Automotive News articles from August 2007

Automotive News archives from August 2007

Conti, Siemens: Now to make the union work.(Viewpoint essay)
August 6, 2007... You have to give credit to the leaders of Continental AG. They talked the talk and walked the walk when they bought German competitor Siemens VDO Automotive. The $15.7 billion price tag is the biggest ever for an automotive suppler. For...

Hello, UAW? Please organize my dealership; Defying conventional attitudes, Ford dealer Tim Mathews invited the union onboard. But the union almost blew its chance.(News)(United Automobile Workers)
August 6, 2007... Byline: Lindsay Chappell Most auto dealers dread the idea of a union trying to organize their employees. Not Tim Mathews. One day last year, Mathews picked up the telephone and called UAW President Ron Gettelfinger to ask him to...

In an old union town, dealership numbers decline.(News)
August 6, 2007... Byline: Lindsay Chappell Minneapolis-St. Paul is a rare area in the United States where dealerships are dominated by unions. But it offers a look at the past, not the future. Five years ago, the eight-county region had 72 unionized...

CarsDirect.com's parent seeks cash through IPO.(News)(Internet Brands Inc.)
August 6, 2007... Byline: Ralph Kisiel The private company that owns the consumer auto-buying Web site www.CarsDirect.com wants to raise cash through a public stock offering. Last month, Internet Brands Inc. filed a registration statement with the...

Outside inventors find auto industry a tough sell.(Insight)
August 6, 2007... Byline: Robert Sherefkin In the early 1990s inventor Edward Rutkowski dreamed up a better mousetrap and waited for the auto industry to beat a path to his door. His laser chip control process promised to save automakers and suppliers...

Letters to the Editor.(Letters)(Letter to the editor)
August 6, 2007... Lear: Let's set the record straight To the Editor: Keith Crain's July 23 column about the merger proposal between Lear and American Real Estate Partners LP contained a number of errors and, accordingly, was very misleading ("Lear: An...

Potamkin's Harlem shuffle: Drops Caddy, adds imports.(News)
August 6, 2007... Byline: Arlena Sawyers When General Motors and the Potamkin Automotive Group opened a $60 million auto mall in Harlem in February 2006, its two dealerships were the first new-vehicle retailers in 40 years in the largely minority New York...

There's still a place for a 'Yank Tank'.(Column)
August 6, 2007... Byline: KEITH CRAIN There has been a lot of conversation lately about how the price and availability of fuel are going to mean the death of the large American luxury sedan. That's a rather unrealistic notion. When you have a car market...

Look for hard-nosed Chrysler board.(News)
August 6, 2007... Byline: Bradford Wernle Expect a lean, no-nonsense board of directors at the newly private Chrysler. The board will be appointed by the new majority owners, Cerberus Capital Management LP, hard-charging investors unburdened by the...

UAW begins strike planning.(Late News)(United automobile workers)(Fiat Auto S.p.A. signs joint venture with Chery Automobile Co. )(Toyota Motor Corp. profits rise)
August 6, 2007... DETROIT - The UAW scheduled meetings here over the weekend for its Detroit 3 local presidents and leaders to discuss strike preparations. A union representative who asked not to be identified said the UAW planned to detail procedures for strike...

Labor talks underscore outsourcing trends.(Insight)
August 6, 2007... Byline: David Phillips The Detroit 3-UAW labor talks this summer will play a big role in how much more work General Motors, Ford and Chrysler farm out to suppliers in coming years. The auto industry's core manufacturing operations -...

MEET THE NEW GM; That tidy 2nd-quarter profit may mean a new General Motors has begun to emerge - a successful global competitor less dependent on North America.(Statistical data)
August 6, 2007... Byline: Jamie LaReau A "eureka!'' moment occurred last week when General Motors posted its quarterly financial results. The company's better-than-expected profit was a glimpse at the wished-for GM of the future: a nimble and global...

