy of WardsAuto
GM begins ambassador program
General Motors Corp. officials deny that their new ambassador program is aimed at repairing Gm's reputation as the domestic automaker with the worst supplier-OEM relations. The No. 1 automaker concedes, however, that the initiative, announced in Toronto in April, will improve communication between GM and its vendors. "I'm not sure we'll ever be the best-liked customer in the world," says Harold Kutner,
June 1, 1995 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Ford limits cost of new car development
Ford locks product development spending for the rest of the decade. "This is really a stretch target," says car development chief Jacques Nasser. "We owe it to our marketplace. We owe it to our customers." Ford also owes it to itself. The company obviously never wants to undergo the industry ridicule and shellacking by the automotive press it took after spending an estimated six years and $6 billion
June 1, 1995 -
Explore the Trendline➔
Courtesy of Toyota Motor North America
TrendlineTop 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 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Toyota gets tougher on costs; look out - the leanest is about to get leaner
Just when they thought they were catching up with Toyota Motor Corp.'s pacesetting lean production methods, the world's other automakers face a new threat: Toyota is set to become still leaner.Already the envy of everyone else as the lowest-cost producer of high quality vehicles, Toyota is waging yet another war on waste.Spurred on by the persistently strong yen, which has forced price increases repeatedly
By David C. Smith • June 1, 1995 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
New E-Class built with cost in mind
STUTTGART -- Search beyond the distinctive four-headlamp front end and you'll discover that Mercedes-Benz AG's new E-Class -- scheduled for launch this month -- heralds a second, even more significant revolution from the world's oldest carmaker.This E-Class is the first model Mercedes has ever built to a clearly defined cost target. Previously, engineering-dominated Mercedes simply didn't rank development
June 1, 1995 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Aeroquip gets its biggest contract ever
Ford Motor Co. and Aeroquip Corp. sign a contract for the supplier to deliver $40 million to $50 million in power steering hose/tube systems annually for the next seven years. The hoses are for late 90s vehicles. Aeroquip says it's the largest single contract in company history.
June 1, 1995 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Bird catches fire; Sunfire, Cavalier leave past models in dust
It has a racey new look, a catchy new name and a bold new attitude. "It" is Pontiac Motor Div.'s version of the General Motors Corp.'s revamped J platform -- Sunfire.The new Pontiac J model, called Sunbird in previous interations, takes more than the flame reference from its Firebird big brother in GM's "excitement" stable. Aerodynamic front-end styling gives Sunfire its family resemblance and the
By Tim Keenan • June 1, 1995 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Air bags brace for impact; producers develop greener alternatives to sodium azide
If you think the only impact air bag producers care about is in a crash, think again. Concerns over the environmental impact of junked air bags is forcing them to redesign their products and search for more ecofriendly pyrotechnic materials to inflate the bags.This is no public relations exercise, either. Automakers are demanding more environmentally friendly air bags, and the installation rate of
By Drew Winter • June 1, 1995 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Team Taurus - revisited for ‘96; an early look at the workings of Ford 2000
Consider Ford Motor Co.'s perilous situation: its all-new Taurus and Sable midsizers, the company's perennial best-selling passenger cars, are ready for introduction into a weakening market -- a market suddenly flash-point sensitive to "affordability."Yet in the first major redesign since their initial launch a decade ago, the 1996 Taurus and Sable -- codenamed DN 101 are more complex, take longer
By Bill Visnic • June 1, 1995 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
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 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
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 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
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 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
GM’s Saginaw Steering expands in Far East
China, Japan and Vietnam grab increasing attention from General Motors Corp.'s Delphi Saginaw Steering Systems.Donald L. Runkle, GM vice president and Saginaw general manager, reveals details of new joint ventures recently signed in China and Japan, and tells WAW partsmaking "discussions" are under way in Vietnam as it prepares to join the ASEAN trading block where 2 million vehicles currently are
April 1, 1995 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Hyundai a bear on ‘95 sales
Only 14.9 million light vehicles will be sold in the U.S. during 1995, predicts N. Douglas Mazza, executive vice president of Hyundai Motor America. He says the rising prices of cars and light trucks is pushing more buyers into used vehicles, and younger buyers are foregoing a new car, opting instead to spend their dollars upgrading their computer systems or on other big-ticket items.
