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Goodyear, Siemens develop tire warning

Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. and Siemens VDO Automotive plan to jointly develop a next-generation tire pressure monitoring system, the companies announce at a security analyst presentation at the Frankfurt International Motor Show. Both Goodyear and Siemens VDO already have developed tire pressure monitoring devices. The current Siemens VDO system directly measures air pressure in a tire with a micro-mechanical

By Compiled by the staff of: WARD'S ENGINE AND VEHICLE TECHNOLOGY UPDATE • Oct. 1, 2001

2002 NADA Schedule

Scheduling Your Time What's Happening When?

By NADA • Sept. 25, 2001

Auto summit planned today in Detroit

An auto summit is planned in Detroit today to address an anticipated plunge in vehicle sales in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. New car sales could fall 500,000 to 700,000 units short of earlier forecasts, warns J. Ferron of PriceWaterhouseCoopers. Other analysts are downgrading their own earlier forecasts—which had run as high as 16.5 million for this year. Automakers are slowly bringing

By The Car Connection • Sept. 19, 2001

National City launches on-line automotive shopping site

Now banks are getting into the third-party lead generation business. Consumer Finance, National City Corporation (NYSE: NCC) announced last week the launch of NCAutoChannel.com, the nation's first bank-sponsored online automotive shopping site. NCAutoChannel.com brings together the auto manufacturer, car dealer and lending organization to make auto shopping more convenient, cost-effective and reliable

By Wire Reports • Sept. 10, 2001

National City launches on-line automotive site

Now banks are getting into the third-party lead generation business. Consumer Finance, National City Corporation (NYSE: NCC) announced last week the launch of NCAutoChannel.com, the nation's first bank-sponsored online automotive shopping site. NCAutoChannel.com brings together the auto manufacturer, car dealer and lending organization to make auto shopping more convenient, cost-effective and reliable

By Wire Reports • Sept. 9, 2001

Automotive industry starts to focus on Hispanic on-line market

It has taken a while, but the automotive industry is starting to target the Hispanic on-line buying market. Hispanics comprise 12.5% of the U.S. population making it the second-largest minority group in the country. A study conducted by the Roslow Research Group for Autobytel, Inc., shows 37% of the Hispanic population have used the Internet when shopping for a vehicle. That number, however, will

By Wire Reports • Sept. 5, 2001

JM&A courses emphasize tact and profits

DEERFIELD BEACH, FL - In the motion picture City Slickers, Jack Palance's surly Curly tells Billy Crystal's Mets-cap-wearing Mitch that there's only one thing that's important in life. Michael Yoder says the same thing about the F&I training course he instructs here at the JM&A Performance Development Center (PDC). Curly's one thing was about friendship. Mr. Yoder's one thing is how to handle customer

By Tim Keenan • Sept. 1, 2001

Collins & Aikman Lands Textron Trim

Yet another conglomerate appears to be leaving automotive as Textron Inc. sells its automotive trim division (TAC-Trim) to Collins & Aikman Corp. for $1.3 billion. The deal expands C&A's market share in automotive fabric, molded floors and convertible tops and adds several new products, including instrument panels and door trim. Driving the deal was Heartland Industrial Partners LP, which acquired

Sept. 1, 2001

Thailand, Malaysia dispute trade pact

Thailand and Malaysia remain at odds over the execution of the Assn. of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Free Trade Agreement (AFTA), with the automotive sector lying at the heart of the dispute. Thailand gave Malaysia a deadline of Aug. 10 to create a list of trade concessions to compensate for Malaysia's decision to continue to place tariffs on automobiles. Under AFTA, Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia,

By Compiled by the staff of: WARD'S AUTOMOTIVE INTERNATIONAL • Sept. 1, 2001

Aluminum Shoots for the Moon

Imagine if the U.S. failed to meet the challenge put forth by President Kennedy in 1961 of putting a man on the moon before the end of the decade and returning him safely. That's something akin to what the auto industry is dealing with after a recently released federal review of the Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles (PNGV) concluded the program would not reach its goal of an 80 mpg car

By Brian Corbett • Sept. 1, 2001

Visteon: Hard to find the value

Louis Whitlock has a cruel exercise to demonstrate for his employees at Visteon Corp. the inherent waste in manufacturing. It's called value stream mapping, and Mr. Whitlock used it to tally exactly how much value seven Visteon plants create in producing instrument panels and associated components. Mr. Whitlock, Visteon manufacturing director, shared the bare-knuckled results at last month's Traverse

By Compiled by Senior Editor Tom Murphy [email protected] • Sept. 1, 2001

NUMMI gets new labor deal

United Auto Workers union Local 2244 workers agree to a new 4-year labor deal at New United Motor Mfg. Inc. calling for a $1,450 lump sum payment and a 3% annual wage increase. Contributions to worker 401(k) savings plans will be boosted, and retirees get $550 lump sum bonuses each year of the deal. Cost of living will increase a penny for every 0.25 change in the Consumer Price Index. Election Day

By Compiled by the staff of: WARD'S AUTOMOTIVE REPORTS • Sept. 1, 2001

Magnesium Aims for Mainstream

The waiting continues. There will be no major breakthrough in 2002 regarding a large-scale magnesium application, an event that auto industry insiders began talking about a decade ago. Instead, the world's eighth most abundant element will use familiar applications such as instrument panel beams and steering wheel armatures to grow its average per vehicle content to 9 to 9.5 lbs. (4 to 4.3 kg). Trade

By Brian Corbett • Sept. 1, 2001

A new order?