Cue the Q5.(News)
August 6, 2007... A lightly camouflaged prototype of Audi's next SUV was snapped during testing in the Austrian Alps. The Q5 is smaller than Audi's Q7. Sales begin next year. The Q5 will compete with the BMW X3 and a similar-sized SUV planned by Mercedes-Benz....

Supply line.(Briefs)(Dura Automotive Systems Inc. signs joint venture with Minth Group Ltd.)(Audi AG hired Hella KG Hueck & Co.)(Hella supplies Q7 lane warning)
August 6, 2007... Swiss firm gets loan to buy Ontario supplier TORONTO - Auto parts manufacturer Meridian Technologies Inc. has obtained a $140.4 million loan from GE Commercial Finance Corporate Lending. The Swiss holding company Estatia AG plans to...

Continental must sort out Siemens VDO assets.(Suppliers)
August 6, 2007... Byline: April Wortham After agreeing to pay $15.66 billion to buy Siemens VDO Automotive Corp., Continental AG faces the monumental task of deciding which pieces of its new automotive parts empire to keep and which to toss. Some...

Crybabies? No; the yen-dollar rate really hurts.(Viewpoint essay)
August 6, 2007... Byline: James B. Treece The outlandish dollar-yen exchange rate is a threat to the domestic auto industry, a top industry executive said. He said the government, therefore, should intervene in currency markets to push the rate to a more...

As Tower emerges, Ligocki moves on.(Final assembly)(Tower Automotive Inc.)( Kathleen Ligocki)(Brief article)
August 6, 2007... The reorganization of Tower Automotive Inc. was completed last week - and so was the frame maker's expected change at the top. On Friday Tower named former Ford Motor Co. finance executive Mark Malcolm, 53, as CEO, replacing Kathleen...

Costly spills soak up attention; Automakers and suppliers team up to improve quality, reduce defects.(Insight)
August 6, 2007... Byline: David Barkholz, Robert Sherefkin Stefan Land knew what to do when the crisis hit three months ago. ArvinMeritor Inc.'s power windows were failing at an alarming rate when tested at the assembly plant. With car production...

Next Corolla to add muscle, edgier styling.(News)(Brief article)
August 6, 2007... Byline: Mark Rechtin Fighting the more powerful and stylish Honda Civic and Mazda3, the redesigned Toyota Corolla arriving in early 2008 will have an edgier look and more powerful engines. Toyota's new 1.8-liter engine family, which...

Ghosn: Don't be surprised if I turn up in Detroit.(Final assembly)
August 6, 2007... Carlos Ghosn doesn't want to buy Volvo from Ford Motor Co., but the Renault and Nissan CEO says he hasn't abandoned the idea of finding a U.S. partner. A year ago, Detroit breathlessly awaited the outcome of the Renault-Nissan talks with...

I have 50% ... do I hear 40? Calculating when Detroit 3's U.S. share will hit another landmark low.(News)(Brief article)
August 6, 2007... Byline: John K. Teahen Jr. As word of the Detroit 3 slipping below 50 percent of the U.S. market spread through the newsroom last week, an Automotive News staffer wondered, only half in jest, "When will it fall below 40 percent?'' The...

Company solves problems behind the scenes; Operation's growth is sign of industry's push for quality.(Insight)(Company overview)
August 6, 2007... Byline: April Wortham In a perfect world, Herbert Lichtman would have a different job. Lichtman is CEO of Product Action International LLC, a little-known company that helps automakers and suppliers address quality issues that emerge...

Rolls' new head-turner: Drophead Coupe.(News)(Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupe )(Statistical data)
August 6, 2007... Byline: Diana T. Kurylko The Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupe convertible will be driven by glitzy entertainers and megamillionaires. There is nothing subtle about it. With only 150 to 200 of the $412,000-plus convertibles coming to...

VWoA: Dealers' return on sales rises.(News)(Volkswagen of America )(Brief article)
August 6, 2007... Byline: Diana T. Kurylko Six months after it launched a controversial dealer margin program, Volkswagen of America says dealers' return on sales is up. Protests by Volkswagen dealers at the National Automobile Dealers Association...

