Automotive News Europe articles from March 2005

Automotive News Europe archives from March 2005

Dealers ready to import Chinese cars; Dutch distributors seek ways to sell cars from China.
March 7, 2005... Byline: Wim Oude Weernink, Alysha Webb European importers are close to bringing cars built in China to Europe. * Dutch dealer Peter Bijvelds says he will distribute a Chinese SUV called the Landwind in Europe starting in April. *...

Late News.(Brief Article)
March 7, 2005... Delphi CFO quits after audit probe DETROIT - Delphi Chief Financial Officer Alan Dawes quit under pressure Friday. The Delphi board's audit committee said it launched a review of how North America's No. 1 supplier accounted for...

Schweitzer warns 2005 will be rough.(News)(Louis Schweitzer )
March 7, 2005... Byline: Sylviane de Saint-Seine Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn, who will take over the chief executive job at Renault this spring, will have the opportunity to show his mettle amid a tough business environment. Renault Chairman and CEO Louis...

Renault may sell its SUV in Japan; French carmaker would undercut local competitors.(News)(Sport utility vehicles)(Brief Article)
March 7, 2005... Byline: James B. Treece Renault may sell its Korean-made H45 SUV in Japan, says Patrick Debrot, the French carmaker's vice president for Asia-Pacific. If so, the SUV would become one of the rare cases in which foreign carmakers have...

Germans step up crossover battle; BMW, Audi, Mercedes fight to win or create new segments.(News)
March 7, 2005... Byline: Luca Ciferri, Jens Meiners BMW's announcement that it will add two model lines heats up a battle among Germany's premium carmakers in the so-called crossover segments. One of the BMW model lines will be an SUV/coupe crossover...

Record output won't spoil the Aston Martin image.(News)(Brief Article)
March 7, 2005... Byline: Richard Truett Jeremy Main, director of product development and motorsport at Aston Martin, is overseeing an expansion of the British sports car maker, which is part of Ford's Premier Automotive Group. In addition to building...

Hyundai wants to outsell Nissan in Europe; Korean carmaker will launch 3 new or refreshed models.(News)
March 7, 2005... Byline: Paulo Soares de Oliveira Hyundai expects its European new-car sales to overtake Nissan's this year. "Passing Nissan is now our next goal, and it is not far away," said Werner Frey, Hyundai Motor Europe vice president, at the...

Audi mulls SUV plan for US; New allroad quattro may be sold in Europe only.(News)(Sport utility vehicles)(Brief Article)
March 7, 2005... Byline: Bradford Wernle Audi is still wrestling with its SUV strategy for the US. The German automaker has not decided whether to bring its new allroad quattro to the US, says Ralph Weyler, board member responsible for sales and...

Turin will host GM's diesel center.(News)
March 7, 2005... Byline: Luca Ciferri General Motors has decided to concentrate its global diesel engineering activities here, despite its divorce from Fiat Auto. Under the terms that ended GM and Fiat Auto's five-year alliance, the Fiat-GM Powertrain...

The Logan needs improvements for w. Europe; Logan insurance would cost as much as a Porsche 911.(News)
March 7, 2005... Byline: Franz W. Rother The Logan, Renault's new low-cost car, needs some potentially expensive improvements before its sales start in western Europe this summer. Built by Renault's Romanian subsidiary Dacia, the Logan's export...

Renault-Nissan will reduce suppliers by 20%.(Renault Nissan Purchasing Organization)(Brief Article)
March 7, 2005... Byline: Sylviane de Saint-Seine The Renault Nissan Purchasing Organization (RNPO) will reduce its supplier base by one-fifth in the next five years, as it strives to further cut costs by placing bigger orders with fewer partsmakers. "I...

North America "a must" for Alfa; 169 planned as successor for 166.(News)(Brief Article)
March 7, 2005... Byline: Luca Ciferri New Alfa Romeo CEO Karl-Heinz Kalbfell confirmed the Italian sports car brand is planning to return to the US, but declined to set a clear date. "North America is a must for a brand like Alfa Romeo, but the date...

