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Car Buyers, Take Your Mark

BEIJING - With concept vehicles, trinket give-aways and cars, cars, cars, Auto China 2000 seems well-equipped to lead the Chinese people into the automotive age. Known locally as the Beijing Auto Show, last month's event expected 460,000 visitors to swarm the China International Exhibition Center north of the city for an international car show now second in Asia only to Tokyo's famed motor show.Despite

By KATHERINE ZACHARY • July 1, 2000

Pitch the plastic during sales presentation

Since the Corvette debuted with its fiberglass body panels, the use of automotive composites has grown. People with a stake in plastics say the material can give a dealership's sales force a competitive advantage.The Troy, MI-based Automotive Composites Alliance (ACA) projects that the use of reinforced thermoset composites is expected to increase 47% in the next five years."Consumer demand for more-customized,

By Tim Keenan • July 1, 2000

Loyalty Lost

At a meeting I attended recently a CEO of a large corporation made a comment that I thought was rather interesting. He was amazed that today's college graduates changed their professional careers, on the average, at least three times and switched companies six times. He said in his own case he has worked for one company all his professional career, working up the ladder in all facets of the corporation,

By STEPHAN SHARF • July 1, 2000

37-year sales veteran recalls success

Giles Bowles became a car salesman at a time when John and Jackie ruled Camelot and four Brits named The Beatles were about to take America by storm.He just retired from Duncan Ford Mercury Chrysler Plymouth Dodge and Jeep in Rocky Mount, VA, after 37 years. Though that's a long time to some people, the 74-year-old Mr. Bowles still vividly recalls the first car he ever sold: a 1961 Ford Starliner.Life

By Laurel Wright • July 1, 2000

TRACKING SALES PROCESS IN REAL TIME

A new tool that works with a dealership's information management system will allow managers to keep track of a customer's progress through the sales process.Manhattan Projects LLC this fall will introduce a product called SalesMan CRM (Customer Relationship Management). Its designers say it offers a "never-before-seen level of showroom control and customer tracking for dealerships."It's one of three

By Tim Keenan • July 1, 2000

Dot-coms vs. Detroit

Imagine a rainbow-colored rope stretching 2,500 miles between Detroit and San Francisco with a pot of gold dangling on each end.On the California side there's the potential for more gold than the dusty '49ers who invaded the Golden Bear State 150 years ago could possibly imagine - the chance to strike it rich without ever swinging a pick ax or panning a stream.On the Michigan side there's security,

By David C. Smith and Frank S. Washington • July 1, 2000

Old Dog Teaches Industry New Tricks

KOSAI, Japan - Suzuki Motor Co. Ltd.'s Kosai assembly plant, one of the world's most efficient despite its 30-year-old structure, plans to become even more efficient this year.Plant Manager Shunichi Wakuda predicts that productivity (i.e., annual output per employee) will grow to 135-140 vehicles this year, up more than 5% from last year's record 129 units. Such an increase, extrapolating from a 1999

By Roger Schreffler • June 1, 2000

Powder Play

The head of powder metal parts manufacturer GKN Sinter Metals says the buying binge by parent GKN plc will continue. In the last three years, GKN has acquired 20 companies, including a controversial purchase of the largest U.S. powder metal material producer, Hoeganaes Corp."Our objective is to create a global company," says Seifi Ghasemi, president and chief executive officer of GKN Sinter Metals,

By Brian Corbett Tom Murphy • June 1, 2000

3 things ring cha-ching for vehicle sales leaders

Sport/utility vehicles, the Internet and community image. In big business dealerships these three things ring a big cha-ching at the cash register.Sales and revenues continued to rise for Ward's Dealer Business 500 dealers, thanks to a soaring economy and strong sales of light trucks - especially SUVs."For a lot of dealers - and car companies - the truck market is critical to profitability, particularly

By Brian Reuwee • June 1, 2000

TRUCKS, SUVS, AND CROSSOVERS DOMINATE THE NEW YORK CITY AUTO SHOW

The big news at the Big Apple? New SUVs, trucks and crossover vehicles. Lots of them. And some from manufacturers getting into that stuff for the first time.Oh, there were some car introductions at the New York International Auto Show. But truck-based vehicles - by their sheer numbers, let alone size-led the revue of debuts.Here are show highlights:GM: Ron Zarrella, General Motors Corp.'s president

By Steve Finlay • June 1, 2000

V. T. stores are A-1 in F & I sales penetration

Their F&I numbers always seem to lead the pack on the Ward's Dealer Business 500 rosters - and for good reason.For a dealer network, the V.T. (Van Tuyl) organization is as committed to superior F&I performance as any F&I provider and arguably more so than any rival dealership group.That concentration by owners Cecil and Larry Van Tuyl stands out on the latest 500.Of the 23 V.T.-owned dealers on the

By Maynard M. Gordon • June 1, 2000

Company ‘racks’ up accessory sales; seeks more dealership F&I outlets

When F. Alan Smith retired in 1992 as GM vice chairman and former chief financial officer, he wanted to stay active in the automotive business.Mr. Smith was "a young 61" and began looking around for an opportunity with growth prospects, preferably in both OEM and aftermarket sectors.Just getting under way was the dynamic rise in the SUV segment, fuelled by Generation Xers who wanted to combine the

