Automotive News articles from February 2007

Automotive News archives from February 2007

Pricing, margins are hot topics at Pontiac; Council co-chairman: New product mix will be awesome.(General Motors Corp.'s Mike Bowsher talks about Pontiac-GMC)(Interview)
February 3, 2007... Byline: Jamie LaReau As General Motors pushes its Buick, Pontiac and GMC dealers to consolidate those franchises into one store, a practice it calls "channeling,'' dealers selling Pontiac and GMC vehicles are struggling with profitability...

Dodge's priorities are inventory, bottom line.(DaimlerChrysler AG. Dodge Div.'s Hayden Elder talks about management decisions)(Interview)
February 3, 2007... Byline: Bradford Wernle Hayden Elder is a homespun Texan who loves nothing more than to take in a rodeo or a Dallas Cowboys football game. Now Elder is taking over as chairman of the Dodge National Dealer Council. He assumed the job...

Saab's job: Boost volume without new product.(Saab Automobile AB's Howard Drake talks about company's forecasting)(Interview)
February 3, 2007... Byline: Mary Connelly Saab dealers await an infusion of new product later in the decade. Until then they must stress the functions and safety of Saab vehicles and work to capture buyers migrating from SUVs, said Howard Drake, chairman...

On the record.(News)
February 3, 2007... We think the Smart will sell to baby boomers who want it as a second or third car or for their teenage kid. What better car to buy your teenager than a car without a back seat? - David Schembri President Smart USA

Pondering boomer nostalgia - and Carroll Shelby.(forecasting automobile industry)(Editorial)(Brief article)
February 3, 2007... Byline: David Sedgwick Are baby boomers mired in the past? Coming from the airport Thursday, I saw three billboards that advertised the Beatles, Elton John and the Moody Blues. Well, the "Beatles'' turned out to be Cirque du Soleil's...

GM trimmed 87 stores in 2006.(General Motors Corp)(Brief article)
February 3, 2007... Byline: Amy Wilson General Motors trimmed 87 dealerships from its U.S. count last year, a reduction of 1.2 percent. Though it still has too many dealerships, GM doesn't plan buyouts to reduce stores at a faster pace. "We don't have a...

What's happening today.(News)
February 3, 2007... EXPOSITION 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Las Vegas Convention Center WORKSHOPS 11 a.m.-12:15 p.m. Convention center FORMAL OPENING 2:30-4:30 p.m. Convention center, Hall N4, Level 1 RECEPTIONS, by invitation only Women...

Shelby's latest creation.(News)
February 3, 2007... Customizer Carroll Shelby, center, joins Dave Power, left, and Gulf States Toyota President Jerry Pyle around a convertible version of the Ford Mustang that Shelby is customizing for Hertz. A Shelby executive says the company will build 500 of...

For Saturn dealers, the 'best years are ahead'.(Tom Carpenter talks about company forecasts and management)(Interview)
February 3, 2007... Byline: Arlena Sawyers The last few years have been lean for Saturn dealers. Battling an aging lineup and declining sales, Saturn became less of a "different kind of car company'' as its early advertising pitched, and more like just...

GM enhances its certified warranties.(General Motors Corp.)(Brief article)
February 3, 2007... Byline: Arlena Sawyers General Motors will cover vehicles sold under its GM Certified brand with 5-year/100,000-mile powertrain limited warranties starting March 5. The enhancement will be effective from the time the vehicles were...

Chrysler-Jeep dealers look to new product.(Chrysler Corp.'s Jim Arrigo talks about Chrysler-Jeep)(Interview)
February 3, 2007... Byline: Bradford Wernle Before he and his dad bought a Dodge dealership in Fernandina Beach, Fla., in 1989, Jim Arrigo worked for 10 years at Southeast Toyota Distributors Inc. learning from Jim Moran, a legend in the car business. ...