Toyota exhales: Tundra gains sales traction.(Statistical data)
August 6, 2007... Byline: Richard Truett After a shaky start, the redesigned Toyota Tundra is gaining traction. The Tundra, Toyota's effort to loosen the Detroit 3's grip on the full-sized pickup market, is on track to meet its goal of 200,000 sales...

Robotics orders are rising; Suppliers embrace automation in order to compete.(Suppliers)
August 6, 2007... Byline: Michael LeGault You won't find it on the Chinese calendar, but 2007 may go down as the year of the robot. Robot orders from the automotive sector jumped 45 percent in the first quarter compared with the same period last year,...

New GM technology contracts spur innovation.(News)(Ralph Szygenda of General Motors )(Interview)
August 6, 2007... Byline: Ralph Kisiel One year after awarding $15 billion worth of contracts to information technology vendors, General Motors is using its savings to develop new global systems. Ralph Szygenda, GM's chief information officer, looks...

House heads toward big CAFE boost; Dems' plan would require fleets to hit 35 mpg by 2020.(News)
August 6, 2007... Byline: Harry Stoffer Automakers may want to start thinking about how to make their fleets average 35 mpg by 2020. Last week, top House Democratic leaders postponed a debate over rival proposals for future fuel economy standards. Their...

Request for raise leads to 2 deaths at car exporter.(News)(RM Auto International )
August 6, 2007... Byline: April Wortham Last month Inga Contreras and Martynas Simokaitis went to their boss at car exporter RM Auto International and asked for a raise. "He indicated that he would think about it and get back to them,'' said East Point,...

Dealer: Good will didn't stop strike.(News)
August 6, 2007... Byline: Lindsay Chappell When Steve Haworth and Tim Beinke bought and reopened a closed Honda dealership in Berkeley, Calif., in 2005, Haworth wanted to do the morally correct thing, he says. A community activist in this liberal city,...

Profits rise at Mazda, Mitsubishi.(News)(Financial report)
August 6, 2007... Byline: James B. Treece Operating profits improved at Mazda Motor Corp. and Mitsubishi Motors Corp. in the quarter that ended June 30. Rising sales outside Japan and an increasingly favorable yen exchange rate pushed up profits. Net...

Congress fumes over delayed death-rate goal; Lawmakers: NHTSA should do more to keep motorists safe.(News)(National Highway Traffic Safety Administration )
August 6, 2007... Byline: Harry Stoffer Federal safety regulators are not doing enough to bring down the nation's highway death rate, key members of Congress say. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration "should not be complacent and accept...

Dealers.(People)(Casey Honda; American Honda Motor Co. )(Brief article)
August 6, 2007... Milestones * Art Casey of Casey Honda in Newport News, Va., received a 30-year award for Honda from American Honda Motor Co. CAPTION(S): 90 with Chevrolet: Leon Edwards, at left in the front, of Edwards Chevrolet in Birmingham,...

Study: Customer satisfaction rises.(Service & Parts)
August 6, 2007... Byline: Jim Henry Consumer satisfaction with dealership service continues to rise, a new study says, even as customers are paying for more service work themselves instead of relying on factory warranties. According to the J.D. Power...

Milestones for Altima, Tundra.(Production)(Brief article)
August 6, 2007... Byline: Debi Domby * Nissan North America Inc. will build its 3 millionth Nissan Altima in the United States this week. * Toyota Motor Corp. will build its 1 millionth Toyota Tundra in the United States this week. * Honda Motor...

California boy Hunt is cool now, but was he once a nerd?(News)(Interview)
August 6, 2007... Byline: Kathy Jackson Was that Len Hunt driving a Kia? After all, this is a proper, suit-wearing Brit who spent much of his career with upscale Jaguar and Audi. After working in Detroit as head of the Volkswagen brand in North...

