Automotive News back issues from August 1998:
HOLY GRAIL AT CHRYSLER: SYNERGY.
Aug 03, 1998; ... An elite corps of Chrysler managers has been working feverishly to ensure a smooth integration with Daimler-Benz on Jan. 1, 1999.In some cases, managers have been plucked from their departments knowing that corporate integration will be an extended tour of duty, and they will not ...
Big June, strike cut July sales.
Aug 03, 1998; ... Light-vehicle sales in July fell 6 to 7 percent, reaching an annual rate just above 15 million cars and light trucks, says an automotive analyst.But that is surprisingly strong considering the General Motors strike and the "backwash from June's sales flood," said David Healy of ...
HONDA'S YOSHINO: NO URGE TO MERGE.
Aug 03, 1998; ... TOKYO - Hiroyuki Yoshino says he is willing to listen when other carmakers call to discuss possible tie-ups or other deals with Honda Motor Co. Ltd.But that polite response does not mean that Honda's new president has any interest in a merger.Honda's preference to go it ...
VOLVO IS HAPPY AS A 'LONER'.
Aug 03, 1998; ... GOTHENBURG, Sweden - Despite the cloud of merger talk that has swirled around it since an approach by Volkswagen, AB Volvo has just two words for would-be suitors: Not interested!Tuve Johannesson, president of Volvo Car Corp., said last week that Volvo has not changed the ...
GM READY TO STRIP DIVISIONS: SALES AND SERVICE TO BE CENTRALIZED.
Aug 03, 1998; ... General Motors is on the verge of reorganizing its sales, service and marketing functions in North America.The plan would:Reduce the independence of the marketing divisions.Create three offices in North American Operations to direct the divisions' sales and ...
THE GLITCH TRAP: HONDA'S INNOVATION RANKS SUPPLIER DEFECTS, EXTERMINATES WORST FIRST.
Aug 03, 1998; ... It's clear to just about everyone that the auto industry's parts makers have improved their quality mightily in recent years.Consumers complain less about their new vehicles. Automakers report lower reject rates at the factory. And suppliers themselves boast of smoothly operating ...
CONTINENTAL COMPLETES 'CORNER STRATEGY' WITH DEAL FOR ITT'S BRAKE DIVISION.
Aug 03, 1998; ... Continental AG is betting $1.9 billion that automakers will want to buy "smart" tires.That's how much the German tire maker, the world's fourth-largest, agreed to pay last week for ITT Automotive's brake-and-chassis division. Continental outbid Visteon Automotive Systems and ...
NEW G20: MORE TALK THAN WALK.
Aug 03, 1998; ... SEATTLE - Take an unremarkable, middle-of-the-pack family sedan from Japan.Give it the four-cylinder engine and suspension from the Sentra, Nissan's entry-level car in the United States.Make cloth interior and five-speed manual standard; leather, power seats and ...
NEXT FOR NISSAN? HERE'S A GLIMPSE.
Aug 03, 1998; ... LOS ANGELES - In a highly unusual step for an automaker, Nissan Division has pulled back the side of the tent and given journalists and analysts a sneak peek at its product plans and ideas for the next few years.In stops in New York, Detroit, Los Angeles and Nashville, Tenn., ...
IN QUALITY CONTROL, EYES DON'T ALWAYS HAVE IT.
Aug 03, 1998; ... One of the greatest tools for bringing down manufacturing defect rates is the human eye.Automakers around the world are training their workers to spot quality glitches and pull faulty products off the line before they reach the marketplace.But the practice has its ...
CHEVY UNVEILS VETTE HARDTOP WITH LOWER PRICE, FEWER FRILLS.
Aug 03, 1998; ... In the early 1990s, Corvette backers at General Motors needed a business case to save the low-volume sports car from cost cutters.Part of their solution was to add a third, lower-priced model to bring in more buyers. That third model is the 1999 Corvette hardtop, aimed at customers ...
FRESCO BRINGS TASTE OF NEW WORLD TO FIAT.