Chevy shopping list: Hybrids and entry models.(General Motors Corp. Chevrolet Motor Div.'s Roger Moody talks about company management techniques)(Interview)
February 3, 2007... Byline: Jamie LaReau Chevrolet dealers have a lot to look forward to in 2007 with the new Silverado pickup in stores and the restyled Malibu sedan coming this fall. Of course, the big buzz is around the Camaro, which is coming in 2008. ...

Cadillac dealers anticipate CTS; desire coupe.(General Motors Corp. Cadillac Motor Car Div.'s Daniel Jobe talks about company management techniques)(Interview)
February 3, 2007... Byline: Jamie LaReau Cadillac dealers look forward to the addition of the restyled 2008 CTS sports sedan this fall. But they would like Cadillac to add a coupe. "It's a glaring omission in the product lineup that we need to address,'' said...

Question of the day.(automobile dealers pricing strategy)(Brief article)
February 3, 2007... What are you doing to cut costs? "Our whole strategy is about reducing cost, and doing it through scale. That's why we have 105 dealerships as of yesterday. Operating more stores lets us share the cost of advertising and insurance and...

Dealers differ on meaning of 'profitability'.(News)
February 3, 2007... Byline: John K. Teahen Jr. What's your chief concern for 2007? Automotive News put that question to dealer council leaders of 32 brands sold in the United States, and the answer came back loud and clear: 17 said profitability....

Toyota robs brands across U.S.(Toyota Motor Corp.'s sales )(Brief article)
February 3, 2007... Byline: Lindsay Chappell Toyota is snatching sales from almost every brand in the United States - even brands that compete in different segments than Toyota. Or thought they did. According to conquest sales data presented here Thursday...

Buzz is audible when bag carousel is silent.(News)(Column)
February 3, 2007... Byline: Edward Lapham Just once I'd like to fly into Vegas for NADA and have my bags waiting for me by the time I get to the baggage claim area. Why does it take so long? The nicest thing you can say about the service at McCarran is...

Wall Street could speed Detroit 3 consolidation.(Brief article)
February 3, 2007... Byline: Lindsay Chappell A Wall Street investor says the Detroit 3 need to eliminate 60 to 70 percent of their U.S. dealerships to compete effectively with Japanese rivals. What's more, the investor might want to put his money into...

Buick dealers' lament: 'We need more product'; Getting channelled with GMC, Pontiac is also a challenge.(an interview with Frank Bellavia)(Interview)
February 3, 2007... Byline: Mary Connelly Buick dealers need a broader product line, said Frank Bellavia, co-chairman of the Buick-Pontiac-GMC National Dealer Council. "We would like to have four to five models specific to Buick that sell,'' Bellavia said....

Report: Detroit 3 will cut rental buybacks.(News)
February 3, 2007... Byline: Arlena Sawyers Program vehicles will account for fewer than half of the cars and trucks that rental companies will buy in the 2007 model year, a report predicts. Program cars and trucks are vehicles that automakers buy back...

Auto News digest.(Briefs)(Ford Motor Co.'s salute to dealers award to its dealers)(Brief article)
February 3, 2007... Power: 7 brands have worst rep Can there be anything worse in the auto business than a bad reputation? Market analysts at J.D. Power and Associates have labeled seven of the industry's brands with a "poor reputation.'' Jaguar,...

LaNeve agenda: Blackjack, thank dealers.(General Motors Corp.'s Mark LaNeve interviewed)(Interview)
February 3, 2007... Byline: Jamie LaReau Mark LaNeve Vice president of vehicle sales, service and marketing, General Motors Age: 47 What do you like to do in Las Vegas? I like to play blackjack, and I like to play golf when I have the time....

Peper benched for NADA.(General Motors Corp. Chevrolet Motor Div.'s Ed Peper met with a mishap in basketball court)(National Automobile Dealers Association)(Brief article)
February 3, 2007... Byline: Jamie LaReau Ed Peper will be missing in action from Chevrolet's lineup here following a mishap on a basketball court. Chevy's 43-year-old general manager, who played college ball at Hillsdale College in Michigan, recently took...

