iflove.com Automobile Companies News and Reviews This Week: Your Car, Your Choice

This is a time that belongs to Automobile. Your Car is flying, just at this beautiful season. Drive your cars today, and today is in your hand. Come on baby!

Chrysler eases store upgrade standards
As part of its downsizing effort, Chrysler LLC is lowering the amount it requires dealers to spend to upgrade stores. For an average store’s land and building requirements, “we brought down the size of the footprint about 12 percent,” said Steven Landry, executive vice president for North American sales. “We want to keep facilities requirements in line with what dealers can afford.”  

GM dealers ponder Reynolds: Stay or go?
For 400 General Motors dealers, a decision looms over whether to stick with Reynolds and Reynolds Co. The dealers use a GM Integrated Dealer Management System, or IDMS, supplied and maintained by Reynolds. As part of an out-of-court settlement of GM-Reynolds litigation, Reynolds will not sell, service or participate in any aspect of GM’s program after a 10-month transition.  

Chrysler launches Journey with big Web presence
Dodge is launching the Journey crossover with the brand’s largest digital marketing campaign. A top Dodge executive said 29 percent of the media budget for the launch of the 2009 Journey will go to digital venues.  

Energy chief: Pump price may hit $3.50 a gallon
U.S. Energy Secretary Sam Bodman said on Monday he is concerned that average U.S. gasoline pump prices could hit $3.50 a gallon this summer, and said he is “optimistic” that OPEC will come to the rescue of U.S. drivers.  

Ford: Quality is even with Honda, Toyota
DETROIT — Ford Motor Co. is trumpeting its quality gains as it launches an advertising campaign designed to get consumers to reconsider its vehicles.  

UAW STRIKE AT AMERICAN AXLE

Dick Dauch’s labor journey: Hero to demon
Those who know Richard E. Dauch aren’t surprised that the CEO of American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc. has dug in his heels against striking UAW workers. Dauch, 65, has put aside his reflexive empathy for labor to demand wage and benefit concessions that he believes are critical to the future of the company, says longtime friend Dave Cole.  

GM may realign marketing leadership
General Motors North American marketing chief Mark LaNeve may revamp GM’s sales, service and marketing to handle key functions through retail channels rather than through a centralized setup. If that happens, it would mean that each of GM’s four sales channels will have a sales executive under the brand general manager. GM’s four channels are Chevrolet, Saturn, Buick-Pontiac-GMC and Cadillac-Hummer-Saab.  

Downsizing arrives - with a vengeance
The big shift to small cars this year threatens the revenue and profitability prospects of the Detroit 3. The change in buying patterns accelerated in March, while overall sales tanked. The problem for the domestic automakers: They are still way underrepresented in the vehicle segments that are growing. All three say they aim to bolster their small-car portfolio.  

Detroit 3 diet: Lose dealerships
The Detroit 3 continued to subtract U.S. dealerships and franchises last year, largely a result of the automakers’ retail consolidation plans. On Jan. 1, 2008, General Motors, Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC had 14,199 dealerships in the United States — 621 fewer than at the start of 2007, according to the annual Automotive News census of dealerships.  

ADP, Ford plan online services for dealers
Ford Motor Co. has chosen ADP Dealer Services as its partner to provide digital advertising services to its dealerships across the United States. Ford is expected to formally unveil the national plan during dealer meetings this week in Las Vegas.  

Honda plans to ban online contract sales — maybe
Urged on by its national dealer council, American Honda had decided to prohibit dealers from selling Honda-backed extended service contracts online — starting Tuesday, April 1. But the company hadn’t counted on a small Rhode Island dealer taking it to court.  

Suppliers: Restraints must play big role in small cars
The tiny Smart car could be a sign of things to come — not because of its size or looks, but for the way it is engineered to protect occupants in crashes. That’s the prediction of Madan Gopal, senior development engineer for safety systems integration at Delphi Corp. Delphi supplies the restraint system for the Smart ForTwo. U.S. sales of the car began in January.  