Aug 03, 1998; ... TURIN, Italy - When Fiat S.p.A. introduced Paolo Fresco to the Italian press last month, one question was on everyone's mind. Had the new chairman been hired to sell the company?The tall Milan-born lawyer, who rose to vice chairman during 36 years with U.S. conglomerate General ...
NAILED DOWN: CHRYSLER REWORKS COSTS FOR NEW JEEP ASSEMBLY PLANT.
Aug 03, 1998; ... Chrysler Corp. has just broken ground on its new Jeep factory, yet has already begun cost-cutting with a vengeance.Not with its parts makers - with its building contractors.When the Toledo, Ohio, factory opens in 2000, Chrysler believes it will have shaved one-third to ...
GROUND UP: AIAG AIMS TO HELP SHAVE COSTS OF FACTORY CONSTRUCTION.(Automotive Industry Action Group)
Aug 03, 1998; ... Automakers spend millions each year trying to get their suppliers to cut costs and boost efficiency.But when it comes to one of the industry's single biggest expenses - building new factories - vehicle manufacturers are at the mercy of an industry that has its own way of doing ...
NEW ENGLAND CHAIN ISSUES IPO.
Aug 03, 1998; ... A New England chain of 10 car dealerships went public last week, but the company reduced its initial public offering to 1.8 million shares from 2 million and has been trading below its IPO price.While the market has been tough for IPOs in general, analysts say investors lacked ...
LATIN LESSON: VW USE OF SUPPLIERS IN BRAZIL SPARKS OTHER MAKERS' INTEREST.
Aug 03, 1998; ... When Volkswagen AG opened its showcase Resende, Brazil, factory in 1996, it promised that the main innovation - letting suppliers build the vehicles while the automaker acts as overseer -would set new global efficiency standards.The world's fourth-largest automaker will not make ...
WHAT'S NEXT?: U.S. AUTOMOTIVE BUSINESS IS BOOMING, BUT ASIA'S ECONOMIC WOES ARE LOOMING.
Aug 03, 1998 ... The automotive supply world - a land of constants ... and constant change. Automakers' internal-combustion engines powered the industry through the 20th century; suppliers are helping drive alternatives into the 21st. Not long ago, Asia spelled opportunity; now it spells exposure. Chrysler ...
TO SUPPLIERS, CHRYSLER STILL HAS MIDAS TOUCH.
Aug 03, 1998 ... The panelists' view: When it comes to working with suppliers, the people at Chrysler Corp. lead the way. Their approach is positive. They listen to new ideas. And they share the responsibility for improvement. That bodes well for a new automaker set to take shape next month, DaimlerChrysler ...
SUPPLIERS MUST RIDE OUT STORM IN ASIA.
Aug 03, 1998 ... The panelists' view: Ford is making big strides in the way it deals with suppliers. Or is it? Beauty may be in the eye of the beholder. And about that crisis in Asia - have patience. It's still a land of promise.How are supplier relations with Ford and General Motors? Are they ...
STALLKAMP'S REPLY TO 'NAYSAYERS': MERGER IS FULL OF OPPORTUNITIES.
Aug 03, 1998; ... The merger of Chrysler and Daimler-Benz is the best possible opportunity for Chrysler - the best way to use our unique assets to build one of the strongest corporations on earth.Of course, there are always a few naysayers who denounce every good idea. In this instance, they range ...
SUPPLIERS EXPECT BIGGER ROLE IN POWERTRAINS.
Aug 03, 1998 ... The panelists' view: The internal-combustion engine has a lot of life in it yet. But alternatives will gain power rapidly - driven largely by forces overseas. While powertrains will remain a trademark of automakers, suppliers will play a much larger role in making them work.Will ...
PICKUPS GRAB GLORY AT CHEVROLET.
Aug 03, 1998; ... Chevrolet's redesigned full-sized pickup steals most of the glory from the rest of the division's lineup for the 1999 model year.Chevrolet has redesigned its full-sized pickup truck, Gen-eral Motors' top-selling vehicle, for the first time since 1988. The new truck is renamed ...
