Automotive News articles from August 2003

Automotive News archives from August 2003

Sonic Automotive pays dividend, too.(News)
August 4, 2003... Byline: Donna Harris Sonic Automotive Inc., the nation's third-largest dealership group, last week became the second publicly traded auto retailer to announce a quarterly shareholder dividend. A week earlier, Lithia Motors Inc., of...

Mercedes A class won't come to U.S. after all.
August 4, 2003... Byline: Diana T. Kurylko After years of touting its pending arrival, Mercedes-Benz executives said last week the ungainly-looking A class isn't coming to America after all. The reason: too uncool for this side of the ocean. In its...

Ford Credit names new COO.(News)(Mike Bannister)(Brief Article)
August 4, 2003... Byline: Amy Wilson Ford Motor Credit Co. President Mike Bannister will oversee new cost-cutting initiatives at the captive finance unit. Ford Credit appointed Bannister president and COO last week and revealed that widespread cost...

Dunehawk concept.(News)(Nissan Motor Co.)(Brief Article)
August 4, 2003... Nissan Motor Co. will showcase a four-wheel-drive concept at next month's Frankfurt auto show that combines the driving performance of an SUV and versatility of a minivan. The 7-seat Dunehawk concept is equipped with a 2.5-liter diesel engine...

Sonic Automotive to buy 18 dealerships.(News)(Brief Article)
August 4, 2003... Byline: Donna Harris In a sign of the growing appetite for acquisitions among big retailers, Sonic Automotive Inc. says it plans to buy 18 dealerships with combined revenues of $800 million. The addition of the mostly luxury import...

Buick begins building Rainier.(News)(production briefs)(Brief Article)
August 4, 2003... Byline: Debi Domby * General Motors began production of the Buick Rainier on Monday, July 28. The SUV is being built at GM's Moraine, Ohio, plant alongside the Chevrolet TrailBlazer, GMC Envoy and Oldsmobile Bravada. * Ford Motor Co....

Chevrolet Optra.(News)
August 4, 2003... Length: 177 in. Width: 68 in. Height: 57 in. Wheelbase: 102 in. Curb weight: 2,601 lbs. Engine, base: 1.6L gasoline Power: 108 hp at 5,800 rpm Price: $16,951

States eye dealers to pay service contracts.(News)
August 4, 2003... Byline: Donna Harris Dealers could be held accountable for claims as state regulators try to protect consumers who bought service contracts from financially troubled National Warranty Insurance Co. The insurer stopped paying claims in...

Annual PACE Awards deadline approaches.(News)
August 4, 2003... Auto suppliers have less than a month to apply for the 2004 Automotive News PACE Awards. The deadline is Friday, August 29. The annual awards, which are co-sponsored by Cap Gemini Ernst & Young and Transportation Research Center Inc.,...

New Service Chief.(News)
August 4, 2003... Francisco Codina New job: Vice president, Ford customer service division Previous job: General marketing manager, Ford Division Age: 51 Challenge: Continue to improve customer satisfaction ratings for Ford, Lincoln and Mercury...

Nip and tuck; Toyota updates the body line and paint systems as its Georgetown plant undergoes a face-lift.(Marketing)
August 4, 2003... Byline: Lindsay Chappell Even after 15 years of operation, Toyota Motor Corp.'s Georgetown, Ky., car plant seems like a youngster. Georgetown usually tops or nearly tops J.D Power and Associates' rankings of the highest quality auto...

The man who talked to the parts.(Marketing)(Dorian Shainin)
August 4, 2003... Byline: Tim Moran Dorian Shainin died in 2000 at age 85, but his method of identifying and fixing quality problems lives on, saving automakers and suppliers hundreds of millions of dollars annually. DaimlerChrysler, General Motors and...

High potential, low volume; Automakers see a future full of fuel cells. But no one has figured out how to mass-produce them ... yet.(Marketing)
August 4, 2003... Byline: Richard Truett There's more than just one infrastructure problem facing automobiles powered by hydrogen-fed fuel cells. The lack of hydrogen refueling stations gets most of the attention because it will take billions of dollars...

Today's engine can improve.(News)(internal-combustion engine improvements at General Motors)
August 4, 2003... Byline: Dave Guilford General Motors may aim to make hydrogen-powered fuel cells the powertrain of the future, but this decade the automaker is taking many steps to improve the internal-combustion engine. The technology will be crucial...