Big challenge for Ford’s quality guy
In November 2006, Ford Motor Co. quality chief Bennie Fowler and two fellow executives left a meeting three hours before they were to give the OK to ship several thousand Ford Edges to dealers. But then came a call: Someone driving the Edge in a customer evaluation fleet reported a problem. The executives decided to tell their bosses the vehicle wasn’t ready to ship.  

Suzuki tells U.S. dealers: Don’t fret
American Suzuki sought to calm dealers last week after Chairman Rick Suzuki’s surprise announcement that he would step down because of faltering sales. Executives held a telephone conference with dealer council members to address concerns about a memo Rick Suzuki sent to employees March 28. The memo, which was not sent to dealers, referred to Suzuki’s sliding sales and growing operating losses in the United States. It also said the company will reduce its U.S.  

Maybach: A soft-top limo for U.S.
Do you want motorists to think you’re a rock star? Or your neighbors to believe you bought the popemobile? Either way, the convertiblelike, four-door 2009 Maybach Landaulet will fill the bill. The Landaulet, which debuted as a show car late last year at the Dubai auto show, will go on sale in the United States in December.  

Lincoln crawls past Mercury
In 2006, Ford Americas President Mark Fields said Lincoln eventually will become the volume brand of the Lincoln-Mercury business. With Mercury sales in free-fall, it looks as if 2008 might be that year. Lincoln is ahead of Mercury in the 2008 retail sales race — just barely.  

JCI could buy parts of Plastech
Johnson Controls Inc. is vying to buy the interiors and underhood business units of Plastech Engineered Products Inc., now in Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Johnson Controls and some of Plastech’s lenders have presented a proposal to Plastech to buy the business units.  

RUNNING THE NUMBERS

After 13 years of sales success, Toyota’s on a losing streak
Hard to believe, but sales at Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. have declined for four straight months. That’s something we haven’t seen for a while — 13 years, to be precise.  

Industry targets state CO2 rules
Minnesota, Colorado and Montana were moving toward adopting California-style rules on greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles. Now they appear to be pulling back. One reason: Top industry lobbyist Dave McCurdy is visiting statehouses. He aims to convince governors, legislative leaders and other state officials that the auto industry is doing its share to prevent global warming.  

Chrysler eases store upgrade standards
As part of its downsizing effort, Chrysler LLC is lowering the amount it requires dealers to spend to upgrade stores. For an average store’s land and building requirements, “we brought down the size of the footprint about 12 percent,” said Steven Landry, executive vice president for North American sales. “We want to keep facilities requirements in line with what dealers can afford.”  

GM dealers ponder Reynolds: Stay or go?
For 400 General Motors dealers, a decision looms over whether to stick with Reynolds and Reynolds Co. The dealers use a GM Integrated Dealer Management System, or IDMS, supplied and maintained by Reynolds. As part of an out-of-court settlement of GM-Reynolds litigation, Reynolds will not sell, service or participate in any aspect of GM’s program after a 10-month transition.  

XF takes Jaguar outside world of wood and leather
With the launch of the XF sedan and the deletion of the S-Type and X-Type from its U.S. lineup, Jaguar now offers cars in America powered only by V-8 engines. The XF’s hard points come from the S-Type, which it replaces. But Jaguar is using the V-8 engines, suspension, subframes, six-speed transmission, propeller shaft and differential from the upmarket XJ sedan and XK sports car.  

Chrysler debuts safety, fuel-saving features on ’09s
Chrysler LLC wants to reclaim its engineering prowess after nine years as a division of DaimlerChrysler AG. As part of the effort, the company will launch a series of features in several 2009 vehicles and is applying for patents on two of them. Two features are designed to improve safety and one is slated to improve fuel economy.  

Volvo’s design evolves with XC60
When designer Peter Horbury guided boxy Volvo toward a more muscular look in the 1990s, it was a sea change from two decades of “brick” design. The upcoming XC60 crossover, on sale in early 2010, may look like an evolution of Horbury’s styling language. But current Volvo design boss Steve Mattin sees it as another break from the past.  

