Vehicles: Page

Thirty-Two Years Later, Behr Arrives in Motown

German supplier Behr America Inc. has traveled a long and indirect road to Detroit. Since 1969, the supplier of air conditioning and engine cooling systems has had U.S. operations in New Jersey, Charleston, SC; Fort Worth, TX; and Canton, SD. A year ago, the company opened a plant in Webberville, MI, near Lansing, that produces the industry's first electronically actuated engine cooling fan clutches

June 1, 2001

Never Fail

A year ago, Freudenberg-NOK General Partnership lost an automotive sealing contract temporarily. The company had quoted a job for an engine subsystem, but cost concerns prevailed and the German-Japanese supplier lost the contract to a lower-priced competitor. Some months later, it seems the competitor wasn't up to the task, and the customer came back to Freudenberg-NOK and asked if it could take over

By Tom Murphy • June 1, 2001

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

A bells-and-whistles system isn’t needed for effective CRM

These days, dealers are bombarded by companies that claim to have the next best idea in customer relationship management (CRM) software, but most dealers already have pretty much what they need to do effective CRM on their current computer systems. We get calls once or twice per month, says Jean Demers, systems administrator for the Orlando-based Automotive Services Network, which operates 10 stores

By Tim Keenan • June 1, 2001

Ward’s MegaDealer 100 Overview

Auto sales reached a record level in 2000, and that truth is reflected in this year’s Ward’s Megadealer 100, which has evolved from just a list of the most successful dealer groups to a barometer of the automotive retail marketplace. Fueled by a record year for selling vehicles, the “century club” brought in $101.5 billion in revenue last year, up 13% from the previous year. Their total new units

By Tim Keenan • May 30, 2001

New Land Rover ‘Centre’ will sell Land Rover vehicles exclusively

Purchasing one of the world's more prestigious sport-utility vehicle just became easier in the eastern Los Angeles area with the opening of Land Rover Riverside, one of the newest Land Rover retail outlets in the U.S. Land Rover Riverside officially opened for business on May 1. This new auto retailer is one of 132 U.S.-based Land Rover retail outlets and is the 90th of Land Rover's critically acclaimed,

By Wire Reports • May 3, 2001

One-Stop Cockpits

All right, all you interior megasuppliers begging for responsibility for the entire passenger compartment of a vehicle now's your chance. This month, General Motors Corp. will name five suppliers as lead interior integrators to manage the sourcing of interior parts for every North American vehicle that GM produces. GM invited 10 suppliers to write feasibility studies on ways that they could improve

By Tom Murphy • May 1, 2001

Kelly buys Saab franchise in Lancaster

The Lancaster, PA-based Kelly automotive organization has purchased the Saab franchise from Henry Mearig Inc., adding to its Cadillac franchise to become a leading luxury brand dealer in central Pennsylvania, Kelly Cadillac has been in the Lancaster area since 1984.

May 1, 2001

Ward’s e-Dealer 100 sold 61,356 vehicles online last year.

To see the Ward's e-Dealer 100 list, click here. Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader Free download. To see more e-Dealer 100 information, click here. The Ward's e-Dealer 100 is a story about dealers and their successes. Much recent media attention has been directed at the dot-coms specifically third-party sites and their pending doom. The resulting message may be that on-line automotive retailing is a fantasy.

By Cliff Banks • April 25, 2001

Ward’s eDealer 100 sold 61,356 vehicles on line last year

To see the 2001 Ward's e-Dealer 100 list, click here. Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader For free download, click here. The Ward’s e-Dealer 100 is a story about dealers – and their successes. Much recent media attention is directed at the dot-coms -– specifically third-party sites – and their pending doom. The resulting message is that on-line automotive retailing is a fantasy. It's hardly that. There

By Cliff Banks • April 18, 2001

U.S. infrastructure: fallen and it can’t get up

Unfortunately for the U.S.'s woeful infrastructure including transportation sectors like roads, aviation and airports the won't be as simple as the from late-night television. No less a body than the American Society of Civil Engineers says, not mincing words, that the nation's infrastructure sucks. Okay, that's not the word those proper engineers actually use, but in an annual grading of 12 areas

By Bill Visnic • April 1, 2001

Electric nostalgia

In the early 1960s, the Henney Motor Co., manufacturer of hearses, ambulances and custom limousines, built and marketed the Henney Kilowatt a French-built Renault Dauphine converted to electric power. Now a Canadian company, Feel Good Cars Inc. in Toronto, is offering an updated version of this 4-passenger electric car. The company's Dauphine Electric is fitted with a state-of-the-art electric motor

By Bill Siuru • April 1, 2001

SAE 2001: Atlas System Finds Defects in Vehicle Paint

The auto industry is advancing at a rapid pace today, but some things are still done the old fashioned way. For instance, the detection and evaluation of a vehicle’s exterior paint. However, Atlas Electric Devices Co.’s VIEWW system (Video Image Enhanced Evaluation of Weathering) is rapidly replacing the subjective human eye in helping to detect chipping, corrosion and other paint-related defects

