Operations: Page 224

Delphi: ‘05 Outlook Bleak

As 2004 drew to a close, Delphi Corp.'s J.T. Battenberg III said the auto industry continues to wrestle with high raw-material costs, global overcapacity and back-breaking health-care and pension obligations. His 2005 outlook is not optimistic. Next year will be tough, Delphi's chairman, president and CEO told the Detroit Economic Club, prior to the supplier's announcement it will cut 8,500 jobs in

Jan. 1, 2005

Make List, Check Thrice

Have you ever uttered these words, There is just not enough time in the day.? Actually, there is always enough time to do the things you need to do, especially if you make them priorities. William Ellery Channing, a 19th-century clergyman, once said, It has often been observed, that those who have the most time at their disposal profit by it the least. He added, A single hour in the day, steadily

By RON COXSOM • Jan. 1, 2005

Explore the Trendline➔

Automotive Manufacturing

Production strategies are changing rapidly as tariffs and shifts in consumer buying patterns affect the industry.

By WardsAuto staff

AAPEX: The Other Show

Mention the Specialty Equipment Market Assn. (SEMA) show to most auto industry folks and they'll say: Sure, I've heard of it. Big show. In Las Vegas right? Yet mention the Automotive Aftermarket Products Expo (AAPEX), and many people will say: Yet AAPEX is held in conjunction with the SEMA show. Both are part of Automotive Aftermarket Industry Week in November. It's one of the biggest deals in Las

By DAVE SKROBOT • Jan. 1, 2005

Come On People Now

I just overheard one of my sales people blow off a new-car customer rather than respond to a simple product question with an embarrassing, I don't know. I know what you're thinking. Typical lazy salesman. That's not it. This salesman would rather eat glass than lose a car sale. So it isn't about laziness, it's about self-image, about comfort zones. Sales people see themselves in a particular way.

By Peter Brandow • Jan. 1, 2005

Dealer on the Move Started as a Car Salesman

It has been a quick run to the top for Orlando-area car dealer Frank Rodriguez. After only nine years as a dealership owner, Rodriguez, 54, is the elected president of Ford Motor Co.'s National Dealer Council. He has built one of the country's largest Hispanic businesses that consistently is one of the top 20 selling stores for Ford. Now he and business partner Carl Atkinson are among the first U.S.

By Cliff Banks • Dec. 1, 2004

7 Myths of Negotiations

Wouldn't it be great if every customer agreed to all the terms of a sale, no questions asked and no negotiations required? Any car salesperson knows that negotiating a sale is never that easy. And while negotiation is one of the most commonly practiced functions of communication, it is often the least understood. Because most people don't understand the dynamics of negotiation, they may get nervous

By JOHN PATRICK DOLAN • Dec. 1, 2004

Top 10 Value Holders for 2010

Looking well ahead, Kelley Blue Book is predicting the top 10 05 vehicles that will best hold their value over the next five years. Kelley also forecasts which vehicles by category will hold value best, based on current data, market conditions for each vehicle and expectations of the future economy. Not considered: High-performance, low-volume or high-cost vehicles priced at more than $60,000. The

By Steve Finlay and Mac Gordon • Dec. 1, 2004

Brazil Production, Exports Soar as Domestic Market Lags

The good news this year for Brazil, South America’s largest auto industry, is that it expects to manufacture 2.1 million vehicles, a level not seen since 1997 when 2,069,703 cars and trucks were built. The bad news is domestic sales are estimated at 1.54 million units, which, although representing a 7.8% increase over prior year’s 1.43 million, still is a far cry from the record 1.97 million sales

By Barbara McClellan • Nov. 2, 2004

Novelis Tops Aluminum Sector

Novelis, an Alcan Inc. spin-off, begins life Jan. 1 as a $6.2 billion aluminum rolling company with $650 million a year in revenue from producing aluminum sheet for hoods, deck lids and other automotive stampings. Last year, Canada's Alcan purchased Pechiney of France and was ordered by European regulators to sell the rolled aluminum division of either Alcan or Pechiney. Alcan's rolled products unit

Nov. 1, 2004

Leaving on a High Note

Floyd Robinson is leaving Bank of America's Dealer Financial Services on a high note. Robinson, president of the dealer financial division since 2001, has a new Bank of America assignment as president of the consumer real estate division. I could not be more proud of the Dealer Financial Services organization, the results we've achieved and the people who made it happen, says Robinson. DFS has made

Nov. 1, 2004

Needs for Internet Leads

We often meet frustrated dealers, who are willing to spend thousands of dollars per month on additional Internet leads, but have yet to perfect their sales staff's ability to leverage such opportunities. Make sure that your dealership has the resources, tools and personnel to handle the volume of prospects you're anticipating if you sign up with third-party pay-per-lead providers. If you are going

By Al Amersdorfer • Nov. 1, 2004

Cultivating The Middle

It is mid-September and Pontiac's all-new G6 midsize sedan is nestled in a field surrounded by towering cornstalks for a media event in Grass Lake, MI. Like the importance of the fall harvest to farmers, the success of the G6 which will add a coupe and convertible next year is vital to Pontiac's survival. The truck-less brand withered for years as demand grew for pickups and SUVs, and it was left

