Executives

Chrysler quality chief: Little difference now with Toyota

12:01 am U.S. ET | May 20, 2013
The quality gap between Chrysler Group's vehicles and those of Japanese automakers has become so small that it no longer should matter to consumers, Chrysler's quality chief says.... Read More »

 

Infiniti: Raise quality, sales will follow

12:01 am U.S. ET | May 20, 2013
Infiniti President Johan de Nysschen, poached last summer from Audi, aims to push into new segments, restore profitability to Nissan's luxury marque and fix lackluster quality rankings. Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn has ordered de Nysschen to make the brand a top-tier premium player and boost global sales to 500,000 by 2016 from just 170,000 last year.... Read More »

 

TALK FROM THE TOP: JOE HINRICHS, PRESIDENT OF THE AMERICAS, FORD MOTOR CO.

Hinrichs: Quality is 'of the highest priority' at Ford

12:01 am U.S. ET | May 20, 2013
After three frenetic years overseeing Ford's ambitious Asia Pacific expansion plans, including the construction of nine plants, Joe Hinrichs returned to the Dearborn, Mich., world headquarters in December to take over as president of the company's most profitable region: the Americas. Hinrichs found Ford's North American operations in the midst of a major growth spurt.... Read More »

 

BMW counts on new models to keep U.S. luxury lead

May 20, 2013 06:01 CET
Mercedes-Benz led the U.S. premium-brand sales race through April of 2013, but BMW of North America CEO Ludwig Willisch expects BMW to repeat as No. 1 for the year. Willisch says help is on the way in the form of three models debuting later this year: the 3-series GT crossover, 4-series coupe and a redesigned X5 crossover.... Read More »

 

NEEDED: 'THICK SKIN'

GM designer knows crucial launches produce a love-hate response

12:01 am U.S. ET | May 20, 2013
Chevrolet designer Tom Peters describes the blocky, chiseled front end of the 2014 Silverado pickup as a "fist in the wind." The metaphor also could describe the resolve Peters needs to weather his critics as the lead designer for two of the most closely scrutinized vehicles on the planet: the Silverado and Corvette.... Read More »

 

Tesla Motors may repay U.S. loan by Wednesday, Musk says

10:41 pm U.S. ET | May 20, 2013
Tesla Motors may repay its federal Department of Energy loan as early as Wednesday, CEO Elon Musk said in a message on Twitter on Monday.... Read More »

 

Experian names John Gray head of auto unit

2:57 pm U.S. ET | May 20, 2013
Experian has named John Gray president of its automotive business unit, effective immediately, with responsibility for the strategic direction, leadership and overall growth of the business.... Read More »

 

TALK FROM THE TOP: MARK REUSS, NORTH AMERICAN PRESIDENT, GENERAL MOTORS

GM seeks clean launch, regular updates for pickups

12:01 am U.S. ET | May 20, 2013
Mark Reuss, president of General Motors North America, says GM is staying vigilant on the June launch of the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra full-sized pickups, its most important rollout since the company's 2009 bankruptcy. He says GM is closely monitoring suppliers to avoid bottlenecks that could delay the launch or hurt quality.... Read More »

 

Mini's culture is as quirky as its cars

12:01 am U.S. ET | May 20, 2013
Mini is owned by BMW, but there's a broad gulf between the prestigious luxury marque and the funky small-car brand.... Read More »

 

Continental names veteran exec Cramer as China head

May 20, 2013 11:38 CET
German supplier Continental has named veteran executive Ralf Cramer to head its operations in China, which it sees as the main driver of its growing business in Asia. The company says it gets around 18 percent of its sales from Asia and wants to increase this proportion to more than 30 percent.... Read More »

 

CFO says GM streamlining is 'on its way'

12:01 am U.S. ET | May 20, 2013
As a banking adviser to General Motors when he was at Morgan Stanley, Dan Ammann got an upfront view of GM's spiral into bankruptcy in 2009 and subsequent restructuring. Now, more than two years into his job as CFO, Ammann acknowledges that he had only a faint idea at the time of how complex GM is.... Read More »

 

Obituaries

12:01 am U.S. ET | May 20, 2013
Information about James Lawrence, former publisher at NADA Used Car Guide, and A.B. Shuman, a product spokesman for Mercedes-Benz of North America Inc.... Read More »