Paint finisher, DCX team up.(Suppliers)(includes multiple news briefs)(Brief Article)
August 4, 2003... Sherwin-Williams Automotive Finishes Corp. and DaimlerChrysler have introduced a joint paint repair CD manual. The CD-ROM provides information for refinish technicians to complete a job using techniques that meet the quality and...

Nasser legacy fades with Ligocki's exit.(News)(Kathleen Ligocki leaves Ford Motor Co. to become CEO of Tower Automotive)
August 4, 2003... Byline: Amy Wilson Kathleen Ligocki is the latest Nasserite to leave Ford Motor Co. Ligocki, 46, vice president of Ford's customer service division, resigned last week to become CEO of supplier Tower Automotive. A host of...

Fuss In Alabama.(News)(Mercedes-Benz plans $600 million investment in Tuscaloosa plant)(Brief Article)
August 4, 2003... * Mercedes is spending $600 million to expand its Tuscaloosa, Ala., plant. * Immigration agents are checking visas of 55 German and Polish workers. * The workers are employed by 2 European technology suppliers.

A matter of support.(News)(Covisint sues Commerce One)(Brief Article)
August 4, 2003... Issue: Did Commerce One provide the proper software and support for Covisint's effort to create an online market for auto parts? Where it stands: Covisint says no and has sued Commerce One in Michigan for damages. Commerce One wants an...

Outgoing advice.(News)(Dugald Campbell gives advice to Kathleen Ligocki, his successor at Tower Automotive)(Brief Article)
August 4, 2003... Tower's Dugald Campbell says his successor, Kathleen Ligocki, needs to: 1. Capitalize quickly on additional business when a vehicle starts selling better than expected. 2. Maintain adequate liquidity. 3. Generate free cash flow....

Fraud Claim.(News)
August 4, 2003... Issue: Did the partners of Briggs Cunningham III in a defunct sports car company defraud him? Where it stands: Cunningham claims the partners withheld information and forced him to sell his stock to pay off a bank loan. He has sued the...

Dealers.(News)
August 4, 2003... Milestones * Robert Petrarca of Bald Hill Subaru in Warwick, R.I., received a 25-year award from Subaru of America Inc. 8 Randy Lee of White Bear Lincoln-Mercury in White Bear Lake, Minn., received a 25-year award from Lincoln Mercury....

Rolling examples of Asian strategies; Ford's Everest SUV and GM's Optra sedan illustrate contrasting approaches of 2 rivals.(News)
August 4, 2003... Byline: Urs Muller The two vehicles that faced off at the Bangkok International Motor Show in March couldn't have been more different. General Motors showed the Chevrolet Optra, a compact family sedan to be built at four plants around...

Motor homes down in June.(News)(motor home shipments)(Brief Article)
August 4, 2003... Byline: Gail Kachadourian Class C motor home shipments plunged 10.5 percent in June, dragging down the motor home category in the United States for the month. U.S. shipments of motor homes fell 3.4 percent in June, compared with the...

Chrysler moves toward flexibility at deliberate pace.(Marketing)
August 4, 2003... Byline: Lindsay Chappell The Chrysler group's Dodge Durango factory in Newark, Del., is not the industry's most technically advanced assembly plant. Even though the automaker just completed a $400 million renovation of the plant, the...

Japan's June exports drop.(News)
August 4, 2003... Byline: Yuzo Yamaguchi Hit by slackening demand from the U.S. market that outweighed gains in Europe and Asia, Japan's new-vehicle exports in June dipped 1.0 percent from a year ago to just under 390,000. With the 2.3 percent drop in...

Makeover plan.(Marketing)
August 4, 2003... The Chrysler group will overhaul its North American factories gradually using * More robots * More products per plant * The ability to shift models from plant to plant * An open mind on how each new model is built * An...

Opinion.(Ford 'Euro czar' not a good idea)
August 4, 2003... Ford 'Euro czar' is a bad idea; it failed before Top Ford Motor Co. execs are thinking about appointing a "Euro czar'' to prod money-losing Ford of Europe to work more closely with the company's Premier Automotive Group. Something must be...

Package deal; A DaimlerChrysler plant came with business that helped triple a supplier's size.(Marketing)(Behr America Inc.)
August 4, 2003... Byline: Julie Armstrong Behr America Inc. is basing its future on a neglected Dayton Thermal Products plant that it bought last year from DaimlerChrysler AG. The German engine cooling and air conditioning systems supplier acquired the...

