Vehicles: Page 194

It’s Not the ‘70s

Gas prices are soaring again, so it's time to dust off the platform shoes and hit the disco. Don't worry about your job and family responsibilities. It's time to boogie. As dumb as it sounds, this is the mentality driving much of the forecasting on the impact of rising fuel prices. Baby Boomers are expected to ditch their thirsty Detroit iron for more fuel-efficient Japanese products just like they

By Drew Winter • June 1, 2004

Easy Being Green

Since the days of the Clinton Admin., we've heard all about the virtues of hybrids. The government's agenda through the Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles was to pump big bucks into heady research and POOF! you'd have the auto industry equivalent to Kevin Costner's Field of Dreams. Build it and they will come, was the movie's catch phrase. Of the Big Three that participated in the now-defunct

By John D. Stoll • June 1, 2004

And You Thought You Knew!

As a self-described by-the-seat-of-his-pants old car guy, Rocky McCullough assumed he pretty much knew what sold and what didn't. He learned otherwise through information that's now part of Resource Automotive's new ResourceVIP, a computerized reporting system that tracks new- and used-unit sales, vehicle popularity, turnovers, price points, inventory aging and related data. I assumed we sold this

By Steve Finlay • April 1, 2004

Power to the People

There are plenty of cars that get great fuel economy. But Americans don't buy them. Every single car comes with the greatest safety feature ever invented. But many Americans never use it. Yeah, I know auto makers bear a lot of the responsibility for how their products perform. But so should the people who buy and operate them. Yet regulators, plaintiff attorneys and safety advocates rarely ask the

By John McElroy • April 1, 2004

Rhodia Improves Eolys System, Hopes to Spur U.S. Diesel Market

DETROIT French mega-supplier Rhodia SA knows the market for diesel-powered vehicles hasn’t happened yet. The company thinks its particulate-reducing Eolys system can help change that. Admitting that auto makers and environmental regulators appear reluctant to take any chances to “push” the much-maligned diesel in the U.S., Rhodia engineers and executives nonetheless express optimism at the Society

By Bill Visnic • March 12, 2004

Auto Makers, Suppliers Aim to Develop Chinese Engineering Base

DETROIT Now that most auto makers and many suppliers have established production bases in China, they face a new frontier: engineering. Delphi Corp. is meeting this new challenge head on with the establishment of a technical center in Shanghai. By June 2005, Delphi’s operations will employ 500 engineers, working on developing the products made at its 14 separate manufacturing operations there. General

By KATHERINE ZACHARY • March 9, 2004

ItalDesign to Unveil Sexy Hybrid ‘Volta’ at Geneva

GENEVA ItalDesign SpA takes center stage on the first day of the Geneva auto show press preview with a show car that combines the sleekness of a sports car with the hybrid powertrain technology of the Toyota Prius. Called the Alessandro Volta, the car is an elegant 3-seat coupe, with a low roof extending through the abrupt rear that is reminiscent of the ’64 Alfa Romeo Canguro. Much like last year’s

By Giancarlo Perini • March 1, 2004

Drop Top and Roll

It's been a long time coming, but the '05 Chrysler PT Cruiser Convertible, due in dealerships mid-March, may prove worth the wait. This 4-seater, with the styling and interior flexibility of the original Cruiser, has been well-engineered for open-air motoring. The Chrysler Group stresses the new convertible is not a chop job. The vehicle starts with the conventional PT architecture, but 57% of the

By Alisa Priddle • March 1, 2004

Covisint Lands With Compuware

Compuware Corp. purchases Covisint LLC from the auto makers that founded the communications hub three years ago. Compuware, a software and technology service provider, will move Covisint's 100 employees from Southfield, MI, to Compuware's new offices in downtown Detroit. Covisint will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of Compuware, which posted 2003 sales of $1.4 billion and has 10,000 employees.

March 1, 2004

New Dodge Dakota Biggest, Most Powerful in Class

CHICAGO Dodge is on a mission to redefine the midsize pickup segment with the new Dakota a truck the auto maker says delivers fullsize styling, feel and power. Unveiled at the Chicago Auto show, the new-for-’05 pickup, which Dodge calls the most capable and the largest midsize pickup in its class, also comes with the option of a V-8 engine a feature that significantly distinguishes it from its competitors.

By KATHERINE ZACHARY • Feb. 4, 2004

AWD Partnership

It was nearly four years ago at the 2000 Society of Automotive Engineers World Congress that Dana Corp. announced its Drive-Tek joint venture with competitor GKN plc to supply components and systems for the burgeoning all-wheel-drive market. That partnership failed a year ago, and now Dana has a new partner for AWD. Dana and German transmission specialist Getrag Getriebe Zahnradfabrik announce they

Feb. 1, 2004

10 YEARS OF 10 Best Engines

When we launched Ward's 10 Best Engines 10 years ago, we had no idea if the industry would care or if our effort would get lost in an expanding bandwidth of automotive awards. But 10 Best has flourished, growing in size, scope and recognition. It's become a significant part of the industry landscape, and we remain convinced that recognizing achievement in powertrain development is a worthy endeavor.

By Bill Visnic • Feb. 1, 2004

Judge GTO

Now that Pontiac will have a GTO in its lineup, will it have a top of the line Judge as well? Judge was the name given to the highest-performance, Ram-Air-induction option package on 1969-1971 Pontiac GTO muscle cars by John Z. DeLorean, Pontiac chief engineer at the time. The name lasted only part way into the '71 model year before it was dropped after 374 were built with 455-cu.-ins. (roughly 7.5L)

By Jim Mateja • Jan. 1, 2004

Here Comes the GTO Judge?

