letters to the editor
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Dealers are victims of Axle strike
Just a note to express my total frustration with General Motors and the whole American Axle mess. The managers at the top of GM and American Axle have lost touch with their customers -- who are the dealers, not the public. [SUB] 12:01 am U.S. ET | May 5
COMMENTARY: LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Federal oversight? Good heavens, no
Please say it's not so. Did you really say service contracts need federal oversight ("Service contracts: Federal oversight is needed," Opinion, April 21)? [SUB] 12:01 am U.S. ET | May 5
COMMENTARY: LETTER TO THE EDITOR
'Have you lost your mind?'
Have you lost your mind? More federal oversight for the auto industry? Get real! [SUB] 12:01 am U.S. ET | May 5
COMMENTARY: LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Geoff Polites: A salute
The motor industry in Australia owes a big debt to the late Geoff Polites ("Geoff Polites: A passion for cars and for life," April 28). He turned Ford in Australia around, and he was the only person who could have done it. [SUB] 12:01 am U.S. ET | May 5
A car for everyone or cut, cut, cut, cut?All those so-called auto analysts call for General Motors to reduce its lineup and consolidate products, and then they lament the loss of models and variety of product. [SUB] 12:01 am U.S. ET | May 5 |
Think of Buick as part of B-P-G
In defense of the General, I think that Buick-Pontiac-GMC can and will become a great franchise in the marketplace. The media must stop looking at Buick as a single entity and, above all, stop associating Buick's numbers with the demise of Oldsmobile. [SUB] 12:01 am U.S. ET | May 5
COMMENTARY: LETTER TO THE EDITOR
G8's 3.6-liter V-6 is a thirsty engine
Regarding "Pontiac counts on new G8 sedan to rev up the brand" (April 7): You nailed it again. General Motors' second effort at multivalve, dual-overhead-cam technology is equally as thirsty as the first. [SUB] 12:01 am U.S. ET | April 28
COMMENTARY: LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Dodge dealers win; Jeep dealers lose
Chrysler's recent military program is a stab at its Jeep dealer body ("Chrysler offers spiffs for military," March 24). The company has taken from Jeep a long-established military veteran program, one that veterans were aware of and appreciated. No longer can all honorably discharged service members participate. [SUB] 12:01 am U.S. ET | April 28
COMMENTARY: LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Credibility? Nano has none yet
The story "Nano brings credibility to Indian engineering" (in some editions, April 14) was interesting. But I want to tell INCAT CEO Warren Harris and others that the engineering credibility of the Nano will come only from the test of time. [SUB] 12:01 am U.S. ET | April 28
COMMENTARY: LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Plug-ins save? Oh, you dreamers
In your March 31 issue, you had a story about plug-ins ("Suddenly, a market for plug-ins"). Have you seen the electric bills or seen how your electric company makes the electricity it sells to you? [SUB] 12:01 am U.S. ET | April 28
COMMENTARY: LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Dingell is the problem, not the solution
Edward Lapham decries the possibility of a patchwork quilt of fuel economy and emissions standards among the various states ("Who will cool states' fuel economy fervor?" April 7). Gross inaction at the federal level has led some states to take it upon themselves to get an out-of-control industry back in line with what is good for the country and the auto industry. [SUB] 12:01 am U.S. ET | April 28
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Ryan revolutionized this business
Although Pat Ryan is retiring as executive chairman of Aon Corp., his presence will always be felt in the auto industry (“F&I pioneer Pat Ryan to retire from Aon,” March 24). Pat revolutionized the car business by introducing dealers to new sources of income through separate F&I departments handling finance contracts, life and disability coverage and extended warranties. [SUB] 12:01 am U.S. ET | April 21
COMMENTARY: LETTER TO THE EDITOR
An editorial glass ceiling?
I read Keith Crain's column about the glass ceiling and turned to the staff box on the next page to see whether Automotive News has broken the glass ceiling (March 31). Out of the 20 or so people on the list with the word “editor” in their job titles, only four are women. [SUB] 12:01 am U.S. ET | April 21
COMMENTARY: LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Can't we stop importing oil?