Powering up.(News)
February 3, 2007... The convention kicks off today, but discussion of industry issues began simmering Thursday at the two-day J.D. Power Automotive Roundtable at the Green Valley Ranch Resort. Performance guru Carroll Shelby got the crowd stoked about horsepower....

Acura must make do with new MDX for now.(News)(dialogue with Bud Thurston of American Honda Motor Company Inc. Acura)(Interview)
February 4, 2007... Byline: Ralph Kisiel Acura dealers are thrilled with sales of the redesigned MDX SUV, but they know the MDX will have to carry them through most of 2007. With no new product coming until 2008, Acura dealers expect this year to be a...

Another strong year is in the cards for Honda.(News)(dialogue with Jim Smail)(Interview)
February 4, 2007... Byline: Ralph Kisiel Even with an aging Accord, Honda dealers in 2006 still had their 13th consecutive year-over-year sales increase in the United States. Sales for the Honda Division were up 4.8 percent in 2006 to 1,308,135 vehicles....

Ford uncertainty clouds Land Rover landscape.(Land Rover North America Inc.'s forecasts accorfing to Michael Levitan )
February 4, 2007... Byline: Harry Stoffer Dealer group head is optimistic that quality will improve In what might be considered trying times for Land Rover dealers, Michael Levitan sees better times ahead. Levitan, chairman of the dealer group known...

Microsoft pushes Reynolds, ADP.(Microsoft Corp. introducing Dynamics AX software for dealers in competition with ADP Dealer Services and Reynolds and Reynolds Co)
February 4, 2007... Byline: Ralph Kisiel, Donna Harris ADP Dealer Services and Reynolds and Reynolds Co. have long been the dominant vendors of dealership management systems on the NADA exhibition floor. But this year Microsoft Corp., a giant of another sort,...

Question of the day.(selling chinese built automobiles)(Brief article)
February 4, 2007... Would you be interested in a franchise to sell Chinese-built vehicles? "Not now. We have no developing plans. The big problem is they aren't starting out with parts and service - which is what we look at. You do not necessarily need to...

Tales of the well-to-do and do-it-yourselfers.(Bill Ford Jr. invested in renovating his house)(Editorial)(Brief article)
February 4, 2007... Byline: David Sedgwick It is oddly reassuring to learn that Bill Ford Jr. is not immune to the torments of the damned that ordinary people suffer when they foolishly launch a home-improvement project. We were hanging out at Edsel...

What's happening today.(News)
February 4, 2007... EXPOSITION 8:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Las Vegas Convention Center INSPIRATIONAL PROGRAM 9:30-10:30 a.m. Convention center, Hall N4 MAKE MEETINGS/WORKSHOPS 11 a.m.-12:15 p.m. and 2:15 p.m.-3:30 p.m. Convention...

Land Rover dealers discuss profitability, service concerns.(Land Rover North America Inc.)(Brief article)
February 4, 2007... Byline: Mark Rechtin Land Rover's U.S. dealers just had their second consecutive record sales year and likely will see another record in 2007. But dealers are still concerned about profitability and their service business. Land...

The new face of Ford.(News)
February 4, 2007... NADA Chairman William Bradshaw, right, and Jack Kain, left, immediate past chairman, welcome Ford Motor Co. CEO Alan Mulally to the exposition Saturday. Mulally is getting an immersion in dealer issues in his first time at the convention as...

Auto News digest.(Century Automotive Group Inc.'s Tracy Shields Jones awarded)(Hyundai Motor America pushing return on investment sales for its dealers)(Brief article)
February 4, 2007... Jones wins Time's dealer award for 2007 Tracy Shields Jones has won the 2007 Time Magazine Quality Dealer Award. Jones, president of Century Automotive Group Inc. (BMW-Volvo-Buick-Jaguar-Land Rover-Porsche) in Huntsville, Ala.,...

Ford links bonuses to volume targets.(Brief article)
February 4, 2007... Byline: Amy Wilson In a switch from last year, Ford-brand dealers will get bonuses only for hitting sales targets in 2007. The 2006 program selected target vehicles and paid a bonus for each unit sold. The new program, which pays...

