Automotive News - February 11, 2008 - (Page 85) FEBRUARY 11, 2008 • 85 BorgWarner profits rise DETROIT — Supplier BorgWarner Inc. said last week that fourthquarter net income rose to $71.2 million on revenue of $1.37 billion, up from $40.9 million on revenue of $1.20 billion for the same period a year earlier. For 2007, BorgWarner, of suburban Detroit, reported net income of $288.5 million on revenue of $5.32 billion, up from net income of $211.6 million on revenue of $4.58 billion in 2006. BorgWarner is generating increased business from technologies relating to fuel efficiency, such as turbochargers and dual-clutch transmissions. supply powertrain and chassis components for future vehicle production. Metaldyne, a unit of Japanese supplier Asahi Tec Corp., opened a plant in Suzhou, China, in 2007. The supplier expects annual revenue of more than $100 million when the Suzhou plant is fully operational and employing 350 to 400 people. AUTONATION Web site will link to membership clubs continued from Page 4 How it works AutoNation Direct is still a Web site in progress. It aims to let customers build their car or truck online, then complete the buying process and take delivery without visiting a dealership. Here is how it handles the sale. Finding a car: AutoNation looks for a vehicle in inventory at its 257 dealerships representing 331 franchises in 16 states. Price: There’s no haggling. Customers are offered a set price. Trade-ins: AutoNation Direct shops the trade-in for the customer. If the customer accepts the offer, AutoNation Direct includes the value in the purchase price. The trade-in is picked up during delivery of the new vehicle. Credit applications: AutoNation Direct takes credit applications and trade-in appraisals over the phone help customers through the purchase. AutoNation posted a video of a customer testimonial on YouTube.com. The car buyer, identified as James Garner, says: “Tony was my personal car Shopper. He did a great job. We had one little hiccup in the whole thing, but he got it straightened right out. He sent me an e-mail finalizing all the details, and that’s the way it was.” or by e-mail. Driver’s license: Customers fax copies of their driver’s license and proof of insurance to the AutoNation Direct’s personal car shopper. Delivery: AutoNation delivers the new vehicle to the customer’s home at no charge, or directs the customer to a nearby store. Guarantee: AutoNation Direct offers customers a three-day, 150mile money-back guarantee. Assistance: Personal car shoppers at a call center help customers through all steps of the purchase. membership groups such as AAA. An AutoNation spokesman said the site will go online at the end of the second quarter. “We’re trying to improve our capabilities, working on our site and technology,” Maroone said during a conference call related to the company’s fourth-quarter profits. “We intend over time to be able to provide online selling and affinity through the same platform and the same channel.” c Ryan Beene contributed to this report Auto tax break fails WASHINGTON — A Senate plan to give tax credits to unprofitable automakers and other struggling companies died last week. The plan would have allowed companies to collect tax credits even though they don’t have taxable income. It was part of an alternative economic stimulus plan offered by Democrats. Senators voted 59-40 for the provision. But under Senate rules, proponents needed 60 votes to end debate and move the measure to final passage. Later in the week Congress passed a $152 million stimulus package without the tax break. President Bush is expected to sign the legislation this week. Visteon sells 3 plants DETROIT — On Feb. 1, Visteon Corp. sold some of its North American aftermarket parts operations to an affiliate of the Chicago real estate firm Centrum Properties Inc. Terms were not disclosed. Centrum Equities XV LLC bought two climate product manufacturing plants in Reynosa, Mexico, and a starter and alternator plant in Sparta, Tenn. All three plants are geared for the aftermarket and do not include mobile electronics products, Visteon said. Lucerne Super: $39,395 DETROIT — General Motors said last week that the 2008 Buick Lucerne Super sedan will start at $39,395, including freight. The luxury sedan is powered by a 4.6liter V-8 engine producing 292 hp and 288 pounds-feet of torque. The vehicle will arrive in dealer showrooms in April, GM said. Standard equipment includes heated and cooled front seats, remote start, rear parking assist, heated steering wheel and shifter, OnStar and XM satellite radio. The AutoNation Direct Web site, before it was taken offline Jan. 31 for improvements based on user feedback, acknowledged that this service was created because “many people dislike the traditional dealer experience.” The site promised consumers a “dealer-free” and “hassle-free” experience. “No need to set foot in a dealership again,” it said. The company is pleased with early consumer feedback, says spokesman Marc Cannon. AutoNation plans to add a second test