TANK TOPS: PLASTIC IS BEATING METAL HANDS DOWN AS THE MATERIAL OF CHOICE FOR FUEL SYSTEMS.
Aug 03, 1998; ... Maybe it began in the early 1990s, when plastics suppliers came up with multilayer fuel tanks that contained the fumes that earlier, single-layer tanks could not.Perhaps it was before that, when the plastics guys held demonstrations that proved their tanks were surprisingly ...
JAPAN'S JUNE PRODUCTION FALLS 10%.
Aug 03, 1998; ... TOKYO - Japan's vehicle production in June fell 10 percent from a year earlier to 879,211 units, making it increasingly likely that output this year will slide below the critical threshold of 10 million cars and trucks.First-half production is off 10.5 percent from a year earlier ...
GM'S MISSION IS TO SORT THROUGH PRODUCT CLUTTER.(Company Profile)
Aug 03, 1998; ... As General Motors looks for more efficient ways to produce vehicles at its plants, the No. 1 automaker faces a more important problem: what to produce in its plants.GM still has a cluttered, overlapping lineup and is struggling to keep abreast of some trends, such as sport wagons ...
READY, SET ...: DELPHI'S GOT THE DIGS AND THE GOODS FOR EUROPE, BUT NOT THE CUSTOMERS.
Aug 03, 1998; ... The new Delphi Chassis Systems brake plant in Villeron, France, is a microcosm of the megasupplier's rosy outlook for Europe.Almost one-quarter of the plant's 181,000 square feet is unused and awaiting new business from a European customer. Plant officials maintain the empty space ...
DELPHI MANTRA IN EUROPE: PICK THE RIGHT OPPORTUNITIES.(Interview)
Aug 03, 1998; ... Graham Bell has his work cut out for him as Delphi Automotive Systems' marketing and operations planning director in Europe.Delphi hopes to expand its business outside GM's North American operations by more than 10 percent over four years, and Bell's bosses in Detroit expect Europe ...
BMW GAINS ROLLS-ROYCE BRAND AFTER ALL.
Aug 03, 1998; ... LONDON - Less than a month after Volkswagen AG paid 479 million ($795 million) for Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Ltd., it conceded the name to rival BMW AG."I want to invest in a new brand," said VW Chairman Ferdinand Piech, "not spend it on other issues" such as lawsuits over the Rolls ...
STRIPPED DOWN: WINDOW SUPPLIER COPES WITH LOSS OF ENCAPSULATION WORK.(Pilkington Libbey Owens Ford Co.)
Aug 03, 1998; ... You can't fight fashion - especially when the trends are set by the world's biggest automaker.Just ask Pilkington Libbey-Owens-Ford Co. A styling shift by General Motors caught the window supplier unprepared. As a result, Libbey-Owens-Ford will close its 12-year-old plant in ...
PEAK PRODUCER: NAVISTAR'S NEW TRUCK PLANT IN MEXICO TAKES A NOVEL APPROACH TO SPEED ASSEMBLY.
Aug 03, 1998; ... As they race to build the car of the future, automakers are simultaneously trying to figure out how to design the assembly plant of the future.Little more than two hours from the U.S. border, Navistar International Corp. is ramping up a plant that represents a radical departure ...
PEOPLE POWER: TOWER AUTOMOTIVE AND AFFILIATE METALSA SEE ENERGIZED WORK FORCE FUELING THE FUTURE.
Aug 03, 1998; ... In many ways, the corporate marriage of Tower Automotive Inc. of Grand Rapids, Mich., and Metalsa SA de CV of Monterrey, Mexico, is typical of what brings suppliers together across borders.A big U.S. parts maker, one of the busiest consolidators in the metal stampings industry, ...
FILLING THE GAP: GRANT TO HELP SCHOOLS BOOST GRADS' MANUFACTURING SKILLS.
Aug 03, 1998; ... Future engineers who can improve a production line might owe their skill to a new industry drive to instill more manufacturing skills in students.Nine universities and colleges in the United States will share in a $1.7 million grant from the Society of Manufacturing Engineers aimed ...
