Automotive News - June 9, 2008 - (Page 26)

26 • JUNE 9, 2008 Picture this You and your industry colleagues have just hung out at a party, raised a truckload of cash for charity or fired your best rounds of golf. Share your snapshots with us. When the celebration is over, e-mail your high-resolution photos, IDs and a brief description of the event to autonews@crain.com. KIM KUMPART PHOTOGRAPHY ■ Jaguars and jewels In May, Rusnak Jaguar in Pasadena, Calif., and the Pasadena Tiffany & Co. store hosted a champagne reception, Glamour with Diamonds and Jewels, for 100 Rusnak guests. Pictured above, from left, are Liz Rusnak Arizmendi, vice president of public relations for parent company Rusnak Auto Group; Paige Pomerantz, store manager; and Haitham Fakhoury, general manager of Rusnak Jaguar. In the photo at right, guests Sam and Alison Lockwood and their daughter, Amanda, shop for a Mother’s Day gift. ■ Fun in the Pasadena sun NICK BOSWELL PHOTOGRAPHY In April, Bentley Pasadena in Pasadena, Calif., invited guests to cheer on the U.S.A. Water Polo Men’s Senior National Team during a private match. In conjunction with the event, a child from the Children’s Miracle Network will be granted his wish this month to swim in a pool with the team, which will represent the United States at the Olympic Games this summer in Beijing. The dealership’s guests also had a chance to see and test drive the Bentley Brooklands and Continental GT Speed and other models. Pictured above with a Bentley Continental GTC are, from left, Allyn Sisson, a guest; Jason Emrad, a Bentley Pasadena sales associate; and Andrew Arizmendi, the dealership’s general manager. ASSOCIATION FOR MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY — Robert Simpson, 48, to president, effective Oct. 7. He had been corporate vice president and president of global plastics machinery for Milacron Inc., of Cincinnati. He replaces John Byrd III, 61, who will retire after five years with the association. The Association for Manufacturing Technology, of suburban Washington, represents American suppliers of manufacturing machinery and equipment. AUTOMOTIVE YOUTH EDUCATIONAL SYSTEMS — Jim Press, 61, co-president of Chrysler LLC, to chairman. Allen Childs, 50, vice president of parts and service for Nissan North America Inc., to vice chairman. Jim Lentz, president Simpson Bugbee Isele Zerbst Stremplat DeChristopher Khoshnoud Angelacos of Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. Inc., to secretary. The terms expire March 10. Automotive Youth Educational Systems, of suburban Detroit, is a partnership of automakers, dealers and schools that encourages young people to consider careers as automotive technicians. BMW GROUP FINANCIAL SERVICES OF NORTH AMERICA — Shaun Bugbee, 46, to vice president of sales operations. He had been president of the company’s Alphera Financial Services division, which serves non-BMW brands. Fred Isele, 53, to president of Alphera Financial Services. He had been general manager of sales and marketing for Alphera. Kerstin Zerbst, 41, to COO and vice president of operations at BMW Financial Services’ office in Hilliard, Ohio. She had been CFO of BMW Financial Services in Austria. Martin Stremplat, 40, to CFO of BMW Financial Services for the Americas region, which covers North and Central America. He had been controller of accounting for BMW Financial Services in Germany. Dan DeChristopher, 53, to vice president of sales and marketing. He had been vice president of sales operations. KIA MOTORS AMERICA INC. — Adam Perlow, 36, to sales director of the central region. He had been sales manager of the eastern region. SATYAM — Frank Khoshnoud to senior vice president and global automotive leader of the company’s suburban Detroit office. He had been an automotive principal with Capgemini, a consulting firm headquartered in Paris. Satyam, of Hyderabad, India, is an information technology services company. TOYOTA MOTOR SALES U.S.A. INC. — Mark Angelacos, 48, to general manager of the Portland, Ore., region. He had been assistant general manager of the Kansas City region. He replaces Mark Del Rosso, who is now COO of Audi of America. E-mail personnel news to: autonews@crain.com Or send it to: Deputy Managing Editor Automotive News 1155 Gratiot Ave. Detroit, MI 48207-2997 Please include the employee’s birthdate, new title, most recent title and the full name and location of company. ROBERT GARFF ON THE SPGT: A CUDL conversation with the owner of what may be the nation’s fastest growing dealership group — the $1.4 billion Ken Garff Automotive Group of Salt Lake City, Utah. ON THE SPOT: What do you contribute to your family’s success? GARFF: Garff’s never, never give up. You know that speaks to longevity, that speaks to doing things right. That means stick-to-itness. ON THE SPOT: How involved are you with the communities you serve? GARFF: One of the main ingredients of our success is that we play an active part in the community. As much as 20 to 30 percent of our lives are spent giving back to the communities we serve. ON THE SPOT: How do you feel about CUDL in terms of what it’s done for you? GARFF: The main thing about CUDL is that it provides us with a different avenue of buyers. It’s another opportunity to get in front of another group of customers. ON THE SPOT: How many of your buyers go through the CUDL system? GARFF: Approximately 15 percent. And that’s 15 percent of buyers that maybe we wouldn’t have otherwise. ON THE SPOT: How do feel about AutoSMART and being able to showcase your inventory online? GARFF: For us, it’s another way of having a storefront. I think in the fourth quarter alone, our organization attracted 967 buyers from CUDL’s AutoSMART system. ON THE SPOT: CUDL did $12 billion in auto loans in 2007. What does that mean to you? GARFF: Well, it means that they’re one of the major players in the auto finance arena. G *Interview conducted February 2008. Log onto www.CUDL.com/robert to read the entire interview. 877.744.2835 It’s another On the Spot interview brought to you by www.cudl.com FAST, FRIENDLY CREDIT UNION FINANCING http://www.cudl.com http://www.cudl.com http://www.CUDL.com/robert