market, but he wouldn’t say where. AutoNation dealerships participating in the Atlanta area pilot include Toyota, Scion, Honda, Nissan, Ford, Lincoln-Mercury, Chevrolet, Chrysler and Jeep stores. “We’re in the process of tweaking a whole bunch of things,” Cannon says. “We continue to update the process. It’s kind of a laboratory, an ongoing process.” Anyone could visit the earlier AutoNation Direct site when it was online. But visitors couldn’t use all the functions of the site without plugging in an Atlanta area ZIP code. Personal car shoppers at a call center Membership benefits On Feb. 7, AutoNation said that it is also working on a parallel site for Metaldyne gets Chery contract DETROIT — Chinese automaker Chery Automobile Co. has awarded a contract to Metaldyne Corp. to HITS Chicago show has many eye-catchers continued from Page 1 stock watch Manufacturers Closing price Feb. 8 Closing price Feb. 1 Weekly percent change 52-week high 52-week low BMW-ADR Fiat S.p.A.-ADR Ford General Motors Honda-ADR Hyundai-ADR Nissan-ADR PSA-ADR Renault-ADR Suzuki-ADR Toyota-ADR Volkswagen-ADR $50.35 25.50 6.11 25.81 29.32 16.65 17.06 69.19 98.60 24.00 108.80 43.70 $55.50 25.50 6.85 28.98 32.03 16.65 18.83 73.75 113.85 24.00 109.80 45.09 –9.3% – –10.8 –10.9 –8.5 – –9.4 –6.2 –13.4 – –0.9 –3.1 $68.80 34.85 9.70 43.20 40.82 23.16 23.75 92.50 165.75 33.25 138.00 57.73 $49.30 14.15 5.68 21.34 27.35 4.90 17.03 63.85 98.10 23.60 91.21 22.05 Retail Groups Closing price Feb. 8 Closing price Feb. 1 Weekly percent change 52-week high 52-week low Asbury Automotive Group $14.31 AutoNation 15.52 Group 1 Automotive 24.65 CarMax 19.77 Lithia Motors 13.51 Penske Auto Group 17.49 Sonic Automotive 19.58 $14.97 16.59 26.67 23.00 15.55 18.54 21.09 –4.4% –6.5 –7.6 –14.0 –13.1 –5.7 –7.2 $30.06 23.10 55.04 28.67 31.43 24.56 33.10 $11.71 11.72 19.81 15.81 11.32 13.57 15.82 Suppliers Biggest weekly swings from among the Automotive News top 150 suppliers to North America whose stocks are traded in the United States Closing price Feb. 8 Closing price Feb. 1 Weekly percent change 52-week high 52-week low Winners Shiloh Industries Cummins Engine Co. Strattec Security Corp. Timken Co. Losers BorgWarner Inc. American Axle ArvinMeritor Hayes Lemmerz Int. Visteon Corp. $8.79 49.40 37.90 30.82 $45.35 20.60 12.62 3.22 3.81 $8.09 46.94 37.05 30.77 $50.93 23.08 14.07 3.58 4.23 8.7% 5.2 2.3 0.2 –11.0% –10.8 –10.3 –10.1 –9.9 $14.93 71.73 51.04 38.78 $53.00 31.00 23.65 7.98 10.14 $7.62 32.97 35.06 25.82 $35.96 15.73 9.08 3.05 3.02 Information obtained as of 4:00 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 8, 2008. Because of a lag in the reporting of trades the closing prices disclosed above may differ slightly from the eventual closing prices. ADR = American Depository Receipt Compiled by PricewaterhouseCoopers, Intraweek data provided by Comstock. Powered by Stockgroup stand to take a look at the Transit Connect. With the compact Ford Ranger reaching the end of the line next year, this small European delivery van could easily pick up some of the customers who might otherwise drift away. Power comes from a 2.0-liter gasoline engine mated to a four-speed automatic transmission. The Transit Connect will be built in Turkey at a plant that cranks out versions of this van for dozens of European countries. Its funky, squarish styling might even appeal to young buyers who like the Honda Element and Scion xB.No word yet on prices. I also liked the Suzuki Equator. It probably won’t sell in large numbers, but the mid-sized, Nissan-built truck will give Suzuki customers an option they’ve never had. Suzuki has not offered a pickup before. The bed is big enough to haul some of the company’s other products, such as dirt bikes and all-terrain vehicles. The Hyundai i-Blue caught my eye. Though the i-Blue is just a concept, Hyundai is starting to establish a reputation for nicely styled vehicles. Think of the Azera sedan and the Sante Fe crossover. The i-Blue, a mid-sized crossover, features Hyundai’s third-generation fuel cell powertrain, now compact enough to be almost seamlessly integrated into a regular-sized vehicle. Hyundai says the i-Blue is built on a new vehicle platform designed for fuel cell powertrains. The interior sports a wild, jet-fighterlike steering wheel and interior panel. The i-Blue is designed to travel 372 miles on its two tanks of compressed hydrogen. The lighted grille is pure auto show SCOTT KENNEDY PHOTOS Nice eye candy from GMC: The Denali XT Hybrid, a unibody concept truck kitsch, but the rest of the vehicle is just plain cool. The GMC Denali XT Hybrid was interesting. Sure, Honda’s minivanbased Ridgeline pickup may not have lived up to sales projections, but the unibody truck has been influential. Toyota Motor has built a unibody concept truck called the A-BAT, and now GMC is tinkering with the same idea — except that the Denali XT Hybrid, with its lowered roof, has a mean, hunkered-down appearance. It has a reconfigurable 6½-foot bed that is id http://YouTube.com
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