SHIP SHAPE: FORD TAPS RYDER UNIT TO MANAGE THE FLOW OF PARTS INTO ITS ASSEMBLY PLANTS.
Aug 03, 1998; ... Ford Motor Co. has turned to an outside partner to help manage the flow of parts into its North American assembly plants.In doing so, Ford is relying more on independent logistics firms to control its supply lines.Last month, Ford chose Ryder Integrated Logistics Inc., a ...
LEADER OF THE PACK: WHEREVER FIAT SETS UP AN ASSEMBLY PLANT, CORE SUPPLIERS ARE EXPECTED TO FOLLOW.
Aug 03, 1998; ... In the grandstands of the Formula One racetrack on the outskirts of Buenos Aires, Argentina, a wizened retiree watched the first lap of the 1998 Grand Prix."Who will win today?" he asked a foreign spectator."Michael Schumacher, of course."He smiled and nodded ....
FRED AND GINGER: LIKE THE KING AND QUEEN OF HOOFERS, CHRYSLER AND DANA CAN'T MISS A BEAT, OR DAKOTA ASSEMBLY IN BRAZIL WILL STUMBLE.
Aug 03, 1998; ... In Campo Largo, Brazil, two U.S. companies - Chrysler Corp. and Dana Corp. - are engaged in a graceful dance of automaker and supplier.Dana - the world's 10th-largest parts maker - is supplying a "roll-in" chassis to Chrysler's new Dodge Dakota pickup truck plant. Dana's load, in ...
INFINITI'S GOAL: NO. 1 IN CUSTOMER CARE.(Interview)
Aug 03, 1998; ... With the addition of the G20, Infiniti Division chief Tom Orbe has lowered his entry price point to the $21,000 range from about $30,000, the price of the current I30 sedan. "This will bring people into the store we haven't seen before," he says.Another hole in the lineup - the ...
LABOR COSTS, PRICE-CUTTING PRES SURE WRING PROFITS OUT OF DELPHI.
Aug 03, 1998; ... Although 5,800 employees have returned to work at Delphi's Flint East parts plant, virtually all long-term problems that sparked the strike are unresolved.Delphi Automotive Systems still strives to close or sell unprofitable plants, while the UAW struggles to save jobs. ...
WAIT UNTIL NEXT YEAR: DEAL DODGES TOUGH ISSUES.(General Motors strike)
Aug 03, 1998; ... FLINT, Mich. - After nearly eight weeks, it was over. Finally.Outside a Holiday Inn conference room here last Tuesday, July 28, UAW members hugged and congratulated each other. TV camera spotlights illuminated their faces while fuzzy microphones hovered just over their heads. ...
GM STRUGGLES TO REGAIN STATUS IN EUROPE.
Aug 03, 1998; ... In the early 1990s, General Motors was a benchmark for Europe's automotive industry.Its Adam Opel AG unit in Germany and Vauxhall Motors Ltd. subsidiary in Britain offered competitive and innovative products, built them off a good cost base and turned in solid profits: $7.4 billion ...
GM GIVES HOT PRODUCTS PRIORITY.
Aug 03, 1998; ... Bigger than the question of who won in the UAW strikes against GM now is: When will the cars and trucks arrive?GM began turning on the factory faucets quickly after workers at two Flint, Mich., parts plants accepted a strike settlement last Wednesday, July 29. Auto assembly plants ...
HUTCHINSON COMES HOME TO SATURN.(Lisa Hutchinson)
Aug 03, 1998; ... Lisa Hutchinson has learned that you can go home again, with "home" being Saturn.The Detroit native, who has been with General Motors since 1980, has returned to Michigan as Saturn marketing director.She left Saturn in 1995, after five years in various market research ...
GM TO FIELD STAFF: NO EXCUSES: MANAGERS' PAY TIED TO DEALER PERFORMANCE.
Aug 10, 1998; ... General Motors, out of patience with its disorganized sales operations, has devised tough new standards for field staffers and dealers.The field staffers must meet with dealers at least once a year to develop business plans and sales goals.And for the first time, part of ...