Rolls rides herd on newest workers. But they're thick-skinned.(Final assembly)(Brief article)
August 6, 2007... Rolls-Royce designers wanted to use teak on the deck of the new Phantom Drophead Coupe convertible. The problem? The tropical hardwood typically gets a green patina with age - a desirable look on patio furniture but a definite no-no on a car...

New VWoA boss wants U.S. plant.(Final assembly)
August 6, 2007... The new CEO of Volkswagen of America is expected to make pushing for a U.S. factory a top priority. Stefan Jacoby must cut losses and boost sales at the VW group's U.S. holding company, which lost $827 million last year. Jacoby's job is...

Calendar.(Calendar)
August 6, 2007... AUTO SHOWS - 2007 Aug. 29-Sept. 2 - Moscow International Motor Show, Crocus Expo, Moscow, 44 20 7596 5177, www.motorshows-ite.com Sept. 13-23 - Frankfurt International Motor Show, (press days: Sept. 11 and 12), Frankfurt/ Main...

Technicians at Florida dealership vote to join Machinists union.(Service & Parts)(Brief article)
August 6, 2007... Byline: Donna Harris In what union officials call a "historic win,'' service technicians at a Florida new-vehicle dealership voted late last month to join the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers. "We've...

Rolls is looking to the ultrarich.(News)(Rolls-Royce Motor Cars North America LLC)(Interview)
August 6, 2007... Byline: Diana T. Kurylko Paul Ferraiolo, 49, took over as president of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars North America LLC on July 1 - just in time to launch the world's most expensive convertible. At a starting price of $412,000 including...

Imports take control of U.S. market.(Sales)
August 6, 2007... Byline: John K. Teahen Jr. It was an upheaval waiting to happen, and in July it did: Foreign automakers took control of the new-vehicle market in the United States. Import-badged cars and light trucks captured 51.9 percent of the...

GM woos the radio stars; Rush, Whoopi and others plug vehicles on the air.(Rush Limbaugh, Bill O'Reilly, Laura Schlessinger, Whoopi Goldberg)
August 6, 2007... Byline: Mary Connelly General Motors is recruiting many of America's best known radio personalities - including Rush Limbaugh, Bill O'Reilly, Laura Schlessinger and Whoopi Goldberg - to talk up its vehicles on the air. GM says it...

Auto News digest.(Briefs)
August 6, 2007... 'Right to repair' measure questioned WASHINGTON - Proposed "right to repair'' legislation is "a solution looking for a problem,'' several key industry groups argue. The measure before Congress would require automakers to give the same...

Ford keeps JWT for Focus launch.(News)
August 6, 2007... Byline: Mary Connelly Ford Motor Co. will keep JWT Team Detroit as its advertising agency for the launch this fall of the restyled 2008 Ford Focus. The automaker heard competing agency pitches for the small-car account. JWT, Ford's ad...

In Mexico, June, 6-month sales slide.(Sales)(Financial report)(Brief article)
August 6, 2007... Byline: Stephen Downer Sales of new cars and trucks in Mexico sank 7.8 percent in June with 80,461 vehicles sold, compared with 87,258 in June 2006. For the first half of the year, sales slid 2.7 percent, with 520,453 vehicles sold. That...

Time draws short for Chery to deliver; Company goals: Build cars for Chrysler, triple sales.(News)
August 6, 2007... Byline: Alysha Webb The modest Guoxin Hotel in this gritty city bustles with foreigners. Most are here for one reason: to sell parts and machinery to the hottest car company in China, Chery Automobile Co. An engineer from Germany's...

Chrysler plant offers showcase for its suppliers.(Insight)
August 6, 2007... Byline: Bradford Wernle Jake Ladouceur is a man in a hurry. The goateed Canadian exudes energy, can-do optimism and gruff charm. Ladouceur, plant manager of Kuka Toledo Production Operations LLC, wants to show automakers that his...