New models give Mercedes a winning lineup.(News)(dialogue with Doug Callahan)(Interview)
February 4, 2007... Byline: Diana T. Kurylko With a replacement S class, a repositioned R-class crossover and the new full-sized GL SUV, Mercedes-Benz dealers have a winning lineup, says Doug Callahan, chairman of the Mercedes-Benz Dealer Board. But that...

LaSorda: Insider will fill Eberhardt's slot.(DaimlerChrysler AG. Chrysler Group searching for global sales and marketing chief internally)(Brief article)
February 4, 2007... Byline: Bradford Wernle The Chrysler group is searching internally for candidates to become global sales and marketing chief. CEO Tom LaSorda took over the job in December after Joe Eberhardt, controversial sales, marketing and service...

Group 1 chief a dealer - not a gambler.(News)(dialogue with Earl Hesterberg of Group 1 Automotive Inc.)(Interview)(Brief article)
February 4, 2007... Byline: Donna Harris Earl Hesterberg Title: CEO, Group 1 Automotive Inc. Age: 53 What do you like to do in Las Vegas? I am not a gambler, so it seems that I only visit for business. I guess the weather is a strong point,...

NADA, AIADA weigh Reynolds data security debate.(National Automobile Dealers Association, American International Automobile Dealers, Reynolds and Reynolds Co.)
February 4, 2007... Byline: Ralph Kisiel NADA and the American International Automobile Dealers Association have sent a simple message to Reynolds and Reynolds Co.: Dealers control the data stored in their dealership management systems. The two...

On the record.(News)
February 4, 2007... "Lexus has a small entry coming to fight the BMW 1 series. Unfortunately, it looks like it's going to be called the BS. Some of you might want to let them know what that means.'' - Jeff Schuster Executive director J.D Power and...

Profits, products top Ford dealers' concerns.(News)(Ford Motor Co.)(dialogue with Kevin Collins of Ford National Dealer Council )(Interview)
February 4, 2007... Better profits and top-notch products are on the wish list for Ford-brand dealers this year. And the Ford National Dealer Council intends to keep those priorities front and center in its dealings with Ford Motor Co., says council Chairman...

L-M dealers look for a slightly better year.(News)(dialogue with Bob Tasca Jr. of Lincoln Mercury National Dealer Council)(Lincoln-Mercury)(Interview)
February 4, 2007... Byline: Amy Wilson Lincoln-Mercury dealers count 2006 as one of their worst profit years in history. But they hope new product will make 2007 better. "We've got more product than we had in '06, so I feel comfortable,'' said Bob Tasca...

On the record.(News)
February 4, 2007... "All of our dealers would like more products, but we've talked about wanting to grow Hummer as a brand that we can expand. We've got a lot of runway to grow Cadillac over time because that segment's grown so much. I think we'll grow Saab, so...

GM's Clarke: New board will oversee minority-dealer efforts.(General Motors Corp. GM North America, Troy Clarke)
February 4, 2007... Byline: Arlena Sawyers General Motors is forming an oversight board of senior executives to monitor its minority-dealer program, a top GM executive says. Troy Clarke, president of GM North America, said creation of the board is one of...

On the record.(News)
February 4, 2007... "It has been a long time since I called Coffeyville, Kansas, home. Growing up in a town of 12,000 people had its limitations. Sometimes we had to find unique ways to get things done. For instance, at Coffeyville high school, they taught driver...

Colliver: Trust should be standard equipment in the auto industry.(American Honda Motor Company Inc.'s Dick Colliver speaks at the convention)
February 4, 2007... Byline: Kathy Jackson "Trust'' was the key word that Dick Colliver wanted the audience to hear during his keynote speech at the convention yesterday. Colliver, executive vice president for automobile sales at American Honda Motor Co....

Smart will offer 'reservations'.(Smart USA introduces Smart ForTwo)
February 4, 2007... Byline: Diana T. Kurylko Smart USA will begin taking $99 reservations for its car in about 60 days to gauge interest, President David Schembri says. Paying the fee - the maximum permitted without violating state laws - won't buy a...

