Automotive News back issues from January 2001:
Dealers.(official transitions)(Brief Article)
Jan 01, 2001 ... Transitions The New York State Automobile Dealers Association elected officers for 2000-2001. They are: Jim Farley of Garden City Volkswagen in New Hyde Park, vice chairman; Steve Scoville of Scoville-Meno Auto Plaza in Owego, chairman; Rock Lacy of R.C. Lacy Inc. in Catskill, ...
Weak euro continues to trim Japan's exports.(Automobile industry)(Brief Article)
Jan 01, 2001; ... TOKYO - Japan's vehicle exports dropped in November for the third straight month as the country's automakers accelerated a shift of production to Europe and reduced their exposure to currency swings. Exports fell 2.9 percent in the month from a year earlier to 371,421 vehicles ....
Red-carpet treatment.(Hyundai Motor America airs television commercial)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
Jan 01, 2001 ... This commercial for Hyundai Motor America's first sport-utility will begin airing this month on network and spot TV. As the 2001 Santa Fe drives up a red carpet that drapes the side of a mountain, Peri Gilpin, in a voice-over, says, ``You're in for a long, smooth ride.'' Gilpin, who plays ...
Next Alfa Spider gets GM platform.(Fiat Auto S.p.A.)(Brief Article)
Jan 01, 2001; ... TURIN, Italy - Fiat Auto S.p.A. will use General Motors' future Vectra/Omega platform for the next Alfa Romeo Spider instead of one of its own platforms. The change, confirmed by suppliers involved in the project, means that the new Spider will be launched a year later than ...
What was fun in 2000.(auto industry executives recreation in 2000)(Statistical Data Included)
Jan 01, 2001 ... People work hard in the auto industry, and many of them play hard, too. Here's how some of them unwound during their time away from the office in 2000. WETTER IS BETTER Sue Unger juggles global responsibilities as senior vice president and chief information officer ...
Fuel rule boon for diesels.(diesel fuel regulation)(Brief Article)
Jan 01, 2001; ... WASHINGTON - Pieces of the diesel puzzle are falling into place. The latest: A federal decision to reduce drastically the sulfur in fuel paves the way for more diesel engines to be installed in U.S. cars and light trucks. Now the question of whether ...
The Marie-Christine Caubet file.(profile)(Brief Article)
Jan 01, 2001 ... Age: 50 Family: Married, 3 children Education: M.A. at Institut d'Etudes Politiques, France; M.B.A. at INSEAD, Fontainebleau, France Renault career highlights 1973-85: Financial analyst and auditor 1985-92: Manager in charge of ...
Thunderbird again looks back.(Ford Motor Co. 2002 Thunderbird models 1962 and 1963 concept)(Brief Article)
Jan 01, 2001 ... With the revived Thunderbird ready to take flight this year as a 2002 model, Ford again dips into the nameplate's storied past to create the Thunderbird Sports Roadster concept for the 2001 Detroit auto show. The concept, based on the Thunderbird Sports Roadsters from ...
2000 sales: A cold ending to a hot year; One for the record books, one for the trivia books.(forecasts of automobile sales figures)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
Jan 01, 2001 ... A bittersweet triumph it will be. When the final sales figures for 2000 are released this week, they will show a record year for the U.S. auto industry. Yet if forecasts for December prove true, the year will have ended with a three-month sales skid. Analysts project the light-vehicle ...
Digest.(Ford Motor Co.)(Brief Article)
Jan 01, 2001 ... Ford changes truckload bumper rule DETROIT - Ford Motor Co.'s Customer Service Division has eliminated the 72 bumper fascia order requirement on its bulk-purchase truckload program and has switched to a mix-and-match dollar-based ordering system. Dealers can order a truckload of bumper ...
Digest.(CarSmart.com updates website)(Brief Article)
Jan 01, 2001 ... CarSmart.com gets new look SAN RAMON Calif. - CarSmart.com, an automotive information and pricing site, has revised its Web site. The company says the redesign will make the site easier to use. CarSmart.com is a wholly owned subsidiary of Autobytel.com. ...
About the award.(Automotive News Europe awards)(Brief Article)
Jan 01, 2001 ... Automotive News Europe named its first Woman of the Year in 1996, the year the publication was created. Here's a list of past honorees: 1999: Magda Salarich, Citroen 1998: Rose Mary Farenden, Ford 1997: Anne Asensio, Renault 1996: Gerrit Huy, Daimler-Benz 1997 winner Anne ...
