Staff Columns

JAMES B. TREECE

Can Akio be the Steve Jobs of Lexus?

12:01 am U.S. ET | May 13, 2013
Toyota Motor Corp. President Akio Toyoda wants to take personal responsibility for injecting design and performance pizazz into the Lexus brand. In essence, Toyoda is setting out to be the automaker's equivalent of the late Steve Jobs, the legendary boss of Apple James B. Treece is industry editor for Automotive News.... Read More »

 

JAMES B. TREECE

Yen and the art of baseball card trading

12:01 am U.S. ET | March 11, 2013
Are you confused by currencies? Do you, along with most other Americans, wonder why the yen is considered "stronger" at 80 to the dollar and "weaker" at 90? Here's an easy way to make sense of currency gyrations: Think of baseball cards James B. Treece is industry editor for Automotive News.... Read More »

 

BRADFORD WERNLE

Looking at Henry Ford the man

12:01 am U.S. ET | Feb. 11, 2013
If you hang around Ford Motor Co. much, you'll know it is Henry Ford's 150th birthday this year. The story of the Dearborn, Mich., farm boy who put America on wheels has been told countless times but seldom more rivetingly than the "American Experience" documentary that premiered on the Public Broadcasting Service last month Bradford Wernle covers Ford Motor Co. for Automotive News.... Read More »

 

BRADFORD WERNLE

For Bill Ford, Lincoln's fate is personal

12:01 am U.S. ET | Jan. 21, 2013
For most members of the Ford Motor Co. management team, the resurrection of the Lincoln brand is a sound business strategy and a critical component of Ford's strategy to be a complete global car company. For Chairman Bill Ford, Lincoln is much more personal Bradford Wernle covers Ford Motor Co. for Automotive News.... Read More »

 

JAMES B. TREECE

Japan's currency crybabies

12:01 am U.S. ET | Jan. 14, 2013
Japanese automakers are whining about the yen again. Those crybabies should admit that the pendulum swings and stop complaining when it swings against them. They were certainly quiet enough when it swung in their favor for most of the past decade and a half James B. Treece is industry editor for Automotive News.... Read More »

 

JAMIE LAREAU

F&I faces tough climate in 2013

12:01 am U.S. ET | Jan. 14, 2013
Experts say new-car sales will keep growing this year. Dealers expect there to be plenty of credit available. Most lenders seem to have a realistic loan-to-value ratio, which means they are willing to finance aftermarket products. But 2013 may still pose challenges in the F&I office Jamie LaReau is an Automotive News staff reporter.... Read More »

 

DAVE GUILFORD

What to watch in Washington

12:01 am U.S. ET | Dec. 10, 2012
In his first term, President Obama supported electric-drive vehicles. Will he double down in his second? It probably will take several months to find out, one person connected to alternative vehicle programs says Dave Guilford is enterprise editor of Automotive News.... Read More »

 

LINDSAY CHAPPELL

America has lots of oil? Now what do we do?

12:01 am U.S. ET | Nov. 19, 2012
Four years after the auto industry started trembling at the real prospect of a global fuel shortage and painful pump prices, this news arrives: There's way more oil under America than we realized. Oops Lindsay Chappell is Mid-South bureau chief for Automotive News.... Read More »

 

DAVE GUILFORD

BMW pushes ahead with EVs, green technology

12:01 am U.S. ET | Nov. 12, 2012
This is a time of retrenchment in electric vehicles and alternative powertrains. Entrepreneurs are flaming out and major automotive players are quietly putting their more adventuresome technologies on the back burner. But that's not universally true Dave Guilford is enterprise editor of Automotive News.... Read More »

 

JESSE SNYDER

Our slow recovery? Not so bad, really

12:01 am U.S. ET | Nov. 5, 2012
It's hard to miss the contrast between U.S. and European auto sales. They are polar opposites these days. And the trend lines for both auto industries are accelerating -- away from each other Jesse Snyder is senior writer at Automotive News.... Read More »

 

JAMIE LAREAU

Do online reviews trump CSI surveys?

12:01 am U.S. ET | Oct. 22, 2012
Because a growing number of dealers say they rely on independent online consumer feedback to run their businesses, it could make sense for automakers to use a similar online-ratings type system for their own customer satisfaction index programs Jamie LaReau covers auto dealers for Automotive News.... Read More »

 

GREEN SHOOTS

Feds should pick goals, not technology

12:01 am U.S. ET | Oct. 8, 2012
The Obama administration's tilt toward electric vehicles as a solution to global warming and dependence on foreign oil has always produced some grumbling. That criticism looks valid, as advances in internal combustion engine efficiency make EVs a tough sell Dave Guilford is enterprise editor of Automotive News.... Read More »

 

GREEN SHOOTS

Battery maker looks beyond EVs for profits

12:01 am U.S. ET | Sept. 10, 2012
David Roberts expects the lithium ion battery company that he heads to begin generating black ink late next year or by 2014 at the latest. Amid the turmoil hitting the electric vehicle segment and its battery-pack suppliers, that kind of confidence is rare. But Roberts isn't necessarily optimistic about EVs Dave Guilford is enterprise editor of Automotive News.... Read More »

