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Delphi Adding Engineers in China

TRAVERSE CITY, MI Delphi Corp. has 100 engineers in China now, but that number will grow to 500 next year and to 1,500 eventually, Vice Chairman Donald L. Runkle says during an address at the Management Briefing Seminars here. Runkle recently visited Shanghai, where Delphi has just broken ground on a new technical center. Despite a slowdown in car and truck sales in China, Runkle tells Ward’s that

By David C. Smith • Aug. 4, 2004

Mitsubishi Woes Could Impact Dundee

TRAVERSE CITY, MI Mitsubishi Motors Corp.’s financial woes may be spilling over into its partnership in the Global Engine Mfg. Alliance LLC’s plant in Dundee, MI. Executives at the troubled Japanese auto maker are looking at future product plans and determining which vehicles to build and which to scuttle. Those decisions could determine whether Mitsubishi fulfills its engine volume commitment to

By Kevin Kelly • Aug. 3, 2004

Explore the Trendline➔

Top 5 stories from WardsAuto

Automakers are evaluating their long-term strategies, revisiting their product mix, and approach to both retail and manufacturing approach along the way.

By WardsAuto staff

Applicants Tested at Dundee

TRAVERSE CITY, MI – Anyone interested in landing a job at the new Global Engine Manufacturing Alliance LLC factory in Dundee, MI, should be prepared for rejection. According to Bruce Coventry, president of the unit, nearly one in 10 applicants fail the testing needed to qualify for employment at the plant. Requirements include a 2-year college degree, as well as the ability to operate state-of-the-art

By Kevin Kelly • Aug. 2, 2004

Global Engine Saves DC $100 Million

TRAVERSE CITY, MI Global Engine Alliance LLC is delivering better-than-expected returns for its investors DaimlerChrysler AG, Hyundai Motor Co. Ltd. and Mitsubishi Motors Corp. For DC alone, the savings are more than $100 million per year when compared with its own engine manufacturing facilities in Mexico. Through the use of global sourcing and the development of common manufacturing systems shared

By Kevin Kelly • Aug. 2, 2004

DB9 Gets $20,000 Deposits

At least 800 people in the U.S. have slapped down deposits as large as $20,000 for the Aston Martin DB9, without ever having test driving the $155,000-$168,000 car. In addition, Aston Martin's forthcoming coupe and convertible, with deliveries beginning later this year, boasts a waiting list of 12 to 18 months. And in some extreme cases such as when a buyer orders a more customized interior deposits

By John D. Stoll • Aug. 1, 2004

So Long Rat Fur

Grizzled observers of the auto industry have heard the Big Three promising for years that world-class interiors in their cars and trucks are just around the corner. That message still is out there, delivered most recently by interior design executives from General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co. during a panel discussion at the recent Auto Interiors Show in Detroit. Marek Reichman, Ford's director-interior

By Tom Murphy • July 1, 2004

Arresting Developments

Environmental interests and the automotive media work themselves into a lather almost daily about the horsepower race that's supposedly under way. It makes for good headlines, and if explosive sales of vehicles with ever-larger and more-bombastic engines are any indicator, it appears there is truth to the adage horsepower sells. But there is a less-sexy race under way at the other end of the performance

By Bill Visnic • July 1, 2004

Pulse Welding Arrives

After years of engineering, testing and pitching its proprietary magnetic pulse welding manufacturing process for joining dissimilar metals, Dana Corp. appears to have a high-volume customer. The Toledo-based supplier plans to use the innovative spark-free welding method to produce a driveshaft for a high-volume light truck produced in the U.S. by one of the Big Six auto makers in 2006 for an '07

By Tom Murphy • June 1, 2004

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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