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General Motors' decision last week to end paid Facebook advertising was more than an awkward moment for a media behemoth on the verge of a high-profile stock offering.
12:01 am U.S. ET | May 21, 2012 |
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Several automakers have rolled out incentive programs that pay dealers escalating bonuses as sales targets are hit in a bid to wrest back market share or boost key models.
12:01 am U.S. ET | May 21, 2012
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Gasoline at $4 a gallon and government-mandated fuel economy targets are creating vast opportunities for many big global suppliers.
12:01 am U.S. ET | May 21, 2012
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Volkswagen of America is spending more per vehicle on incentives for its VW brand models in a bid to attract more shoppers and boost sales. The tactic appears to be paying off.
12:01 am U.S. ET | May 21, 2012 |
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Nissan North America last week started building its high-volume Altima with hopes of taking the volume even higher -- even as competition in the segment heats up. The Altima has been redesigned for the 2013 model year and will go on sale June 26.
12:01 am U.S. ET | May 21, 2012 |
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Vince Bond has joined Automotive News as a general assignment reporter for autonews.com and its social media sites.
12:01 am U.S. ET | May 21, 2012 |
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| THE GREAT RETHINKER
Takeshi Uchiyamada, the enormously influential Toyota Motor Corp. executive who next month takes on the largely advisory role of vice chairman, drew inspiration from Japan's doomed push to build a jet fighter in the last days of World War II.
12:01 am U.S. ET | May 21, 2012 |
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Some industry handicappers put Joe Hinrichs second in line behind Mark Fields to succeed Alan Mulally as CEO of Ford Motor Co.
12:01 am U.S. ET | May 21, 2012 |
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| BEST PRACTICES
The way dealer Jim Seavitt sees it, he won't have a whole lot to worry about if Ford Motor Co. demands that dealers improve their facilities to cookie-cutter design blueprints, as other automakers have required.
12:01 am U.S. ET | May 21, 2012 |
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| CARS & CONCEPTS
Porsche has dropped plans to build a two-seat sports car that would have been smaller and cheaper than the Boxster, CEO Matthias Mueller told a German newspaper.
12:01 am U.S. ET | May 21, 2012 |
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As Toyota Motor Corp. expands production in North America, the company is pushing some hesitant suppliers to come along.
12:01 am U.S. ET | May 21, 2012 |
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| CARS & CONCEPTS
BMW has released pictures of its redesigned 3-series wagon, which will reach U.S. showrooms in about a year. Like previous generations, the wagon has an extended roof and an angled rear window.
12:01 am U.S. ET | May 21, 2012 |
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| CARS & CONCEPTS
Chevrolet will introduce a small crossover called the Trax at the Paris auto show in September, but the vehicle probably won't be sold in the United States.
12:01 am U.S. ET | May 21, 2012 |
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| CARS & CONCEPTS
Chrysler Group is about to get some competition from a Detroit rival in the market for big, rear-wheel-drive performance sedans.
12:01 am U.S. ET | May 21, 2012 |
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CARS & CONCEPTS
Through a mix of lighter materials and fewer components, Lotus Engineering was able to show how a body-in-white could be almost 40 percent lighter with no increase in cost.
12:01 am U.S. ET | May 21, 2012
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| CARS & CONCEPTS
Volkswagen is considering a crossover version of the future Jetta SportWagen that would be similar to the Alltrack concept unveiled at the New York auto show last month.
12:01 am U.S. ET | May 21, 2012 |
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Alan Batey, the hard-charging Brit who was named General Motors' U.S. sales boss last week, has spent the past two years driving Chevrolet's 3,000 dealers to step up their customer-service efforts. Batey, 49, was promoted from head of U.S.
12:01 am U.S. ET | May 21, 2012 |
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Auto dealers who have been watching regulatory developments will get some answers next month during Automotive News F&I Week -- a free online conference.
12:01 am U.S. ET | May 21, 2012 |
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Hoping to build on its newfound momentum, Smart USA plans to launch a rare TV advertising campaign next month. It will be just the second TV campaign for the Mercedes-owned minicar brand since Smart debuted here in 2008.
12:01 am U.S. ET | May 21, 2012 |
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Chrysler Group's suspended Dealer Standards rewards program, which paid cash to dealers who met customer-satisfaction standards and other goals, will stay on hold until at least the third quarter, a Chrysler spokesman said.