 

GREEN SHOOTS

Equity links can increase the risk at EV startups

12:01 am U.S. ET | Aug. 13, 2012
For a while, it looked like we were seeing the first stirrings of electric-vehicle keiretsu. Not everyone loved the idea. One veteran of the EV wars said having a supplier as an investor can bias purchasing decisions. But there was a more fundamental problem Dave Guilford is enterprise editor of Automotive News.... Read More »

 

JAMIE LAREAU

Colorado auto dealers step up in time of crisis

12:01 am U.S. ET | July 30, 2012
It has been a long, hot summer in Colorado. First came a drought and wildfires. Then there was a mass murder. As is often the case, local car dealers are stepping up in the recovery effort Jamie LaReau is an Automotive News staff reporter.... Read More »

 

DAVE GUILFORD

Should Opel, Chevy coexist in Europe?

12:01 am U.S. ET | July 24, 2012
GM flipped back into another Opel crisis this month with the abrupt departure of Karl-Friedrich Stracke as CEO of the German subsidiary. GM named restructuring expert Thomas Sedran as interim CEO, which suggests a serious rethinking of its European presence.... Read More »

 

DAVE GUILFORD

Should Opel, Chevy coexist in Europe?

12:01 am U.S. ET | July 23, 2012
GM flipped back into another Opel crisis this month with the abrupt departure of Karl-Friedrich Stracke as CEO of the German subsidiary. GM named restructuring expert Thomas Sedran as interim CEO, which suggests a serious rethinking of its European presence Dave Guilford is enterprise editor of Automotive News.... Read More »

 

BRADFORD WERNLE

Palm trees, surf and a slow pace in paradise

12:01 am U.S. ET | July 9, 2012
As I was driving along the H1 interstate in Honolulu last month, I noticed a police car had pulled over a BMW 650i convertible. I could feel the driver's pain. I enjoy driving a fast car as much as the next person, and Hawaii is less suited to driving fast than any other state Bradford Wernle covers Ford Motor Co. for Automotive News.... Read More »

 

GREEN SHOOTS

Working to shorten EVs' gestation

12:01 am U.S. ET | July 9, 2012
To electric vehicle advocates, the sputtering sales and business failures of the past year have been deeply discouraging. But EV lovers who want a different perspective might talk to Lee Stogner Dave Guilford is enterprise editor of Automotive News.... Read More »

 

GUIDO REINKING

VW's Winterkorn sends a tough message to his executive team

12:01 am U.S. ET | June 11, 2012
Volkswagen Group CEO Martin Winterkorn sent an unmistakable message this month when he orchestrated a series of senior management changes. To reach the pinnacle of the global auto industry -- VW's declared ambition -- you must be tough and sometimes even cruel Guido Reinking is editor-in-chief of Automobilwoche, a corporate sibling of Automotive News.... Read More »

 

DAVE GUILFORD

How tough CAFE delays EV acceptance

12:01 am U.S. ET | June 4, 2012
Enthusiasm for electric vehicles has dimmed in the past year. You could cite election-year attacks on President Obama's backing of EVs, stubbornly high EV prices and limited range, and the glitches of any new technology. But don't underestimate the effect of tougher federal fuel economy regulations Dave Guilford is enterprise editor of Automotive News.... Read More »

 

BRADFORD WERNLE

Ford get its Blue Oval -- and its mojo -- back

12:01 am U.S. ET | May 28, 2012
Prior to last Tuesday, the public address system at Ford World Headquarters in Dearborn, Mich., had been used exactly twice, other than for fire drills.Last Tuesday, just before 4 p.m., Chairman Bill Ford Jr. took to the P.A. to announce that the Blue Oval was back Bradford Wernle covers Ford Motor Co. for Automotive News.... Read More »

 

GREEN SHOOTS

There's nothing unnatural about driving a natural-gas car

12:01 am U.S. ET | May 14, 2012
The main thing you notice when you drive the compressed natural gas-powered Honda Civic is that there's really nothing to notice. During normal city use, the Civic Natural Gas starts like a regular car, accelerates like one, stops like one, sounds like one -- you get the idea. That's what Honda wants Dave Guilford is enterprise editor of Automotive News.... Read More »

 

DAVE GUILFORD

Why does it take so long to close a deal?

12:01 am U.S. ET | April 30, 2012
In the space of about six weeks this winter, my wife and I bought two new cars. The reason for this splurge was exactly what industry watchers have predicted: Old, wheezing cars eventually need to be replaced. The shopping process was pretty painless. But there was one problem at both dealerships: It takes an inordinate amount of time to close a car deal Dave Guilford is enterprise editor of Automotive News.... Read More »

 

JAMES B. TREECE

Voluntary export restraints are back; they didn't work the last time

12:01 am U.S. ET | April 23, 2012
Remember the so-called voluntary export restraints? They're back, but with new players. And once again, U.S. and other automakers and suppliers should ponder what unintended consequences will arise James B. Treece is industry editor for Automotive News.... Read More »