Automotive News - April 14, 2008 - (Page 6)

6 • APRIL 14, 2008 Toyota, Subaru work on ‘affordable’ sports car Boxer engine is planned; partnership expands Hans Greimel hgreimel@crain.com TOKYO — Toyota’s long-anticipated sports car will arrive in 2011. It will be developed with Subaru and have a boxer engine. The compact, rear-drive, “affordable” car will be built at a new Japanese plant to be set up by Fuji Heavy Industries, parent of Subaru. Each company will market the car separately and badge it as its own. The model is part of a sweeping expansion of the tie-up between the Japanese companies. At a news conference here last week, Toyota Motor Corp. CEO Katsuaki Watanabe also said Toyota would boost its stake in Fuji Heavy to 16.5 percent from 8.7 percent. Under the growing partnership, Toyota will supply Fuji Heavy with a compact car and minivehicles with engines no bigger than 660cc. Under the hood of the sports car will be Subaru’s boxer engine with horizontally opposed cylinders. The car will sit on a new Subaru platform and be designed by Toyota, the companies said. Other details are under wraps, such as number of cylinders, engine displacement and production volume. The new car fills a gap left by cars including the Toyota MRS two-seater. Toyota’s midengine MR2 dates back to 1984. It was rechristened the MRS in 1999 and retired last year. Over the years, other sporty models have included the Celica, which was discontinued in 2006, and the Supra, on the roads from 1978 to 2002. c BMW: X6 will bring brand new buyers Diana T. Kurylko dkurylko@crain.com Nissan seeks dealerships for trucks Lindsay Chappell lchappell@crain.com SPARTANBURG, S.C. — BMW expects 60 percent of the buyers for its new X6 crossover to be new to the brand, says Tom Purves, CEO of BMW of North America. With an entry price of more than $53,000, the X6 has all-wheel drive and a high seating position — like BMW’s two existing crossovers, the X5 and X3. The X6 shares major components with the X5 and X3 and is being built on the same assembly line here as the X5. But with the X6, BMW has taken the seating position and all-wheel drivetrain and “clothed that in a sleek, GTlike fastback body with four full seats,” Purves says. The X6 also has a coupelike roofline that sets it apart in the crossover segment. “To some extent, this is the iconic car that you cannot put in a box,” he says. Purves expects the X6 to appeal to owners of the Porsche Cayenne SUV, Infiniti FX crossover and Land Rover Range Rover Sport SUV. Given the X6’s high price tag and limited seating, BMW is positioning it as a niche vehicle. German executives have said about 40,000 will be built in a full year of production. The United States will get about half. The X6 will have two engine variants. The xDrive35i will start at $53,275, including shipping, with a 3.0-liter, inline twin-turbo six-cylinder engine with 306 hp. It goes on sale April 26. The range-topping xDrive50i with a new 4.4-liter V-8 twin-turbo engine with 407 hp will start at $63,775, including shipping, in August. c The Chrysler TV commercial “Assembly Road” features the campaign tag line “If you can dream it, we can build it.” Chrysler fields ‘dream’ ads Mary Connelly mconnelly@crain.com Chrysler working on retail plan for hybrids ➤ 8 bility, Meyer said. A TV commercial called “Assembly Road” starts airing today. It shows a vehicle that begins as a chassis rolling out of a factory. Along the way, people add components. The spot will run during network and cable broadcasts of National Hockey League and National Basketball Association games, as well as other programs. The campaign’s print component will target “community influencers,” Meyer said. Ads will appear in such publications as The Wall Street Journal, BusinessWeek, Forbes and Fortune. The corporate ad campaign will support Dodge, Chrysler and Jeep brand ads, Meyer said. A campaign for the new Dodge Journey crossover launched last week includes Dodge’s largest outlay for digital advertising. c DETROIT — Chrysler LLC launches a corporate advertising campaign today that aims to win over buyers who have dropped the automaker from their shopping lists. The campaign’s tag line: “If you can dream it, we can build it.” Deborah Meyer, Chrysler’s chief marketing officer, said the company seeks “to re-engage customers.” She declined to disclose the cost of the campaign. “We’ve had a lot of focus on the individual brands,” Meyer said at a press event last week. “But it is important to establish a halo level that will allow us to communicate what is happening with the company as a whole — what are we investing in, where is technology going.” The ad campaign will invoke themes of quality, safety, technology, connectivity and environmental responsi- Nissan North America expects as many as a third of its U.S. dealerships will sell its light-commercial vehicles starting in 2010. Nissan’s push into new product fields — which may include delivery trucks, airport shuttle buses and commercial pickups — will require dealers to invest in their stores. The larger vehicles will require industrial-sized service tools, big-vehicle lifts and, in some cases, bigger service shop doors, says Andy Palmer, Nissan’s corporate vice president for light-commercial operations globally. “Some of our dealers already have the necessary facilities through sales of our competitors’ vehicles,” Palmer says. He says Nissan will look for 250 to 350 existing retailers to raise their hand for the opportunity, although more will be considered. Last week, the automaker said it will launch commercial sales in the United States in mid-2010 with three unidentified vehicles. Palmer said the models will be U.S.-designed and engineered and built at Nissan’s Canton, Miss., assembly plant. They will use U.S.-made diesel engines supplied by Cummins Inc. and transmissions built in the United States by Germany’s ZF Friedrichshafen AG. Palmer said Nissan’s entire global commercial line will be considered for the United States. That portfolio consists of 30 vans and trucks of various sizes, each with a gross vehicle weight of less than 8 tons. c Honda will export Alabama-built Pilots to Russia Rick Kranz rkranz@crain.com Export plan Honda’s Pilot export forecast 2009 MODELS 2010 MODELS 2011 MODELS YPSILANTI, Mich. — Russia is the new market for Honda’s redesigned, Alabama-assembled 2009 Pilot. American Honda Motor Co. forecasts 3,245 exports to Russia for the 2009 model year, increasing to 4,650 for 2011. Shipments begin late summer or early fall. In the past, only gray-market Pilots have been sold in Russia. During Pilot development, teams from the United States and Japan spent weeks in Russia studying the market and talking with potential buyers, said Marc Ernst, assistant large-project leader with Honda R&D Americas. Canada 6,000 6,000 6,000 Russia 3,245 4,270 4,650 Others 6,220 6,405 6,335 Total 15,465 16,675 16,985 Source: Honda “There seems to be a new growing middle class who are starting to have money and starting to say: ‘I would like to spend my money on something. How can I set myself apart? Well, a car is a good way to set myself apart and give myself some kind of status or something,’ ” said Ernst, interviewed last week at a press event here. Durability is extremely important in Russia, especially for buyers who have a cottage in the country. Only minor changes are needed for the Russia-bound Pilots. For example, Honda added pop-up headlight washers, rear heated seats and reflectors on the rear bumper, required by law in Russia. Corrosion protection was modified to combat chemicals that melt snow. The gasoline-powered 3.5-liter V-6 is unchanged. The previous-generation Pilot was exported to Canada, Mexico and some countries in the Middle East ROGER HART Honda will need to make only minor changes to the Pilot to sell it in Russia. and Latin and South America. Exports to those markets will continue with the redesigned model. About 12,000 2008 Honda Pilots were exported from the Lincoln, Ala., plant. c