July sales begin to heat up.(News)
August 4, 2003... Byline: Dave Guilford July auto sales hit a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 17.8 million units in the United States, easily the strongest pace this year. American Honda Motor Inc. and Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. Inc. were the big...

Thompson says no to alliance; Lobby group still seeks high-profile CEO.(Tommy Thompson, Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers)(Brief Article)
August 4, 2003... Byline: Harry Stoffer President Bush talked Cabinet member Tommy Thompson out of accepting an offer to be the top Washington lobbyist for automakers, industry executives have been told. Thompson, governor of Wisconsin from 1987 to...

Late News.(briefs)
August 4, 2003... Suppliers say Lincoln will replace Aviator DETROIT - Lincoln will drop the truck-based Aviator SUV as early as 2005, say two suppliers working on the program. The Aviator, on the market for nine months, has sold poorly and has been...

Auto News Digest.(News)(briefs)
August 4, 2003... Mini confirms fog light kits DETROIT - BMW Group's Mini division last week made official its plan to offer Mini Cooper owners the rear fog lights they have been demanding. Starting in September, the automaker will sell dealer-installed...

The little engine plant that could; Nissan's expanded plant in Decherd, Tenn., will build 1 million engines a year.(Marketing)
August 4, 2003... Byline: Lindsay Chappell When Nissan North America Inc. talks about the additional cars and trucks it wants to build in the next couple of years, there is an extra challenge implicit in the plan. "You can't move cars off the assembly...

Suzuki opens checkbook for sales plan.(Marketing)(American Suzuki Motor Corp.)
August 4, 2003... Byline: Jean Halliday American Suzuki Motor Corp. will boost its ad spending significantly as it embarks on an ambitious sales growth strategy this summer. The marketer will increase measured media spending on autos and trucks to $100...

Out of his foxhole; As a takeover battle turns personal, Dana's `Joe Mag' builds a defense.(Joe Magliochetti)
August 4, 2003... Byline: Robert Sherefkin In the war over control of Dana Corp., Joe Magliochetti, Dana's affable CEO, has pretty much stayed out of sight. ArvinMeritor Inc.'s Larry Yost, author of the hostile takeover effort, has been highly public,...

Going up.(Marketing)
August 4, 2003... Suzuki's measured media spending, in millions 2002: $41 2003: 65* 2004: 100* *Projected Source: American Suzuki Motor Corp.

Car and truck models near saturation point.(News)
August 4, 2003... Byline: John K. Teahen Jr. How much is too much? I'm talking about the number of car and light-truck models offered for sale in the United States, and I think we've just about reached the limit. I realize that I'm whistling in the...

Dodge, Lincoln seek help in strange places; 2 agencies, 1 idea; who was first?(Marketing)
August 4, 2003... Byline: Marty Bernstein While selecting commercials to be shown at the Automotive News Marketing Conference, I watched one submitted by Springer & Jacoby, Mercedes-Benz's agency in Europe. In that spot, called "First aid,'' the camera...

Primer Coat.(Marketing)(Brief Article)
August 4, 2003... Before halting the first of 3 paint lines at its paint plant No. 1 for retooling this year, Toyota Motor's Georgetown, Ky., plant took several preliminary steps, including * Improving "first throughput capability'' to reduce paint errors...

Mazda3 launch counts on event marketing.(Marketing)(Brief Article)
August 4, 2003... Byline: James B. Treece Mazda will carefully aim its marketing message for the U.S. launch of the Mazda3 subcompact in December. In explaining the strategy, Stephen Odell, Mazda Motor Corp. senior managing executive officer in charge...

Toyota rushes to meet xB demand.(News)
August 4, 2003... Byline: Richard Truett In trying to predict which of the two new Scion models would be more popular - a boxy utility vehicle or a Euro-styled hatchback - Toyota Motor Corp. officials got it backward. Early buyers of the Scion brand of...

The 2005 Dodge Dakota.(News)(Brief Article)
August 4, 2003... This redesigned 2005 Dodge Dakota was snapped during hot weather testing late last month. The front-end styling is unmistakably Ram-like, with a tall hood, low fenders and wide grille. The new Dakota will be approximately the same size as the...

Chain Reaction.(News)(Brief Article)
August 4, 2003... 1. Kathleen Ligocki, 46, resigns as vice president of Ford Motor Co.'s customer service division to become CEO of Tower Automotive Inc. 2. Ford lifer Francisco Codina, 51, succeeds Ligocki at customer service division. 3. Dugald...