12:01 am U.S. ET | May 21, 2012
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General Motors has named retired Navy Capt. Kenneth Barrett as its chief diversity officer, a new position, and has made other changes to key diversity and dealer development posts.
12:01 am U.S. ET | May 21, 2012 |
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EDITORIAL
Better supplier relations at General Motors and Chrysler, as measured by an annual survey of suppliers by consulting firm Planning Perspectives Inc., deserve a salute. But the survey's foremost message is how much work remains to be done.
12:01 am U.S. ET | May 21, 2012
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| COMMENTARY: KEITH CRAIN
I didn't get a chance to see Carroll Shelby as much as I would have liked, but I sure enjoyed our conversations.
12:01 am U.S. ET | May 21, 2012 |
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Toyota Motor Corp. is taking a beating from the yen's unfavorable exchange rate vs. the dollar, but that won't stop the company from ramping up exports from Japan this year.
12:01 am U.S. ET | May 21, 2012
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This year's three-way race for the global sales crown is neck and neck, but a revived Toyota Motor Corp. has taken the early lead. Worldwide sales at the Japanese carmaker surged 32 percent to 2.36 million units in the January-March quarter.
12:01 am U.S. ET | May 21, 2012
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| Q&A: TIM MANGANELLO
The effort to improve fuel economy is transforming the auto in North America. Particularly hot is the turbocharger, says Tim Manganello, CEO of BorgWarner Inc., a top producer of turbos and dual-clutch transmissions.
12:01 am U.S. ET | May 21, 2012 |
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Suppliers to the North American auto industry enjoyed an excellent year in 2011 -- unless they were major suppliers to Toyota Motor Corp. or Honda Motor Co.
12:01 am U.S. ET | May 21, 2012
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NEWS ANALYSIS
One might expect the shortage of nylon 12 -- a material used to coat fuel lines and other components -- to cause the auto industry to abandon just-in-time parts delivery. Well, no.
12:01 am U.S. ET | May 21, 2012
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Eberspaecher North America's price dispute with a Tier 2 supplier won't affect its ability to receive parts, at least for now. A federal judge in Detroit has ordered Nelson Global Products Inc.
12:01 am U.S. ET | May 21, 2012
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| Q&A: STEVE FREDIN
Airbags and seat belts -- mature products for suppliers -- are getting a fresh look from automakers that are trying to secure five-star crash ratings for small cars.
12:01 am U.S. ET | May 21, 2012 |
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Daimler AG, Mercedes-Benz's parent company, is overhauling its product development organization, changing the structure of the organization and the responsibilities of several executives.
12:01 am U.S. ET | May 21, 2012
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INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Prices for Google paid search -- a powerful digital marketing tool for auto dealers -- have moderated in recent months after a big run-up in the previous two years, dealers say.
12:01 am U.S. ET | May 21, 2012
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| INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Greg May, an auto dealer in Waco, Texas, says he had to be dragged into digital marketing. It wasn't until September that Greg May Honda started advertising online consistently or buying key words on Google.
12:01 am U.S. ET | May 21, 2012 |
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| COMMENTARY: DAVID SEDGWICK
Increasingly, automakers are finding themselves in a Darwinian competition for raw materials with other industries.
12:01 am U.S. ET | May 21, 2012 |
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| PRODUCTION LINE
A new method to reduce driver distraction, the touch pad, has gained a foothold in the industry. TRW Automotive Holdings Corp.
12:01 am U.S. ET | May 21, 2012 |
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Dealerships in this report: Tom's Ford in Keyport, N.J.; Acura at Sierra Acura in Alhambra, Calif.; and Economy Nissan in Durango, Colo.
12:01 am U.S. ET | May 21, 2012 |
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Ford wants consumers to judge the 2013 Ford Escape crossover and Fusion mid-sized sedan on their own merits, without preconceptions of the brand getting in the way.
12:01 am U.S. ET | May 21, 2012 |
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| YANG JIAN
It wasn't the new-car models that impressed me most at the recent Beijing auto show but the vast economically underdeveloped areas I saw as I traveled there by train.
12:01 am U.S. ET | May 21, 2012 |
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Red Poling, who died last week at age 86, and Don Petersen were contemporaries who entered the rarefied air of Ford senior management at the same time.