By Maynard M. Gordon • June 1, 2000

Save a Penny, Lose a Dollar

Penny pinchers have been dominant forces in the automotive industry since its earliest days.Like Benjamin Franklin, their creed is "a penny saved is a penny earned," and little else matters.That may be good advice if you're spending foolishly, or if you're focusing only on your own turf and not the whole. You can save, for example, by using cheaper materials for an instrument panel or by selecting

By David C. Smith • June 1, 2000

E-Commerce Drives into Japan

TOKYO - Doing business online is beginning to catch on in Japan, where a new study predicts the automotive industry will become more dot-com dependent than any other business except personal computers.The numbers still are small. Internet sales here in 1998 were $614 million (Yen64.5 billion) and the automotive share of that e-commerce was 3.1%, including parts and components as well as new and used

By Mack Chrysler • June 1, 2000

Getting used

Strong used-vehicle sales are reinforcing new-unit records and profits among nearly all top finishers on this year's Ward's Dealer Business 500."We opened five new used-car sales lots in mid-Ohio last year because of the rising demand for high quality off-lease and trade-in units," says Fred Ricart, co-owner of Ricart Automotive. Total sales at Ricart's "campus" in Columbus, OH, topped the 500 list

By Maynard M. Gordon • June 1, 2000

WHY ARE THOSE AUTO STOCKS SO LOW?

GEORGE CARLIN SAYS HIS CATHOLIC-SCHOOL teachers - when cornered with questions from students about unexplainable aspects of faith - used to say, "Well, it's a mystery."It's also a mystery why automotive stocks continue to struggle on Wall Street while sales of vehicles and components soar.The industry's success, and a wealth of other factors are working against it, says Nicholas Lobaccaro, senior

By Tim Keenan • June 1, 2000

Ay Caramba!

Unless you happened to see Ross Perot slurping a nearly empty drink while on vacation in Cancun, there hasn't been "a giant sucking sound" coming from south of the border since the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was enacted in 1994.With U.S. employment and wages at record highs, the fear spread by Mr. Perot and free trade opponents that Mexico would steal away tens of thousands of good-paying

By Drew Winter, Brian Corbett, KATHERINE ZACHARY • May 1, 2000

Making “Sgt.” Clint Eastwood proud

One of my favorite movies is the 1986 "Heartbreak Ridge," starring Clint Eastwood as an old-school Marine who has to make efficient fighting men out of a bunch of misfits.Mr. Eastwood's character, Gunnery Sgt. Tom Highway's mantra is that a Marine, to survive in combat, must "adapt, improvise, overcome."Gunny Highway would be proud of the automotive industry in its handling of the minivan/pickup/sport-

By Tim Keenan • May 1, 2000

PPG PROGRAM OFFERS IN-DEPTH SHOP ANALYSIS BY INDUSTRY EXPERTS

PPG'S innovative "MVP" program for collision repair shops is designed to help shops improve productivity, increase profitability and achieve "Maximum Velocity Performance". This value-added service provides an in-depth analysis of a shop's performance by industry experts.Recommendations resulting from the Productivity Analysis are all keyed to specific sections of the PPG Body Shop Operations Manual.

May 1, 2000

ArvinMeritor: “Financial Powerhouse”

Vowing to create a "financial powerhouse" with combined annual revenue of $7.5 billion - and huge cost savings down the road - Arvin Industries Inc. and Meritor Automotive Inc. announce they are merging.On the surface, it appears Arvin's and Meritor's product lines are not exactly complimentary. Arvin is a leading exhaust and suspension product supplier, while Meritor produces roof, door and wheel

By Drew Winter and Tom Murphy • May 1, 2000

Orange Peel Repeal

A top-notch factory paint job is de rigeuer in today's automotive sector - and, quite fortuitously, painting technology has kept pace with the expectations of customers so that everything from Focus to Ferrari boasts a wet, mirror finish that not all that long ago required meticulous hand-finishing.The brilliant, mirror-like shine of today's finishes mainly is due to ongoing advancements in high-gloss

By Bill Visnic • May 1, 2000

Changing the Face of Racing

Auto manufacturer involvement in racing is as traditional as the winner's ceremonial swig of Indiana milk in the victory circle after the Indianapolis 500.Manufacturers have used racing to prove the performance and durability of their products since the first checkered flag was waved. But times have changed. What was once a pure test bed or a place to flex corporate muscle has become big business

By Tim Keenan • May 1, 2000

Seven ways to make your brochures better

Just like a live sales representative, a brochure must have the right sales strategy to get results.You can use the following seven principles to build a strong strategy right into your brochure copy and design.1. Most readers are not interested in your brochures.Take a moment to clap your hands five times. That's roughly how long you have to grab attention and persuade your prospects to continue

By David R. Yale • April 1, 2000

PRAY AND SELL! IT FOR C&O

ST. ALBANS, WV - Pray. Then sell. That's not practiced at any place of worship. But it is a daily ritual at West Virginia's top-volume dealer in a suburb of Charleston."The daily prayer started in 1992 when a retired professional baseball player who moved here from New Jersey, the late Pete Riggan, thought it was a good way to begin a sales work day," recalls C&O Motors' long-time general manager,

By Maynard M. Gordon • April 1, 2000

Satellite radio to skyrocket; XM, Sirius unite on standards

A lot has changed recently between XM Satellite Radio Inc. and Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. judging by the agreement the companies signed to develop unified standard satellite radios, probably by 2004. Clearly, the agreement reached mid-February to unify satellite radio standards is substantial because it should speed growth by lowering subscription costs. In four years, if automakers choose, drivers

By WARD'S AUTO WORLD STAFF • April 1, 2000