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Automotive News - April 14, 2008

Dealership jobs hit 8-year low GM is the wild card in axle war Service contracts: Hard-sell tactics plague dealers, customers TV auto ads shift to online, mobile venues At seminar, marketing execs to discuss new ways to reach customers Better get to know the Nano — it's set to change the world Veteran Detroit 3 dealer: 'The future is quite bleak' Poll: Dealers scrounge for cuts Locals closer to GM strike Scion xB price rises $100 Valeo CEO: No breakup Tata Nano changes low-cost development Hyundai tailors TV, Web ads for Hispanics Study: Ads focused on vehicle qualities won on Oscar night Post-Celine, Chrysler ad guru seeks right note Chrysler's quest for quality lured Nissan exec Betts Search starts for in-vehicle alcohol detectors After S. Calif. success, Honda may fund ad groups Computer images gain ground in TV ads Web TV offers automakers new ad, sales options BMW: X6 will bring brand new buyers Diana T. Kurylko Chrysler fields 'dream' ads Nissan seeks dealerships for trucks Honda will export Alabama-built Pilots to Russia Toyota, Subaru work on 'affordable' sports car Cadillac's ad agency savors the sweet life Some stores may not sell Chrysler hybrids GM hybrids get off to a slow start in first quarter Lexus adds a personal touch to pamper owners, prospects What they're buying — and what they're not The age of fuel innovation is here Approaches to r&d vary Nano brings credibility to Indian engineering Honda must revisit online dealer sales of service pacts Chrysler got it right Mandates, markets and buyer demand For Detroit, some things never change Buick: As Chicago goes, so goes the nation Auto industry has lost a good man Accentuate the positive Ex-Porsche CEO: Cayenne spiced up sales Green programs shape battle for engineering grads Tata rewards suppliers with ties to India Bill aims to set minimum sound levels for vehicles Industry lobbyists step up emissions fight Seeking wider market, Nissan equips sports car for snow New chief of SAE has D.C. skills China and GM's answer to Nano — sort of $2,500 car is Ratan Tata's personal quest NADA offers training in risky credit Donna Harris Deal's goal: Widen appeal of dent-repair coverage Title committee created Vehicle loan delinquencies rise from 2007 Suppliers to the 2009 Tata Nano Odd China combo: Fuel sippers, SUVs Pontiac Vibe: A sporty hauler with Toyota touches Dealers J.D. Power III named tracking company partner Toyota will buy back rusted Tacomas 100,000 Flex sales a year? Farley: 'Absolutely' Ford wants word-of-mouth campaign Small suppliers feel the pain of axle strike Plastech tries to sell 2 units TRW plant will build Ford gears Toyota plans 2nd India plant Dodge launch goes digital Toyota, GM recall 660,000 vehicles for window flaws Lear announces white-collar layoffs March output drops 23.6% New Ford ads tout quality improvements Tata dealers must be handy with a wrench Can the Greens slow down the autobahn? Racy scandal for race exec Echoes from the grave: Olds still has cachet The Final Say

Automotive News - April 14, 2008

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