Automotive News makes staffing changes.(News)(Brief Article)
August 4, 2003... DETROIT - Several Automotive News staffers have new assignments. * Richard Johnson, founding editor of sister publication Automotive News Europe, has returned to Detroit to assume a senior editorial role at Automotive News after a 17-year...

Glossary.(News)(Brief Article)
August 4, 2003... What do the terms mean? * Freshened: Sheet metal untouched; changes may include new grille, front and/or rear fascia, headlight and taillight modules * Reskinned: Minor changes to the vehicle's overall sheet metal; may include new...

By the numbers.(News)(Brief Article)
August 4, 2003... Facts about Automotive Youth Educational Systems' auto technicians program Student interns: 5,597 Participating dealerships: 3,918 in 44 states Schools teaching program curriculum: 333 Participating manufacturers: 12 (GM, VW,...

Tall Order.(Marketing)(Brief Article)
August 4, 2003... Suzuki hopes to sell 200,000 vehicles annually in the United States in 2007. Here is a sales snapshot. High (1987): 83,334 Low (1990): 20,504 Last year: 67,855 Source: Automotive News Data Center

Subaru cheers Armstrong.(Marketing)(Brief Article)
August 4, 2003... Subaru congratulated its advertising spokesman, Lance Armstrong, winner of his fifth Tour de France bicycle race, with this special advertisement in the Monday, July 28, edition of USA Today. The ad ran less than 24 hours after Armstrong's...

Crossing over; 1,000 miles from home, in Shreveport, La., GM breaks away from its past and puts a unique twist on a manufacturing system inspired by Toyota.(Marketing)
August 4, 2003... Byline: Lindsay Chappell All summer, depending on the week, workers have been reporting either to the General Motors Shreveport, La., plant that assembles Chevrolet S10 and GMC Sonoma pickups or to a different GM Shreveport plant that...

How Things Changed.(Marketing)(Brief Article)
August 4, 2003... Before: The Rouge assembly plant built the Ford Mustang. Separate plants built fuel tanks and engines. After: The engine plant was refurbished to build global-design four-cylinder engine. The new assembly plant was built to produce the...

Web surges with auto sales tool in Europe.(Marketing)(Brief Article)
August 4, 2003... Byline: Bill Britt Leading Web sites in Europe such as MSN and Yahoo! report a surge in online advertising from carmakers. In the 12 months to February, MSN reported a 53 percent growth in European advertising revenue from the...

Online advantages.(Marketing)(Brief Article)
August 4, 2003... There are several reasons online advertising is successful. 1. More requests for test drives from online ads 2. Online researchers are more likely to be converted to a sale in the showroom 3. Easy to measure results of online ads

Unconventional Thinking.(Marketing)(Brief Article)
August 4, 2003... Who: Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky Inc. Where: Georgetown, Ky. Problem: Water supply Toyota's large Georgetown Camry/Avalon plant is in an area that draws its water from the modest river system of central Kentucky. Toyota...

Cool Solutions.(Marketing)(Brief Article)
August 4, 2003... Who: Mercedes-Benz International Inc. Where: Tuscaloosa, Ala. Problem: Logistics Mercedes-Benz is nearly tripling the size of its Alabama plant. Doing so meant building a body shop directly in the path of M-class SUVs leaving the...

cool Solutions; BMW.(Marketing)(Brief Article)
August 4, 2003... Who: BMW Manufacturing Corp. Where: Spartanburg, S.C. Problem: The cost of power Fluctuations in utility costs are a challenge for long-range planners. Like other large-scale industrial plants, BMW faces uncertainty in natural gas...

Cool Solutions.(Marketing)(Brief Article)
August 4, 2003... Who: Honda Manufacturing of Alabama LLC Where: Lincoln, Ala. Problem: Construction dirt Honda needs its second Alabama factory built in record time to capitalize on the hot light-truck market. The 17-month construction project...

Fiat forgoes Gingo as a name for new car.(Marketing)(Brief Article)
August 4, 2003... Byline: Luca Ciferri A threat of legal action from Renault has forced Fiat to rename its new Gingo small car. Renault says Gingo sounds too much like Twingo, the name of the French carmaker's 10-year-old entry-level model - and a Gingo...