Honda's 2010 aim: sell 100,000 units in Germany.(News)(Honda Motor Company Ltd.)(Brief Article)
March 7, 2005... Byline: Harald Hamprecht Honda is pushing to increase sales by increasing its number of dealers in Germany. The Japanese brand wants to increase its dealer network 30 percent and raise new-car sales per dealer 33.3 percent. "We will...

News Digest.(Briefs)
March 7, 2005... Renault cuts Modus production Renault will reduce production of its 5-month-old Modus small minivan. The French automaker cut Modus production at its plant in Valladolid, Spain, to 1,100 units a day from about 1,300 units. "We had...

Fighting for market share.(Opinion)(Brief Article)
March 7, 2005... Europe is becoming an even bloodier global automotive battlefield. And this year's Geneva auto show highlights the growing geographical diversity of the combatants. Archetypal American brands are stepping up efforts to take a greater share...

Two words for two different bosses.(Opinion)(Carlos Ghosn)(Sergio Marchionne)
March 7, 2005... Byline: Peter Brown I have just two words for two auto industry bosses. Sergio Marchionne: Good luck. Carlos Ghosn: Be careful. Sergio Marchionne Running a big automotive company is like riding a bull. It's possible to...

A long-overdue wake-up call at Mercedes-Benz.(Opinion)
March 7, 2005... Byline: Edward Lapham The more you hear about what Eckhard Cordes is doing to fix Mercedes-Benz, the clearer it becomes that the brand had fallen into serious disrepair. The latest step by Cordes is a [euro]4 billion cost-cutting...

Subaru's Ikeda is a Superman fan.(News)(Subaru Europe)(Hiroyuki Ikeda )(Interview)
March 7, 2005... Byline: Paulo Soares de Oliveira Hiroyuki Ikeda began his career with Subaru parent Fuji Heavy Industries in 1969 in the procurement department in Japan. His first assignment outside Subaru's home market came in 1978 when he moved to North...

Confidential.(Briefs)
March 7, 2005... Schweitzer: Ups and downs Renault Chairman and CEO Louis Schweitzer has always been a big-picture person, so it's not surprising that the career memories that most stick out in his mind are of big deals - some good, some bad. At a...

5 years ago.(News)
March 7, 2005... The top stories from Automotive News Europe's February 28, 2000, issue - and how they developed. [euro]5,000 Dacia for w. Europe Renault may sell a future [euro]5,000 Dacia as an entry-level car in western Europe. The car is expected...

Industry by numbers.(News)
March 7, 2005... 7,000: Record 2004 production of Bentleys in Crewe, England 80: Percent of Infineon r&d conducted in western Europe [euro]200mn: Total Renault could pay this year to meet Euro 4 emission rules 45,000: 2005 unit sales target for BMW...

Carmakers polish lineups at Geneva.(Brief Article)
March 7, 2005... At Geneva, Bentley CEO Franz-Josef Paefgen proudly polishes a new Bentley Continental Flying Spur. Strong Bentley sales have prompted rival Rolls-Royce to consider building a lower-cost model (See story, Page 3). Paefgen says Bentley will use...

Citroen cautious about C6 sales.(News)
March 7, 2005... Byline: Sylviane de Saint-Seine Citroen has cautious sales goals for its new flagship, the C6, underscoring French carmakers' doubts about their ability to woo customers with luxury sedans. Citroen plans to sell 20,000-to-30,000 a year...

Renault, Mahindra form joint venture to build Logan.(News)(Brief Article)
March 7, 2005... Byline: Staff report Renault and Mahindra, India's fourth largest carmaker, have formed a joint venture to build the no-frills Logan family car for the Indian market starting in 2007. The project is expected to cost [euro]125 million...