Girsky's math serves pie theory that's hard to swallow.(Stephen Girsky)
February 4, 2007... Byline: Edward Lapham Some guys just know how to stir up the, uh, dust. In what was probably his first significant speech since leaving General Motors and becoming president of the investment firm Centerbridge Industrial Partners,...

BMW dealers must cut costs.(News)(Bayerische Motoren Werke)(dialogue with Barton Cohen of BMW National Dealer Forum)(Interview)
February 4, 2007... Byline: April Wortham Competition in the luxury segment is fierce, and BMW dealers are searching for ways to absorb rising costs while increasing profitability. Dealers need BMW's help in letting potential customers know about...

GM mulls spots with conquest customers.(General Motors Corp. planning for television advertising campaign)(Brief article)
February 4, 2007... Byline: Jamie LaReau General Motors may run TV commercials featuring customers who traded in a foreign vehicle for a GM product. The commercials would be part of GM's continuing push to narrow what it calls a gap between the reality of...

NADA lets struggling dealers tap experts.(National Automobile Dealers Association's Lifeline to Profits program)(Brief article)
February 4, 2007... Byline: Donna Harris NADA is making its consultants available at no charge to dealers with financial struggles. The program, Lifeline to Profits, is the association's response to the trouble domestic dealers face as their brands'...

Jaguar dealers hunker down for a tough year.(Ford Motor Co.'s Ken Gorin talks about the sales of Jaguar)(Interview)
February 4, 2007... Byline: Richard Truett Although the new XK sports car is off to a good start, 2007 likely will be a tough year for Jaguar dealers. Sales in 2006 were off 32.0 percent from 2005. No improvement is expected this year. The entry-level...

Experian adds summary scores to reports.(Experian Automotive introduced AutoCheck Score service)(Brief article)
February 4, 2007... Byline: Arlena Sawyers Experian Automotive will add numerical scores to its vehicle history reports to make them easier to understand. The company unveiled its AutoCheck Score feature here and is scheduled to launch it this spring. ...

CarsDirect service makes first contact with leads.(News)(Brief article)
February 5, 2007... Byline: Ralph Kisiel CarsDirect.com Inc., a pioneer in generating sales leads for automobile dealerships, has created a service that combines the Internet with a much older technology: the telephone. CarsDirect calls its new service...

Peper is benched for NADA.(General Motors Corp. Chevrolet Motor Div.'s Ed Peper met with a mishap in basketball court)(National Automobile Dealers Association)(Brief article)
February 5, 2007... Ed Peper will be missing in action from Chevrolet's NADA lineup in Las Vegas, following a mishap on a basketball court. Chevy's 43-year-old general manager, who played college ball at Hillsdale College in Michigan, recently took up the game...

Microsoft's dealer system nudges Reynolds, ADP; Dealers at NADA get first look at alternative.(News)(National Automobile Dealers Association)
February 5, 2007... Byline: Ralph Kisiel ADP Dealer Services and Reynolds and Reynolds Co. long have been the dominant dealership management system vendors on the NADA exhibition floor. But this year Microsoft Corp., a giant of another sort, also is in...

Jones wins Time's dealer award for 2007.(News)(Tracy Shields Jones won the 2007 Time Magazine Quality Dealer Award)(Brief article)
February 5, 2007... Tracy Shields Jones has won the 2007 Time Magazine Quality Dealer Award. Jones, president of Century Automotive Group Inc. (BMW-Volvo-Buick-Jaguar-Land Rover-Porsche) in Huntsville, Ala., was scheduled to receive the award Saturday, Feb....

quote.(automobile executives opinion about global warming)(Brief article)
February 5, 2007... Automotive News asked top auto executives about global warming. The central questions: Is the planet heating up? If so, do vehicles contribute to global warming? Do automakers have a responsibility to reduce emissions of C02 from vehicles? ...

