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FINAL ASSEMBLY

Jackson: Penske sets my retirement pace

12:01 am U.S. ET | May 13, 2013
AutoNation CEO Mike Jackson's employment contract with the country's largest dealership group is up in September. Jackson will turn 65 next February, but he has no intention of walking out the door any time soon.... Read More »

 

Audi's tight U.S. supply, fast turn rate lift dealer profitability

May 10, 2013 06:01 CET
Audi of America President Scott Keogh is presiding over a brand with momentum, with U.S. sales up 16 percent through April and a batch of new vehicles launched or on tap. Keogh, 44, became president of Audi of America in June, a promotion from chief marketing officer.... Read More »

 

AUTOMOTIVE NEWS EUROPE E-MAGAZINE

Kia Europe boss sees growth despite tough market

May 9, 2013 06:01 CET
Kia Europe President Brandon Yea believes the brand will continue its growth in the region this year despite tough economic conditions. Kia is sticking to its target of boosting annual sales to 420,000 by 2016 in the EU and EFTA markets from 338,000 last year. The brand's vehicle sales were up 3.5 percent in the first quarter in a market down nearly 10 percent.... Read More »

 

Jaguar's U.S. boss leads drive to boost brand's image, awareness

May 8, 2013 06:01 CET
When the topic is luxury brands, Jaguar Land Rover North America CEO Andy Goss wants Jaguar to be mentioned in the same sentence as BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Audi and Lexus.... Read More »

 

AUTOMOTIVE NEWS EUROPE E-MAGAZINE

Citroen reinvents itself

May 8, 2013 06:01 CET
Peugeot and Citroen have suffered for years because car buyers have trouble distinguishing one brand from the other. Citroen CEO Frederic Banzet is determined to change that.... Read More »

 

AUTOMOTIVE NEWS EUROPE E-MAGAZINE

Montezemolo says keeping Ferrari's high profits will be challenging

May 7, 2013 06:01 CET
Ferrari Chairman Luca Cordero di Montezemolo has lived through many highs and lows, both on the racetrack and at the office. Times are good now. Last year, the automaker had record sales of 7,318 supercars and an operating margin of 14.4 percent. Montezemolo expects the automaker's finances to keep improving.... Read More »

 

TALK FROM THE TOP: SCOTT KEOGH

Audi's tight supply, fast turn rate lift dealer profitability

12:01 am U.S. ET | May 6, 2013
Audi of America President Scott Keogh is presiding over a brand with momentum, with U.S. sales up 16 percent through April and a batch of new vehicles launched or on tap. Keogh, 44, became president of Audi of America in June, a promotion from chief marketing officer.... Read More »

 

TALK FROM THE TOP: COLIN DODGE

Nissan retools management structure for global growth

12:01 am U.S. ET | May 6, 2013
Last year, Colin Dodge juggled a long list of responsibilities for Nissan Motor Co. He was global chief performance officer and in charge of Nissan's markets in North and South America, Europe, Africa, the Middle East and India. Last year also was a period of product renewal and expansion for the Nissan and Infiniti brands in the Americas, and Dodge acknowledges that it was challenging.... Read More »

 

TALK FROM THE TOP: STEVE CANNON

Mercedes CEO: Customer service will be 'my legacy'

12:01 am U.S. ET | May 6, 2013
Mercedes-Benz USA CEO Steve Cannon says customer service will be "the next major battlefield for all luxury manufacturers" and will be Cannon's main priority over the next five years.... Read More »

 

TALK FROM THE TOP: ANDY GOSS

Goss: 'We have to move the Jaguar brand image forward'

12:01 am U.S. ET | May 6, 2013
When the topic is luxury brands, Jaguar Land Rover North America CEO Andy Goss wants Jaguar to be mentioned in the same sentence as BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Audi and Lexus.... Read More »

 

AKIO TAKES THE WHEEL

Toyota's car-buff president makes Lexus his pet project

12:01 am U.S. ET | May 6, 2013
By Akio Toyoda's own admission, his beloved Lexus luxury brand has a big problem. Unlike its German rivals, Lexus has no heritage, no narrative. Now the Toyota Motor Corp. president is investing himself personally in the brand by taking direct control of all things Lexus.... Read More »

 

Dreary HQ city is a handicap in global glitz plan

12:01 am U.S. ET | May 6, 2013
Lexus Group was rechristened Lexus International in June 2012 in an effort to lend an air of worldwide reach and urbane globalism. Despite efforts to internationalize the brand, there is still one big hurdle: The limited allure of the company's bland industrial hometown of Toyota City.... Read More »

 

Beattie to head Kawasaki sales

12:01 am U.S. ET | May 6, 2013
Veteran auto industry executive Richard Beattie has joined Kawasaki Motors Corp. U.S.A. as chief marketing and sales officer.... Read More »

 

EDITORIAL

Hidden talents?

