Edward Lapham

You have to wonder about Daimler's decision to open an office in Baghdad by year end.
Haven't the top Daimler execs in Stuttgart been watching CNN? Don't they realize that Iraqi militia leaders -- especially those backed by Iran, such as Moktada al-Sadr -- make the ruthless killer Anton Chigurh from No Country for Old Men seem like a choirboy by comparison? They must not have been to the movies, either.
Even if you believe there eventually will be a booming market in Iraq, why go now?
There can be only one answer: The Daimler brass have access to different intelligence from the Arab street than we do.
Don't forget that Daimler has a regional office in Dubai. For years, many Middle Eastern leaders enjoyed a taste for Mercedes-Benz automobiles. The automaker sold more than 16,

2:37 pm U.S. ET | May 8 [SUB]

I've always been skeptical about buying vehicles online, especially used vehicles. How trusting would you have to be to do that? And how many trusting people are around anymore?
The answer may surprise you.
Rob Chesney, eBay Motors vice president, says every 55 seconds someone in the United States buys a vehicle through eBay. That's about 573,382 deals a year. Some 15,000 dealers use it -- including more than 1,000 franchised new-vehicle dealers.
Two months ago, I'd have been skeptical. But then I tried it. Now I'm a believer.
In March, after having written about an old Honda 305 Super Hawk that was my first motorcycle, I started thinking about how nice it would be to still have that bike -- and kicking myself for getting rid of it.
A couple of days later, a seductive

4:27 pm U.S. ET | May 6 [SUB]

It's a shame.
Long after the ink has dried on the new contract, there will be hard feelings about this year's bargaining between the UAW and American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings.
Each side has suffered wounds that will ache for years.
This is a bitter battle in labor's ongoing struggle to save jobs and preserve benefits. That war began when some suppliers, including Delphi Corp., used Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection to attack uncompetitive labor costs.
For management, this is a fight for the company's survival.
I've yet to talk with a top supplier exec who thinks Dick Dauch did the wrong thing by taking a tough stand at the bargaining table. Most — especially those whose companies face exploding costs and the looming

12:01 am U.S. ET | May 5 [SUB]

The race to open auto dealerships in China is heating up for automakers trying to expand their presence there. But the ability to boost sales rapidly will depend on quality, not just quantity.
Take BMW, for example.
The automaker added 20 dealerships on mainland China in 2006, an increase of 28 percent, totaling 90 dealerships by year end. By comparison, in 2003 BMW had 18 dealerships there.
Adding points helped turbocharge the growth in sales. BMW deliveries in China last year -- including Mini -- jumped 42 percent over the 2006 total to 51,588 units. When you do the math, it turns out that last year each BMW dealership in China sold an average of 573 vehicles.
Not bad. But it's not in the same league with dealerships in developed markets.
Last year BMW dealerships in the

12:14 pm U.S. ET | May 2 [SUB]

It's a shame.
Long after the ink has dried on the new contract, there will be hard feelings about this year's bargaining between the UAW and American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings.
Each side has suffered wounds that will ache for years.
This is a bitter battle in labor's ongoing war with management to save jobs and preserve benefits. That war began when some suppliers, including Delphi Corp., used Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection to attack uncompetitive labor costs.
For management, this is a fight for survival.
I've yet to talk to a top supplier exec who thinks Dick Dauch did the wrong thing by taking a tough stand at the bargaining table. Most -- especially those whose companies face exploding costs and the looming threat of insolvency -- say there was no other way.

2:38 pm U.S. ET | May 1 [REG]

Forget about General Motors. Forget about Toyota.
China's Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp. is bound to be the world's biggest automotive enterprise.
Yes, to our Western minds it seems like a long shot. But consider how the automotive world is changing through expansion, consolidation and partnerships.
I'm not sure when I realized that ultimately a half dozen companies — or groups of companies — would divvy up most of the world's auto sales. It may have been during a conversation with former American Motors CEO Gerald Meyers just about the time Renault acquired a controlling interest in AMC in 1980.
The industry was moving into a period of consolidation, primarily driven by the availability of weak or troubled companies in western Europe and

12:01 am U.S. ET | April28 [SUB]