Greater Los Angeles Auto Show.
Jan 01, 2001 ... World debuts 2003 Pontiac Vibe 2002 General Motors upscale truck 2002 Isuzu Axiom 2002 Daewoo Leganza 2002 Daewoo minivan 2002 Mazda Protege 5 2001 Suzuki XL-7 2001 Mazda Protege 2001 ...
Kia expects to get version of DCX's Smart Z-car.(Daimler Chrysler)(Brief Article)
Jan 01, 2001; ... STUTTGART - Kia Motors Corp. will be included in DaimlerChrysler's global small-car strategy, say sources at the Korean company. The sources say Kia is a fourth participant in the Z-car project being developed jointly by Mitsubishi Motors Corp. and DaimlerChrysler's Smart ...
Walter Hayes won Ford's trust.
Jan 01, 2001; ... Walter Hayes was remembered last week as a gifted communicator who won reporters' respect and earned Henry Ford II's trust. Hayes, a longtime Ford Motor Co. public relations executive and former chairman of Ford's upscale sports car subsidiary, Aston Martin, died Tuesday, Dec ....
Cleaning up diesels.(Environmental Protection Agency laws)(Brief Article)
Jan 01, 2001 ... The EPA's new rules: Cut sulfur in fuel to 15 parts per million by 2006 Open the door for more car and light-truck diesels Make big trucks up to 95 percent ...
Olds dealers: Check state laws for help.
Jan 01, 2001; ... General Motors announced it will discontinue Oldsmobile over a period to be determined by how long the demand for Oldsmobiles is economically viable. GM assured its Oldsmobile dealers that it is implementing a ``transition assistance package'' that is ``extraordinary'' and ``goes beyond ...
Visteon won't buy Marelli; Instead, Fiat plans to sell off supplier division piece by piece.
Jan 01, 2001; ... TURIN, Italy - Visteon Corp. has ended negotiations to buy a majority of Italian supplier Magneti Marelli S.p.A. from Fiat S.p.A. Fiat plans to sell its wholly owned supplier division piece by piece, sources say. Visteon, spun off by Ford Motor Co. last June, ended talks with ...
supply Line.
Jan 01, 2001; ... Visteon to supply Ford with digital radio systems DETROIT - Visteon Corp. of Dearborn, Mich., was awarded a contract to supply Ford Motor Co. with Mach satellite digital radio systems for a future vehicle. The name of the vehicle and terms of the deal were ...
Class 8 sales slip in November.
Jan 01, 2001; ... U.S. sales of Class 8 trucks in November were down 44.3 percent compared with the same month last year. This represented the Class 8 market's biggest percentage drop for the year, and the eighth consecutive month of slipping sales. Navistar took the biggest fall, ...
News Quiz.
Jan 01, 2001 ... Think you're keeping up with events in the auto industry? Take this quiz and find out if you're up to speed on some major news stories (and just for fun, a handful of esoteric ones). 1 What did not contribute to lackluster supplier financial returns in 2000? A. A downturn in the ...
Highlights of the Suzuki program.
Jan 01, 2001 ... Fixed-price used cars are offered online 24 hours a day. National rollout begins March 1. 213 of 340 dealers have ...
GM seeks star billing at Los Angeles show.
Jan 01, 2001; ... LOS ANGELES - General Motors will make a splash at the Greater Los Angeles Auto Show this week with a compact 2003 Pontiac sport wagon aimed at young adults. According to AutoWeek, a sister publication to Automotive News, the Pontiac will be built at New United Motor ...
Sorry, no sales this month.
Jan 01, 2001 ... Too often, especially in the automobile business, some people spend more time creating reasons why they can't be a success than focusing on things that can bring success. This is a list of excuses developed by dealership sales personnel around the country to explain their ...
2 roads to Covisint; Commerce One, Oracle choose different strategies.
Jan 01, 2001; ... The two primary providers of technology to Covisint are taking different paths in their relationship with the automotive e-marketplace. Oracle Corp. and Commerce One Inc. each own 2 percent of Covisint. But that is where the similarities end. In December, Commerce One agreed to provide ...
GM suppliers in Europe feel the heat.
Jan 01, 2001; ... DETROIT - European automotive suppliers are about to get closer to one of their customers. As part of a massive restructuring in Europe, General Motors is forming a dedicated joint purchasing/engineering project team that will work with suppliers to find ways to improve ...
