Jason Stein

JASON STEIN

Chinese carmakers primed for shakeout

12:01 am U.S. ET | April 29, 2013
If you listen to the industry experts, they'll tell you that the good times in China are over. Foreign car manufacturers are raking in huge profits and placing vehicles in more Chinese garages every day. The real shakeout will be among the domestics Jason Stein is the editor of Automotive News.... Read More »

 

JASON STEIN

Europe's auto collapse feels like a rerun

12:01 am U.S. ET | Oct. 8, 2012
Dealers can't finance their floorplan. Incentives are running at 30 percent as sales hit historic lows. Some companies are stockpiling inventory just to keep the factories running. Cash is burning. Detroit, circa 2008? Yes and no Jason Stein is editor of Automotive News.... Read More »

 

JASON STEIN

Enjoy the boom . . . while it lasts?

12:01 am U.S. ET | April 9, 2012
What was that number that snuck up on us last week amid the buzz of product launches at the New York auto show? Sixteen? "Sixteen million," Mercedes-Benz USA boss Steve Cannon said in hushed tones last week, speaking of 2013 prospects. "Sixteen million was like the mirage in the desert. It's no longer a mirage." So are the bad times really over for good Jason Stein is editor of Automotive News.... Read More »

 

JASON STEIN

The sizzling debate: Will renovation boost profits?

9:17 pm U.S. ET | Feb. 5, 2012
There's a car dealer in Michigan who has a dilemma: Some time ago the dealer made extensive renovations to his store. New fireplace, new tile, new paint scheme. The factory says anything older than five years needs a renovation.... Read More »

 

JASON STEIN

If NADA is the bellwether, the auto industry's back

9:46 pm U.S. ET | Feb. 4, 2012
From a standing-room-only press conference for the Factory Image Program to a concourse crowded with attendees, when the doors opened Saturday there was little doubt about the state of this convention: NADA is back.... Read More »

 

JASON STEIN

TrueCar and Taj Mahals have everyone thinking

6:48 pm U.S. ET | Feb. 3, 2012
Scott Painter probably never imagined the day when his name would share the podium with gray tile or grout. But there they were Friday -- the oddest of bedfellows. If there is an early theme in this NADA convention, it is this: While business has recovered from the horror of 2008 (Great Recessions are so last decade) and NADA attendance is up, most dealers aren't ready to celebrate just yet.... Read More »

 

JASON STEIN

Finally, auto industry sheds the gloom

12:01 am U.S. ET | Jan. 16, 2012
Design directions, not double dips. Products, not Nancy Pelosi. Last week, government intervention, tsunamis and recalls finally stepped aside for a four-letter word: buzz. The North American International Auto Show in downright balmy Detroit represented a thawing of hardened sentiment, as if an industry, for years stuck in a deep freeze of discontent, had finally found the heater Jason Stein is editor of Automotive News.... Read More »

 

JASON STEIN

AutoNation's two Elvises are in the building

12:01 am U.S. ET | Aug. 22, 2011
"Good morning, Cleveland!" shouts AutoNation Mid-Central President Mike McGuire, his voice bouncing off the floor-to-ceiling windows of the restaurant overlooking the stadium's left field line. "Are you ready for some good news?" For 81 days and nights a year, this is the home of the Cleveland Indians. But on this Thursday morning it is stop No.... Read More »

 

JASON STEIN

Sergio's performance stirs up Traverse City audience

12:01 am U.S. ET | Aug. 8, 2011
He landed in Detroit directly from Italy at 1 a.m., slept a few hours and by 6 a.m. was boarding for Traverse City. From northern Italy to northern Michigan in less than 24 hours, with plenty of material teed up for another performance. The man now commonly known by six letters came to the CAR Management Briefing Seminars last week with a message -- or a dozen Jason Stein is editor of Automotive News.... Read More »

 

JASON STEIN

In 4 years, the Chinese turn doubters into eager investors

12:01 am U.S. ET | April 25, 2011
To put a measure on how much the world has changed in this bustling paradox of a place -- where two-wheeled cyclists overloaded with cardboard cartons still jockey in traffic with gleaming black Audi A8L sedans -- take a step back in time. Way back. Like 2007. It was here four years ago that an auto consultant from the United States walked the floor of the Shanghai International Expo Center with a German carmaker executive. The two men stopped that day at the stands of a few Chinese automakers.... Read More »