Earlier this week, in a suburb of Detroit …
As I sat staring out the window at the morning sunshine contemplating the odd tricks that fate has played on me, the wall phone in the kitchen jolted me back to reality.
I answered it anyway. " Hello," I said thoughtfully.
" Edward Lapham?" the voice on the other end asked.
" Speaking," I said without hesitation.
" This is so-and-so from Nearby Dodge," he said. " How are you today?"
" I'm home sick with a fever," I said honestly.
" Good. Do you still have your pickup?" he asked.
Obviously, he was referring to my Hemi-powered 2006 4x4 Dodge Ram pickup in deep Patriot Blue with the swell Big Horn package that I shamelessly leased two years ago when DaimlerChrysler was giving them away.
It was a sly question, but I saw through

1:54 pm U.S. ET | April25 [SUB]

Forget about General Motors. Forget about Toyota.
China's Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp. is bound to be the world's biggest automotive enterprise.
Yes, to our Western minds it seems like a long shot. But consider how the automotive world is changing through expansion, consolidation and partnerships.
I'm not sure when the idea first popped into my head that ultimately a half dozen companies -- or groups of companies -- would divvy up most of the world's auto sales. Come to think of it, it may have been during a conversation with former American Motors CEO Gerald Meyers just about the time Renault acquired a controlling interest in AMC in 1980.
The industry was moving into a period of consolidation, primarily driven by the availability of weak or troubled companies in

12:15 pm U.S. ET | April24 [SUB]

I'm not going to China for the Olympics. My decision has nothing to do with Tibet.
It has, however, everything to do with the time I spent last weekend at the Beijing auto show, which opened to the media and other privileged individuals on Sunday, April 20.
The theme for the 2008 Beijing auto show is grandiose: "Dream, Harmony, New Vision," which could just as easily have been a sound bite from a Barack Obama stump speech. But after experiencing the first media day, most Western visitors might characterize the show's working theme as: "Too much, too fast, too soon."
Actually, the Beijing show itself wasn't too bad. It was in a brand-new exhibition hall, which is much nicer than the old one downtown. There were at least a couple of significant introductions -- including the Buick

4:21 pm U.S. ET | April23 [SUB]

When you first think about it, it seems so out of corporate character.
General Motors plans to willfully and knowingly sell vehicles that don't meet generally accepted Western standards for safety. And the giant automaker plans to do it in developing economies on the far side of the world, away from the prying eyes of most Western media.
Imagine!
I can already hear social activist shareholders raising a stink at the annual meeting.
But they'd be wrong.
This isn't a capitalist conspiracy. Nor is it lack of respect for human life or a disregard for the economic and social needs of the aspiring but downtrodden masses in Asia Pacific.
On the contrary, it is a humane, compassionate and thoughtful marketing strategy that will make basic personal transportation available to

9:52 am U.S. ET | April21 [SUB]

Just hours after a labor protest halted Alfa Romeo production in southern Italy, reports began circulating in Europe that Fiat is talking with Chrysler LLC about producing Alfas in North America.
How convenient.
Chrysler's strategic search for partners means it could be a convenient bogeyman for all kinds of manufacturing, negotiating and labor relations bedtime stories.
And it could mean a whole lot more.
The deals with Nissan — especially the contract to produce Nissan pickups in Mexico — add to Chrysler's cachet. Building high-quality minivans for Volkswagen proved Chrysler could be a contract manufacturer, and approaching Chery Automobile Co. about buying vehicles suggests Chrysler is striking out boldly in several different directions.

12:01 am U.S. ET | April21 [SUB]

It's conventional wisdom in some parts of the United States that Dodges and Chryslers built by Chery Automobile Co. are likely to be the first Chinese vehicles sold in North America.
But there are other scenarios.
Speaking at the Automotive News China Conference in Beijing today, Michael Dunne said he expects the first exports to America to be from one of the global automakers with operations in China, the way Honda's factory in Guangzhou exports Honda Jazz automobiles to Germany.
Dunne, who is managing director of J.D. Power Asia Pacific, said Chery will be the first Chinese automaker to take the plunge and sell vehicles under its own brand name, but not for three to five years.
Earlier, another expert told me that Brilliance could be ready to ship cars to America by fall of

11:34 am U.S. ET | April18 [SUB]

Just hours after a labor protest halted Alfa Romeo production at a factory in southern Italy, reports began circulating in Europe that Fiat is talking with Chrysler LLC about producing Alfas in North America.
How convenient.
Chrysler's strategic search for partners means it could be a convenient bogyman for all kinds of manufacturing, negotiating and labor relations bedtime stories.
And it could mean a whole lot more.
The deals with Nissan -- especially the contract to produce full-sized Nissan pickups in Mexico -- add to Chrysler's cachet. Building high-quality minivans for Volkswagen proved Chrysler could handle being a contract manufacturer, and approaching Chery Automobile Co. about buying vehicles suggests Chrysler is boldly striking out in several different directions.