Axiom: A truck in sedan's clothing.
Jan 01, 2001; ... NAPA, Calif. - With sport-utilities derived from car platforms flooding the market, Isuzu has softened its decidedly truck-like Rodeo platform and built the equivalent of an off-roader minivan. To be sure, the 2002 Isuzu Axiom is not a total softy. It comes from a body-on-frame ...
2002 Isuzu Axiom.
Jan 01, 2001 ... Wheelbase: 106.4 in. Length: 182.6 in. Width: 70.7 in. Height: 67.2 in. Engine: 3.5-liter 24-valve DOHC V-6 ...
People.
Jan 01, 2001 ... VISTEON CORP. - Gordon Cole to global director of public affairs. He was president of Levenson Public Relations in Dallas. He will succeed Denise Bither, who has left the company. Ruth Bruch to vice president and chief information officer. She was president of ZoneTrader.com, an ...
'01 Sebring ragtop: Stylish, practical.
Jan 01, 2001; ... PALM SPRINGS, Calif. - The struggling Chrysler group is counting on its redesigned Sebring convertible to hold its own in a softening market. The Sebring has become the best-selling convertible in North America since it was introduced in 1996. The 2001 model is its first major ...
2001: Ring in the new, ring out the Olds.(Brief Article)
Jan 01, 2001 ... New Year's resolutions they may or may not make: George W. Bush: I will appoint Ralph Nader to a new post, U.S. safety czar, in charge of eliminating risk from all aspects of life - (because, of course, I owe him BIG TIME). Andrew Card (new White House chief of ...
U.S.-Japan trade: No strings.(automotive trade deficit )(Brief Article)
Jan 01, 2001; ... WASHINGTON - A real-world test of how much globalization has transformed the automobile industry begins now. A five-year agreement aimed at boosting sales of U.S.-made vehicles and parts in Japan and reducing the automotive trade deficit between the two countries expired at the end of ...
Why Visteon pulled out.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
Jan 01, 2001 ... Couldn't agree on price with Fiat Hit by financial problems following cutbacks by major ...
Volvo must sell portion of truck business to get Mack.(Mack Trucks)(Brief Article)
Jan 01, 2001; ... WASHINGTON - AB Volvo expects to have a buyer soon for a small portion of its truck manufacturing business: the heavy-duty but maneuverable low-cab-over-engine trucks used by haulers of refuse, cement and fuel oil. The sale would pave the way for Volvo to acquire Renault V.I ....
2001: Schrempp toast; His days are numbered, staff predicts.(Automotive News prediction for 2001)(Brief Article)
Jan 01, 2001; ... If the prognostications of Automotive News editors and reporters come to pass, Juergen Schrempp would be well advised to make the ``help wanted'' pages the focal point of his daily reading. The DaimlerChrysler chairman will be looking for a job soon, the staff said, and the Chrysler part ...
Mexico awaits final numbers on record year.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
Jan 01, 2001 ... Mexico City - Last year was a record year for sales and production of light vehicles in Mexico. How big a record won't be known until the December figures come in later this month But previous sales records were shattered in November. And the production record was shattered in ...
Calendar.
Jan 01, 2001 ... AUTO SHOWS - 2001 Jan. 4-7 - Midlands International Auto & Truck Show, Omaha Civic Auditorium, Omaha, Neb., 901-379-0077 Jan. 5-7 - West Virginia International Auto Show, Charleston Civic Center, Charleston, W.Va., 800-345-1487 Jan. 6-14 - Greater Los ...
N.J. gives FordDirect a break.(Brief Article)
Jan 01, 2001; ... Why in the world would FordDirect.com launch a test in New Jersey? FordDirect.com, an automotive shopping portal that Ford Motor Co. owns jointly with dealers, just started a pilot of its site in central New Jersey with about 15 dealers. New Jersey has one of the strictest prohibitions on ...
World Congress is 25 years old.(Brief Article)
Jan 01, 2001; ... Automotive News held the first Automotive News World Congress more than a quarter century ago, at the newly built Hyatt Regency Dearborn in Dearborn, Mich., which could handle the large meeting. I'll never forget that first World Congress. It was a warm July night - in the early ...
Intermittent problems, constant frustration; Time-strapped mechanics find it difficult to diagnose causes of breakdowns.(Brief Article)
Jan 01, 2001; ... John Gaddis was almost ready to give up on his customer's Impala. The car would work fine in the service garage of Progressive Chevrolet in Canton, Ohio, where Gaddis is service manager. But then he would release it back to the customer, who, two weeks later, would ...