12:01 am U.S. ET | May 21, 2012 |
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Chrysler Group adopted an innovative work schedule at its three transmission plants in Indiana last week to boost production.
12:01 am U.S. ET | May 21, 2012 |
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As they developed the new Cadillac ATS sedan that goes on sale this summer, General Motors engineers paid special attention to curb weight. They also paid close attention to the weight of the car's German rivals.
12:01 am U.S. ET | May 21, 2012 |
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The auto sales collapse that started in 2008 is hitting home in the service department in 2012. Late-model vehicles traditionally represent the sweet spot for repair and maintenance work for dealership service departments.
12:01 am U.S. ET | May 21, 2012 |
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| STEVE MESSINA -- PHOENIX
With units in operation declining, Steve Messina turned his focus to older cars. Messina, service manager at Land Rover North Scottsdale in Phoenix, is now aggressively marketing to owners of 8- to 13-year-old vehicles.
12:01 am U.S. ET | May 21, 2012 |
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| KIM DOWELL -- HICKORY, N.C.
Ed Jenkins and Kim Dowell won't give up on the lost souls. "Not until they tell you, 'I've sold the car, and I'll never own another one again,'" said Dowell, parts manager at Everett Chevrolet-Buick-GMC in Hickory, N.C.
12:01 am U.S. ET | May 21, 2012 |
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| WALT BOIVIN -- LEBANON, N.H.
At Flanders & Patch Motor Sales in Lebanon, N.H., the service department has a safety net that picks up the slack when retail work drops -- a strong fleet business.
12:01 am U.S. ET | May 21, 2012 |
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Facebook is the home of family photos, lighthearted chat -- and serious brand-building by automakers.
12:01 am U.S. ET | May 21, 2012 |
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An unexpected showdown over the redesign of the Toyota Avalon became a test of Toyota's professed intent to move more decision-making power away from Japan and entrust it to U.S. engineers. Takeshi Uchiyamada, Toyota Motor Corp.'
12:01 am U.S. ET | May 21, 2012 |
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BMW and other automakers are trying to break through the long-held notion that small engines are only for wimpy econoboxes and drivers who find comfort in the far right lane of the freeway.
12:01 am U.S. ET | May 21, 2012 |
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Information about David Edmark Sr., former president of Edmark Chevrolet in Nampa, Idaho, and Richard Resare, CEO of ShowMax Marketing in Los Alamitos, Calif.
12:01 am U.S. ET | May 21, 2012
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FINAL ASSEMBLY
China's new top-dog dealership group is China Grand Automotive, which passed Pang Da Automobile last year to become the largest auto retailer in terms of revenue. So how does China's No. 1 compare with America's biggest dealership group, AutoNation?
12:01 am U.S. ET | May 21, 2012
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| FINAL ASSEMBLY
Customers who visit Dodge stores usually are looking for trucks rather than small cars, so some analysts question how well the new Dart compact will fare.
12:01 am U.S. ET | May 21, 2012 |
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| FINAL ASSEMBLY
Score one for Fiat in the sometimes whimsical, sometimes not, rivalry between the Italian automaker and Volkswagen. The two companies seem to taunt and tease each other like kids on a playground, especially in Europe.
12:01 am U.S. ET | May 21, 2012 |
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| FINAL ASSEMBLY
A senior management shake-up is in the works at Audi. According to German media reports, Volkswagen marketing chief Luca de Meo will replace Audi sales boss Peter Schwarzenbauer, who once headed Porsche's North American sales arm.
12:01 am U.S. ET | May 21, 2012 |
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| COMMENTARY: RICHARD JOHNSON
In the 1970s, when Red Poling was chairman of Ford of Europe and Bob Lutz was president, they each took the Myers-Briggs personality test and came out as complete opposites. Poling, who died last week, was 100 percent numerate.
12:01 am U.S. ET | May 21, 2012 |
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| FINAL ASSEMBLY
When General Motors founder Billy Durant was found, late in life, to be running a bowling alley in Flint, Mich., he supplied future generations of GM bosses with a laugh line they could always turn to.
12:01 am U.S. ET | May 21, 2012 |
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Automotive News Top 100 Suppliers to North America ranked by sales of original equipment parts in 2011. AVAILABLE FOR DATA CENTER SUBSCRIBERS
12:01 am U.S. ET | May 21, 2012 |
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