Now that Pontiac will have a GTO in its lineup, will it have a top of the line Judge as well? Judge was the name given to the high-performance, Ram-Air-induction option package on 1969-1971 Pontiac GTO muscle cars. John Z. DeLorean, Pontiac chief engineer at the time, borrowed the name from the oft repeated Here comes the judge phrase on the old TV show Laugh In. Thirty years after it disappeared,

By Jim Mateja • Jan. 1, 2004

Dodge Truck Engines Reign Supreme

The fullsize-pickup portion of this year’s Best Engines competition promised to be tough, but in the end it was no contest. We were fortunate to have the new Ford F-150, Nissan Titan and Dodge Ram pickups for testing at the same time. Some judges took keys to two or three at a time to test-drive them back-to-back. When the scoring was complete, no debate was necessary: The Ram’s 5.7L Hemi Magnum OHV

By Tom Murphy • Dec. 30, 2003

DaimlerChrysler 5.9L Cummins 600 OHV I-6 turbodiesel

With DaimlerChrysler AG’s “Cummins 600” 5.9L turbodiesel earning a win in this year’s Ward's 10 Best Engines competition, it’s official: in each of the last three years, there’s been an all-new or significantly revised medium-truck diesel engine. Each year, that new diesel won a 10 Best award. The breakneck pace of diesel development for the hotly contested, astoundingly profitable medium-truck market

By Bill Visnic • Dec. 30, 2003

Aural Fixation

Imagine this year’s 10 Best Engines nominees on stage at the Met or Hollywood Bowl. A hush comes over the packed house as maestro Senior Technical Editor Bill Visnic picks up his baton and, with a majestic wave, ignition systems stir. What follows is, to a driving enthusiast’s ears, rich music emanating from a chorus of unique voices. But above the din (or DIN for European audiences), virtuosos can

By Eric Mayne • Dec. 30, 2003

It’s Not Cast in Stone

It usually happens like this: your dealership finance & insurance manager places a new lender agreement on your desk for you to sign. Despite the fact that you have 67 other signed agreements, this new one is a must-have lender. Their rates are 25% lower than anyone else, they're buying everything, they approve deals no one else would buy, or their relationship with a local credit union will send

By BRYAN DORFLER • Nov. 1, 2003

10 Best Engines 2003

It's always nice to have a pickup around. It's doubly nice when it's powered by the baddest pickup engine in the business. The Chrysler Group relegated its light-pickup competitors to the back seat this year when it offered the new 5.7L Hemi Magnum OHV V-8 in its half-ton Ram pickup. The Hemi's 345 hp and 375 lb.-ft. (508 Nm) of torque squashes General Motors Corp.'s 5.3L OHV V-8 and even newer V-8s

By Bill Visnic • Oct. 1, 2003

DuPont Textiles Now Invista

DuPont Textiles & Interiors (DTI) changes its name to Invista to better differentiate it from parent company DuPont. Steve McCracken, president of DTI, will stay on as president of Invista. In February 2002 DuPont first announced the creation of DTI as a wholly-owned subsidiary and its intention to separate it from DuPont. Last August DTI said it was in exclusive negotiations with subsidiaries of

Oct. 1, 2003

Turbodiesel Battlefield

It was curious placement for two rival automotive suppliers at this month's Frankfurt Motor Show. Standing in adjoining booths on the second level of Hall 5 were two parts makers that have staked out turf in Europe's bustling market for diesel fuel injectors: Siemens VDO Automotive Corp. and Delphi Corp. Siemens was the first three years ago to incorporate quick-firing piezo (pronounced pee-AY-tso)

By Tom Murphy • Oct. 1, 2003

NADA Joins Noble Effort

The National Automobile Dealers Association has joined a safety campaign that's near and dear to me: getting motorists to use seat belts, even if it means slapping them with traffic tickets. Only 20 states have primary seat-belt laws on their books, notes NADA Chairman Alan Starling, a Florida dealer. Seat belt use in these states is significantly higher than in states with secondary seat-belts laws,

By Nat Shulman • Sept. 1, 2003

Fumes to Fuel

DEARBORN, MI A Ford Motor Co. pilot project that uses paint fumes to generate electricity portends a safe return to solvent-based paints coveted for superior performance and lower cost the auto maker says. Fumes-to-Fuel, a system undergoing tests in the paint shop of the auto maker's Dearborn Assembly Plant, collects volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from solvent-based clear-coat emissions. Currently,

By Eric Mayne • Sept. 1, 2003

Time Trial

When the Ford GT goes into production next year, it will boast the industry's first interior constructed from Azdel SuperLite, project insiders say. The original Ford GT was a racecar, so J Mays Ford Motor Co. group vice president-design demanded the interior of its descendant reflect this heritage. And it had to be done in 12 months. Suddenly, engineers became harried pit-crew members. But instead

By Eric Mayne • Aug. 1, 2003

On the Outside Looking In - Warily

They are eyewitnesses to the auto industry's greatest triumphs those miraculous moments when a vehicle design preserves life in the face of certain, horrible death. Their catch-all designation is emergency responder. And when violent collisions leave motorists trapped, they are tasked with shredding the vehicles so painstakingly shaped by automotive engineers. Extrication, they call it. Depending

By Eric Mayne • Aug. 1, 2003