Pontiac counts on new G8 sedan to rev up the brand
Pontiac hopes that a new rear-wheel-drive superfast sports sedan will do what the GTO could not — attract successful young male buyers. The G8 has similar styling and size to the BMW 5 series, but the G8 costs less and has more family appeal.  

GM warned of potential strikes by UAW locals
General Motors has received notice that five UAW locals in three states could strike this month over local negotiations. UAW locals representing hourly workers at GM plants in Arlington, Texas, Delta Township, Mich., Warren, Mich., Flint, Mich., and Parma, Ohio, filed five-day strike notices today.

Gettelfinger blasts Ford exec pay levels
UAW President Ron Gettelfinger is blasting the pay awarded to top Ford Motor Co. executives as ” excessive and unjustified.” Ford announced today that CEO Alan Mulally received a compensation package worth $21.7 million in 2007. The compensation for Ford’s top five executives totaled more than $60 million. 

Investor pulls out, Delphi bankruptcy exit delayed
Appaloosa Management LP said today it terminated its equity plan investment to support auto parts maker Delphi Corp.’s exit from bankruptcy, but remains open to alternate arrangements. The move will delay Delphi’s efforts to emerge from Chapter 11 protection.

VW recalls 410,000 Passats
Volkswagen Group of America Inc. is recalling every gasoline-powered VW Passat sold in the United States from 1999 to 2005 — some 410,000 cars. [REG] 4:30 pm U.S. ET | April 4 

UAW STRIKE AT AMERICAN AXLE
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Malibu spared another week from Axle strike
General Motors probably will have enough American Axle parts to keep building its hot-selling Chevrolet Malibu until April 18, said a UAW local official in Kansas City, Kan.  

Ford’s new ad campaign: ‘Drive One’
Ford Motor Co. confirmed today that it will launch a brand marketing campaign next week with the tag line ” Drive One.” New commercials featuring Ford employees will begin appearing Tuesday, April 8, on Fox’s ” American Idol.” [REG] 3:27 pm U.S. ET | April 4 

Shareholder activists challenge Ford on proxy
Ford Motor Co. shareholders want to stop issuing stock options to executives, limit executive compensation and rein in the voting power of the Ford family. Eleven proposals will be voted on at Ford’s annual shareholder meeting May 8 at the Hotel du Pont in Wilmington, Del.  

Smart gets so-so U.S. safety ratings
Daimler AG’s tiny Smart ForTwo got decent — but unspectacular — scores in the U.S. government’s crash test program. In the five-star rating system, the 2008 Smart sedan got four stars for protecting the driver in a frontal impact. It got three stars for the passenger in frontal impact and three stars for resisting a rollover.  

Pardus says it wants to see Valeo focused
Activist fund Pardus Capital Management, the biggest shareholder in car parts maker Valeo, said today it had made proposals to make the company more focused. It gave few details but Bloomberg reported today that Pardus, which owns nearly 20 percent of Valeo, wanted the company broken up.

Dealer group buys 2 stores
A private partnership headed by billionaire Robert Johnson, former Clinton White House Chief of Staff Mack McLarty and Arkansas dealer Steve Landers has bought its first dealerships since the group was formed last fall. 

Chrysler will fix wiring bug
Chrysler LLC is recalling 181,000 Chrysler Sebrings and Dodge Avengers built for the 2007-08 model years to fix an electrical defect that can prevent them from running. 

GM cuts off Reynolds from serving GM IDMS
General Motors plans to cut off Reynolds and Reynolds Co. from servicing 400 dealers who have installed a Reynolds version of the GM Integrated Dealer Management System, or IDMS. 

GM to managers: Volt is No. 1 priority
General Motors wants the gasoline-electric Chevrolet Volt on the road by 2010 so badly that program managers have been given a blank check. They can get as much manpower and resources as they need.  

Honda Web site wins top ranking in study
A research company in suburban Detroit says American Honda Motor Co. has the most customer-satisfying Web site compared with five other automakers. Nissan Motor Co. posted the lowest rating in the group.  

