Operations: Page 242

Scavenging in hulk heaven: Big Three work together in plastic recycling

To the staff of the United States Council on Automotive Research (USCAR) Vehicle Recycling Development Center in Highland Park, MI, the vision goes beyond what is or isn't happening today with recycled plastics.Like a biologist dissecting a frog, these folks take apart recent-model cars and old junkers and examine the properties of their plastic parts, constantly looking for new ways to get them back

By Gardner, Greg • Sept. 1, 1996

Chassis frames: new tech for the old standby

They don't look like much, but old-fashioned chassis frames are the very foundation for some of the toughest and most popular vehicles in North America.Most new cars feature unibody construction in which large stamped metal sheets are welded together to form a strong, relatively lightweight body shell. But most light trucks and sport/utility vehicles (SUVs) still use traditional body-on-frame chassis

By Drew Winter • June 1, 1996

Explore the Trendline➔

Automotive Manufacturing

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

By WardsAuto staff

UAW, IUE close ranks at Delphi Packard

The International Union of Electrical Workers, those docile folks who willingly agree Packard to let GM hire new members its eight IUE plants for 55% of the $17.78-an-hour base wage, are saying enough's enough. Members of IUE Local 717 in Warren, OH, authorize a strike if their leaders can't resolve a dispute with Delphi Packard, which wants to shift 1,800 jobs in Ohio to Mexico. Most significantly,

June 1, 1996

Victory ‘garden:’ manufacturing firms mutate, mushroom as makers of munitions, other war material

On Dec. 29, 1941, almost three weeks after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor that plunged the United States into World War II, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, in one of his famous "fireside chats," told Americans: "We must become the Arsenal of Democracy."With that directive, he marshaled the economic might of the nation to an epic display of mass production the world had never known. By the time

By McCann, Hugh Wray • May 1, 1996

Foreign invasion: imports, transplants change auto industry forever

Imported automobiles and those built by foreign manufacturers in the U.S. (commonly known as transplants) have had a tremendous impact on the domestic industry. By spurring further competition for the U.S. Big Three and raising quality standards, imports and transplants changed the U.S. industry forever.For the first half-century of automaking, imports made up a mere trickle of cars on American roads.

By Tim Keenan, Mike Arnholt • May 1, 1996

The mass production revolution: forget the machine: “the line” changed the world

Three words: craft, mass, lean. That's how the authors of the epochal book The Machine that Changed the World sum up U.S. manufacturing for the past 100 years or so. A lot has changed in the past six years since its publication, but then again, not that much. Compared with the cataclysmic events of the past 100 years little has changed at all.There have been no 90% increases in productivity, no doubling

By Drew Winter • May 1, 1996

Short and sweet: so this is how to become a classic....

Literally thousands of auto nameplates have come and gone in the last century. The bulk of the failures came early when a brand new industry was forming, but there have been some notable flops along the way by the daring and those perhaps not daring enough. What follows is the WAW staff's pick of buggies that bungled -- but still left an imprint:Auburn/Cord/Duesenberg -- It's ironic that the only

By Mike Arnholt • May 1, 1996

Steel mill runs with woman’s touch

What's a hacksaw operator? That's how Connie Thomas, senior process systems analyst for Timken Co.'s Faircrest Steel Plant, reacted to the job she was offered at the company 23 years ago.But she figured if a man could learn to operate a saw that cut off sample pieces of steel for inspection, so could she. She began work at the company after a divorce to provide for her daughters, who were then 4 and

By McCann, Karey • April 1, 1996

Easier recycling

Criticized for being much tougher to recover and reuse than aluminum or steel, the SMCAA counters that it's not a difficult material to recycle. Tom Harth, chairman of SMCAA's technical committee, says more than 20 automotive parts contain recycled SMC and another 10 or more are scheduled in upcoming vehicles. "SMC is an easily recycled plastic, which is why SMC molders have been successful in recycling

April 1, 1996

T&N extends options to buy Kolbenschmidt

United Kingdom-based T&N plc purchases controlling interest in Kolbenschmidt AG to acquire the latter's metal product development and fabrication expertise.

April 1, 1996

Strike won’t cripple economy, just bruise it

The Lopez war drags onEarly estimates are that General Motors Corp. will ask for between $3 billion and $4 billion in damages from Volkswagen AG in the civil suit filed March 7 in Detroit over Jose Ignacio Lopez de Arriortua's alleged pilfering of parts price lists and future product plans when he defected to VW more than three years ago. "I think we could get this case to trial within a year," says

April 1, 1996

IHI to build roof systems plant

Sunroof manufacturer Inalfa Hollandia Inc. (IHI) plans to build a new roof systems plant and North American headquarters facility in Auburn Hills, MI. The 125,000-sq.-ft. (11,600-sq.m) complex, expected to be complete in December, will replace three existing IHI facilities, including its current Farmington Hills, MI headquarters.