Siemens VDO wants more US car radio deals.(Suppliers)(Brief Article)
March 7, 2005... Byline: Greg Bowens Siemens VDO Automotive wants to become one of the top three suppliers in the original-equipment vehicle radio business in the US. Siemens VDO acquired 6 percent of the US original-equipment vehicle radio business...

Mercedes adds robots to boost quality in US.(Technology)
March 7, 2005... Byline: Lindsay Chappell When Mercedes-Benz begins production at its revamped US factory in April, it will use the latest in robotics. Mercedes began building vehicles eight years ago at a then-ultra-modern factory in Vance, Alabama....

Europeans differ on robot use.(Technology)(Brief Article)
March 7, 2005... Byline: Wim Oude Weernink, Lyle Frink European automakers take varying approaches to using manufacturing robots. BMW has enough to handle nearly all its body shop operations; Dacia has one robot. Carmakers know robot prices are falling...

Ford won't be late again; Carmaker thinks it has found a niche that can expand.(News)
March 7, 2005... Byline: Bradford Wernle, Wim Oude Weernink After entering the minivan market several years late, Ford Europe plans to be early for the next potential trend in passenger vehicles with its SAV crossover concept. The SAV, or sports...

Zetsche rocks Geneva.(News)(Dieter Zetsche)(Brief Article)
March 7, 2005... Chrysler group CEO Dieter Zetsche played the bad boy rock 'n' roller to launch the Dodge Caliber concept. The Caliber closely previews a new, boldly-styled 5-door lower-medium car that Dodge will import from Chrysler's US plant in Belvidere,...

Mercedes' product expansion is complete.(News)(Brief Article)
March 7, 2005... Byline: Tony Lewin Mercedes-Benz will not extend its model range beyond the new B and R class model families, said CEO Eckhard Cordes. "The expansion has gone far enough," said Cordes just before he launched the German luxury brand's...

Toyota mulls more production in Europe.(News)
March 7, 2005... Byline: Dave Guilford Toyota plans to sell about 700,000 European-built vehicles annually in Europe beginning next year. The Japanese automaker will hit that mark when Toyota and PSA/Peugeot-Citroen's joint venture plant in Kolin,...

Cordes and Walker say Smart brand has a future; The decision on ForTwo's US debut is due this summer.(News)(Brief Article)
March 7, 2005... Byline: Tony Lewin The Mercedes Car Group will keep the Smart brand, top executives at the company said. "Closing down Smart makes no sense - we will be able to turn the business around," said Mercedes Car Group CEO Eckhard Cordes. ...

Day One at Kolin; Czech plant starts regular output of PSA, Toyota cars.
March 7, 2005... Byline: Lyle Frink By 6:15 a.m. on February 28, workers flowed steadily into the Toyota Peugeot Citroen Automobile factory for the first day of serial production. Bundled up against the bitter cold, most of the 1,800 workers came by...

Skoda's nearly SUV.(News)(Skoda Automobilovy Koncern Ltd.)(Sport-utility vehicle)(Brief Article)
March 7, 2005... Skoda's Yeti concept is designed to appeal to buyers who want a city car with a light touch of SUV styling. Skoda says the concept previews a new model that could be positioned between its Fabia small car and Octavia lower-medium model. A...

BMW: Lexus is not in big league yet; Toyota premium brand begins push in Europe.(News)(Brief Article)
March 7, 2005... Byline: Douglas Bolduc Toyota's Lexus brand is not yet a global player as a luxury marque, says German rival BMW. "Toyota has lots of cash, but we are still waiting to welcome them in the premier league," said Stefan Krause, BMW board...

Hyundai displays Grandeur.(News)(Grandeur production car)(Brief Article)
March 7, 2005... The Hyundai Grandeur production car, which replaces the XG, is a luxury sedan aimed at Lexus. Longer, wider, and taller than the current XG, with a number of premium touches, the Grandeur is another step toward Hyundai's goal of creating a...