12:05 pm U.S. ET | April17 [SUB]

Don't look now, but Bremen town is back in the news.
And this time it isn't about four runaway farm animals and the adventures they have on the road to getting a gig as musicians in the German city-state of Bremen.
This time it's about politicians who have imposed a 120-kilometer-per-hour (about 75 mph) speed limit on 37 or so miles of autobahn that run through their part of the world.
The speed limit may not be as well-known as the fairy tale written by the Brothers Grimm nearly 200 years ago. Nor is it the first section of the autobahn with a speed limit. But when freedom-loving Porsche and BMW drivers get wind of it, you can bet the fur will fly. Traditionally, the only things that limit your speed are how much money you have to spend on a powerful car —

12:01 am U.S. ET | April14 [SUB]

On the eve of the SAE International confab in Detroit next week, there's more buzz about how to protect visually impaired pedestrians from noiseless vehicles.
The renewed interest was touched off Wednesday, April 9, in Congress when Reps. Edolphus Towns, D-N.Y., and Cliff Stearns, R-Fla., introduced a bill they say is intended to protect blind people and other pedestrians from silent vehicles. The Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act of 2008 would require the Department of Transportation to conduct a two-year study and come up with safety standards that automakers would need to implement.
If you have driven electric vehicles or gasoline-electric hybrids, you know why it's an issue. You can't hear them. And it's not just blind people. There have been times when I've been behind the

3:46 pm U.S. ET | April11 [SUB]

Don't look now, but Bremen town is back in the news.
And this time it isn't about four runaway farm animals and the adventures they have on the road to getting a gig as musicians in the German city-state.
Nope. This time it's about politicians who have imposed a 75 mph speed limit on 37 or so miles of autobahn that run through their part of the world.
The speed limit may not be as well known as the fairy tale written by the Brothers Grimm nearly 200 years ago. But when freedom-loving Porsche and BMW drivers get wind of it, you can bet the fur will fly. That's because Germany's autobahn is famed the world over for not having a speed limit. Traditionally, the only things that limit your speed are how much money you have to spend on a powerful car and your nerve.
Not everybody

4:24 pm U.S. ET | April10 [SUB]

This just in: The average car-owning Brit will drive more than 507,000 miles in a lifetime -- all on the wrong side of the road.
Hey, just kidding!
Seriously, folks, that fat statistic is the result of a survey by Confused.com, an online insurance comparison service in the United Kingdom. It's based on a survey of 2,000 Brits, and the math works out like this: Brits drive an average of 8,756 miles every year between the ages of 17 and 75.
That estimate seems low.
No matter.
Let's assume that for Brits the number is right. Confused.com points out that 507,000 miles is the equivalent of driving around the world more than 20 times. At the equator, I guess, though I'm not sure why you would want to do that.
The study also has a lot of little data, such as men will drive

4:10 pm U.S. ET | April8 [SUB]

All the niff-nawing about how much financial and operational information American Axle should share with the UAW makes a strong argument for having a union representative on the company's board of directors.
Had a UAW official been privy to the on-going flow of information shared with the board, chances are good that this ugly, costly strike could have been avoided. At the outset of negotiations, the union would have known how serious the situation is ... or the company would have realized it couldn't run a bluff at the bargaining table.
Either way, the cards would have been on the table.
Yes, I know it'll be a tough sell. The old-timers and hardliners will say that's not what collective bargaining is supposed to be. They'll say there needs to be mystery, secrets, confrontation

4:12 pm U.S. ET | April7 [SUB]

