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SALES TALES: Suddenly, small was big in April

April was a terrible month for the overall sales of new cars and light trucks, but one segment of the market feasted while the others fasted: Small cars. Ever since the price of gasoline began heading for the stratosphere, those in the know have been talking of a small-car boom John K. Teahen Jr. is the senior editor of Automotive News. [SUB] 12:01 am U.S. ET | May 12

Ford's challenge: Long-term reliability

For the first 12 years as an automotive journalist, I handed out consumer advice as the auto writer for The Orlando Sentinel in Florida. I would advise a surly reader: "You should give the Big 3 another chance." Now I am in the position of having to take my own advice, and I don't think I am going to do it Richard Truett is a staff reporter for Automotive News. [SUB] 12:01 am U.S. ET | May 12

Iraq: Does Daimler know something that we don't?

You have to wonder about Daimler's decision to open an office in Baghdad by year end. [SUB] 2:37 pm U.S. ET | May 8

Absurd logic in U.S., cowardice in Berlin on the environment

"Americans can always be counted on to do the right thing ... after they have exhausted all other possibilities." Winston Churchill, who said that some 60 years ago, apparently foresaw the Bush administration's new fuel economy rules. The mandate shows that the United States has "exhausted all other possibilities." Guido Reinking is editor of Automobilwoche. [REG] 12:01 am U.S. ET | May 7

Giving way to eBay

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 Edward Lapham is the executive editor of Automotive News. [SUB] 4:27 pm U.S. ET | May 6

Is it real, or is it just temporary?

By Memorial Day, we will probably be paying about $4 for a gallon of regular gasoline. Don't even think about how much we'll be paying for premium. The high cost of crude is going to hit us in a thousand big and small ways Keith Crain is publisher and editorial director of Automotive News. [SUB] 12:01 am U.S. ET | May 5

Save a board seat for the UAW

Now that annual meeting season is just about here, shareholders, investors and corporate managers ought to consider a game-changing idea: It's time to give the UAW a board seat at publicly traded automakers and suppliers Edward Lapham is the executive editor of Automotive News. [SUB] 12:01 am U.S. ET | May 5

So when do you say when?

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 Edward Lapham is the executive editor of Automotive News. [SUB] 12:14 pm U.S. ET | May 2

Demonizing the boss in a troubling time

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 Edward Lapham is the executive editor of Automotive News. [REG] 2:38 pm U.S. ET | May 1

Don't be surprised to see Ghosn in N.Y.

I can only imagine the folks at Cerberus looking at one another and wondering how they ever got involved in the automobile business. What appeared to be a simple, straightforward means of making a quick few billion dollars has turned into a nightmare of losses Keith Crain is publisher and editorial director of Automotive News. [SUB] 12:01 am U.S. ET | April 28

Chinese companies have made a great leap forward in design

The auto show in Beijing this year was my fourth Auto China show. It was just as loud as the other three and just as crowded on press day. Could all those people really be reporters? But there was one big difference: the number and quality of the local brand cars on display Alysha Webb is the China Bureau Chief of Automotive News. [SUB] 12:01 am U.S. ET | April 28

Geoff Polites: A passion for cars and for life

When I learned that Jaguar-Land Rover boss Geoff Polites had died of cancer at age 60 last week, I felt a twinge of remorse. Sitting on my shelf at home is a book I borrowed from him in 2004 and never got around to returning. The book, called Sex and Thugs and Rock'n'roll, was a memoir by legendary Australian rocker Billy Thorpe. [SUB] 12:01 am U.S. ET | April 28

Another true adventure in Auto Retail Land

Earlier this week, in a suburb of Detroit … Edward Lapham is the executive editor of Automotive News. [SUB] 1:54 pm U.S. ET | April 25

The global 5, or 6

Forget about General Motors. Forget about Toyota. China's Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp. is bound to be the world's biggest automotive enterprise. Edward Lapham is the executive editor of Automotive News. [SUB] 12:15 pm U.S. ET | April 24

State ownership can slow Chinese automakers

SHANGHAI -- Most of China's largest automakers are state-owned. They answer not to shareholders or to the market, but to a government. That makes privately owned automakers in China such as BYD Auto Co. and Great Wall Motor Co. look promising in the longer term, despite their small size. [REG] 3:14 am U.S. ET | April 23

The allegory of the Beijing auto show

I'm not going to China for the Olympics. My decision has nothing to do with Tibet. [SUB] 4:21 pm U.S. ET | April 23

Geoff Polites: Cars and a whole lot more

When I learned that Jaguar-Land Rover boss Geoff Polites died of cancer at age 60 last week, I felt a twinge of remorse. Sitting on my shelf at home is a book I borrowed from him in 2004 and never got around to returning Bradford Wernle is a staff reporter at Automotive News. [SUB] 3:21 pm U.S. ET | April 22