April 1, 1996

New Saturn workers say ‘yes’ to the UAW

All 300 of the temporary workers Saturn Corp. put on the permanent payroll Feb. 1 choose to join the United Auto workers union, says Michael Bennett, president of UAW Local 1853 in Spring Hill, TN."They've all signed cards as far as I know," Mr. Bennett says. "We tried to treat them as full members of this union. I think they appreciated that the UAW supported the decision to begin local hiring."Because

March 1, 1996

AlliedSignal Plastics refoucses

Moving to ensure we are able to meet the increasing trend of product development work being performed at the Tier 1 level," AlliedSignal Plastics is adding eight employees and promoting three in its Southfield, MI, Automotive Industry headquarters, says Dave Homyak, Global Automotive Industry Manager. "The growth of the automotive segment of AlliedSignal Plastics, coupled with the changing needs of

March 1, 1996

Bayer pumps up plastics position; Monsanto acquisition adds $700 million to annual sales.

There's no end to the consolidation taking place among automotive suppliers. First-, second- and third-tier companies are trying to improve their position by expanding global reach, adding new technology and/or increasing their customer base by buying out other suppliers or entering joint ventures and strategic alliances.Germany-based Bayer Corp. lacked an outlet for acrylonitrile butadiene styrene

By Tim Keenan • March 1, 1996

Emissions performance a complicated issue.

Last December, General Motors agreed to voluntarily recall about 470,000 vehicles equipped with 4.9L V-8 engines to install new fueling calibrations in these vehicles to achieve lower emissions levels. This raised considerable questions regarding GM's environmental efforts, particularly given the federal government's public statements regarding this issue. first and foremost, these vehicles meet all

By Minano, Dennis R. • Feb. 1, 1996

Would you buy a used car from these guys?

Almost half of consumers would opt for a used car if they had only $15,000 to purchase a vehicle.That startling result of a study by Dohring Co. Inc. should further shake already rattled car dealers on the heels of an invasion of the used-car market by large, independent superstores. Although still in formative stages, this intrusion promises to change the used-car landscape.Long the forgotten stepchildren

Feb. 1, 1996

Coating increases radiator life

The International Copper Assn. (ICA) says electrophoretic coatings, used to protect many automotive components, have shown encouraging results in corrosion tests on radiators in Sweden. Researchers estimate a 10-year increase in the life of copper/brass radiators. The E-coat itself is water-based and the process is said to be environmentally friendly.

Jan. 1, 1996

Bayer promises to hit ground running

It was only mid-November when Bayer AG announced it was purchasing Monsanto Co.'s styrenics thermoplastics business for $580 million, but executives are telling automotive customers not to worry about disruptions or any negative effects in order-handling. "What they should observe are positive effects. We think we will service customers much better," says one high-level Bayer executive. Bayer gets

Jan. 1, 1996

Asia/Pacific outlook: hot, hot, hot.

TOKYO -- The world's major automakers are tightening their focus on the Asia/Pacific region these days -- and with good cause. Note that:* Chrysler Corp. expects its Asian sales next year will outpace those in Europe, with Southeast Asia offering the biggest potential.* Thailand is now the third biggest market for Toyota Motor Corp. in the world, after Japan and the U.S., and Honda Motor Co. Ltd.

By Mack Chrysler • Dec. 1, 1995

U-M economists see steady growth

Predicting that the gross domestic product (GDP) will grow by 2.6% in 1996 compared to barely 2% this year, University of Michigan Economist Saul Hyman is quoted in The Detroit Free Press as saying he expects "little change in the employment rate and subdued inflation," with little reason for the Federal Reserve Board to raise interest rates. That bodes well, he says, for continued high -- if not

Dec. 1, 1995

Saturn is meeting ‘financial targets.’

Saturn Corp. keeps selling more cars, but is it making any money "We'll achieve our financial targets this year," President Donald W. Hudler tells WAW, a rather nebulous way of saying Saturn is meeting its budgets.That said, Mr. Hudler projects 305,000 sales for 1995, up from 286,000 last year, and confidently predicts 320,000-plus deliveries in 1996. Right now Saturn, which launched the revamped

Dec. 1, 1995

AlliedSignal puts brakes on ABS; tiny 6% market share is not enough

After spending the good part of a decade playing catch-up in the battle royal for antilock braking system (ABS) market share, Alliedsignal Automotive is throwing in the towel. Since the mid-'80s the company worked to dispel the image that it wasn't a serious threat in the world ABS market because it trailed too far behind its competitors in both technology and experience. And even though it landed

By Tim Keenan • Dec. 1, 1995

UAW’s Yokich faces big tests in ‘96

He has been in the job just six months, but United Auto Workers President Stephen P. Yokich already has put his imprint on the union.He's beefing up the UAW's moribund organizing efforts, with nonunion foreign-based U.S. transplants still in his sights, and he's a key player in what could become the biggest union merger in U.S. history.His biggest test, however, comes in 1996 when he'll lead negotiations

By Frank Washington • Dec. 1, 1995

Heavy-duty truck sales head for record level.

Heavy-duty truck sales may not be a leading economic indicator, but they should be. When companies make heavy investments in big rigs, they usually expect to be shipping more product, which is good for the economy. With that in mind, sales of heavy-duty trucks are on course for their best year on record, while medium-duty sales are on the verge of a 16-year high. With Class 8 sales of 170,113 through

Dec. 1, 1995