Dealers key to stemming tech shortage.(News)
August 4, 2003... Former General Motors Chairman Jack Smith had a vision in 1995 of automakers, dealers and schools cooperating in an industrywide initiative to encourage and groom high school students for careers as auto service technicians. That vision...

Busy schedule set for meetings in Traverse City.(News)(Brief Article)
August 4, 2003... The location of plants in the North or South, the Big 3-UAW labor negotiations and their implications for suppliers, and the climate for supplier mergers and acquisitions will be among the topics of conversation this week at the annual...

How Things Change.(Marketing)
August 4, 2003... Before: Workers in teams of 18 assembled the Chevrolet S10 and GMC Sonoma from parts shipped from plants in the Midwest. After: Workers in teams of 6 assemble the Chevrolet Canyon and GMC Colorado from body panels produced on the site.

Survey shows Europeans are a marketing challenge.(Marketing)(Brief Article)
August 4, 2003... Byline: Bill Britt The factors that cause Europeans to select a new car vary so much by country, age and gender that automakers must tailor their messages carefully to avoid wasting money. Europeans agree on the top three...

Rouge reborn; Ford's massive Rouge complex once symbolized American industrial might. Now the Rouge is green, flexible and a prototype for Ford's plants of the future.(Marketing)(Ford Motor Co. considers what to do with its River Rouge plant in Dearborn, Michigan)
August 4, 2003... Byline: Richard Truett After 85 years and more than 6.5 million vehicles, Ford Motor Co. easily could have made a strong case for turning out the lights at its grimy, shop-worn River Rouge plant in Dearborn, Mich., southwest of Detroit....

BMW dares to be different with Mini ads.(Marketing)
August 4, 2003... Byline: Lillie Guyer Whether it's those daring Mini Cooper S triplets starring in the movie The Italian Job, or the car that peeks out from a New Yorker cartoon, Mini means fun and often irreverence. Mini USA, BMW's entry in the...

Letters.(Letter to the Editor)
August 4, 2003... Cadillac vet says upturn has begun To the Editor: Cadillac already is competing successfully against the European and high-line Asian brands. The Escalade and CTS are consistently shopped against high-end vehicles. Our showroom...

Stack it up.(Marketing)(the components of fuel cells)(Brief Article)
August 4, 2003... Fuel cells are made up of these components. Plates: Made of metal, plastic or ceramic. Coated with precious metal such as platinum. Channels allow hydrogen or oxygen to flow through. Membrane: Plastic film between plates. Allows...

Magic Johnson: LM shares my community goals.(Marketing)(an interview with new Lincoln spokesman Magic Johnson)(Brief Article)
August 4, 2003... Magic Johnson, one of basketball's greatest stars and now a respected Los Angeles businessman, has teamed up with Lincoln Mercury to be a spokesman for the Lincoln brand. Lincoln, the nation's top-selling luxury brand as recently as 1998,...

North vs. South.(News)
August 4, 2003... How financial incentive money typically is allocated North Tax abatements: 46% Economic aid and tax credits: 39% Road infrastructure, site preparation: 8% Employee recruitment, training: 3% South Tax abatements:...

Auto News Briefly.(Briefs)
August 4, 2003... Oh, well, at least it's not more spam The Sierra Club's new anti-SUV Web site, www.hummerdinger.com, debuted last week with much media fanfare. Besides attempting to humorously ridicule General Motors' Hummer H2, the site asks people to...

Chrysler discontinues Voyager minivan.(News)
August 4, 2003... Byline: Mary Connelly The Voyager nameplate, which helped pioneer the minivan market, is history. The Chrysler brand is dropping the vehicle at the end of the 2003 model year in the United States. Voyager sales have been weak since the...

Chevy could finally catch Ford.(News)(General Motors seeks to increase the sales of Chevrolet)
August 4, 2003... Byline: Dave Guilford Chevrolet's crunch time is approaching. Last year, General Motors' largest division sold 2.6 million light vehicles in the United States, or 54.6 percent of GM's 4.8 million total U.S. sales. As GM strains to...

GM to sell 'image engines' for prestige, power.(News)(GM Powertrain group vice president Tom Stephens groups engine programs into three categories)
August 4, 2003... Byline: Dave Guilford Tom Stephens has new products coming out, too. Stephens, group vice president of GM Powertrain, has grouped engine programs this decade into three categories. New engines and applications are emerging in each...

