Headlines for Monday, November 19, 2012
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Turkey counts on autos to drive economic growth
Turkey's auto industry is one of the great growth stories of the past decade. The nation's government aims to triple vehicle production over the next decade. The plan is to make the nation one of the world's 10 largest economies by 2023, the 100th anniversary of the Turkish Republic. Read More »
AutoNews Now: Sandy's used-car impact
In echo of Katrina, superstorm churns up prices; AutoNation luxury outlet; General Motors steps up China's cheap-car race. Read More »
Dealers snap up natural gas pickups
Some auto dealers are eagerly ordering new natural gas-powered pickups for individual and fleet buyers amid low prices for the fuel. Read More »
Focus ST marketer: Not your typical car guy
In the not-too-distant past, a guy like Filipp Gorelik would have been a complete alien in the often-insular world of Detroit car marketers. That's because Gorelik, 29, has Europhile tastes. But Gorelik's tastes make him a http://edit.autonews.com/apps/pbcsedit. Read More »
First Shift: Betting on natural gas
General Motors, Chrysler try retail sales of CNG trucks; General Motors, Ally; NHTSA exec going to Google. Read More »
Penske gets his first NASCAR Sprint Cup title as team owner
Brad Keselowski won his first NASCAR Sprint Cup title on Sunday -- along with Roger Penske's first cup title as a team owner -- with a 15th place finish in the final race of the year at Homestead-Miami Speedway in Florida. Read More »
Auto dealers say Google's imperial approach is risky
Auto dealers are losing patience with the often imperial ways of Google and beginning to look elsewhere for online vehicle shoppers David Barkholz is a reporter for Automotive News. Read More »
Audi to expand diesel option to A8, A7, A6 and Q5
Audi will begin offering 3.0-liter V-6 diesel engines in the A8, A7 and A6 cars and the Q5 crossover beginning next year. The four TDI diesel-equipped models will make their debuts next week at the Los Angeles Auto Show. Read More »
Illinois Tool Works CEO Speer dies at 61
Illinois Tool Works CEO David Speer has died, the company said. He was 61. COO E. Scott Santi, 51, was named the permanent CEO today after being chosen the acting CEO last month, the company said in a statement. Read More »
Bill Ford: Fiscal cliff agreement 'vitally important'
A deal between President Barack Obama and Congress to avoid the fiscal cliff is critical to the United States economy’s health and to Ford Motor, the company’s executive chairman said today. Read More »
Maine dealer gets help from neighbors, strangers after fire
Wednesday, Oct. 3, started out like any other morning at Valley Auto in Fort Kent, Maine. Dealer Carl Theriault talked to customers in his showroom as business buzzed around him. Then, around 8:30, Theriault heard someone in his parts department yell: "Fire! Fire!" Read More »
Honda, despite Sandy's impact, still expects 25% U.S. sales gain for 2012
Honda's rebound in the United States will continue through 2012’s final months, helping the carmaker boost sales about 25 percent this year even after Hurricane Sandy reduced October gains, said sales chief John Mendel. Read More »
Subaru maker benefits from its failed expansion plan in China
Fuji Heavy Industries President Yasuyuki Yoshinaga has become a market darling for something he failed to do: build a factory in China. Read More »
Schaeffler recruits veteran GM exec as India CEO
German supplier Schaeffler Group has named Dharmesh Arora, a former General Motors executive, as head of its operations in India. Read More »
Daimler takes full control of Mercedes F-1 team
Daimler has taken full control of the Mercedes Formula One motor racing team after buying a 40 percent stake from a Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund for an undisclosed sum. Read More »
Keeping Shelby alive
Carroll Shelby, the wild-spirited 89-year-old racing icon and king of thundering garage hot rods, lay on his deathbed last May struggling to talk. He urged his younger friend and business partner John Luft to lean closer. "Keep Shelby American alive," Shelby strained to tell Luft in his final hours. Read More »
Facebook photos of dunked Land Rover get salesman fired, but NLRB finds hot dog criticism is protected speech
The issue for dealers: Many marketers view social media as a good way for salespeople to engage customers, establish a following and build sales. But salespeople need to behave within limits to protect dealerships' reputations. Read More »
China's new leaders should not coddle Chinese carmakers
China's new leaders are beset by economic crises, so the auto industry may struggle to receive consideration. But the leaders should do one big thing: Stop favoring state-owned companies at the expense of their private rivals Yang Jian is managing editor of Automotive News China. Read More »
America has lots of oil? Now what do we do?