Mini billboards go 1-on-1 with owners.(Final assembly)(Brief article)
February 5, 2007... Don't freak if you see "ACTUALLY, SIZE DOES MATTER'' flashing in lights on a giant billboard as you drive by. The message is for some nearby Mini driver. Mini now has billboards that flash personalized messages to owners who...

quote.(Honda Motor Company Ltd.'s Takeo Fukui opinion to reduce global warming)(Brief article)
February 5, 2007... Is global warming happening? Is it real? I have no real solid evidence whatsoever, no conviction. But from where I sit, I cannot afford to be optimistic so I'd say, yes, it is happening. I think that the auto manufacturers will have to...

quotes.(automobile emissions contributing to global warming)(Brief article)
February 5, 2007... Does GM have a policy: Is global warming a real thing and is human activity a cause of it? There's certainly ample debate on both sides. Cause for concern is there, and so we need to take the actions that we can to contribute to a...

New Super Duty evolved from Tonka concept.(Pat Schiavone speaks about design of Ford F-350 Tonka)
February 5, 2007... Byline: Richard Truett Remember the gigantic yellow Ford F-350 Tonka concept truck that cast a big shadow on the auto show circuit in 2002? Many laughed off the flashy pickup with the massive chrome grille as big as a factory gate,...

Audi may expand auto storage plan.(News)(Audi of America Inc.)
February 5, 2007... Byline: Diana T. Kurylko Audi of America Inc. is considering rolling out a vehicle inventory system where it holds dealer stock at warehouses for 30 days, reducing floorplan costs. Audi has been testing the program since October with...

Saturn ad account: Bye to Goodby.(News)
February 5, 2007... Byline: Mary Connelly Saturn is counting on its new advertising agency to elevate consumer perceptions of its vehicles. Last week the General Motors brand hired Deutsch LA, of Los Angeles, to handle the creative content of its ads....

DaimlerChrysler fears data security decision will cost dealers.(contracts with Reynolds and Reynolds Co.)
February 5, 2007... Byline: Ralph Kisiel DaimlerChrysler AG is weighing in against Reynolds and Reynolds Co.'s planned security crackdown on U.S. dealership computer systems. DaimlerChrysler says it is concerned that Reynolds' move on outside vendors...

Toyota quietly puts first incentives on Prius.(sales of Toyota Prius)(Brief article)
February 5, 2007... Byline: Richard Truett Amid all the recent talk in Washington about raising fuel economy standards, Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. was quietly trying to work off a backlog of unsold Prius hybrids by offering the first incentives on the...

Honda hits record profits, revenues.(News)(Financial report)
February 5, 2007... Byline: James B. Treece Higher sales; a favorable yen exchange rate, especially against the euro; and cost cutting propelled Honda Motor Co.'s revenues and operating profits in the October-December quarter to record highs. Most other...

Report: Detroit 3 will cut back rental buybacks.(News)
February 5, 2007... Byline: Arlena Sawyers Program vehicles will account for fewer than half of the cars and trucks that rental companies will buy in the 2007 model year, a report predicts. Program cars and trucks are vehicles that automakers buy back...

MG gets ready for production.(News)(Brief article)
February 5, 2007... Byline: Richard Truett MG last week took its first steps to restart production. In Birmingham, England, two preproduction MGTF sports cars were built at the former MG Rover plant at Longbridge. The cars - the first MGs to be built in...

An assault on the battery issue.(Compact Power Inc. developing automobile batteries for hybrid vehicles)
February 5, 2007... Byline: Peter Brown Prabhaker Patil is an officer in the army of automotive engineers working to make fuel-efficient vehicles that people actually want to buy. Patil, the former head of the hybrid-vehicle program at Ford Motor Co.,...

Imports dominate Chicago; And two of them - from GM - will sport domestic badges.(News)
February 5, 2007... Imports are likely to create the biggest buzz during press conferences this week at the Chicago Auto Show. Two of the vehicles will come from an unlikely source, General Motors. Pontiac will unveil the Australia-assembled, rear-drive...

