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GMAC Sells Majority Stake in Commercial Holdings Unit

The 78% acquisition by three investment firms provides GMAC with more than $1.5 billion in cash.

By Ward's Staff • March 23, 2006

DC’s Terrell Leaving Auto Industry

Karenann Terrell managed the auto maker’s information technology assets in North America.

By Ward's Staff • March 21, 2006

Aluminum Claims No.2 Ranking

DETROIT – Materials experts saw it coming for years, but the Aluminum Assn. presented new research this week that confirms the lightweight metal has displaced iron as the second most intensively used material in vehicle production worldwide. The study, commissioned by the Aluminum Assn., finds an average 280 lbs. (127 kg) of aluminum per vehicle produced in the world’s three major markets: North America,

By Tom Murphy • March 10, 2006

Private Lives of Dealers

Only six dealer groups have gone since the mid-1990s, when H. Wayne Huizenga pioneered the trend with what became AutoNation Inc. Why so few? There are some 22,000 franchised dealerships in the U.S. Only 884 have been by publicly owned corporations. That leaves about 21,000 which have stayed in private hands, including 94 groups on the Ward's Mega 100. On the New York Stock Exchange and the NASDAQ

By Mac Gordon • March 1, 2006

Franchised Used-Car Sales Do Better

ORLANDO, FL Franchised dealers are selling more used vehicles than before and for more money per transaction, reversing a trend in which pre-owned prices had softened because of heavy incentives on new cars in recent years. New-car dealers sold 3% more used vehicles 16.4 million units in 2005 compared with 2004, according to Manheim Auctions' 2006 Used Car Market Report. That includes units sold from

By Steve Finlay • March 1, 2006

Use the Personal Approach

The line between prime and non-prime lending is getting blurred. So says Rich Zellner, director of strategic initiatives and long-range planning for WFS Financial, an automotive lending firm. It used to be: This person is bankrupt and belongs in special finance, and this person has great credit, he says. It is less clear in today's world, when people who aren't reckless financially can still take

By Steve Finlay • March 1, 2006

Ward’s AutoInfoBank Walk-Through

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. SCREEN 1: UPDATE SCREEN Ward’s AutoInfoBank is the data reporting tool that lets you tailor your own reports from Ward’s database. Us...

Feb. 16, 2006

Economist: SUV Sales Will Hold Ground

It will be more of the same in 2006, say economists for the U.S. Big Three auto makers and that includes the market for fullsize SUVs, predicts one. Van Jolissaint, corporate economist for DaimlerChrysler Corp., tells the Society of Automotive Analysts the market for traditional SUVs and trucks will grow as a percentage of total sales. Jolissaint's forecast is based on an oil price of about $55 per

Feb. 1, 2006

WardsAuto

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.The vast subscriber-only section of WardsAuto.com is designed for QUICK and EASY navigation through the latest news, analysis and industry s...

Jan. 24, 2006

Premium About

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.About WardsAuto.com For and about the auto industry WardsAuto has industry data, news and analysis for the worldwide providers of cars and t...

Jan. 24, 2006

WARD’S Automotive Yearbook

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. DOWNLOAD A BROCHURE WITH FULL DESCRIPTION ON CONTENTSGet Ward’s Automotive Yearbook content – along with virtually all the information Ward...

Jan. 19, 2006

ASC Deciding on Niche Plant

DETROIT – Too many concept cars have come and gone from the North American International Auto Show over the years without ever going into production. American Specialty Cars Inc. is endeavoring to halt this trend by providing an outlet for low-volume niche vehicles that auto makers would love to produce but cannot establish the proper business case to do so. “It’s time to stop the madness,” Paul Wilbur,

By Tom Murphy • Jan. 8, 2006

So long Top Gun, Hello Luxury

Saab Cars is reviving its aviation heritage in its latest television commercials, with images of the 9-3 Aero speeding as a formation of fighter jets zooms overhead, so I grabbed a flight jacket and my aviator glasses and climbed into the cockpit. First, the 9-3 Aero with its 2.8L turbocharged DOHC V-6 is more like an upscale Gulfstream G550 executive jet than one of the fighters depicted in the commercials.