Four years after the auto industry started trembling at the real prospect of a global fuel shortage and painful pump prices, this news arrives: There's way more oil under America than we realized. Oops Lindsay Chappell is Mid-South bureau chief for Automotive News. Read More »
We need answers from Hyundai, Kia
Did anyone at Hyundai or Kia know about the inflation of mileage figures? It is important for Hyundai to explain whether anyone knew about the mileage figures Keith Crain is editor-in-chief of Automotive News. Read More »
Leaner suppliers win pricing power
With North American vehicle production headed toward 15 million-plus units next year, automakers are encountering a new breed of supplier: the one that says "no." Read More »
Used-car demand up after Sandy
Since Hurricane Sandy ravaged tens of thousands of vehicles on the East Coast, used-vehicle pricing and demand are headed in a familiar, post-disaster direction: higher and higher. Read More »
Factory frenzy: Japanese add N.A. capacity
Japan's automakers are gearing up for the biggest wave of North American production expansion in a decade. Read More »
GM maps its electric strategy
Mary Barra spent the past several months with her team mulling a future electrification strategy for General Motors before reaching this conclusion: GM can't chase every fuel-saving technology out there. Read More »
Advertising hall of fame inducts Rance Crain
Rance Crain, president of Crain Communications Inc., has been inducted into the American Advertising Federation's Advertising Hall of Fame. Read More »
GAZ Group's Andersson to address Congress
Bo Andersson, CEO of Russia's GAZ Group and former purchasing chief at General Motors, will be a dinner keynote speaker on Jan. 15, the first day of the 2013 Automotive News World Congress. Read More »
Dec. sales teeter on fiscal cliff
Industrywide, the last 10 days before New Year's Eve are usually some of the best for car sales. But dealers are bracing for the possibility that a protracted fight in Washington over tax increases and spending cuts could keep some consumers out of showrooms this holiday season. Read More »
AutoNation's health bus saves lives, money
In July, Gene Clayton was ordered to the hospital after a health care screening found troubling symptoms. He's among scores of AutoNation Inc. employees who got wake-up calls when the retailer's Know Your Numbers Health Bus rolled into town. Read More »
Toyota's 'adult playground'
Playing the global financial markets is often compared to high-stakes gambling, so it's no surprise that Toyota Financial Services' treasury department looks like a scaled-down Las Vegas sports book. Read More »
Dealers drawn to Energi
Ford Motor Co. is surprised by how many dealers are seeking approval to sell its first plug-in hybrid, the C-Max Energi -- and in which markets. Read More »
Honda Civic's interior makeover debuts in L.A.
Eighteen months after the redesigned 2012 Civic's interior layout and materials were greeted with a chorus of boos, Honda engineers are back with the fix. Read More »
Lincoln's new structure, ads take shape
At a Lincoln dealer meeting in Las Vegas this month, Ford Motor Co. top brass addressed nearly 1,000 dealers and sales managers, introduced the luxury brand's new management lineup and showed a brand-positioning video that delineated what Lincoln wants to be and what customers it wants to attract. Read More »
Suzuki dealers get a voice in bankruptcy court
Some of Suzuki's largest dealers and its advertising agency have joined forces on a committee of unsecured creditors in American Suzuki's Chapter 11 bankruptcy case. Read More »
EDITORIAL:Minor brands need more than solid products
American Suzuki's recent filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and wind-down of its U.S. automotive business offer an opportunity to assess the landscape for the three small Japanese brands in the United States. They present a striking contrast. Subaru is thriving. Mitsubishi is struggling. Read More »
2013 MKZ sets the tone for future Lincolns
Here's what the new mid-sized Lincoln MKZ is: a sleek, technology-rich sedan with a fresh appearance inside and out. It is aimed at the kind of young luxury-car buyers who have ignored Lincoln for decades. Read More »
Fiat rises, yet profits elude many dealers
A year after Chrysler Group hit the reset button on the botched launch of its Fiat 500, more than half of the brand's 183 dealerships in the United States have turned a profit. Read More »
M-B's ex-U.S. boss loses wrongful dismissal suit
A German court has rejected a wrongful dismissal lawsuit brought by former Mercedes-Benz USA boss Ernst Lieb against the brand's parent, Daimler. Read More »
Toyota unveils pair of precrash safety systems
Toyota Motor Corp. is rolling out two precrash safety systems that it says will help prevent high-speed collisions and pedal-misapplication accidents. The technology will debut soon in a high-end Toyota-brand sedan. Read More »
Obituaries
Information about Tom Burns, former executive director of administration and planning for Ford Motor Co.'s styling and design center. Read More »
From Porsche to pizza and pasta
Wendelin Wiedeking, whose celebrated 16-year run as Porsche's CEO came to a bad end in 2009, has gone into the pizza and pasta business. Read More »
FINAL ASSEMBLY:Mitsubishi hopes to pay dividend -- for a change
The year 1997 was also the most recent year that Mitsubishi Motors paid a dividend. Now, President Osamu Masuko wants to change that. Read More »
FINAL ASSEMBLY:If Aston's for sale, who wants to buy?
Aston Martin, the British luxury brand that James Bond favors, is on the selling block, according to Bloomberg. So who are the potential bidders? Read More »
FINAL ASSEMBLY:Chinese buyers don't love Cadillac's edgy, angular styling
Cadillac's art-and-science design look -- the sharp, angular lines and creased edges -- is a turnoff in China. And that is leading to a change in the brand's design direction. Read More »
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 Toyota's Lentz: Camry in a 'three-horse race'Toyota's Jim Lentz says the Camry will fend off main rival Honda Accord and upstarts such as the Ford Fusion... Mon., May 20» Watch the Video |