Detroit 3 contract negotiators must think 4 years ahead.(Final assembly)
August 6, 2007... Byline: Edward Lapham Once upon a time, General Motors, Ford and Chrysler sat down every three years to negotiate new contracts with the UAW. It was that way for decades. When the contract interval was lengthened to four years in 1999, it...

Buy American? OK, says Chinese company.(News)(Brief article)
August 6, 2007... Byline: Kevin Huang Last year, a leading Chinese spark plug company wanted to win more contracts in North America and elsewhere. But to do so, the Torch Spark Plug Co. needed to expand quickly. The solution: Buy an American factory....

Who wants Jag? Here's the long short list.(Final assembly)(Jaguar )(Brief article)
August 6, 2007... Jaguar is enduring hard times. But that hasn't stopped a diverse crowd of luxury-automaker wannabes from bidding for Jaguar and sister brand Land Rover. The New York Times says parent Ford Motor Co. hopes to have a tentative deal to sell...

Six Sigma is a key implement in the quality toolbox; The trick is training employees to apply it properly.(Insight)
August 6, 2007... Byline: Jack Herman To the average person, the mention of Six Sigma likely conjures thoughts of complex mathematics and mundane technical details. But to a major automaker or supplier, it is a frequently used management tool to fix...

No sales of woe at BMW.(Final assembly)(Brief article)
August 6, 2007... You've heard or read the sad, sad story of the Detroit 3's July sales and the not-so-glowing tale of the July performance of the Japanese Big 3. So let's talk about a winner: Germany's Big One. It's spelled B-M-W. July was an...

Corrections.(Correction)(Correction notice)
August 6, 2007... * A Page 1 story in the July 16 issue incorrectly reported which Volkswagens will get diesel engines. VW has no plans to install a diesel engine in the current generation of the New Beetle.

It's still a bad idea.(Viewpoint essay)(Brief article)
August 6, 2007... From the latest array of programming gimmicks being dangled in front of regulators, it's easy to see that the proposed hookup of Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. and XM Satellite Radio Inc. is in jeopardy because it offers little value to consumers...

Suppliers: We're up for industry's challenges: Part 1 of 2.(Insight)(Gregg Sherrill CEO of Tenneco Inc. )(Dean Harlow president of Ricardo Inc)(Chip McClure CEO of ArvinMeritor Inc.)(Discussion)
August 6, 2007... Byline: Peter Brown, David Sedgwick, Philip Nussel, David Barkholz Suppliers: We're up for industry's challenges Roundtable execs are eager to help boost fuel economy and cut emissions The automotive supply chain has been consumed...

Suppliers: We're up for industry's challenges: Part 2 of 2.(Insight)(Dean Harlow of Ricardo Inc.)(Gregg Sherrill of Tenneco Inc.)(Chip McClure of ArvinMeritor Inc.)(Discussion)
August 6, 2007... Byline: Peter Brown, David Sedgwick, Philip Nussel, David Barkholz Are all of you now doing business in China? All: Yes Are you able to market your latest, greatest technology in China? McClure: We've got 12 plants there, and...

Earnings of most public auto groups up in 2nd qtr.(News)(Statistical data)
August 6, 2007... Byline: Jim Henry Most publicly traded U.S. auto dealership groups reported improved financial results in the second quarter of 2007. The companies' combined profits rose by more than 10 percent over the year-ago quarter despite trends...

Ford: Quality is improving; Gains drive down the cost of warranties.(Management Briefing Seminars)(Joe Hinrichs)(Interview)
August 7, 2007... Byline: David Barkholz Ford Motor Co.'s quality gains in the past year are contributing to major savings on warranty costs, the company's North American manufacturing chief, Joe Hinrichs, said yesterday. Ford Motor posted a $700...

Ford will train dealers to get them in Sync; Hands-free system enables drivers to focus on road.(Management Briefing Seminars)
August 7, 2007... Byline: David Barkholz, Richard Truett Ford Motor Co. is taking no chances with the launch this fall of a new in-vehicle communication system known as Sync. Ford is offering extra training to dealers and technical support to prepare...