Mature buyer is high on Buick.(Brief Article)
Jan 01, 2001 ... Several letters to Automotive News have been critical of General Motors products. Although I'm a longtime Chrysler man, I recently acquired an elegant 2001 Buick LeSabre, and I am very pleased with its comforts, quality, appointments and style. Today's vehicle market is really ...
What Covisint uses.(Brief Article)
Jan 01, 2001 ... Commerce One software MarketSite e-marketplace infrastructure platform Enterprise Buyer Desktop Edition, e-procurement software for use by Covisint participants, plus auction and catalog software Oracle software E-Business Suite for all internal ...
Strong truck performance helps spur November new-vehicle sales.(Japan)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
Jan 01, 2001; ... TOKYO - Japan's new-vehicle sales rose 1.8 percent in November despite continuing softness in the minivehicle segment. Sales of minivehicles, cars and trucks with engines smaller than 660cc, fell 4.4 percent to 156,052. Sales of small-sized cars also fell, but sales of larger ...
Suzuki expands online sales of used rental cars.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
Jan 01, 2001; ... American Suzuki Motor Corp. is speeding up the national rollout of a program that allows dealers to purchase used rental vehicles on the Internet. Tim Finley, fleet and remarketing manager at Suzuki, said the company initially planned to offer the Suzuki Proline System to ...
After 26 years, a job of her dreams; Renault's Caubet is selected as Woman of the Year.(Brief Article)
Jan 01, 2001; ... Twenty-six years after she joined Renault, Marie-Christine Caubet is finally doing what she always wanted to do: sell cars. In July, she was named Renault's sales director for France, becoming the first woman to join the company's 20-member executive committee. That ...
DCX says lack of equity doesn't diminish its role.(Brief Article)
Jan 01, 2001; ... When Commerce One Inc. reached its software agreement with Covisint in December, DaimlerChrysler was conspicuously absent from the deal. In the agreement, General Motors and Ford Motor Co. took a combined 14 percent ownership stake in Commerce One. But DaimlerChrysler - the ...
[0] Digest.(brief industry news)(Brief Article)
Jan 01, 2001 ... Mazda enters China venture TOKYO - Mazda Motor Corp. will begin assembling Premacy minivans in China in June with a local partner, making it the first Japanese automaker to produce a minivan there. Mazda, owned 33.4 percent by Ford Motor Co., said it will build 20,000 Premacys a ...
Down, but not out.(Brief Article)
Jan 08, 2001 ... The climate has changed, and it's not a happy switch for the automotive industry. At the beginning of 1999 and at the beginning of 2000, industry analysts predicted record sales for the year. They were right both times. This year, they're asking, ``How much will sales ...
German parts maker has lofty acquistion goals.(Brief Article)
Jan 08, 2001; ... GREENVILLE, S.C. - German engine parts maker Kolbenschmidt-Pierburg is looking to buy other suppliers in an effort to double its sales by 2004. The automotive unit of Germany's Rheinmetall group intends to reach $2.85 billion in revenue by 2004, double its 1999 revenue, ...
Calendar.(Brief Article)
Jan 08, 2001 ... AUTO SHOWS - 2001 Jan. 6-14 - Greater Los Angeles Auto Show, Los Angeles Convention Center, Los Angeles, 310-444-1850 Jan. 10-14 - San Jose International Auto Show, San Jose Convention Center, San Jose, Calif., 310-301-9019 Jan. 12-15 - Utah International ...
The Vibe in L.A.(Brief Article)
Jan 08, 2001; ... Pontiac is going after the segment created by the Toyota RAV4 and Honda CR-V with the Vibe sport wagon. Aimed at under-30s, the Vibe features a front passenger seat that can be folded down to accommodate a ladder, chrome tie-downs in the passenger compartment to secure a bike ...
Digest.(Brief Article)
Jan 08, 2001 ... Ford unveils hybrid Escape for 2003 launch Ford Motor Co. unveiled a hybrid-drive version of its new Escape sport-utility. The Escape HEV, scheduled to go on sale in calendar 2003, is powered by an electric motor linked to a four-cylinder gasoline engine. Sanyo Electric Co. Ltd ....
