Operations: Page 194
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Courtesy of WardsAuto
UAW Chief Bob King Says Successful Detroit Three Key to Organizing Transplants
Perceptions are shifting, the union official says, as a revitalized Detroit Three gain market share and make quality and productivity improvements.
By James M. Amend • Aug. 3, 2011 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Covisint Looking to Provide Driver-Identity Management Security System to OEMs
The technology firm has created a management-services system that binds a connected-vehicle owner’s phone identity to his vehicle identity to secure private data.
By Christie Schweinsberg • Aug. 2, 2011 -
Explore the Trendline➔
Courtesy of Toyota
TrendlineAutomotive Manufacturing
Production strategies are changing rapidly as tariffs and shifts in consumer buying patterns affect the industry.
By WardsAuto staff -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Steel Process May Boost MPG
DETROIT-AREA DO-IT-YOURSELFER AND self-taught metallurgist Gary Cola says he is creating steels that are 7% stronger than conventional steels and even tougher than some titanium alloys. Astonishingly, Cola's process takes a mere 10 seconds. He calls the new steel Flash Bainite and is now working with Ohio State University researchers to determine the science behind his processing treatment. OSU researchers
By Herb Shuldiner • Aug. 1, 2011 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Let’s Lose the L Word
In June of 2000, I wrote an article titled Wanna Buy Your Lawyer a Yacht? The article bemoaned the fact that people in the car business were aiding and abetting the plaintiffs' lawyers and consumer advocates intent on bringing lawsuits against dealers and finance companies. I urged a vocabulary change. In the 11 years since then, I'm sorry to report that things haven't changed much. Here's some of
By Tom Hudson • Aug. 1, 2011 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
A-PILLAR CONFLICT VISIBILITY vs. ROOF CRUSH
The automotive design community sat up and took notice in 1996 when the Volks-wagen Passat launched in Europe on the new B5 platform. The car's A-pillars were bowed, the windshield more steeply raked and the roof was a shockingly complex array of angles and flowing lines that seemed to connect the hood to the trunklid.
Aug. 1, 2011 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
TechShop, Maker Faire Celebrate Innovation
Editor's note: This story is part of the WardsAuto digital archive, which may include content that was first published in print, or in different web layouts.A great idea is a terrible thing to waste. That seems to be the philosophy of TechShop Detroit, which opens in November in an Allen Park, ...
By Tom Murphy • July 29, 2011 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
World’s Fastest Production Car Planned, Named by Shelby
To pass the Bugatti Veyron as the world's fastest production machine, the Tuatara will have to top 267 mph.
By Alan Harman • July 29, 2011 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
PSA Partners With Universities to Form Global ‘Open Labs’ R&D Project
The French auto maker is looking to pass competitors on future technologies with the help of academia, but it is giving something back as well: access to its industrial tools and technology.
By William Diem • July 27, 2011 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
OEMs Seek to Stay in Black, Despite Reflective Paint Concerns
BASF claims it can comply with the original CARB rule, scuttled last year, that mandated 20% reflectivity for all colors.
By Eric Mayne • July 21, 2011 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Genesis V-6 Smooth and Powerful, But Late
A direct-injection 333-hp 3.8L V-6 represents the most notable change this year in the Genesis sedan, but is it too late to the high-output party?
By Tom Murphy • July 18, 2011 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Exports Help Shore Up India’s Weak Vehicle Sales in June
SIAM is lowering its 2011 sales forecast for the second time in two months to 11%-13%. Parts makers, still recovering the 2008 global meltdown, now are worried about their fresh plant investments.
By Sudhakar Shah • July 15, 2011 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Class 8 Truck Sales Soar in Canada
June’s performance marked the heavy-truck market’s second-best all-time monthly gain after August 2010’s 92.4% jump, a result skewed by 2009’s recession-induced sales slump.
By Eric Mayne • July 14, 2011 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
U.S. Big Trucks Record Milestone Sales Month
June’s delivery climb marked the U.S. market’s sixth consecutive month of year-over-year gains, but breaks a streak of two straight months when the industry set new 2011 benchmarks.