Mexico’s top auto supplier official steps down
Ramon Suarez has resigned as executive president of Mexico’s auto suppliers association, known as INA, the organization said on Thursday, April 3.  

GM names Browning head of global sales
General Motors today named Jonathan Browning vice president of global sales 

Johnson Controls could buy parts of Plastech
Johnson Controls Inc. is vying to buy the interiors and underhood business units of Plastech Engineered Products Inc., now in Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.  

Dana’s Burns paid $3.5 million for 3 months’ work
Former CEO Mike Burns departed Dana Holding Corp. this week with $3.5 million in compensation for three months of work this year, according to documents filed Wednesday with the Securities and Exchange Commission.  

German supplier to open plant in Vance, Ala.
German auto parts supplier Stankiewicz GmbH announced today plans for a second U.S. factory manufacturing noise reduction components for Mercedes-Benz and General Motors.  

Jim Press creates PR mess for Toyota and Chrysler
Chrysler LLC co-President Jim Press has a PR problem — and so does his former employer, Toyota Motor Corp. In an interview published Thursday, March 24, Press told BusinessWeek that the Japanese government ” paid for 100 percent of the development of the battery and hybrid system that went into the Toyota Prius.”

Chrysler cutting 200 salaried tech employees
Chrysler LLC will cut 200 salaried workers and a sizable number of contract workers in information technology management and outsource computer maintenance and support, a spokesman said on Wednesday.  

GM mulling taking on more Delphi obligations
General Motors is considering shouldering more of auto parts maker Delphi Corp.’s pension liabilities to help Delphi get out of bankruptcy protection, the Wall Street Journal reported late Wednesday.  

U.S. will be biggest market for BMW X6
BMW AG sees the U.S. as the biggest market for its new X6 crossover despite rising fuel prices. Friedrich Eichiner, BMW board member for corporate and brand development, said about half of the X6’s annual production volume will be sold in the U.S.

UAW chief says buyouts slow, rules out new round
The number of workers represented by the UAW opting to take buyouts and early retirement has fallen sharply and negotiating an additional round of such offers would be “futile,” the union’s president said on Wednesday.  

GM to cut off Reynolds from existing IDMS dealers
General Motors is planning to cut Reynolds and Reynolds Co. off from servicing dealers that have already installed a Reynolds version of the GM Integrated Dealer Management System. The decision is part of a pending legal settlement between GM and Reynolds.  

States, green groups seek order on vehicle emissions
States and environmental groups headed back to court today to force the U.S. EPA to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from cars and trucks. A new lawsuit was filed today by 18 states, three cities and 11 environmental groups. 

Ford reorganizes product development, purchasing
With the deal done for the sale of Jaguar and Land Rover to India’s Tata Motors, Ford Motor Co. is reorganizing its global product development and purchasing operations.  

Chrysler launches Journey with big Web presence
Dodge is launching the Journey crossover with the brand’s largest digital marketing campaign. A top Dodge executive said 29 percent of the media budget for the launch of the 2009 Journey will go to digital venues.  

Energy chief: Pump price may hit $3.50 a gallon
U.S. Energy Secretary Sam Bodman said on Monday he is concerned that average U.S. gasoline pump prices could hit $3.50 a gallon this summer, and said he is “optimistic” that OPEC will come to the rescue of U.S. drivers.  

Ford: Quality is even with Honda, Toyota
DETROIT — Ford Motor Co. is trumpeting its quality gains as it launches an advertising campaign designed to get consumers to reconsider its vehicles. 

UAW STRIKE AT AMERICAN AXLE
Dick Dauch’s labor journey: Hero to demon
Those who know Richard E. Dauch aren’t surprised that the CEO of American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc. has dug in his heels against striking UAW workers. Dauch, 65, has put aside his reflexive empathy for labor to demand wage and benefit concessions that he believes are critical to the future of the company, says longtime friend Dave Cole.  

Iflove Automobile Companies News and Reviews This Week: Your Car, Your Choice

This is a time that belongs to Automobile. Your Car is flying, just at this beautiful season. Drive your cars today, and today is in your hand. Come on baby! Come on!

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