There's much excitement over the auto industry's fledging Internet-based business models. They're touted as systems that ultimately can streamline the building and ordering of vehicles. But some of those models seem to challenge the industry's much-hallowed efficiency gains. For example, Build-to-Order (BTO) increases variability in assembly and does so far upstream. Some observers even suggest that

By Lincoln Merrihew • Sept. 1, 2001

SERVICE CENTER

In the sales department, well-trained personnel are trained to slow the customer down. Why's that confined to the showroom? Why not sit the customer down in the service department? Service departments really should take a lesson or two from the sales department. In the sales department, well-trained personnel are trained to slow the customer down or the customer will get the best price and bolt. That's

By WITH DAVE SKROBOT • Sept. 1, 2001

Companies

In recent years, there has been an explosion of customer relationship management tools hitting the market. They promise to help the dealer manage the customer better. The tools can make the job easier, but dealers must establish processes and procedures that ensure the tools will be effective. Here are companies that offer CRM tools made specifically for dealers: ADP Dealer Services 1950 Hassell Road

Aug. 23, 2001

How long you wait for roadside service depends on what you’re calling from

Drivers who use a telematics system -- an electronic concierge or in-vehicle personal communications system -- receive faster emergency roadside assistance when needed, according to results from the J.D. Power and Associates 2001 Emergency Roadside Assistance Study. The study identifies that drivers calling for service using land-based telephone wait an average of 50 minutes for help to arrive. Cellular

Aug. 17, 2001

Reynolds Chairman Holmes to retire in January

David R. Holmes, chairman of Reynolds & Reynolds Co. since 1990, will retire Jan. 1, 2002. He is 60 years old. Mr. Holmes served as president and CEO of the Dayton, OH-based company from 1989 until May 1999, when Lloyd “Buzz” Waterhouse joined the company as president. Last November, Mr. Waterhouse was elected CEO. “I’m very proud of the accomplishments of the Reynolds management team,” says Mr. Holmes.

By Wire Reports • Aug. 10, 2001

Big Three Market Share to Set Record Low

Wall Street has spoken, and the outlook for Detroit is not pretty. In a North American automotive market that already sliding, the Big Three’s share very well could set a record low this year, says Stephen J. Girsky, Morgan Stanley Dean Whitter’s automotive guru. The sad truth is, when the economy takes a dip, so too does the Big Three market share. The Big Three, including the Chrysler Group of DaimlerChrysler

By KATHERINE ZACHARY • Aug. 9, 2001

Day Pushes Lean to Lower Tiers

You know lean manufacturing initiatives still have a long way to go when a respected practitioner can identify $100 million of waste within his own company. Joseph Day, chairman and chief executive of Freudenberg-NOK, can even break down the waste: $30 million of it from five companies acquired in the past three years, $20 million still on the shop floor, $10 million in administration and product

By Tom Murphy • Aug. 9, 2001

Bill Hunt Leaving ArvinMeritor?

Shortly after ArvinMeritor Inc. celebrated its one-year anniversary, it appears the company will lose one of its founders. Rumors surfaced here in Traverse City that Bill Hunt would soon step down as the company’s vice chairman and president. Mr. Hunt, 56, raked in $10 million in 2000, most of it in stock options, according to ArvinMeritor’s proxy statement. He was in line to succeed Larry Yost as

By Tom Murphy • Aug. 9, 2001

Training, Literally at Your Fingertips

Is your employer hassling you to take some training courses, but you lack the motivation or desire to return to school? Well, stay in your pajamas, grab a cup of coffee, sit down in front of the computer and get ready to learn. The Michigan Virtual University (MVU), established in 1998 by Gov. John Engler and the Michigan Economic Development Corp., provides courses, seminars and training electronically

By MAYA RHODES • Aug. 7, 2001

Steel Strikes Back

Early 2001 looked bleak for the American Iron and Steel Institute. Rising energy prices were stinging steel factories already hurting from years of battling low-priced imports. As a result, AISI's membership dues declined, and the steel industry consortium was forced to cut its advertising budget. And there appeared to be no help on the way from the Bush Admin. in the form of import quotas. What a

By Brian Corbett • Aug. 1, 2001

Maintain and improve successful special finance departments

Remember the famous seven last words: We've never done it that way before! Since 1994 special financing in automobile dealerships has continued to grow and prosper. But many dealers find themselves struggling to maintain this profit center. A key to that is management setting parameters that will insure success. Remember the famous seven last words: We've never done it that way before! Today, more

By Paul Snider • Aug. 1, 2001

How to handle the unbankable customer

We believe that growth rate of the unbankable customer segment of the automobile market will accelerate during the next 12 months. How do you handle the unbankable customer in your dealership? Are you recognizing your share of this potentially profitable market? What opportunity does this segment of the business present? How is the market changing? Where is the market headed over the next 12 to 18

By Christopher Leedom • Aug. 1, 2001