Geneva auto show.(News)
March 7, 2005... "The car was conceived as strong and self-assertive, but was perceived as aggressive, notably by women." Patrick Blain, Renault's head of sales and marketing, explains why the face-lifted Vel Satis has a "friendlier" look. CAPTION(S):...

Geneva auto show.(News)
March 7, 2005... "I am like a race car at a pit stop getting high pressure refueling." Wolfgang Bernhard, new Volkswagen board member, on his learning curve at the German automaker. CAPTION(S): photo

Giugiaro overshadows the Fiat Croma launch with an attractive alternative.(News)(Giorgetto Giugiaro)
March 7, 2005... Byline: Luca Ciferri Fiat's launch of its new flagship model, the Croma, was partly overshadowed by Italian design legend Giorgetto Giugiaro. At Fiat's stand, many show visitors were unimpressed by the bland-looking production Croma...

New Civic aimed at younger buyers.(News)(Brief Article)
March 7, 2005... Byline: Dan Thisdell Honda wants to win over younger buyers with a new, sleeker Civic. Restoring the lower-medium segment Civic's sporty character should make it appeal to the "young and the young at heart with a passion to drive,"...

Toyota taps US Scion brand for Aygo marketing; Car will be launched in 10 major European cities in June.(News)(Brief Article)
March 7, 2005... Byline: Wim Oude Weernink Toyota wants to make its new Aygo minicar a cult hit. When the Japanese automaker launches the car June 1 in 10 European cities, it will use marketing techniques that have helped make its Scion brand a winner...

4 automotive pioneers join Hall of Fame.(News)
March 7, 2005... Vincenzo Lancia, Herbert Austin, Pierre Lefaucheux and Ferdinand "Ferry" Porsche were welcomed into the European Automotive Hall of Fame Tuesday, March 1, in Geneva. (Top) Former Volkswagen group Chairman Carl Hahn gave the induction speech for...

Candid moments from the Geneva show.(News)
March 7, 2005... Fiat group Chairman Luca Cordero di Montezemolo (right) shares his views on a rival's model with Fiat Auto head of brand promotion Lapo Elkann. Renault boss Louis Schweitzer enjoys a laugh during an interview. Geneva was his last show as...

Autoeuropa faces an anxious wait.(News)
March 7, 2005... Byline: Paulo Soares de Oliveira Portugal's Autoeuropa assembly plant and its suppliers are waiting anxiously for Volkswagen group to tell them to prepare for a new model. The plant in Setubal builds large minivans. The lineup includes...

Bangle, BMW ready for next design revolution.(News)(Interview)
March 7, 2005... Byline: Luca Ciferri For the first time in its history, the BMW brand surpassed the 1 million sales mark. The German carmaker sold 1,023,583 units in 2004, up 10.3 percent from 2003. BMW customers like what the carmaker did under the...

BMW design philosophy: Polarizing is good; Chief stylist says brand avoids being radical or conservative.(News)
March 7, 2005... Byline: Bradford Wernle BMW brand chief designer Adrian van Hooydonk doesn't object to the term "polarizing" when referring to the controversial designs of BMWs. "All our designs have polarized the market in a way that have sold...

Ferrari taps design students for fresh ideas.(News)(Brief Article)
March 7, 2005... Byline: Luca Ciferri Students at four of the world's best-known design schools have been given a dream assignment: Come up with ideas for future Ferrari models. "It is the first time Ferrari has ever held such a competition," said...

Fioravanti sees interest in his roofs.(News)(freelance designer Leonardo Fioravanti )(Brief Article)
March 7, 2005... Byline: Luca Ciferri Italian freelance designer Leonardo Fioravanti is talking with a number of carmakers and suppliers interested in his folding hardtop. He says he is close to signing deals that would put his roof system on two...