 

2 SCREENS BETTER THAN 1

Auto marketers want TV viewers to reach for another device

12:01 am U.S. ET | May 20, 2013
TV promotions still reach the biggest audiences, but auto marketers say the greatest untapped potential lies with consumers poised to use other devices to respond quickly to what they see on screen.... Read More »

 

GM's Cruze diesel ghostbuster

12:01 am U.S. ET | May 20, 2013
No one on Mike Siegrist's engineering team talks about the failed Oldsmobile diesel V-8 from the 1980s. But it's there, a 745-pound cast-iron ghost. Siegrist leads the 50-member engineering team that is equipping the first GM car in North America with a diesel since 1986.... Read More »

 

Infiniti to add new halo car, more crossovers

12:01 am U.S. ET | May 20, 2013
Nissan Motor Co.'s Infiniti marque plans to add a halo nameplate above its Q70 flagship sedan and expand its crossover offerings, President Johan de Nysschen said.... Read More »

 

Kogai takes reins of Mazda's comeback

12:01 am U.S. ET | May 20, 2013
Mazda Motor Corp.'s CEO designate, Masamichi Kogai, had a big hand in creating the more stable, profitable carmaker he inherits. But formidable challenges lie ahead.... Read More »

 

Cost is key to fate of talking cars

12:01 am U.S. ET | May 20, 2013
Cars that communicate with each other to avoid crashes or traffic jams will save lives, but the cost of the systems will determine consumers' acceptance, the U.S. transportation secretary said last week.... Read More »

 

Small BMW team rethought electric cars for huge cities

12:01 am U.S. ET | May 20, 2013
Nearly six years ago, BMW AG's Project i began to position the automaker for the future. In an interview with Automobilwoche, a German language sibling to Automotive News, Project i chief Ulrich Kranz explained how the idea of a carbon-body car for megacities emerged from his team.... Read More »

 

PRODUCTION LINE Q&A: AUDI'S BERND MARTENS

Audi plans 90% local sourcing in Mexico

12:01 am U.S. ET | May 20, 2013
In September, Bernd Martens took over Audi purchasing as a member of the Audi management board. Martens, 47, gave Automotive News' German-language sibling publication, Automobilwoche, a look at how he and his team explored sourcing in Mexico.... Read More »

 

Dealers

12:01 am U.S. ET | May 20, 2013
Dealerships in this report: Majestic Honda in Lincoln, R.I.; Heritage Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram Owings Mills in Owings Mills, Md.; Miller's Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram in Martinsburg, W.Va.; Maita Toyota in Sacramento, Calif.; and Gilroy Toyota in Gilroy, Calif.... Read More »

 

Behind the scenes, Straubel keeps Tesla running at pivotal time

12:01 am U.S. ET | May 18, 2013
Elon Musk was fresh off the sale of PayPal and starting another business, commercial rocket service Space Exploration Technologies, when he met kindred spirit JB Straubel. Their shared belief that consumer electronics advances could be applied to more earthly modes of transport is a cornerstone of Tesla Motors.... Read More »

 

Tesla expands share, debt offering to repay U.S. loan, hike cash

10:34 am U.S. ET | May 17, 2013
Tesla Motors increased the size of its equity and debt offerings by 30 percent to as much as $1.08 billion to repay its U.S. loan and build up cash reserves.... Read More »

 

ANALYSIS

New S class key to boosting Mercedes profit margins, China sales

May 17, 2013 06:01 CET
Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche was leaning back in the rear seat of a prototype Mercedes-Benz S-class sedan in 2010 when he realized it didn't recline far enough.... Read More »

 

Fiat says headquarters shift to U.S. is not on agenda

May 17, 2013 06:01 CET
Fiat said the idea of moving the group's legal headquarters to the United States following a planned merger with Chrysler Group is not on the company's agenda.... Read More »

 

VW Group sales increase 7% in April

May 17, 2013 12:06 CET
Volkswagen Group's global monthly sales picked up pace again in April after growing at their slowest rate in more than three years a month earlier. VW Group said on Friday that deliveries to customers rose 7 percent to 784,600 vehicles last month.... Read More »