TC buzz.(Management Briefing Seminars)(Chrysler Corp. appointed Bob Nardelli)
August 7, 2007... It's off to races for the new Chrysler It was all Chrysler all the time yesterday after the automaker's new ownership stunned the industry by bringing in a controversial big-name CEO - Bob Nardelli, the former chief of retailer Home Depot...

Outside Acme.(Management Briefing Seminars)(Brief article)
August 7, 2007... Nardelli vows to work closely with LaSorda DETROIT - New Chrysler Chairman and CEO Bob Nardelli took the reins of the newly independent Chrysler yesterday, pledging to work closely with Tom LaSorda, the man who held the title of CEO until...

Question of the Day.(Management Briefing Seminars)(Brief article)
August 7, 2007... Do you think hiring Bob Nardelli as CEO was a good move for Chrysler LLC? "When you have as much money invested as Cerberus, you want to have somebody that's really going to watch over the company and also somebody that can attack the old...

Before briefing, a prebriefing can help.(Management Briefing Seminars)(Editorial)
August 7, 2007... Byline: Edward Lapham I'll let you in on a little secret: Each year as I get ready for the trip to Traverse City for the Management Briefing Seminars, I try to guess what's going to happen up here. No, it's not so I can duck out of the...

Siemens builds hybrid; it's just a demo.(Management Briefing Seminars)(Brief article)
August 7, 2007... Byline: Richard Truett The diesel engine reigns in Europe, but gasoline-electric or diesel-electric hybrids are expected to snag a larger share of the market. And Siemens VDO Automotive Corp. wants in on the action. The German...

Soft market pushes down steel prices - at last; Buyers warned: Volatile swings are possible.(Management Briefing Seminars)(Statistical data)
August 7, 2007... Byline: Jack Herman With domestic demand slipping, spot prices for steel are nearly $75 per ton lower than they were a year ago. Still, steel buyers can expect volatile market prices on a plateau significantly higher than five years...

Vehicle communication testing center will open in October.(Management Briefing Seminars)
August 7, 2007... Byline: Jack Herman Suppliers are developing systems that enable cars to communicate with each other on blind spots, traffic conditions and other concerns. And soon, the industry will have a central location to test and evaluate those...

Suppliers deserve credit for quality boom.(Management Briefing Seminars)(Column)
August 7, 2007... Byline: Philip Nussel Automakers are happily trumpeting improved quality scores, but they aren't spreading the credit around enough. So I'll do it for them. Suppliers deserve a lot of kudos as well. During the past few months,...

Nissan N.A. casts a wider net for parts.(Management Briefing Seminars)(Interview)
August 7, 2007... Byline: Lindsay Chappell The scope of Nissan North America's business is changing - and with it, the outlook for purchasing. The company's Smyrna, Tenn., manufacturing headquarters is under a new mandate to bring together production...

Steel makers: Measure vehicles by total impact on economy.(Management Briefing Seminars)
August 7, 2007... Byline: Jack Herman As debate over higher fuel-economy standards rages in Washington, the steel industry says it is content to sit on the sidelines - for now. It will join the game, it says, but only if the contest is moved to a...

Gilles: Chrysler beefs up interiors.(Management Briefing Seminars)(Ralph Gilles of Chrysler LLC )(Interview)
August 7, 2007... Byline: David Barkholz Saying that "interiors is the next battleground,'' Chrysler LLC design whiz Ralph Gilles said the carmaker intends to begin interior design work up to a year earlier than usual so that fresh ideas can be introduced....

Experts: U.S. automakers undermine themselves.(Management Briefing Seminars)
August 7, 2007... Byline: April Wortham Blame China if you like, but the United States is its own worst enemy when it comes to protecting manufacturing jobs, industry experts say. "It's not what everyone else in the world should do to help the U.S....

