Operations: Page 228

Aluminum Flyer

SEVILLE, Spain It's a designer's most challenging task: Redesign your brand's icon, yet maintain the character traits buyers have come to expect. While some advocate throwing caution to the wind and taking a radical departure from the past, there are the more conservative who suggest a little nip and tuck here and there. When Jaguar's design team set out to redo the flagship XJ sedan, it opted to

By Kevin Kelly • May 1, 2003

Automotive Blunders

We all make mistakes, car companies, too. Since car companies rarely admit to any, we must do it for them. Here’s my list:

By Jerry Flint • April 28, 2003

Explore the Trendline➔

Automotive Manufacturing

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

By WardsAuto staff

O’Brien Auto Team Donates $20,000 To Make-A-Wish

The Make-A-Wish Foundation of Central Illinois is $20,000 richer thanks to a donation from the O'Brien Automotive Team. The money will be used to grant wishes of children with life-threatening illnesses. The average cost of each wish is $6,000. We are often reminded that life is fragile and each moment should be relished and enjoyed, says Joseph D. O'Brien Jr., president and CEO of the 25-franchise

April 1, 2003

Is Saying Chill Out OK?

Among the popular expressions of our society, none are as maddening and meaningless as It's as fraudulent as any of the other great insincerities we hear all the time. Like, the check is in the mail or I really love you and we'll get married as soon as I divorce my spouse. When I am asked to relax, it is an immediate signal for my adrenalin to begin flowing and my muscles to tighten. Usually, it is

By Nat Shulman • April 1, 2003

Gaining Acceptance

It took awhile, but it appears that auto makers paid attention to recent studies detailing the benefits of new high-strength steels for automotive applications. The American Iron and Steel Institute funded the research papers over the past several years in an effort to stop the auto industry trend of replacing steel parts with aluminum and plastics. Today, auto makers have plans to significantly increase

By Brian Corbett • April 1, 2003

STAMPING OUT A CLASSIC

BIRMINGHAM, U.K. Step inside the body shop at Jaguar Cars' Castle Bromwich assembly plant in the English Midlands and you're bound to notice something missing. Unlike most body shops, Castle Bromwich lacks the shower of sparks associated with putting automobiles together. There's a certain serenity on the shop floor, with little or no noise. The reason is simple: Castle Bromwich isn't building the

By Kevin Kelly • April 1, 2003

Work with the F&I Dept.

Here's another reason the job of dealership salespeople is critical: if they don't sell the vehicle, then F&I managers lose the chance to sell their products. Here's an F&I rundown for people who don't know how critical that department is to a dealership: What is the job of the F&I manager? To sell customer vehicle protection, get credit approvals and much more. Why should the salesperson promote

By DARIN B. GEORGE • March 1, 2003

NADA Economist Sees Strong, But Moderate Sales in ‘03

SAN FRANCISCO New vehicle sales will dip this year but remain strong by historical standards, says Paul Taylor, chief economist for the National Automobile Dealers Association. He projects unit sales of 16.5 million this year, down from '02's pace of 16.8 million. He says sales may dip to 16.3 million if the U.S. goes to war with Iraq. Given that the preceding four years were the best in the history

By Steve Finlay • March 1, 2003

Pass the Info Ammo

Information is power. Look at the times we live in. It's called The Information Age for good reason. Never before have so many people had so much access to so much information as we do today. Staying informed is as important now than ever, maybe more so. That's especially true of anyone making a go of it in the fast-changing, competitive auto industry. Three executives at a recent automotive conference

By Steve Finlay • March 1, 2003

Holden Adds Third Shift

Holden Ltd., GM's Australian subsidiary, will add a third shift to its Elizabeth, South Australia, plant in June. Holden says the third shift which will require 1,000 more workers, increasing Holden's workforce to nearly 9,000 will increase flexibility and help the auto maker meet its target of shipping 18,000 Pontiac GTO-badged Monaro coupes a year to the U.S., as well as explore opportunities in

March 1, 2003

New Study Cites Growing Satisfaction With Car Dealers as a Reason for All Those Sales

A major reason U.S. consumers keep buying new vehicles at a near-record pace despite tough economic times is a dramatic growing satisfaction with auto dealers and the car buying experience. That's according to a new national opinion poll by Automotive Retailing Today (ART). The survey says high customer satisfaction levels are prevalent across all ethnic and gender categories, and especially strong

Feb. 1, 2003

Daewoo Bound for U.S. return

Daewoo vehicles are on their way back to the U.S. market. Realistically, I think it could still be this year, says D. Nick Reilly, president and chief executive officer, GM Daewoo Auto & Technology Ltd., of a reintroduction in the U.S. The decision comes shortly after the last Daewoo-badged vehicles finished selling here. Some of the vehicles will be returning but sporting General Motors Corp. badges.

