Americas

VIRAL MANIA

Online video has changed how auto marketers connect with customers

12:01 am U.S. ET | May 20, 2013
Online video has redrawn the boundaries of auto marketing, giving companies a chance to sketch a broader story line around their products, break the conventions of TV and connect with customers in new ways... 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 »

 

Next up: New York

12:01 am U.S. ET | May 20, 2013
Automotive News will host its second annual New York marketing seminar Sept. 18 at the New York Marriott Marquis.... 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 »

 

WACKY, LIKE A FOX

Goofy ads, variants help Mini rule its own little world

12:01 am U.S. ET | May 20, 2013
BMW, Mini's parent company, had forecast U.S. sales of 20,000 units of the original two-door in 2003, but 36,000 were sold. That was the beginning of Mini's surprising journey. And they quickly settled on an irreverent, even wacky, persona suited to buyers of what one dealership general manager calls "a happy car."... 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 »

 

Dealer swaps shoe leather for Facebook

12:01 am U.S. ET | May 20, 2013
When Chris Morrison started out as a car salesman 30 years ago in the placid southern Mississippi city of McComb, he spent every Tuesday at local employers handing out business cards and shaking hands. Today he uses Facebook instead of shoe leather and business cards to help him sell cars and service.... Read More »

 

Chrysler exec: Our vehicle quality rivals Toyota's

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 »

 

A tech triumph for the S class?

12:01 am U.S. ET | May 20, 2013
With a technology-rich S-class redesign arriving this fall and several derivatives to be added by 2015, Mercedes-Benz aims to boost stalled sales of its flagship.... Read More »

 

M-B redesigned S class with China in mind

12:01 am U.S. ET | May 20, 2013
The redesigned Mercedes-Benz S class made its world debut last week in Hamburg, Germany, but Shanghai might have been more appropriate. Why? China accounted for 49 percent of all 2010-12 S-class sales.... 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 »

 

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 »

 

Expert advice to improve your operation

12:01 am U.S. ET | May 20, 2013
Dealership finance and insurance experts will offer tips and counsel during Automotive News F&I Week, a free online conference of six Webinars on June 11-13.... Read More »

 

CARS & CONCEPTS

U.S. tweaks boost Leaf's mpg score

12:01 am U.S. ET | May 20, 2013
U.S. production of Nissan's Leaf electric vehicle has resulted in improved EPA fuel economy numbers for the car. The production move from Japan to Nissan's plant in Smyrna, Tenn., this year gave the automaker a chance to make a small number of midcycle engineering changes.... Read More »

 

CARS & CONCEPTS

Sporty Bentley models in the works

12:01 am U.S. ET | May 20, 2013
Bentley plans to launch a 650-hp Continental Supersports as early as 2014, featuring carbon-fiber panels and a stiffer chassis, sources told Autoweek.... Read More »

 

CARS & CONCEPTS

Honda to return to F1 racing

12:01 am U.S. ET | May 20, 2013
Honda will return to Formula One as an engine supplier after exiting the racing series in 2008. The Japanese automaker will provide engines to its former F1 racing partner McLaren starting in 2015.... Read More »

 

CARS & CONCEPTS

NSX's electric motors will help handling

12:01 am U.S. ET | May 20, 2013
Technical details on the Acura NSX coming in 2015 are scarce, but large-project leader Ted Klaus offered a few nuggets last week as Honda officials announced that the sports car will be built in Ohio.... Read More »

 

CARS & CONCEPTS

Sources: Chrysler plans high-hp Hellcat V-8

12:01 am U.S. ET | May 20, 2013
Chrysler Group is developing a supercharged Hemi V-8 with power approaching the 640 hp of the SRT Viper's V-10.... Read More »

 

KEITH CRAIN

You can't mandate human behavior

12:01 am U.S. ET | May 20, 2013
They are at it again in California. The mandates for zero-emission vehicles mean that to sell any volume there, you will need to have some sort of electric car for that market. Some car companies may decide to get out of the California market because it doesn't make sense Keith Crain is editor-in-chief of Automotive News.... Read More »

 

EDITORIAL

GM, Chrysler are still working on supplier relations

12:01 am U.S. ET | May 20, 2013
Are General Motors and Chrysler Group playing hardball with suppliers again? The latest automaker-supplier relations study by the consultant firm Planning Perspectives Inc. was troubling... Read More »

 

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Women do well as service advisers

12:01 am U.S. ET | May 20, 2013
I wholeheartedly agree with the assessment of Roger Pipher, fixed operations director of Coleman Buick-GMC-Cadillac in Lawrenceville, N.J., about women as service advisers.... Read More »

 

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Most F&I managers aren't forgers

12:01 am U.S. ET | May 20, 2013
Only a small number of F&I managers, automotive professionals or Americans in general would ever consider signing a name other than their own or committing forgery.... Read More »