JULY SALES DIP ONLY 8% DESPITE WOES OF IDLE GM.
Aug 10, 1998; ... The General Motors strikes dragged down industry sales in July, but overall, the numbers survived the death of Big 3 "loyalty coupons" pretty well.Light-vehicle sales were just over 1.2 million for the month, down 8.8 percent from last year.The news was not all bad. ...
FTC STEPS INTO FEUD, BACKS INTERNET SALES.
Aug 10, 1998; ... A band of Chrysler Corp. dealers in the Rocky Mountains who united to demand better factory allocations got a message from the federal government last week: Back off.According to the Federal Trade Commission, 25 dealers in five states had threatened to boycott Chrysler Corp. to ...
FEDS ILLUMINATE TROUBLE WITH DAY TIME LIGHTS.
Aug 10, 1998; ... WASHINGTON - Federal officials do not want to pull the plug on daytime running lights, but they want to dim the lights because of complaints about glare.The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration last week acknowledged that setting drastically lower limits on brightness ...
GMAC OFFERS FINANCING FOR SUPPLIERS.
Aug 10, 1998; ... General Motors Acceptance Corp. is turning to parts suppliers for growth.Today, Aug. 10, the finance company will announce a joint venture with BBK Capital, a lending company based in Southfield, Mich. The new company, GMAC Business Credit LLC, was created to lend primarily to ...
MERGER MEANS BIG PAYDAY FOR CHRYSLER EXECS.
Aug 10, 1998; ... Apparently it pays to merge.Chrysler Chairman Robert Eaton will collect $69.9 million in cash and stock - a large chunk of the $168 million cash and stock payout to Chrysler's top five executives - when the merger with Daimler-Benz AG is consummated later this year.The ...
NISSAN SEEKS BIG COST CUTS IN SMYRNA.
Aug 10, 1998; ... The Nissan Motor Manufacturing Corp. plant in Smyrna, Tenn., already considered the most efficient plant in North America, plans to cut per-unit costs by $1,800 per vehicle during the next three years.Of that amount, $1,000 per vehicle is the global cost-cutting target announced in ...
WHAT LEADERS ARE SAYING ABOUT GM'S REORGANIZATION.(General Motors reorganization)
Aug 10, 1998 ... "Ladies and gentleman, we are not in denial any more. ... We will not be sidetracked on the competitiveness journey."Jack Smith, chairman, General Motors"The most important thing is whether I think the vision of Cadillac will be affected, and I absolutely do not. Knowing ...
NEW DEALER COUNCILS TO GET NARROW FOCUS.(General Motors reorganization)
Aug 10, 1998; ... General Motors will revamp the dealer councils of its five marketing divisions, according to two major dealers privy to the company's plans.GM intends to have a marketing advisory committee for each divisional brand, with a narrower focus than that of current dealer councils. These ...
GM PLANS REGIONAL ADVERTISING SETUP FOR DEALER GROUPS.(General Motors reorganization)
Aug 10, 1998; ... DETROIT - In a drive to cut costs, General Motors wants to consolidate ad production and media buying for its dealer associations by region, according to Advertising Age.General Motors' North American Operations arm wants the regional consolidation to occur, but needs support from ...
DIVISION CZARS MADE UNDERLINGS SCURRY.(General Motors reorganization)
Aug 10, 1998; ... Ron Zarrella's sweeping reorganization of General Motors' marketing divisions will end an era: GM's vehicle division general managers will follow the dinosaurs into extinction.GM has been slowly curtailing its general managers for years. But at one time, the notion of pitching them ...
SMITH: BOLD ACTIONS WILL MOVE GM AHEAD.
Aug 10, 1998; ... TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. - Stung by critics who questioned his vision, Jack Smith proved last week that after six years at the helm of the world's largest automaker, he is capable of grand strategy.The chairman of General Motors plowed ahead with profound changes that will finally end ...
GM TEAM AT DELPHI SAVORS 'CLEAN SHEET' OPPORTUNITY.