Rep. John Dingell's decision to run for re-election this fall isn't much of a surprise.
A staunch ally of the auto industry — especially the Detroit 3 — Dingell has been a congressman since Dec. 13, 1955, when the Michigan Democrat went to Washington at age 29 to complete his late father's term in the U.S. House.
Other than short hitches as a forest ranger, a prosecuting attorney for Michigan's Wayne County and a lawyer in private practice, Dingell has spent his entire career as a congressman.
He ought to be re-elected easily — which means that in about 11 months, he'll become the longest-serving member in House history, passing the record of 53 years and 60 days set by Democrat Jamie Whitten of Mississippi.
That leads me to this sobering

12:01 am U.S. ET | April7 [SUB]

Last week's reorganization of Ford Motor Co.'s global product development and purchasing operations is a logical step in CEO Alan Mulally's campaign to forge one global Ford.
Ford's new structure designates global product development centers in specific regions for specific vehicle segments.
Logically, that means Europe will develop small cars, and North America will develop full-sized trucks. Compact trucks will be designed, developed and engineered in Asia and Africa.
And I guess that means Mazda will do everything else off the Mazda6 platform.
Sorry. I know I'm naughty, but I just couldn't resist.
Actually, One Ford is a simple, reasonable concept to standardize vehicles while allowing individual variations in local markets.
It sounds

12:01 am U.S. ET | April7 [SUB]
   • 2000 and One Ford: Mulally's global odyssey

It's probably a coincidence, but this year Porsche and Harley-Davidson each plan to finish museums honoring their respective heritages.
Talk about megadoses of testosterone and brand equity, eh?
Each company is erecting its self-monument in its hometown: The Porsche museum is being built in Stuttgart, while Milwaukee is home to the Harley-Davidson museum.
The glowing descriptions of each project sound wonderful, and I can't wait to visit them.
The Harley project seems bigger -- not that it matters -- undoubtedly because there are millions more Harley owners than there are Porsche owners, though I know people who own both.
But more than just a size advantage, the Harley project has perfect timing. The museum opening coincides with the company's 105th anniversary, which is

4:29 pm U.S. ET | April4 [SUB]

This week's reorganization of Ford's global product development and purchasing operations is a logical step in CEO Alan Mulally's campaign to forge one global Ford.
Ford's new structure designates global product development centers in specific regions for specific vehicle segments.
Logically, that means Europe will develop small cars, while North America will develop full-sized trucks. Compact trucks will be designed, developed and engineered in Asia and Africa.
And I guess that means Mazda will do everything else off the Mazda6 platform.
Sorry, I know I'm naughty, but I just couldn't resist.
Actually, One Ford is a simple, reasonable concept to standardize vehicles while allowing individual variations in local markets.
It sounds similar to the system that General

4:26 pm U.S. ET | April3 [SUB]

Rep. John Dingell's decision to run for re-election this fall really wasn't much of a surprise. A staunch ally of the auto industry -- especially the Detroit 3 -- Dingell has been a congressman since Dec. 13, 1955, when the Michigan Democrat went to Washington to complete his late father's term in the House.
He shows no apparent desire to retire.
Dingell ought to be easily re-elected -- which means that in about 11 months, he'll become the longest-serving member of the House, passing the record of 53 years and 60 days set by Democrat Jamie L. Whitten of Mississippi.
Which leads me to this sobering thought: A year from now, with a new president in the White House and a new Congress in session, Dingell could be the lone voice crying in the wilderness, imploring the nation to

4:41 pm U.S. ET | March31 [SUB]

It would have been interesting to see what former Ford CEO Jacques Nasser might have done with Jaguar and Land Rover if given another chance.
But it's probably just as well that Tata Motors outbid Nasser's One Equity Partners and the other private equity groups being advised by former Jag/Ford execs Nick Scheele and Bob Dover.
You don't want to trust storied automotive brands to private equity philistines, even if they have car guys as advisers or partners.
And let's face it, all three may have preconceptions about the brands — or even attitudes about Ford — that could complicate the transition and re-establishment of the individual brand mission statements.
For example, it would be wrong to think about using the brands to teach Ford a lesson by

12:01 am U.S. ET | March31 [SUB]
   • What's ahead for British brands?