April 1, 1995 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
NVG celebrates 5 years; heads new composite venture
New Venture Gear Inc., the historic joint venture between the manual transmission businesses of General Motors Corp. and Chrysler Corp., celebrates its fifth year with a black-ink bottom line and a government grant to explore composite materials for driveline products.NVG turns its first profit in fiscal 1993 and improves its bottom line in 1994 on the heels of $1 billion in sales. "I think we achieved
By Tim Keenan • April 1, 1995 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
No sob story from Saab
Saab Automobile AB may build a new car that would fall under the 900 by the end of the decade, says Keith O. Butler-Wheelhouse, president and CEO. "I think it would likely be smaller than larger," he says. "But that is going to depend a lot on what happens in the market. It depends on how the new smaller luxury cars from Mercedes and BMW and Audi do. They may play well in Europe and not play well
April 1, 1995 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
GM: NAO can survive downtown
General Motors Corp.'s North American Operations could break even on a cash-flow basis in 1995, even if a mild downturn -- a 7% to 10% dip -- occurs in the U.S. new vehicle market, top executives tell financial analysts in a meeting in Rye, NY.Analysts say GM brass also told them the company is taking a more critical approach to reviewing management performance and is tying executive bonuses closer
April 1, 1995 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Inside GM’s global purchasing; it’s a tough process, but they’re working toward warmer supplier relations
First things first: If you want to reach the top at General Motors Corp.'s purchasing organization, just pick up the phone and punch in 810-986-2290.That will get you into Harold R. Kutner's office at GM's North American Operations (NAO) headquarters in Warren, MI, and he promises to take all calls. He's the top honcho: vice president-worldwide purchasing. After that, you're on your own.Mr. Kutner's
By David C. Smith • April 1, 1995 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
New Chrysler minivan has all the extras; strong styling and long listof new features will rachet up the standard for competitors
Big Sur, CA - Look out suburbia, there's a new guy in town. Just park that old Chrysler minivan next to the 96 Caravan and Voyager, and if you're style- and comfort-conscious, there'll be a new vehicle in the driveway come next model year.With total sales of around 4 million over 12 years, Chrysler Corp. has owned the minivan market since the first one came down the line in late 1983; that makes improving
By Sorge, Marjorie • April 1, 1995 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
GM buys ‘96 Olympics
General Motors Corp. is signing on to be the sole domestic car and truck sponsor for the 1996 U.S. Olympic Team and the Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta for between $5 million and $10 million, the Detroit Free Press reports. Philip Guarascio, GM's VP of marketing and advertising, now has to make sure the investment pays off. "We will have tons of vehicles all over the place," he predicts. "Our plans
April 1, 1995 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Which automakers are coming back to the U.S.?
GENEVA -- Several European manufacturers are rumored to be fashioning plans for U.S. entries.Top officials of two of those companies -- Peugeot SA, Fiat Spa and Renault SA -- were interviewed by WAW at the Geneva auto show, but only Peugeot lends credence to the scuttlebutt.A decision whether to return to the U.S. market will come in the next several months, says Peugeot Chairman Jacques Calvet. Sales
April 1, 1995 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
It’s ESP! Mercedes/Bosch system tames those slippery roads
ARJEPLOG, Sweden With claims of a system that may be five times more effective than antilock brakes (ABS) in preventing accidents, engineers at Mercedes-Benz AG and Robert Bosch GmbH introduce their innovative high-tech Electronic Stability Program (ESP) on frozen Lake Hornavan outside this small town near the Arctic Circle.What the Mercedes/Bosch folks term as revolutionary may be too strong a description,
By Mike Arnholt • April 1, 1995 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Kia is not shy about its product goals
Borrego Springs, CA -- Tiny Kia Motors America Inc. is not shy Bas it carves its way into the crowded U.S. vehicle market. The South Korean automaker has plans for two upscale models and is eyeing U.S. assembly, just a year after it entered the market.Kia recently launched its second vehicle in the U.S. - the Sportage compact sport/ utility. It joins the Sephia compact sedan at Kia's 96 dealers in
April 1, 1995 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
GM to sell Magnaquench
During Roger Smith's tenure as GM's chairman, high-technology was the order of the day, and the Magnaquench magnet operation in Anderson, IN, was supposed to revolutionize the corporation's small-motor business. Now, GM appears ready to sell the business to Beijing's San Huan Group Inc. for $70 million, reports The Detroit News, as part of its components-group consolidation. Magnaquench would be the
April 1, 1995 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
GM/UAW: the battle goes on
The battle simmered throughout 1936 and hit a crescendo during the Christmas holidays. The United Auto Workers union tried desperately to organize workers at General Motors Corp. GM wanted no part of the union, and created its own spy ring to infiltrate UAW meetings and keep tabs on union strategy.The UAW routinely found the spies and kicked them out, often too late. Between Jan. 1, 1934, and July
By Sorge, Marjorie, Washington, Frank • March 1, 1995 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Silence is golden
Listen up. I SAID LISTEN UP!The auto industry thought the increasingly fickle U.S. car and truck buyer wanted quiet. Conventional wisdom luxury nameplates such as Lexus and Infiniti proved no noise was good noise.Wrong, Wrong, WRONG.For openers, the pursuit of classic NVH (noise/harshness/vibration) attributes can create major league problems. Consumer Reports magazine says a BMW 325i failed a normally
By Lowell, Jon • March 1, 1995
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