By Eric Mayne • July 14, 2011 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Outlander Sport First to Receive Mitsubishi Plug-In Technology in U.S.
Six more PHEVs or EVs will follow on a global basis before the end of 2015, as part of a plan to remake the brand into an alternative-propulsion pioneer, a top executive says.
By James M. Amend • July 8, 2011 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Delphi Markets Low-Cost AC Solution
SCIENTISTS MAY DEBATE THE EXISTENCE of global warming for years to come, but Delphi's Thermal Systems division has identified a trend that sheds significant light: Demand for automotive air conditioning in densely populated emerging markets is soaring like temperatures in July. And by the end of next year, Delphi hopes to be in production with a new variable compressor that is smaller, more efficient
By Tom Murphy • July 1, 2011 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Cruze Eco Stretches 42-mpg Rating
Editor's note: This story is part of the WardsAuto digital archive, which may include content that was first published in print, or in different web layouts.A Chevy Cruze Eco arrived at the office last week for a 1-week loan, which got me thinking about the sedan’s EPA rating of 42 mpg (5.6 L/100...
By Tom Murphy • July 1, 2011 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Are Aerodynamic Requirements Killing Automotive Design?
Vehicle designers can dream big, but when it comes time for a splashy concept car to transition to production, they ultimately must bow to the laws of physics.
By Byron Pope • June 20, 2011 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
MOPAR Plying Information Highway
Michigan-based Guidepoint Systems supports MOPAR’s EVTS feature, the industry’s first service to offer text alerts as a monitoring tool.
By Eric Mayne • June 3, 2011 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
How to Ask for the Sale
I sold 11 vehicles in my first month as a salesman. As time wore on, I did not sustain that success rate. I knew I had a great sales strategy, but I was closing fewer and fewer deals, until one day when I realized that all-important mantra: If you do not ask, you will not receive. Asking for the sale can be tricky. If you inquire too early, the customer may feel you are rushing to the finish. If you
By Darin George • June 1, 2011 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Megadealer Draws From His Days as Restaurateur
The 24-store Bergstrom Auto Group based in Neenah, WI, prides itself on being the largest privately owned collection of dealerships in a single state. Twenty-four seems a key number for owner John F. Bergstrom, because the group grew its total revenues 24% in 2010 to $576.5 million, with more sales coming from used than new units. Bergstrom, one of the first dealers to build a Hummer dealership in
June 1, 2011 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Consumers Redefine Luxury
Most of us think of a lobster dinner as a luxury, but not that long ago, serving the dish to a guest in New England would have been considered an insult. Until the mid-19th century, New England had an over-abundance of lobsters. They washed up in piles on beaches. Usually, they were eaten only by prisoners and the poor. Lobster meat didn't suddenly get tastier starting 200 years ago. The way our culture
By Drew Winter • June 1, 2011 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Socially Acceptable Tips
As little as five years ago, you may have scoffed at the suggestion that social media would be important for your business, saying Facebook? Bah! Who spends his days on that nonsense? Today, many of your employees regularly use social media during work hours, probably at your urging. But with the benefits of social media come pitfalls. As the law begins to catch up with technology, social-media use
By Michael Charapp • June 1, 2011 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Auto Makers Don’t Keep Their Distance
Auto makers seem to have their own interpretation of state franchise laws.
By Steve Finlay • May 27, 2011 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Detroit Auto Makers Confront Flexible Manufacturing as New Necessity
A changing market, plant closures and an uncertain future are creating a new maxim for older auto makers: Get flexible or be left behind.
By John Sousanis • May 11, 2011 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
In Search of Headroom, Part 2
Editor's note: This story is part of the WardsAuto digital archive, which may include content that was first published in print, or in different web layouts. [caption id="attachment_98" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Back seat of diminutive Fiat 500 feels like a straightjacket."][/capti...
By Tom Murphy • May 6, 2011
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