By Cliff Banks • Jan. 4, 2006

Tire Experts Share Some Secrets

A moment of reckoning is the first time someone points out to a vehicle owner that his or her tires need replacing. You keep that customer if it is your service staff that notes the need. You lose if it is somebody else. Often spurred by their manufacturers for customer-retention reasons, many dealerships sell tires to keep customers from slipping away. How can dealers do that more successfully? Advice

By Jim Leman • Jan. 1, 2006

WARD’S AutoForecasts

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. Ward's AutoForecasts The forecast data you need… in a user-friendly, electronic format … at a price you can afford. Fueled by Ward's - a...

Dec. 22, 2005

WARD’S AutoInfoBank

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. Ward's AutoInfoBank put the power of Ward’s wealth of data to work in meeting your personal information needs! Ward’s AutoInfoBank is yo...

Dec. 22, 2005

WARD’S Automotive Reports

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. Get Ward’s Automotive Reports news, data and analysis – along with virtually all the information Ward’s compiles - in a WardsAuto.com sub...

Dec. 22, 2005

WARD’S AutoWorld

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. Get Ward’s AutoWorld news, data and analysis – along with virtually all information Ward’s compiles - in a WardsAuto.com subscription. C...

Dec. 22, 2005

WAW About & Contact

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.About Ward's AutoWorld Ward's AutoWorld puts industry news, trends and technology into perspective, with the goal of helping you understand ...

Dec. 13, 2005

Here’s to Success in ‘06

To summarize the automobile business in 2005, the only consistency is the seemingly inconsistency. In spite of all the challenges, when everything is said and done and the last numbers are counted, from an overall industry sales standpoint, 2005 will rank in the top 10 all-time best automotive sales years. And there is some positive economic news as of this writing. Even though interest rates continue

By Tony Noland • Dec. 1, 2005

An Unusual Car Salesman

Retired chemist Gilles Labelle, who runs a hybrid-car dealership outlet in Massachusetts, is less a salesman of cars than a proponent of an ideal. I've made my money, he tells the Milford (MA) Daily News. My goal and objective is to make people aware that we have a carbon dioxide problem. His Hybrid Center is part of Westboro (MA) Motors, which sells Toyotas and Dodges. Labelle says he sells up to

Dec. 1, 2005

One Way to Fire Up, Jump-Start Sales

Mike Dochterman sets himself on fire and jumps three stories off a platform and into less than three feet of water. No, he's not a nut case. He's a daredevil. And while hosting such attention-grabbing stunts may not be for every dealer, some find that bringing Dochterman in to do his thrilling thing increases dealership traffic. We had a media frenzy, great publicity that I hear about all of the time

Dec. 1, 2005

The Perfect LIFO Storm

Remember the 2000 movie The Perfect Storm? Mother Nature provides a perfect storm that creates some great fishing waters, but proves disastrous to the fisherman caught in its wake. Domestic auto makers may have created a perfect storm in regards to inventory and the effect on LIFO (Last In, First Out) reserves. A little history. There are basically two inventory methods that dealerships employ. LIFO

By John Davis • Dec. 1, 2005

Steering the Future

The steering wheel is a great invention, but after 100 years with few modifications, it may be time for an upgrade. At least that's the opinion of researchers at SKF Automotive Div. North America. They recently showed off the Novanta concept car at the company's Plymouth, MI, technical center featuring an electronic steering device that hides itself when not in use. Yet another gadget dubbed a human-machine

By Drew Winter • Dec. 1, 2005

New Life on the Mississippi

The Mississippi Delta town of Osceola, AR, once was known as Plum Point, which Mark Twain called famous and formidable in his book, Life on the Mississippi. The town, one hour north of Memphis, changed its name to Osceola in 1938. After the lumber and cotton markets had run their course, a number of manufacturers in various sectors called Osceola home. We thought we'd never see another poor day, says

By Tom Murphy • Dec. 1, 2005