By Brian Corbett • Nov. 1, 2004

Don’t Make Flying Cars

Memo to Detroit, Tokyo and Stuttgart: Don't make flying cars. Ever. A spate of articles on the topic surfaced recently in business magazines and the popular media pondering the concept of flying cars, a possibility that seemed inevitable to those of us who grew up watching the Jetsons on TV in the 1960s. It seems absurd to bring up now, when auto makers are struggling with such mundane, earth-bound

By Drew Winter • Nov. 1, 2004

Integrated Circuit Reduces Power Management Complexity

DETROIT AMI Semiconductor (AMIS) says it can reduce the need for other power-management components by providing a medium-current single chip that does it all. The integrated mixed-signal specialist is launching the AMIS-70050, an “octal high-side driver” integrated circuit it claims will drive virtually any load in microcontroller-based automotive and industrial control applications. This chip solution

By Alisa Priddle • Oct. 19, 2004

‘Workload Manager’ May Make Telematics Safer

DETROIT – The president of the United States suddenly drops by your office for an impromptu chat. Your cell phone rings. Do you answer it? For many people, the answer is yes, says Paul Green, a research professor at the Human Factors Div. of the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute. “Are you expecting to talk to someone more important?” jokes Green. For whatever reason, the ringing

By Drew Winter • Oct. 19, 2004

Who’s Sale Is It, Anyway?

It's mine! No, it's mine! I talked to them first! This could well be an exchange between the sales and Internet departments at dealerships. The debate stems from how to define an Internet sale. As recently as a year ago, the answer was simple. Historically, all phone and walk-in traffic were the domain of the showroom staff while the Internet department handled emails and purchase requests. But today,

By Cliff Banks • Oct. 1, 2004

It’s All About Trust

To declare cruise control as a ubiquitous feature on cars today is no understatement. Ward's data indicates 86% of new cars and 87% of new light trucks sold in the U.S. last year incorporated the simple mechanism that locks a vehicle into a desired speed on long hauls, whether uphill or down. That's up from 35% in 1977. But like most mechatronic automotive technology, this rudimentary device is evolving

By Tom Murphy • Oct. 1, 2004

Keeping Score of Goals

Let's continue our discussion focusing on the parts department and the balanced scorecard developed by Keith Ely of Dixon Hughes Dealership Consulting Group. As discussed last month, there are four key areas in the balanced scorecard: Financial Customer Internal Innovation/Learning Last month, we covered the concepts of the scorecard along with the first of the four key areas. Now let's cover the

By Don Ray • Oct. 1, 2004

Indian SUV Maker Has Global Ambitions

PARIS Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., one of India’s major domestic makers of SUVs and pickup trucks, will enter new European markets before the end of the year as it eyes the U.S. and China. Mahindra is displaying some of its models here at the Paris auto show that began Sept. 23. The company in India holds a combined 73% share of the utility and van segment and 27% of the tractor market. It currently

By William Diem • Sept. 30, 2004

MG Rover Expects Approval for Shanghai Auto JV by Year-End

PARIS – MG Rover expects to have China’s approval by the end of the year for a relationship with Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp. that would help the Chinese auto maker begin exports and allow the small U.K. auto maker to enter China. “We get access into the Chinese market, and Shanghai gets away from licensed manufacturing,” says an MG Rover spokesman, who declines to reveal the direction of the

By William Diem • Sept. 24, 2004

Aston Martin Bridges 500-hp Gap With ’05 Vanquish S

PARIS The U.K.’s top performance auto maker unveils the fastest Aston Martin yet at the Paris auto show today. Aston Martin Lagonda Ltd. rolls out the 520-hp Vanquish S as a mid-cycle upgrade to its flagship Vanquish 2+2 coupe. The Vanquish S includes a slight styling makeover, boasts a hefty $255,000 price tag and replaces the 3-year-old, 460-hp $234,000 Vanquish in the auto maker’s growing lineup.

By John D. Stoll • Sept. 23, 2004

Dual Phase Leads Revival

After years of losing ground in automotive applications to aluminum, composites and other materials, steel is winning business back with lighter and higher-strength grades. The principal driver is Dual Phase steel, a relatively new high-strength steel with properties that can be for different strength levels and processing methods. Dual Phase clearly is leading the way, says Jody Shaw, U.S. Steel

By Brian Corbett and Alisa Priddle • Sept. 1, 2004

Dealership Fights Used-Car Lots with Ahl Under 10

Looking for ways to reduce wholesale losses and sell more used cars? Consider what Joe Parent did this year as used-car manager for the Tom Ahl Automotive Group in Lima, OH. A couple of independent lots had opened down the street. They were stealing some sales from us, says Parent. So the Ahl Group set up a nearby budget lot called Ahl Under 10. We wanted to capitalize on Tom's strong reputation in

By Cliff Banks • Sept. 1, 2004

Shoot for 30-Day Turns

Determining the number of times that inventory is sold during the year provides some measure of its liquidity and the ability of the company to convert inventories to cash quickly if that were to become necessary. When turnover is slow, it may indicate that inventories are not a liquid asset and suggest they should be excluded from that category for analytical purposes. On the other hand, when turnover

By Tony Noland • Sept. 1, 2004

‘05 Pickup Pumps Iron

NASHVILLE Pickup trucks are such a big part of Americana that it seems odd to hear a designer of one speak with an English accent. Britain has produced plenty of car designers, but so few pickup designers that you likely could fit them all in the bed of a Dodge Dakota and still have room for a few bags of cement. Yet the chief designer of the '05 Dakota is British-born Cliff Wilkins, who has worked

By Steve Finlay • Sept. 1, 2004