Every issue of Automotive News has articles about new technologies for improving fuel economy of gasoline or diesel engines. Every auto company is scrambling to meet future fuel efficiency standards. Consumers are facing $4-a-gallon gasoline. Raising fuel economy will not solve the problem. [SUB] 12:01 am U.S. ET | April 21
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
BMW should build even more here
Guido Reinking indicates that there is a financial weakness because of BMW's production being in the United States (“In the United States, BMW is a victim of its own success,” April 7). If that were the case, Toyota, Honda, Mercedes-Benz and others should be closing shop. [SUB] 12:01 am U.S. ET | April 21
Not what New York orderedRegarding the March 24 Final Assembly item "Ford hails its cab, but mpg is an issue": What were they thinking? When a customer says he wants a 400-pound gorilla that eats only bananas, and you bring him a 400-pound gorilla that eats potatoes, why would he buy it? No wonder Detroit is going down the tubes. [SUB] 12:01 am U.S. ET | April 21 |
Mandates, markets and buyer demand
The March 31 article "Suddenly, a market for plug-ins" hails California's new rule requiring automakers to manufacture 66,000 plug-in hybrids. The story says: "With the stroke of a pen, California regulators have created an instant market -- and a sizable one -- for plug-in hybrids." Using that logic, we could triple Automotive News' subscriptions by requiring Crain Communications to print three times as many copies. [SUB] 12:01 am U.S. ET | April 14
COMMENTARY: LETTER TO THE EDITOR
For Detroit, some things never change
Regarding "Downsizing arrives -- with a vengeance," April 7: This is just another glowing example of no matter how much things change, they stay the same. Think back about 30 years ago. The price of gasoline was increasing steadily. Many people wanted to downsize their automobiles but could not find suitable alternatives in the U.S. brands, so they were forced to look to the imports. [SUB] 12:01 am U.S. ET | April 14
COMMENTARY: LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Auto industry has lost a good man
I was shocked and saddened to hear of the accidental death of John Herlitz ("Ex-Chrysler design chief John Herlitz dead at 65," March 31). I had the pleasure of working with John (as well as Bob Lutz, Tom Gale and Trevor Creed) on various international projects, including memorable Lamborghini design projects. [SUB] 12:01 am U.S. ET | April 14
COMMENTARY: LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Accentuate the positive
Regarding the April 1 online story "Auto sales plummet by 12%": Why all the negative? It seems to me that Automotive News is merely reporting the same negative news about the auto industry that most of the negative-biased metro newspaper and TV networks are reporting nationally on a day-to-day basis. Why not report on the positives? [SUB] 12:01 am U.S. ET | April 14
COMMENTARY: LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Nasser is to blame for Lincoln's woes
Edward Lapham's March 24 column about Lincoln made some valid points regarding the global potential of the brand ("With a spiffier image, Lincoln would rock abroad"). But he is attempting to rewrite history with the assertion that former Ford CEO Jacques Nasser "had a vision for PAG" and Lincoln that was not realized because of his firing in October 2001. [SUB] 12:01 am U.S. ET | April 7
COMMENTARY: LETTER TO THE EDITOR
More on experts' fuel cell report
The March 24 story on the National Research Council's assessment of the federal clean-vehicle research program leaves the unfortunate impression on some readers that the council envisions a delay ("Study: Hydrogen research worth the cost"). When it asks the U.S. Department of Energy to "extend its study of the challenges to switching to hydrogen fuel to the 2030-35 time frame," the National Research Council is making a more subtle point. [SUB] 12:01 am U.S. ET | April 7
COMMENTARY: LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Customer loyalty is serious business
With regard to the cartoon about Mazda's loyalty rate in the March 10 issue, there really isn't any positive way to interpret it. I am a loyalty manager hired by dealers and Mazda to work with the dealer body. I can tell you that as facilitators, loyalty managers bring years of training and automotive experience to the table. With any manufacturer, dealership success relies on culture. [SUB] 12:01 am U.S. ET | March 31
COMMENTARY: LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Toyota plumbed the depths of Scion
"Scion hits a wall" (March 3): No mystery there. A finite number of folks find quirky, odd, offbeat automobiles attractive. [SUB] 12:01 am U.S. ET | March 31