ABC's Motown lowdown.(forecasting automobile industry)(Brief article)
February 5, 2007... If you live in sunny Miami or star-studded Los Angeles, the problems of Detroit and its ailing auto industry can seem like news from another planet. But the plight of Detroit automakers and about 70,000 autoworkers who took buyouts because...

New suitors for Aston Martin?(acquisition)(Brief article)
February 5, 2007... Who's in the hunt for Aston Martin? A Syrian real estate tycoon, a British private-equity group, an Aussie media tycoon and perhaps Canadian auto supplier Magna International, according to the Financial Times of London. The newspaper said...

ASC sells off specialty car equipment.(Suppliers)
February 5, 2007... Byline: Robert Sherefkin A dearth of new contracts has prompted ASC Inc. to retreat from its high-profile specialty vehicle business. Late last month, liquidators sold presses, paint lines, sanding stations, injection-molding machines...

Japanese exports to U.S. soar; Toyota leads pack in shipping vehicles to America.
February 5, 2007... Byline: James B. Treece Japanese auto exports to the United States are throttling up. Detroit carmakers are on the ropes and laying off workers. Union leaders are railing against Japan's closed market. It sure feels like the 1980s...

2 join sales staff.(appointments)(Automotive News)(Brief article)
February 5, 2007... Automotive News has made two key additions in sales and marketing. Alain Paruta, 42, has been named sales manager of Automotive News and Automotive News Europe. Paruta, who will be based in Sevres, near Paris, will handle advertising and...

Auto News digest.(Briefs)(Performance Transportation Services Inc)(Brief article)
February 5, 2007... Chrysler raises its minority purchasing DETROIT - The Chrysler group last week said it spent $3.9 billion on its purchasing with minority suppliers in 2006. Chrysler increased its minority supply spending 0.5 percent compared with...

Supply line.(Briefs)(Harco Manufacturing Group LLC.)
February 5, 2007... Harco will buy Delphi brake hose division DETROIT - Troubled automotive supplier Delphi Corp. said it has agreed to sell its brake hose business to Harco Manufacturing Group LLC. Terms were not disclosed. The deal still must be approved...

NADA plans Big Easy return.(National Automobile Dealers Association)(Brief article)
February 5, 2007... Byline: April Wortham The National Automobile Dealers Association is standing behind the decision to hold its 2009 convention in New Orleans. "At this point, it's full speed ahead,'' said David Hyatt, vice president of NADA Public...

Other nations push tougher standards.(to control automotive emissions)(Brief article)
February 5, 2007... Byline: Harry Stoffer The United States isn't the only place where automakers are feeling heat to do something about global warming. The European Union is moving toward mandatory standards that will replace voluntary targets for...

The Next Big Thing is coming!(robotics)
February 5, 2007... Byline: Edward Lapham It seems as if Toyota and Honda may have a head start in the race to develop The Next Big Thing: robots. How do I know robots are The Next Big Thing? Bill Gates told me. In the January issue of Scientific...

Suitors make pitch for Hermosillo supplier.(Collins and Aikman Corp.)
February 5, 2007... Byline: David Barkholz, Robert Sherefkin Ford Motor Co. is keeping a close eye on the expected sale of a factory in Mexico that supplies whole interiors for Fusion production program in Hermosillo. Collins & Aikman Corp. must sell its...

New U.S. Mercedes boss pushed C-class change; Model will be sportier than version for Europe.(Ernst Lieb)
February 5, 2007... Byline: Diana T. Kurylko Styling for the next-generation Mercedes-Benz C class coming to North America this summer will be distinct from European models, says Ernst Lieb, CEO of Mercedes' U.S. subsidiary. Lieb said styling for the...

Analysts see Continental, Siemens VDO linkup.(Siemens VDO Automotive Corp.)
February 5, 2007... Byline: April Wortham Will Continental AG make a bid for Siemens VDO Automotive Corp.? Industry watchers in Europe and North America say that it's possible - and that such a deal would make sense for both companies. A combination...