Maybe it has something to do with the warm promise of yet another spring and another opening day of Major League Baseball. Or maybe it's just the byproduct of auto show hoopla.
Whatever the reason, there seems to be a rising tide of interest in the new Dodge Challenger, which goes on sale this fall, and the new Chevy Camaro, which hits dealer showrooms early next year.
Part of the buzz is nostalgia among those of us old enough to have owned one of the originals. It links us to the past. Hey, I plead guilty; my first new car was a Challenger.
But there are other, bigger generational links between the new cars and the old.
Just ask Lloyd Reuss.
Early in his career at the old Chevrolet Division, the executive who later became president of General Motors

12:01 am U.S. ET | March31 [SUB]

Maybe it has something to do with the warm promise of yet another spring and another opening day of Major League Baseball. Or maybe it's just the byproduct of auto show hoopla.
Whatever the reason, there seems to be a rising tide of interest in the new Dodge Challenger, which goes on sale this year, and the new Chevy Camaro, which hits dealer showrooms early next year.
Part of the buzz is nostalgia among those of us old enough to have owned one of the originals. It links us to the past. Hey, I plead guilty; my first new car was a Challenger.
But there are other, bigger generational links between the new cars and the old.
Just ask Lloyd Reuss.
Early in his career at the old Chevrolet division, the executive who later became president of General Motors served as the first

12:41 pm U.S. ET | March28 [REG]

How is this for irony? Just months after Daimler peddled the Chrysler group, CEO Dieter Zetsche has the German automaker looking for ways to expand sales and profits.
Automobilwoche, our German-language sister publication, reports that Zetsche formed a task force of Daimler department heads who have been studying business models and other options related to the automobile.
According to Automobilwoche, the types of ventures being considered include typical things such as having the company's finance and insurance team get more involved in the leasing and used-car business.
But apparently the group also is investigating whether Daimler could make money by establishing a limousine service.
That probably wouldn't raise any eyebrows in Germany because the factories

4:30 pm U.S. ET | March27 [SUB]

It would have been interesting to see what former Ford CEO Jacques Nasser might have done with Jaguar and Land Rover if given another chance.
But it's probably just as well that Tata Motors outbid Nasser's One Equity Partners as well as the other private equity groups being advised by former Jag/Ford execs Nick Scheele and Bob Dover.
You don't want to trust storied automotive brands to private equity philistines, even if they have car guys as advisers or partners.
And let's face it, all three may have preconceptions about the brands -- or even attitudes about Ford -- that could complicate the transition and re-establishment of the individual brand mission statements.
For example, it would be wrong to think about using the brands to teach Ford a lesson by making the Jaguar

4:20 pm U.S. ET | March26 [SUB]

Could you imagine how well Lincoln would be doing overseas — thanks to the weak dollar — if it only had a suitable brand image?
A friend posed that question a few days ago.
He had dialed back to the early days of Ford's Premier Automotive Group, when the Lincoln brand was going to be refashioned into the ultimate American luxury marque in the portfolio of upscale global brands: Aston Martin, Jaguar, Land Rover, Lincoln and Volvo.
And what better place for designing and marketing luxury brands than sunny California? California is a huge market for luxury vehicles, so it made sense to expose staffers to the climate and social environment there. It would help define and inform their work, or so the conventional wisdom suggested.
Former Ford

12:01 am U.S. ET | March24 [SUB]
   • Tracing the Camaro's bloodline
   • With a spiffier image, Lincoln would rock abroad

It's amusing that some marketing execs think the mythical couple Joe and Sally Sixpack represent typical middle-class American consumers. Their names are shorthand for a certain demographic and psychographic stereotype, but they also smack of elitism -- as if whoever thought them up had some disdain for beer drinkers.
No matter.
Joe and Sally probably aren't offended. Their more upscale cousins, Biff and Buffy Latte, would probably freak out.
And speaking of marketing oddities, isn't it strange how the address of the stereotypical American home always seems to be 123 Main St., Anytown, USA?
Here's a little inside info: Anytown is almost certainly Columbus, Ohio, which has been a favorite place for market researchers to test new products and campaigns. Joe and Sally live in

1:16 pm U.S. ET | March21 [SUB]

Could you imagine how well Lincoln would be doing overseas -- thanks to the weak dollar -- if it only had a suitable brand image?
A friend posed that intriguing but somewhat rhetorical question a few days ago.
He had dialed back his thought process eight years or so to the early days of Ford's Premier Automotive Group, when the Lincoln brand was going to be refashioned into the ultimate American luxury marque as part of the PAG portfolio of upscale global brands that encompassed Aston Martin, Jaguar, Land Rover, Lincoln and Volvo.
Ah, but there were a lot of big plans at the turn of the century, weren't there? Those were heady days, when it seemed as if you could create a center of excellence anywhere you wanted, just by willing it.
And what better place to create a center of