Personnel.(People)(appointments)(Brief Article)
March 7, 2005... Peugeot names Schantz PR boss Bernd Schantz is the new chief of the Peugeot communication department. Schantz, 55, joined the carmaker in 1977. Among other jobs, he ran Peugeot's subsidiaries in Switzerland, Bel-gium, Germany and...

Infineon to keep r&d work in Europe.(News)(research and development)(Interview)
March 7, 2005... Byline: Sylviane de Saint-Seine Reinhard Ploss, senior vice president in charge of Infineon's automotive business, expects electronics to represent 35 percent of a car's value by 2010, up from 22 percent in 2002. Almost two-thirds of that...

What's Japanese for zoom-zoom? Mazda translates popular tag line for its home market.(News)(Brief Article)
March 7, 2005... Byline: James B. Treece Mazda Motor Corp. is sticking with its zoom-zoom marketing slogan as it tweaks its global brand-building campaign. For the first time, Mazda is offering a Japanese translation of the zoom-zoom tag line, the...

Von Kuenheim is BMW Spain boss.(News)(Hendrik von Kuenheim )(Brief Article)
March 7, 2005... Byline: Paulo Soares de Oliveira Hendrik von Kuenheim is the new president and CEO of BMW Group Spain. He joins the company's Spanish sales subsidiary after six years as president and CEO of BMW Group Canada. A key goal for von...

Toyota shuffle puts Toyoda on CEO track.(News)(Brief Article)
March 7, 2005... Byline: James B. Treece Toyota Motor Corp. will promote Akio Toyoda to executive vice president from senior managing director. The move is part of a reshuffling at the automaker that is seen as an attempt to groom Toyoda, 48, grandson...

Suppliers to the new Volkswagen Passat.(Suppliers)(Brief Article)
March 7, 2005... Byline: Alex Graham Split sourcing, a common Volkswagen purchasing strategy, is used with the sixth-generation VW Passat. Grupo Antolin and Peguform share the door panel contract 50/50, with Peguform delivering to VW's Emden, Germany,...

Ryton to keep building the 206.(News)(Peugeot 206)(Brief Article)
March 7, 2005... Byline: Sylviane de Saint-Seine Peugeot will build the 206 for several years after launching the 207 replacement next year, says PSA/Peugeot-Citroen CEO Jean-Martin Folz. "We might produce the 206 till 2010 or beyond," Folz said in an...

SAIC takes over MG Rover; Chinese automaker will own 70% of new joint-venture company.(News)(Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp.)
March 7, 2005... Byline: Alysha Webb Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp. will pay about [pounds sterling]200 million ([euro]290 million) for MG Rover, says a UK source close to the deal. The amount is far less than the [pounds sterling]1 billion price...

Chery designs 14 models for European push.(News)(Chery Automobile Co.)(Brief Article)
March 7, 2005... Byline: Wim Oude Weernink Meeting Euro 4 emission standards that take effect this autumn would be difficult for Chery Automobile's current model range. So the ambitious Chinese automaker has decided to start European sales with all-new...

Customer incentives and waiting times for small-segment cars in the major European markets.(Incentives)
March 7, 2005... Peugeot 206 The Peugeot 206 suffered a 9% sales drop to 502,579 units last year compared with 2003. Customers in Spain can get discounts up to [euro]2,000 on special editions and [euro]800 off the coupe-convertible. Car buyers in Italy are...

Sporty new Leon revealed.(News)(Brief Article)
March 7, 2005... Seat unveiled a near-production version of the Leon at the Geneva auto show. The Leon carries the Spanish brand's new sporty look, which can also be seen on the Seat Altea and Toledo. The new design was inspired by the Salsa concept car...

Pelata could get product chief post; Ghosn lieutenant's new job at Renault is still undefined.(News)(Patrick Pelata )(Brief Article)
March 7, 2005... Byline: Sylviane de Saint-Seine, Yuzo Yamaguchi What job will Patrick Pelata get when he moves back to Renault from Nissan next month? Renault won't say. But it's likely that Pelata will become the French carmaker's vice president in...

