Operations: Page

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

Vinyl: let sound science prevail. Greenpeace notwithstanding, it’s not an environmental hazard

It was heartening for those of us in the vinyl industry to see the article in WAW's July issue, "A second look at vinyl," which described many of the benefits that vinyl products bring to the automotive market. In recent years, there has been much discussion that the use of vinyl in cars has become passe - especially in some of the high-profile, "glamour" applications, such as upholstery. As the article

By Burnett, Robert H. • Nov. 1, 1995

Life cycle assessment as an environmental management tool.

Only a decade ago, manufacturers took an end-of-pipe approach to environmental management; that is, the focus by a company was to ensure that its plant was in environmental compliance. As global environmental awareness increases, industries are moving toward greater levels of environmental responsibility.Companies and industries now consider the environmental aspects of the entire life cycle of a

By Bari, Don F. • Nov. 1, 1995

3rd-qtr earnings dip, but big 3 still show life

Even with their combined earnings down more than $1 billion in the third quarter of 1995, two of the Big Three domestic automakers appear to be on the right track while another is in for a fight.General Motors Corp., still unable to build cars for a profit in the U.S., increases its third-quarter earnings to $642 million ($0.42 per share). That compares to $553 million ($0.40 per share) in the third

Nov. 1, 1995

Design 2000: bold, sharp-edged lines are coming

The round "aero" shape is out and the sharp "edge" look is in.That's the gist of it when predicting what exterior car and light-truck designs will look like by the turn of the century. Is there a middle ground where "aero" and "edge" combine for aesthetic and functional appeal? The answer depends on who you ask.What's certain is that automotive design is on the brink of a renaissance - one full of

By Frank Washington • Nov. 1, 1995

Is vinyl an environmental hazard?

Personally, vinyl only makes me sick when a misguided soul uses it as a styling enhancement on a car roof. But Charlie Cray of Greenpeace's Midwest Toxics Campaign says Ward's Auto World arbitrarily ignored dangers to humans and the environment posed by vinyl and other chlorine-based plastics in our July piece, "A second look at vinyl"(see WAW -- July '95, p. 72).Greenpeace and other environmental

By Drew Winter • Oct. 1, 1995

The bad news is: sports car sales trail.

While the overall vehicle market appears to be rising as the industry heads into 1995's home stretch, two segments are ailing - luxury cars and sports cars. Both segments are feeling the effects of a marketplace more concerned with value than leather seats and horsepower. in the sporty segment, Ford's Mustang and Probe sales are down 18% and 37.3%, respectively. Chevrolet's Corvette and Camaro, the

Oct. 1, 1995

Health care costs can be curbed.

Normally, I like to write about the common sense approach to manufacturing, particularly as it relates to the auto industry. This month I would like to stray a bit and talk about a common-sense approach to health-care costs. Health-care costs have escalated over the years, and they now have become a major problem to U.S. car companies - a problem they feel they must contain.Health benefits, on the

By Sharf, Stephan • Sept. 1, 1995

KUKA centralizes

Kuka Welding Systems and Robot Corp., a designer and manufacturer of automated welding and assembly systems, is building a new manufacturing and office complex in Sterling Heights, MI. Located two miles south of its present headquarters, the new, more spacious facility will consolidate KUKA's Automation Systems and Welding Systems business units at one location. The German-owned company will close

Sept. 1, 1995

Efficiency isn’t always pretty: Taurus radiator support is homely buteffective.

It doesn't look like much. Just two big pieces of sheet molding composite (SMC) bolted together; but many experts believe it's the most significant piece of plastic or composite material on the '96 models.People closely involved with it, such as Ken Rusch at The Budd Co. and Bill Mellian a Owens-Corning Fiberglas Corp., talk about it like proud parents.They should be proud. Developing a big composite

By Drew Winter • Sept. 1, 1995

The war on waste

Although environmentalists are losing ground on several fronts, their long-time adversary is an ally when it comes to recycling. The automotive industry, contrary to its pollutant-belching, rust-bound image, is attacking waste with war-like ferocity. And the bullseye is plastic.The U.S. has the world's best infrastructure for recycling cars and trucks. Some 12,000 dismantlers aided by more than 200

By Frank Washington • Sept. 1, 1995

Jag stretches out for 1996

I haven't had much use for the Jaguars of the last decade or so.Jaguar Cars' XJ40 sedans, launched in 1987, were to my eye the apogee of the let's-make-it-square design philosophy prevalent for most of the '80s. If nothing else, Jags were supposed to be luscious, maybe even provocative, of line. Those blocky XJ40s couldn't have been provocative if custom-fitted with a Frederick's of Hollywood car

By Bill Visnic • Sept. 1, 1995

Like it or not, the CFC ban is here

Production and import of new chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) will end in a few months. Not so the debate on whether this result is a culmination of the prudent actions taken by 150 countries around the globe to avoid the possibility of ecological disaster or, as a few view it, simply the final destination for the big, green bandwagon onto which we blindly jumped.I, for one, will leave that debate to scientists,

By Oulouhojian, Simon • Sept. 1, 1995

Supplier earnings still on the rise

Despite reduced production schedules for many light vehicles in North America, nearly all of the U.S.-based automotive suppliers showed increases in both sales and income for their most recent 1995 fiscal quarters.Many cited increasing overseas business as the main factor in the continued strength of bottom lines, despite lower domestic sales volumes. "We also continue to benefit from the fact that

By Gazdik, Tanya • Sept. 1, 1995

The underground workforce: the murky, controversial world of automotive ‘contract’ workers.

Contract workers are key to creating flexibility. They allow cyclical industries like carmakers to quickly expand or shrink their workforces as the market demands. But for the people who do the work, "contingent" employment is a murky, underground world where some prosper while others are exploited and steeped on.In 1988, a 25-year-old student at Oakland Community College saw a newspaper ad placed

By Frank Washington • Aug. 1, 1995

Life-cycle assessment: a new way of thinking

Life-Cycle assessment (LCA) is a systematic approach used to manage the environmental impacts of products and service systems, and it is applied at several levels:* Conceptually as a thought process that guides the selection of options for design and improvement.* Methodologically as a way to build a quantitative/qualitative inventory of environmental burdens or releases, to evaluate the impacts of

By Fava, James A. • Aug. 1, 1995