GM ad chief issues challenge to agencies.(Marketing)(General Motors executive director of advertising and corporate marketing CJ Fraleigh speaks)
August 4, 2003... CJ Fraleigh, executive director of advertising and corporate marketing at General Motors, says many large advertising agencies lack big ideas that connect with customers. And he doesn't want to pay large increases for TV commercials whose...

Fuel boost dies in Senate.(News)(the Senate votes against a significant hike in fuel economy standards)
August 4, 2003... Byline: Harry Stoffer Congress has more work to do to complete a comprehensive national energy bill, but this much is clear: It will not include a significant hike in car and truck fuel economy standards. The Senate voted...

GM rebuilds Chevy and Cadillac, but the Lutz effect must wait.(General Motors plans news vehicles for Chevrolet and Cadillac)(Brief Article)
August 4, 2003... General Motors will restock Chevrolet with eight new or redesigned vehicles in the next two model years. And Cadillac continues its rear-drive renaissance this year. But the full Robert Lutz effect at GM won't start until late next year....

Honda extends the warranty on Odyssey, TL transmissions.(News)(Brief Article)
August 4, 2003... Honda Motor Co. is extending the warranty on automatic transmissions installed on about 100,000 1999 model-year Acura TLs and Honda Odysseys. The vehicles were sold in the United States. Honda did not say how many of the transmissions...

Merger creates auto ad conflicts.(Marketing)(Bates Worldwide is acquired by WPP Group)(Brief Article)
August 4, 2003... Byline: Laurel Wentz The acquisition of advertising agency Bates Worldwide by London-based WPP Group - whose largest global client is Ford Motor Co. - creates a host of ad account conflicts involving U.S., European and Asian automakers....

DCX will regret unwise hiring.(Column)(DaimlerChrysler faces criticism for its Mercedes-Benz plant in Alabama)
August 4, 2003... Many stories have been told about DaimlerChrysler contractors using foreign workers, mainly from Poland, to help enlarge the Mercedes-Benz plant in Alabama. I'm reminded of all the positive publicity that Henry Ford received when he...

Visiting tech workers spark Mercedes controversy.(News)(the Department of Homeland Security investigates European subcontractors at DaimlerChrysler's operation in Tuscaloosa, Alabama)
August 4, 2003... Byline: Lindsay Chappell Investigators for the Department of Homeland Security are looking into the presence of European subcontractors at a DaimlerChrysler construction project in Tuscaloosa, Ala. The investigation, spawned by...

Northern states study South's success.(News)(Automotive Communities Program will study why automakers are moving south)
August 4, 2003... Byline: Lindsay Chappell A group in the Great Lakes region wants to learn how to slow the trend of automakers and suppliers investing billions in the South. The industry-heavy states of Michigan, Ohio and Indiana, along with the...

The Power of One; Delphi erased lots of red ink when it combined two unsuccessful plants into one remodeled plant.(Marketing)
August 4, 2003... Byline: Julie Armstrong Delphi Corp. saved $30.4 million when it consolidated two Saginaw, Mich., steering gear plants into one, compared with what it might have spent if it had built another plant to replace the two. Then came the...

After dizzying U.S. climb, VW slips; Soft sales blamed on old products, lack of incentives.(News)
August 4, 2003... Byline: Ralph Kisiel Volkswagen officials refuse to use 0 percent financing or cash rebates to prop up sagging VW brand sales in the United States. While most European brands are prospering this year, Volkswagen of America Inc....

Challenges await Ligocki at Tower.(News)(Kathleen Ligocki will take over as CEO at Tower Automotive Inc. effective August 25)
August 4, 2003... Byline: Julie Armstrong Kathleen Ligocki inherits a few challenges as she takes the reigns at Tower Automotive Inc. Among them, she will need to improve profit margins, earnings power and cash flow, says Charles Brady, managing...

Covisint sues former partner for breach of contract.(News)(Commerce One Inc.)
August 4, 2003... During the Internet bubble, Covisint LLC and Commerce One Inc. planned to revolutionize the way auto suppliers do business. Now they have turned on each other. Covisint, of Southfield, Mich., has sued Commerce One, of Pleasanton, Calif.,...

The luxury of time; A lengthy GM shutdown in Kansas got workers more involved and made a plant more competitive.(Marketing)(General Motors Corp.)
August 4, 2003... Byline: Dave Guilford General Motors didn't leave the 3,200 employees at the Fairfax assembly plant in Kansas City, Kan., in limbo when it decided to move the plant's longtime product, the Pontiac Grand Prix, to Oshawa, Ontario. The...