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Automotive News - June 9, 2008

Automotive News - June 9, 2008 Hummer Bummer: A death sentence? New F-150, Ram in peril as big pickups collapse Japanese can add small cars faster than Detroit 3 Battery shortage hurts hybrid sales 2 key overseas staffers move to Automotive News in the U.S. Toyota may add Camry to Indiana truck plant Mazda extends warranty on RX-8 rotary engine CAW to consider strike against GM Porsche's new 911 GM plans big ad push for its big hybrid SUVs Chrysler cuts fees to outside service firms 5% Toyota considering 'Made in U.S.A.' Prius Congress, Bush square off over rollover suits GM finance whiz changed the industry GM's big SUVs may get lighter Harbour Report: Chrysler, Toyota most efficient Spring intros can be dicey Ford spends big on MKS ad launch Media buyer for GM cuts 25 jobs Sources: GM poised to buy Cobasys GM dealer program rebounds Mazda updates the RX-8 New Maxima is a tad smaller — but more buff Congress must balance safety, mpg concerns Is the gas crisis real or just temporary? What about poor driving? There's no substitute for safe driving Lack of regulation foils safety laws Sticker law cleaned up a pricing mess Lithia to sell outlets, delay used-car stores Nielsen likes to step off the beaten path GM union local strives to pull parts jobs in-house JCI will open Ga. plant to supply Kia Dealers: Be open about credit problems Finance venture has $1 billion Picture this Personnel Dealers BMW purchasing chief 'looking for waste' Nissan Mexicana gets new chief Ford Flex output begins Hyundai Genesis: $33,000 Ford buys more from minorities Audi's U.S. chief: Brand can handle high gas prices May in Detroit: Scary, not merry Infiniti FX starts at $41,765 Lincoln: 8,600 MKS orders Plastics supplier sees growth Jenkins gets Aston Martin post Smith is CEO of Jaguar, Land Rover Kremlin watching, Chrysler style Toyota breathing down GM's neck on monthly U.S. sales PR chief Steve Harris: At GM through '08 Small-car surge is a replay of 1979 Auto execs would benefit from some store experience Mini's mixed results: Sales soar, quality stumbles Nice car — so what's the ppmpg? Volt's good PR got struck by lightning

Automotive News - June 9, 2008

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.