By Christie Schweinsberg • March 7, 2001

SAE 2001: Michelin Showcases Innovative Rear Suspension

Submitted as proof that not every invention at the 2001 Society of Automotive Engineers World Congress is some variation on a whiz-bang electronic device: Michelin SA's elegant and simple -- no power required -- rear suspension that allows the tires to work more efficiently. Michelin's term for the new suspension isn't exactly simple, though: with no catchy moniker yet, the company calls it the "new

By Bill Visnic • March 6, 2001

SAE 2001: Bosch Wins Engine Management Contract

Robert Bosch Corp. has been angling for a contract like this for years. Now, it appears Europe's largest automotive supplier will have a chance to prove itself. Within the next four years, Bosch will launch its first integrated engine management system on a high-volume gasoline engine for passenger cars in the United States, Europe and Asia/Pacific. The automaker customer is not identified, but Bosch

By Tom Murphy • March 6, 2001

NXT Showcases Flat-Panel Speaker Technology

NXT showcased their flat-panel loudspeaker technology today at the 2001 SAE World Congress. NXT hopes to revolutionize in-vehicle audio systems with a technology that allows manufacturers greater freedom with interior vehicle design. NXT’s SurfaceSound high-fidelity loudspeakers require a minimum thickness of 1/64" (0.3mm) and can blend into a vehicle’s interior. They can be incorporated into sun

By Christie Schweinsberg • March 5, 2001

SAE 2001: Ford Taps Cosworth for SVT Focus Engine

DETROIT -- Ford Motor Co. will pull back the curtain on its ’02 SVT Focus 2L engine, which marks the first collaboration on a production powerplant for North America with its Cosworth Technology subsidiary, at this week’s Society of Automotive Engineers exhibition here. Ford and Cosworth have linked up countless times in Europe on production and racing programs, but the Focus will be the first time

By David E. Zoia • March 4, 2001

RETHINKING Platform Engineering

The idea looks great on paper and wows 'em on Wall Street: spin off dozens of different vehicles using the same basic underpinnings and 60% or 70% common parts. The vehicles look very different on the outside, but underneath and under the hood they're very similar. Oh, and by the way, you can build each at just about any assembly plant, anywhere in the world. The concept often referred to as platform

By Drew Winter, David E. Zoia • March 1, 2001

Modules: Not Ready for Prime Time

Nothing stays the same. Suppliers, whether Tier 1s, 2s, or 3s, must modify their organizational structures and upgrade their managerial and sales capabilities as they increase their engineering skills and expertise to accommodate the more complex module and system needs of the OEMs. It seems that virtually every supplier is concerned about the impact the Internet will have on how it conducts business

By JOHN W. HENKE JR. • March 1, 2001

Oldsmobile will lose its Intrigue when engine plant idles

As its engine goes, so goes the Olds Intrigue. Sources say GM will halt production of its 3.5 Liter Twin Cam V-6 engine next year. And since that's the only engine used in the Oldsmobile Intrigue, the death of the engine means the Intrigue is the first Olds for which an impending obituary can be written. A GM source confirms that the engine's production will cease in the summer of 2002, with enough

March 1, 2001

SAE’s First Female President Bids Farewell

Given her recent trips to Europe, China, India and across the U.S., it's not hard to understand why outgoing Society of Automotive Engineers president Rodica A. Baranescu says globalization was one area of focus during her tenure. SAE's first female chief spent the better part of the past year canvassing the globe in an effort to increase the organization's worldwide network of mobility engineers.

By Laurel Wright • March 1, 2001

Metaldyne Eyes Engine Block Business

Two more well-known names will creep out of the auto supplier lexicon after Simpson Industries Inc. and MascoTech Inc. are combined with a third supplier to create Metaldyne Corp. The Plymouth, MI-based company wants to become the transportation industry's leading supplier of low-cost metal-formed components, assemblies and modules. The driving force behind the new company is Heartland Industrial

By Tom Murphy • March 1, 2001

OLDS: A DEATH IN THE DEALERS’ FAMILY

As a volume Chevy dealer, I recall when the Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme ate our lunch and nearly caused the demise of the Monte Carlo because of Olds' attractive interior styling and competitive pricing policy. RANSON OLDS FOUNDED OLDSMOBILE IN 1901, and many people consider him to be the founder of the American automobile industry. He built the first automobile factory that used the assembly line

By Nat Shulman • March 1, 2001

Has engineering outsourcing gone too far?

Take a close look at our survey results, and you'll see that OEM and supplier engineers are generally in agreement when it comes to questions about e-engineering, Covisint and even career opportunities in automotive engineering. But start asking questions about outsourcing of engineering work, and the responses part ways like a fork in the road. For instance, most OEM respondents (73%) say their companies

By Tom Murphy • March 1, 2001

Our crowd isn’t very upbeat

The best way to tell if anybody is truly happy with their job is to ask if they want their children to follow them in their chosen career. By that measure, 40% of respondents say they would not encourage their children to pursue a career in automotive engineering. That's up a bit from last year, and it suggests that the mood of automotive engineers at both OEMs and suppliers is slowly worsening. Perhaps

By Frank Washington • March 1, 2001

Ward’s 10 Best Engines

The following pages contain the seventh consecutive installment of the Ward’s 10 Best Engines. Here you’ll find our highly scrutinized, usually controversial and generally subjective choices for the best engines available in the U.S. for 2001.

By Bill Visnic • Feb. 16, 2001