Feb. 1, 2003

The Most Expensive Cost Of Business

Do you know how much it costs to gain a new client, what's called the sale cost? It is one of the most expensive sales you'll ever make. But even more expensive is the sale you'll never make again. You're losing money as a steady stream of your existing clients sneak out the back door and never buy from you again. That's the most expensive cost of doing business. You end up spending more on front-end

By JEFF BULL • Feb. 1, 2003

Words to Close By

Closing a car sale is exciting. But some people panic and drop the ball at the last second. They also leave a lot of money on the table. This is due in part to not finalizing the sale with effective and practiced closing lines. Last month, I offered you some closing lines to work with. Those centered on closing the sale so you can start negotiating. This month, let's go over some closes that you can

By Darin George • Jan. 1, 2003

Luxury Brands to Drive Sales Growth

Auto analysts see prestige brands such as Mercedes, BMW, Lexus, Jaguar and Cadillac as the engine that will power automotive sales growth in the years ahead. But there's a danger that the proliferation of luxury models will rub some of the luster off prestige brand badging, one industry observer notes. Ward's data show there will be 108 luxury vehicles on the U.S. market in the '08 model year, up

By David E. Zoia • Jan. 1, 2003

The Big Chill

Auto makers are spending some cold days at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit this month trying to heat up a cooling U.S. new car and truck market. No fewer than 13 production vehicles and a like number of concepts are making world debuts in Detroit this year, as industry players launch the fight for market share in what is expected to be a tough 2003. Giant General Motors Corp.

By David E. Zoia and the Ward's Staff • Jan. 1, 2003

Shogun

HIROSHIMA, Japan In the martial arts world, there is a unique discipline known as Goju-Ryu. Roughly translated: the school of hard and soft. Originating south of here on the island of Okinawa, it blends the two modes of combat attack and defend using combinations of powerful strikes and fluid, but effective blocks. Goju-Ryu teaches strength, but not for the sake of mere might. It flows, in harmony

By Eric Mayne • Dec. 1, 2002

When Car Sales Soften

My December, 2001 column addressed Life After 0% Financing. Oh well, so much for my prediction that such incentives would likely be ending sooner than later. July and August 2002 saw an industry sales rate of approximately 18.7 million and then came October's rate of less than 16 million. Straight 2001-to-2002 comparisons are invalid due to the introduction of 0% in September of 2001. So, what is

By Tony Noland • Dec. 1, 2002

100 Years - And Counting

It was on Nov. 7, 1902, that a young German inventor named Otto Schulze walked out of the German Imperial Patent Office in Berlin and forever changed the course of automotive history. Schulze was granted a patent for the first speedometer. The ingenious eddy current device used a flexible shaft and magnets to convey the rotational speed of the wheel or the transmission through a needle-type gauge.

Dec. 1, 2002

STEP in right direction

Consider the irony: college graduates struggle to find jobs in a tight employment market, while the automotive industry struggles to meet the demand for skilled labor. Auto dealers are competing with other high tech industries for proficient employees, specifically automotive service technicians trained to repair today's sophisticated vehicles. Well-trained service technicians are a hot commodity

Nov. 1, 2002

Aston Martin DB7 Debuts

Aston Martin delighted U.K. car enthusiasts at the recent British Motor Show in Birmingham by launching its latest DB7 model, and the luxury auto maker had news of another new car for the U.S. market. Aston Martin's CEO Ulrich Bez says the DB7 range is the backbone of the company, adding it has effectively kept Aston Martin alive. Bez says the GT will be priced at $162,000. Bez also confirmed the

By Jonathan Thomson • Nov. 1, 2002

Annual Model Change?

Remember the annual model change? Detroit is being swamped by new stuff from the foreigners. Maybe it's time to bring it back. You may think I'm nuts, but hear me out. This is an old complaint, but our press test day drove it home. The car makers put their new car models on a race track in Pennsylvania for journalists to drive. The foreign makes had lots of new stuff: the new Accords, the G35s, the

By Jerry Flint • Nov. 1, 2002

Non-Union Production Climbs

Arguably the heart-and-soul of the labor movement in the 20th century, the automotive industry in the U.S. and Canada, has been losing membership for years as overseas-based manufacturers increase their presence in the North American market, mostly without using organized workforces. Another result of the lack of success the United Auto Workers and Canadian Auto Workers unions have had in organizing

By Haig Stoddard • Oct. 1, 2002

What’s the Worst Case? Look for Good-Size Drop

The U.S. automotive market is considered mature, but that doesn't mean it can't grow by another million units or so. Based on a trend analysis by Ward's beginning with 1960, annual U.S. sales should surpass the 18 million mark some time in the latter half of the decade. But the data also indicate a good-size drop possibly to around 15 million units is likely, as well. The first two years (2000-2001)

By Haig Stoddard • Sept. 1, 2002

Longer, Lower, Wider

My rearview mirror is crowded with 11 all-new Saab 9-3s. The procession buzzes along a country road north of Stockholm and over a lazy hilltop, where a Swedish farmer is perched, watching us roar through his rural world. Lucky for us, he fails in his attempt to write down our license plate numbers and report us to the local authorities, agitated from several days of test-driving near his house. While

By Brian Corbett • Sept. 1, 2002