Chinese rivals worry Mexican suppliers.(Management Briefing Seminars)
August 7, 2007... Byline: Stephen Downer Is China making Mexico nervous? The executive president of Mexico's auto suppliers association acknowledges being concerned about the strong presence of Chinese companies at this summer's PAACE Automechanika...

Some Tier 2 suppliers follow customers overseas.(Management Briefing Seminars)
August 7, 2007... Byline: Rhoda Miel The auto parts industry's move to China and other low-cost countries is sweeping up other manufacturers - companies that do not have labor-cost issues of their own that would take them overseas but must move to keep up...

Supply line.(Management Briefing Seminars)(financial news)(Financial report)
August 7, 2007... Lear net income rises for quarter DETROIT - Lear Corp. reported net income of $123.6 million on revenue of $4.16 billion for the second quarter ending June 30, compared with a net loss of $6.4 million on revenue of $4.81 billion in the same...

Pick up the PACE applications now.(Management Briefing Seminars)
August 7, 2007... Auto suppliers have until Sept. 14 to apply for the 2008 Automotive News PACE Awards. The awards - co-sponsored by Microsoft, SAP and the Transportation Research Center Inc. - recognize suppliers for innovation. Winners will be announced April...

Pick up the PACE applications now.(Management Briefing Seminars)
August 8, 2007... Auto suppliers have until Sept. 14 to apply for the 2008 Automotive News PACE Awards. The awards - co-sponsored by Microsoft, SAP and the Transportation Research Center Inc. - recognize suppliers for innovation. Winners will be announced April...

Outside Acme.(Management Briefing Seminars)(Carlyle Group L.P.; Onex Corp. acquired General Motors Corp. Allison Transmission Div.)(55% of Lear shares opposed Icahn offer)
August 8, 2007... 55% of Lear shares opposed Icahn offer DETROIT - Billionaire investor Carl Icahn's ill-fated attempt to acquire seating and electronics supplier Lear Corp. was defeated July 16 by a vote of 38.66 million shares opposed to 22.21 million...

Continental won't use Siemens name after deal.(Management Briefing Seminars)
August 8, 2007... Byline: April Wortham What will $15.66 billion buy these days? Apparently, not a name. Continental AG will not be able to use the Siemens moniker on products and technologies it is acquiring from German rival Siemens VDO Automotive...

Connected cars need common language.(Management Briefing Seminars)
August 8, 2007... Byline: Jack Herman Technology soon will let cars communicate with each other and with their environment to warn of traffic problems and smooth the flow on congested roads. But before cars can help one another, automakers, suppliers...

After last year's leap, aluminum prices stabilize; Metal zooms past iron as the No. 2 material in vehicles.(Management Briefing Seminars)(Statistical data)
August 8, 2007... Byline: Jack Herman Aluminum prices skyrocketed last year, fueled by an increase in global demand. But analysts say prices will remain relatively stable through 2007 and perhaps even fall by year end. The average price of aluminum...

Bosch CEO grapples with the weak dollar.(Management Briefing Seminars)(Peter Marks)(Interview)
August 8, 2007... Byline: April Wortham, Philip Nussel Peter Marks, CEO of Robert Bosch LLC, has headed the North American arm of German industrial giant Robert Bosch GmbH for more than a year. Like other European suppliers, Marks is dealing with the impact...

Toyota is 'bullish' on North American parts; Automaker looks at productivity rather than cost of labor.(Management Briefing Seminars)(Interview)
August 8, 2007... Byline: Lindsay Chappell Toyota Motor Corp.'s U.S. sales growth has triggered a rapid expansion in North American vehicle production. That, in turn, has meant more purchasing of U.S. parts and materials. Last year, the company spent...

Question of the Day.(Management Briefing Seminars)
August 8, 2007... Do you believe there will be a work stoppage as part of this summer's auto talks between the Detroit 3 and the UAW? "I don't think so. The Cerberus acquisition of Chrysler will put additional pressure on the union to come to the table in a...