Rolls may move downscale to battle former sister brand.(News)
March 7, 2005... Byline: Bradford Wernle Rolls-Royce is considering a less expensive, higher volume model to compete against Bentley's new Continental Flying Spur sedan. "Our engineering team is looking at lots of concepts," said Rolls-Royce CEO Ian...

Correction.(Correction Notice)
March 7, 2005... Jose Maria Alapont resigned from his position as CEO of Iveco, Fiat group's commercial vehicle division. A story published February 21 misstated the way he left the company.

Diesel momentum to peak by 2010; CO2 curbs favor diesels now, but Euro 5 will revive gasoline.
March 21, 2005... Byline: Luca Ciferri The diesel's dazzling growth will start to fizzle in the next decade. Diesel-powered cars will account for as much as 65 percent of European new-car sales by 2010, but fall below 40 percent after 2015. The reason:...

VW saved 10% by basing Passat on Golf.(News)(Volkswagen AG)
March 21, 2005... Byline: Luca Ciferri, Jens Meiners In terms of styling, the new Volkswagen Passat looks like a small VW Phaeton, but mechanically it is just a much bigger VW Golf. It was 10 percent cheaper to base the new Passat on the PQ35...

PSA offers suppliers cash incentive to cut costs.(News)(Peugeot S.A.)
March 21, 2005... Byline: Sylviane de Saint-Seine PSA/Peugeot-Citroen gives its 700 suppliers a generous financial incentive to devise ways of saving money in production processes. "Typically, we share the savings on a fifty-fifty basis with our...

Who's No. 1? It depends on the market.(News)
March 21, 2005... Byline: Richard Feast New-car sales numbers from across Europe for 2004 confirm once more that there is no such thing as a uniform car buyer in the region. There are extensive country differences in what customers want. What appeals in...

Lotus platform for lower cost niche cars.(News)(Lotus Engineering)(Brief Article)
March 21, 2005... Byline: Tony Lewin Lotus Engineering says a new flexible vehicle architecture could help automakers launch a series of niche cars at a relatively low cost. The concept is to create castings for each corner of a spaceframe. These corner...

Volkswagen Passat solves the wet-umbrella problem.(News)(Brief Article)
March 21, 2005... Byline: Luca Ciferri As an auto engineer, Volkswagen group's Wilfried Bockelmann's dream was an umbrella that could be stowed in the driver-side door panel. When he headed engineering for VW subsidiary Skoda, he got close with the...

Visteon mulls sale of businesses; Sources say Magna, Siemens VDO and Faurecia interested.(Suppliers)(Visteon Automotive Systems)(Brief Article)
March 21, 2005... Byline: Robert Sherefkin Visteon is exploring the sale of its axle business and part of its electronics business, sources close to the talks say. Potential bidders for the axle operation include Axle Alliance, a unit of DaimlerChrysler...

Porsche targets younger buyers with Cayman S; Coupe version of Boxster to be built in Finland, Stuttgart.(News)(Brief Article)
March 21, 2005... Byline: Jens Meiners Porsche will aim its new Cayman S coupe at younger buyers. The two-seat Cayman S - Porsche's coupe version of the Boxster - will debut in September at the IAA in Frankfurt. "The average buyer for the Cayman...

Hyundai, Kia get stronger in Europe; Korean brands boost their independence; stress separation.(News)
March 21, 2005... Byline: Jens Meiners Hyundai and Kia are strengthening the independence of their European operations and stressing brand separation. The Korean brands' technical center in Russelsheim, Germany, has been spun off from Hyundai Motor in...

Renault mulls export of vehicles from Brazil to Europe and Mexico.(News)(Regie Nationale des Usines Renault)
March 21, 2005... Byline: Sylviane de Saint-Seine Renault might follow Volkswagen's lead and export cars built in low-cost Brazil. The French carmaker is investigating whether it makes sense to export cars from its plant in Curitiba to other South...