Aug 10, 1998; ... DETROIT - Led by a team of General Motors veterans, Delphi Automotive Systems is steeped in GM tradition.Although the team members will change little when GM spins off Delphi next year, the way they manage the new company will change a lot.Delphi President J.T. Battenberg ...
HARVARD INDUSTRIES' PLAN: BECOME LEANER, QUICKER.
Aug 10, 1998; ... Harvard Industries Inc. of Lebanon, N.J., wants to recover from bankruptcy as a much smaller - and nimbler - automotive supplier.The maker of stampings and trim has devised a plan to emerge from court protection under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code.Under the plan, ...
FORD'S WINDSTAR JOINS FOUR-DOOR VAN WAR.
Aug 10, 1998; ... In the 1999 model year, Ford Division will fight the minivan wars with four doors.The 1999 Ford Windstar arrives in showrooms Oct. 1 with four doors. Dual power sliding doors are optional.Ford is playing catch-up to General Motors and Chrysler Corp. in the door wars. So ...
FINANCE FIRM GAINS CONTROL OF AUCTION GROUP.
Aug 10, 1998; ... Auction Finance Group Inc., one of the largest providers of floorplan financing to independent used-car dealers, has purchased an 80 percent stake in Canadian Auction Group.Steve Simon, CEO of Auction Finance in Miami Beach, Fla., said his company decided several months ago to ...
RV MAKERS, DEALERS TO BUYERS: HELP US SERVE TODAY'S NEEDS.
Aug 10, 1998; ... As sales climb, the RV industry is focusing on product quality.Industry leaders say baby boomers with expectations of carlike quality are changing the RV world that produces about $10 billion worth of vehicles annually.Once, RV buyers were tinkerers. Many were blue-collar ...
BOILER ROOM HAS HIGH-TECH REBIRTH: NEW SOFTWARE AIDS PHONE SALES EFFORT.
Aug 10, 1998; ... Improvements in technology and intense competition have prompted dealers to reincarnate the old boiler room operation.Telephone marketing operations are cropping up at dealerships as "business development centers." These centers have their own manager and clerks who load data. In ...
NEW VILLAGER, COUGAR TOP LM'S 1999 LIST.
Aug 10, 1998; ... In 1999, Mercury will rely on the restyled Villager minivan and the redesigned Cougar coupe to capture new buyers.Lincoln heads into the new model year with plans for a more powerful Navigator sport-utility.At Mercury, marketers will position the Villager as a minivan ...
S. KOREA HAS LONG LIST TO TEMPT U.S. TASTES.
Aug 10, 1998; ... At press time, these new or revised products were expected in the United States from the three South Korean automakers. Given South Korea's economic turmoil and the fact that Kia Motors Corp. is on the auction block, however, the lineups are subject to immediate and drastic changes. ...
VOLVO S80 HAS SNAZZY ELECTRONICS.
Aug 10, 1998; ... GOTHENBURG, Sweden - No lead is safe in the high-tech race among luxury cars, but for now, the new Volvo S80 is right up there with the industry leaders.The backbone of many of the S80's gee-whiz features is a new "multiplex" electrical system that transmits all data over the same ...
TEXAS COURT DISMISSES TROOPER SUIT.
Aug 10, 1998; ... The Texas Supreme Court has refused to reinstate a suit alleging defects in a 1988 Isuzu Trooper's wiring harness and rear seat belt.The court ruled that one of the plaintiffs' mechanical engineers was not qualified to give an expert opinion on either purported defect, and that ...
LAB AIDS SUPPLIER'S COMFORT QUEST.
Aug 10, 1998; ... Johnson Controls Inc. wants to know why some people love their car seats and others loathe them.More important, the supplier wants to know how people's touchy-feely impressions about their car seats can translate into hard data engineers can use in a design.To answer ...
NEW OE SUPPLIERS GROUP HAS BUDGET, BIG DREAMS.
Aug 10, 1998; ... TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. - Original-equipment auto suppliers now have a trade group they can call their own.The Automotive Original Equip-ment Suppliers Association was born Aug. 1, when industry veteran Neil De Koker, 54, became managing director.He has no staff or ...