12:01 am U.S. ET | March20 [SUB]

It shouldn't surprise anyone that Chrysler is thinking about building vehicles in Russia, which seems to be one of the fastest-growing global markets for Western cars and trucks.
Other automakers from western Europe, North America and Asia already have moved in and built factories there, or have plans to do so.
No wonder. Sales of cars and trucks in Russia hit 2.4 million units last year and are predicted to keep soaring this year.
But of that big sweet Russian pie, Chrysler sold fewer than 6,000 units.
In 2007, Chrysler sold nearly a quarter of a million vehicles overseas, many of them exported from North American factories. And if Chrysler is to hit the half-million overseas sales mark by 2012, getting more of the Russian market will help.
But

12:01 am U.S. ET | March17 [SUB]
   • A note to eager auto execs: Invaders sometimes get icy reception in Russia

It shouldn't surprise anyone that Chrysler is thinking about building vehicles in Russia, which seems to be one of the fastest-growing global markets for Western cars and trucks.
Heck, other automakers from western Europe, North America and Asia already have moved in and built factories there -- or have plans to do so.
No wonder. Sales of all cars and trucks in Russia hit 2.4 million units last year and are predicted to explode again this year.
But of that big Russian pie, Chrysler sold fewer than 6,000 units. That's roughly 0.25 percent of the market.
In 2007, Chrysler sold nearly a quarter million vehicles overseas, with many of those exported from North American factories. And if Chrysler is to hit the half-million overseas sales mark by 2012, getting more of the Russian

10:06 am U.S. ET | March14 [SUB]

Don't be surprised if the U.S. operations of Jaguar and Land Rover pack up and move back to the East Coast after the brands are sold.
Volvo -- the European brand that Ford plans to keep (at least for now) -- already has said it will abandon the PAG cloister in Irvine, Calif., and head east to Rockleigh, N.J. Aston Martin already has been sold. So once Tata closes the deal and acquires the two English brands, there will be little to hold Jaguar Land Rover on the left coast.
It would make perfect sense to relocate on the East Coast, probably hooking up with the JLR employees in Mahwah, N.J., who never made the trek west. That will cut overhead. Some of the employees may not want to move, which could trim head count and cut overhead even more.
Being on the East Coast also would

4:36 pm U.S. ET | March12 [SUB]

It's all about style at the Geneva auto show.
Style defines the best products and concept vehicles on the stands. It's also a defining attribute for the executives you see on the show floor. Some wander the aisles in pairs, occasionally with topcoats draped over their shoulders. Some stroll with a spouse or really close friend. Others march through the show with a posse.
But style is especially apparent among the execs who emcee the unveilings and press conferences.
Sometimes it's the company CEO who does the honors. Or it might be the head of the local sales operation. If there is a protocol or code to determine who gets the nod, I haven't cracked it.
Even if there is entertainment as a warm-up act, the press conferences tend to be straightforward. The

12:01 am U.S. ET | March10 [SUB]

One of the major undercurrents this week at the Geneva auto show was the weakness of the dollar, which was a topic of conversation almost everywhere you went.
You feel the pain of the weak dollar as soon as you get off the plane in Geneva and change your currency. You have to shell out nearly a buck for every Swiss franc. Last year, a franc only cost about 80 cents.
Switzerland is an upscale market, and Geneva is an upscale city, so you expect to pay premium prices in town. But even visitors who stayed in nearby France and commuted dealt with a euro that cost more than $1.50.
Ah, but there are bigger issues in life than just how much it costs to have breakfast in Geneva, go skiing in France or take home a box of chocolates or a watch.
For European automakers that sell

2:43 pm U.S. ET | March7 [SUB]

It's all about style at the Geneva auto show.
Style is a defining characteristic of the best products and concept vehicles that you see on the stands. It also is a defining attribute for the executives you see on the show floor. Some wander the aisles two by two, occasionally with topcoats draped over their shoulders. Some stroll with a spouse or apparent close friend. Others march through the show with a posse tagging along.
But style is especially apparent among the execs who preside at the various unveilings and press conferences.
Sometimes it's the company CEO who does the honors. But it also might be another executive, such as the head of the local sales operation. If there is a protocol or code to determine who gets the nod and under which circumstances, I haven't cracked