D/C may close Smart yet.(DaimlerChrysler AG)
March 21, 2005... Byline: Jens Meiners All options remain on the table for Smart, including a closure of the brand altogether. That is what DaimlerChrysler CEO Jurgen Schrempp told financial analysts this month, sources tell Automotive News Europe. ...

Kia gets foot in World Cup.(News)(Kia Motors Corp.)(Brief Article)
March 21, 2005... Byline: Luca Ciferri Kia Motors will join parent Hyundai Motor as an automotive sponsor of the FIFA World Cup starting in 2007. Hyundai began sponsoring the most important event in men's soccer in 2002, when Japan and South Korea were...

The end of traffic jams? Simple technology turns cars into mobile warning systems.(News)
March 21, 2005... Byline: Ian Morton Small fleets of BMWs and Smarts traveling on Germany's roads could help change the way traffic jams are managed around the world. BMW group is running three research cars in Munich to prove that the cars' telematics...

PSA expects its 206 will be a success in China.(News)(Peugeot S.A.)(Brief Article)
March 21, 2005... Byline: Sylviane de Saint-Seine Peugeot expects to sell 100,000 units a year of its 206 small car in China despite a slowdown in the country's auto market. The French automaker will start 206 production at its joint venture plant with...

New Corsa will have in-house bold design; GM rejects Italian styling for small car.(News)(Brief Article)
March 21, 2005... Byline: Tony Lewin General Motors Europe chose an in-house design for its next-generation Opel/Vauxhall Corsa small car instead of a style penned by Italian designer Giorgetto Giugiaro. GM Europe President Carl-Peter Forster said...

Karmann considers US for vehicle production.(News)(Karmann-Rheine GmbH und Company KG)(Brief Article)
March 21, 2005... Byline: Franz Rother German roof system specialist and contract assembler Karmann has big plans for its new US plant. Karmann boss Bernd Lieberoth-Leden says that complete vehicle production in the US is possible at the factory in...

News Digest.(Briefs)
March 21, 2005... Renault, Nissan keep plants apart GENEVA - Renault and Nissan want to avoid manufacturing cars in the same plants, a Renault executive said. "Total integration [between the two companies' manufacturing operations] is not the way...

It didn't hurt at all.(Opinion)(compensation disclosure)(Brief Article)
March 21, 2005... DaimlerChrysler thinks it doesn't make sense, BMW says it doesn't add value and Porsche sees it as an assault on basic human rights. The issue is whether shareholders and employees have a right to know how much money the CEOs of major...

Oil, steel make the industry vulnerable.(Column)
March 21, 2005... Byline: KEITH CRAIN Anyone in the automobile business knows how the price of steel has skyrocketed in the past couple of years. Now we're seeing the price of petroleum jump again, and it's showing up at the pump. We also have new...

A succession made in heaven.(Opinion)(Regie Nationale des Usines Renault)
March 21, 2005... Byline: Sylviane de Saint-Seine The succession of Louis Schweitzer at the helm of Renault looks like a textbook case written for the edification of MBA students the world over. Scheduled for April 29, the handover of power to Nissan...

GM's man of all continents.(News)(Erhard Spranger)(Interview)(Biography)
March 21, 2005... Byline: Harald Hamprecht Erhard "Hardy" Spranger has worked in 11 countries during his 42 years with General Motors. The native of Austria began as a specialist in sales promotion working in Vienna. Today he is executive-in-charge of...

Valeo's share buyback puzzles analysts.(Valeo S.A.)
March 21, 2005... Byline: Sylviane de Saint-Seine Financial analysts are puzzled by Valeo's plan to return money to shareholders, which seems to clash with the French supplier's ambition to expand by acquisition. Valeo intends to buy back [euro]250...