Shooting for the top by looking after the bottom

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 Edward Lapham is the executive editor of Automotive News. [SUB] 9:52 am U.S. ET | April 21

Last week, I got a glimpse of the future

Last week, during the SAE World Congress in Detroit, I had the chance to drive a BMW 7 series -- nothing remarkable except it was powered by hydrogen. Actually it allowed me to switch back and forth between hydrogen fuel and gasoline. The most amazing thing about that futuristic vehicle is that there was nothing amazing about it at all Keith Crain is publisher and editorial director of Automotive News. [SUB] 12:01 am U.S. ET | April 21

Driving on hydrogen -- pros and cons

I'm sitting behind the wheel of a BMW, and I'm nervous. This is a car with a difference: It is powered by liquid hydrogen. Didn't the Hindenburg airship run on hydrogen? Matthias Abend, international sales manager for BMW's Hydrogen 7 models, does his best to calm my fears. James Franey is a reporter for Automotive News Europe. [SUB] 12:01 am U.S. ET | April 21

Why should Chinese automakers be in such a hurry?

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 Edward Lapham is the executive editor of Automotive News. [SUB] 11:34 am U.S. ET | April 18

Keeping the Alfa legend alive

As the saying goes, if you have a finicky Italian car to fix, it makes sense to take it to a Scotsman. OK, so it's not a saying. All I know is that my recently acquired -- and mortally wounded -- 1974 Alfa Romeo Spider was in the care of one Stewart Sandeman, the Scottish proprietor of Alfa Performance Connection Mark Rechtin is Los Angeles bureau chief for Automotive News. [SUB] 3:29 pm U.S. ET | April 17

Chrysler, the multilegged stool

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 Edward Lapham is the executive editor of Automotive News. [SUB] 12:05 pm U.S. ET | April 17

The age of fuel innovation is here

One of the basic reasons that we don't have much in the way of oil reserves is that there was no point in searching for oil when you had 10 years of development ahead of you. That may not be the case any longer, but it was very real for many years Keith Crain is publisher and editorial director of Automotive News. [SUB] 12:01 am U.S. ET | April 14

Buick: As Chicago goes, so goes the nation

How bad are Buick sales? Nationwide, Buick sales plummeted 24.1 percent in March compared with the previous March. Just 12,317 retail and fleet vehicles were sold. It was a dismal month for a brand that has three solid products: the LaCrosse, Lucerne and Enclave. In fact, that's all it has -- three vehicles. That's hardly a product line. [SUB] 12:01 am U.S. ET | April 14

SALES TALES: What they're buying -- and what they're not

With gasoline heading for $4 a gallon and the U.S. economy slipping deeper into the doldrums, it's time to look at what new-vehicle customers are and are not buying John K. Teahen Jr. is the senior editor of Automotive News. [SUB] 12:01 am U.S. ET | April 14

Cadillac's ad agency savors the sweet life

It took a while, but the head of Cadillac's advertising agency says its work for the brand has hit "the sweet spot." Lance Jensen, co-founder of Modernista, says the well-received campaign that his agency created last year for the Cadillac CTS sedan has set a tone for the luxury marque. He describes it as "young, sexy and energetic, with a bit of an attitude." Special Correspondent Laura Clark Geist writes a monthly column on trends in automotive advertising and marketing. [SUB] 12:01 am U.S. ET | April 14

Hybrids' silence could spur a loud debate

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 Edward Lapham is the executive editor of Automotive News. [SUB] 3:46 pm U.S. ET | April 11

Can the Greens slow down the autobahn?

Don't look now, but Bremen town is back in the news. 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 Edward Lapham is the executive editor of Automotive News. [SUB] 4:24 pm U.S. ET | April 10

Confused: Do the Brits drive too much?

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! Edward Lapham is the executive editor of Automotive News. [SUB] 4:10 pm U.S. ET | April 8

A UAW board seat? It might help

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 Edward Lapham is the executive editor of Automotive News. [SUB] 4:12 pm U.S. ET | April 7

Time to go back to the basics

This isn't the first time the U.S. automobile industry has seen a sales downturn. I pity dealers who have never seen a downturn. They might have thought that the market would be going up forever. Well, it's time to go back to the basics Keith Crain is publisher and editorial director of Automotive News. [SUB] 12:01 am U.S. ET | April 7

In the United States, BMW is a victim of its own success

There was a surprise in last year's financial results, though. Audi's profit margin topped BMW's. BMW's comparatively bad showing demonstrates just how right CEO Norbert Reithofer has been in pursuing drastic cost reductions Guido Reinking is editor of Automobilwoche, a Crain publication that covers the German auto industry. [SUB] 12:01 am U.S. ET | April 7

Who will cool states' fuel economy fervor?

Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich., ought to be re-elected easily. That 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 understand the madness Edward Lapham is executive editor of Automotive News. [SUB] 12:01 am U.S. ET | April 7

A rivet for your thoughts

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? Edward Lapham is executive editor of Automotive News. [SUB] 4:29 pm U.S. ET | April 4

Ford 2000 plus One

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 Edward Lapham is executive editor of Automotive News. [SUB] 4:26 pm U.S. ET | April 3

Will there be a lone voice of reason in Washington in 2009?

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 shows no apparent desire to retire. Edward Lapham is the executive editor of Automotive News. [SUB] 4:41 pm U.S. ET | March 31

It's time to break the glass ceiling

Electing the first female chairman of NADA should be more than just an isolated incident. It ought to be the beginning of a trend. NADA should recognize the potential among its female members. It's about time Keith Crain is publisher and editorial director of Automotive News. [SUB] 12:01 am U.S. ET | March 31

Yanase opened Japan to Western cars

For more than half a century, Jiro Yanase personified the import-car market in Japan -- for better and worse. He opened the door to foreign cars at a time when tariffs and, later, nontariff barriers kept the Japanese market closed. But after opening it a crack, he then plastered it in place so it wouldn't open any wider James B. Treece is industry editor of Automotive News. [SUB] 12:01 am U.S. ET | March 31

N.Y. show suggests a future of smart powertrains, muscle

The eclectic array of muscle cars and advanced-technology microcars on display at the New York International Auto Show provided a good glimpse of the future. Here's a look at some of the hits and one miss at the New York show Richard Truett is a reporter for Automotive News. [SUB] 12:01 am U.S. ET | March 31

Land Rover in good shape, but challenges remain

Business is booming at Land Rover, and that's good news for soon-to-be owner Tata. Land Rover appears to be solidly profitable, according to what can be gleaned from Ford's financial statements. Jaguar has not been profitable since Ford bought it in 1989, and in most years its sales have fallen Tony Lewin is an Automotive News Europe correspondent. [SUB] 12:01 am U.S. ET | March 31

Tip for Tata: Let British brands be British brands

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. [SUB] 12:01 am U.S. ET | March 31

Camaro's generational buzz -- from Reuss to the road

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 Edward Lapham is the executive editor of Automotive News. [REG] 12:41 pm U.S. ET | March 28

Mercedes limo service? Zetsche might try it

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 Edward Lapham is the executive editor of Automotive News. [SUB] 4:30 pm U.S. ET | March 27

Some advice for Tata: Let the British brands be British brands

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 Edward Lapham is the executive editor of Automotive News. [SUB] 4:20 pm U.S. ET | March 26

BMW falls victim to U.S. success

If there were an award for last year's most profitable premium brand, it would be an unequivocal victory for Mercedes-Benz. After cutting Chrysler loose, profits at Daimler, Mercedes' parent, have shot upward like an untethered balloon. None of its rivals could keep up Guido Reinking is editor of Automobilwoche. [SUB] 12:01 am U.S. ET | March 24

Chinese cars? Dealer beware

Everybody knows that the Chinese are coming and that they'll be looking for dealers and possibly distributors. The challenge is that no one knows who's coming. It's anybody's guess which automaker will show up on our shores with a real car and a real distribution company Keith Crain is publisher and editorial director of Automotive News. [SUB] 12:01 am U.S. ET | March 24

Bob Irvin is a worthy addition to Hall of Fame

Sure, I remember Bob Irvin. I've been in the news business for 62 years (53 with Automotive News), and Bob is the best I've ever worked with. Last week we learned that Bob will be inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame on Oct. 7. Bob could do it all John K. Teahen Jr. is senior editor of Automotive News. [SUB] 12:01 am U.S. ET | March 24

Detroit 3 can learn from the Marlboro Man

For more than 30 years, the tobacco and auto industries have faced tons of bad publicity about their products and their motives. In their responses to political and public pressure, one industry might learn from the travails of the other Barrett Kalellis is a Detroit-area freelance writer. [SUB] 12:01 am U.S. ET | March 24

Selling Fords to Joe, Sally, Biff and Buffy (and Ma and Pa, too)

Marketing execs use Joe and Sally Sixpack or Biff and Buffy Latte as shorthand for certain demographic and psychographic stereotypes. Europe has its own marketing stereotypes, and Ford is using a couple in its efforts to sell the Kuga and Fiesta. Edward Lapham is the executive editor of Automotive News. [SUB] 1:16 pm U.S. ET | March 21

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