GM plans hybrid vehicle fleet; ParadiGM will mate battery-powered motors and traditional engines.(Brief Article)
Jan 08, 2001; ... General Motors will launch a range of hybrid-powertrain vehicles based on the Epsilon mid-sized platform on a global scale beginning in calendar year 2004. The automaker plans to announce Tuesday, Jan. 9, at the Detroit auto show that it will enter numerous segments with ...
Once again, the product rules.(Brief Article)
Jan 08, 2001; ... Detroit's North American International Auto Show has opened to the media. All this week, automakers will be showing off their newest creations. They may be production cars just weeks away from the assembly line, pre-production prototypes or thinly disguised show cars that are ...
Toyota adds Highlander to sport-utility lineup.(Brief Article)
Jan 08, 2001; ... SANTA FE, N.M. - Imagine a Lexus RX 300 with 4 inches added to the cargo deck but priced as much as $10,000 less. That is the basic premise behind the Toyota Highlander, a platform-sharing partner to the benchmark Lexus sport wagon. The Highlander will arrive in dealerships in ...
Sulfur in fuel: Industry must put up or shut up.(Brief Article)
Jan 08, 2001 ... Sulfur stinks, the auto industry has cried the past few years as its environmental ``conscience'' blossomed. The sulfur in gasoline and particularly diesel fuel ruins emissions-control equipment, automakers argue. Remove it and it will be much easier to give consumers cleaner-running ...
Ford, BFGoodrich develop inflatable belts.(Brief Article)
Jan 08, 2001; ... Ford Motor Co. and BFGoodrich Co. are working to develop an inflatable seat belt that could make its way onto production vehicles as early as 2003. The two companies have a development contract, a BFGoodrich official said, but Ford has no definite plans to put the safety device ...
Bottom-line blues.(Brief Article)
Jan 08, 2001 ... Here is a look at recalculated 1999 profits for three of Chrysler group's top 10 suppliers, assuming a 5 percent cut in their Chrysler group revenues. Magna International 1999 revenues$9.26 billion 1999 revenues less 5% Chrysler loss $9.11 billion ...
Maserati postpones its return to United States.(Brief Article)
Jan 08, 2001; ... TURIN, Italy - Maserati S.p.A. has delayed its planned re-entry into the U.S. market until at least 2002. Maserati's plan was to return to the United States early this year with a new Spider derived from the 2+2 3200 GT, the coupe introduced in Europe in fall 1998. ...
Ford site resembles CarsDirect.(Brief Article)
Jan 08, 2001; ... Forget that Ford Motor Co. ever bashed online auto brokers. Now it has turned to copying them - and imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. You don't have to look much farther than the name of the online shopping portal Ford has created jointly with its dealers - FordDirect.com. It ...
Highlander chief engineer perfects Lexus' success.(Brief Article)
Jan 08, 2001 ... Tsuneo Uchimoto knew he was taking big risks in developing the Lexus RX 300. Would it be too soft? Did it have enough off-road ability? Would people treat it like a minivan? Three years later, Uchimoto's decisions as RX 300 chief engineer have been hailed for creating the benchmark for the ...
NHTSA seeks tougher head restraint rules.(Brief Article)
Jan 08, 2001; ... WASHINGTON - The Clinton administration, in another 11th-hour rule-making effort, is proposing stiffer requirements for head restraints in cars and light trucks. The rules, if adopted, would be the first major rewrite of the 32-year-old standards. The National Highway Traffic ...
World debuts.
Jan 08, 2001 ... Automakers will unveil these vehicles at the Detroit auto show 2002 Infiniti Q45 2002 Jeep Liberty 2002 Lexus SC 430 2002 Porsche 911 GT2 2002 Subaru Impreza WRX 2001 BMW M3 convertible 2001 BMW X5 4.6si ...
More Big 3 plants go down.(Brief Article)
Jan 08, 2001; ... U.S. automakers will trim another 24,200 vehicles out of their production plans this week as part of their previously announced 2001 volume reductions. The move halts factory lines at seven additional U.S. plants. Nine other plants in the United States, Canada and Mexico already had been ...
Penske: 'I want to be an owner'.(UnitedAuto Group CEO Roger Penske plans to increase stake in company)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
Jan 08, 2001 ... UnitedAuto Group CEO Roger Penske says he would like to acquire as much as 80 percent of the company, or maybe even take the big dealership group private. His investment arm, Penske Capital Partners LLC, in December increased its stake in UnitedAuto from about 42 percent to 57.9 ...