12:01 am U.S. ET | May 6, 2013
You have to go back decades to find a nominee for secretary of transportation with fewer apparent qualifications for the job than Anthony Foxx, mayor of Charlotte, N.C.... Read More »

 

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Best visionary? Marchionne

12:01 am U.S. ET | May 6, 2013
I perused with interest "The last quarter century" about Peter Brown's Petey Awards (April 22). While I believe that "vision + execution = success," I do not agree that the visionary must also be the executioner.... Read More »

 

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Vision, execution and incompetence

12:01 am U.S. ET | May 6, 2013
Thank you for the article by Peter Brown, which shares a perspective of the auto industry that is unmatched.... Read More »

 

Q&A: LUCA CORDERO DI MONTEZEMOLO

Ferrari CEO aims to boost exclusivity, not unit sales

12:01 am U.S. ET | May 6, 2013
Times are good at Ferrari. Last year, the Italian sports car maker had record global sales of 7,318 units, which is 50 percent more than when Luca Cordero di Montezemolo became CEO in 1991. But Montezemolo, now the company's chairman, has not forgotten the tough times.... Read More »

 

FINAL ASSEMBLY

Ford scion was told Blue Oval needs no green

12:01 am U.S. ET | May 6, 2013
Bill Ford jokingly told an audience in Los Angeles last week that he was ordered "to stop associating with any known or suspected environmentalists" when he joined the family company in 1979 as a 22-year-old fresh out of Princeton.... Read More »

 

FINAL ASSEMBLY

In Lutz's view, Eaton did a bang-up job at Chrysler

12:01 am U.S. ET | May 6, 2013
Former Chrysler CEO Bob Eaton is commonly said to have finished his career in disgrace. But in his new book, Icons and Idiots: Straight Talk on Leadership, former Chrysler and General Motors exec Bob Lutz leaves Eaton out of the "idiot" category.... Read More »

 

Once a product planner, former Renault executive Pelata now mines data

April 30, 2013 06:01 CET
Former Renault COO Patrick Pelata had plenty of job possibilities after leaving automaker. He now sells customer-retention software from an office in San Francisco.... Read More »

 

LARRY P. VELLEQUETTE

Chrysler hopes many hats make broad experience

12:01 am U.S. ET | April 29, 2013
The top-level management changes at Chrysler Group this month may be rooted in the cultivated tension of a criss-crossed management structure that has high-level executives wearing many hats. But the changes at the top of four of the automaker's brands also ensure that Chrysler's next leader knows the business inside and out Larry P. Vellequette covers Chrysler Group for Automotive News.... Read More »

 

Once a product planner, Pelata now mines data

12:01 am U.S. ET | April 29, 2013
Former Renault COO Patrick Pelata had plenty of job possibilities after leaving the French automaker last summer. So how did the European product planner who helped revive Nissan end up selling customer-retention software from an office in San Francisco?... Read More »

 

Magna founder Stronach aims to reshape Austria's politics

April 29, 2013 06:01 CET
Frank Stronach, 80, has no interest in retiring after building Magna into a top supplier. He has launched anew political party, Team Stronach, in Austria.... Read More »

 

A modest retirement goal: Reshape Austria's politics

12:01 am U.S. ET | April 29, 2013
White-haired, tanned and vigorous at 80, Frank Stronach clearly has zero interest in retiring after building North America's biggest auto parts company. He now intends to jolt politics in his native Austria.... Read More »

 

KEITH CRAIN

A quarter century is a long time

12:01 am U.S. ET | April 29, 2013
It is amazing to reflect that Peter Brown has been either editor or publisher for a quarter of the life of this publication, Automotive News, which was founded in 1925. Automotive News is a much better publication because of Peter Brown. He has instilled his high standards as an editor, and it shows Keith Crain is editor-in-chief of Automotive News.... Read More »