11:32 am U.S. ET | March5 [SUB]
   • Be it metal or men, Geneva all about style

The news that Ford Motor Co. trimmed its second-quarter North American production schedule by 10 percent isn't a good sign, even when compared with the struggles of other automakers trying to wade through a shaky U.S. economy.
But if Ford can achieve CEO Alan Mulally's goal of making global automotive operations profitable next year, the company ought to have enough staying power to make it in the long term, thanks in large measure to Mulally's One Ford concept.
That's because at least some new Ford products being developed for Europe will be heading to North America, too.

9:00 am U.S. ET | March4 [REG]

When you go to an auto show overseas, you expect to see a lot of unfamiliar brands and models. That's especially true in Geneva, which is neutral territory because there are no major automakers with headquarters here.
So every European brand feels welcome, even the small ones that produce only a handful of vehicles each year. And there are vehicles from all over the globe, including India and China
There are a lot of them.
I walked through the Palexpo exhibition hall this afternoon, and some of the stands were still being set up. But by my count, there are more than 100 brands on display here this year, including the work done by the design houses that have their own stands.
To make it easier for people to find their favorite brands, there are identifying banners hanging

2:09 pm U.S. ET | March3 [SUB]

Former UAW President Doug Fraser, who died Feb. 23 at age 91, is remembered as one of the great labor leaders and industrial visionaries of the last century.
He certainly was that.
Doug Fraser — the last of the generation of early UAW pioneers tapped by Walter Reuther for leadership roles in the union and society — was also a good guy to know.
He had a winning personality that made it easy for him to talk with anyone and endeared him to reporters. And he had a way of drawing you into his vision. Along with his native intellect and hard-won street smarts, Fraser had an easy wit and a Scotsman's candor.
In 1979, during the campaign to secure federal loan guarantees for Chrysler, Fraser called General Motors CEO Thomas Murphy "a horse's ass" when

12:01 am U.S. ET | March3 [SUB]
   • Fraser led UAW with 'combination of substance, politics and charm'

You meet the nicest people on a Honda.
That was probably true in the early 1960s when Grey Advertising came up with that tag line for Honda commercials. Back then, Honda was selling mostly little motorbikes with 50cc engines. The Beach Boys even did a song called "Little Honda," proclaiming that the groovy little motorbike was "more fun than a barrel of monkeys."
Obviously, times changed.
Motorcycles got bigger and Honda started building them in Marysville, Ohio, three years before the company cranked up car production in America. That motorcycle factory is what made Honda a naturalized U.S. citizen. The big Honda Gold Wing cruisers assembled in Ohio gave the brand more horsepower as a full-line producer.
So it's too bad the company will stop making bikes there

12:01 am U.S. ET | March3 [SUB]

You meet the nicest people on a Honda.
That was probably true in the early 1960s when Grey Advertising came up with that tag line for Honda commercials. Back then, Honda was selling mostly little motorbikes with 50cc engines. The Beach Boys even did a song called " Little Honda," proclaiming that the groovy little motorbike was " more fun than a barrel of monkeys."
Obviously, times changed.
Motorcycles got bigger and Honda started building them in Marysville, Ohio, three years before the company cranked up car production in America. That motorcycle factory is what made Honda a naturalized U.S. citizen. The big Honda Gold Wing cruisers assembled in Ohio gave the brand more horsepower as a full-line producer.
So it's too bad the company will stop making bikes there next year.

10:43 am U.S. ET | Feb.29 [SUB]
   • Honda moves its American bike offshore

Pay close attention to what's happening at American Axle.
In an industry that's already skittish, a prolonged strike by the UAW at American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings could signal a number of tough issues -- as might the eventual settlement if it doesn't measure up to expectations or justify the cost of the work stoppage.
After the UAW wrapped up a new round of contracts with the Detroit 3 last fall -- without spilling much blood -- there was hope that things might go as well when the union moved on to negotiate new labor agreements with suppliers.
Naturally, supplier execs who saw how well things went with the automakers and how reasonable the union had been were hopeful that they, too, could get some cost relief, especially in key areas such as retiree health care.

2:03 pm U.S. ET | Feb.28 [SUB]