Automotive News - June 30, 2008 - (Page 39)

JUNE 30, 2008 • 39 Chrysler launches Sync competitor DETROIT — Chrysler LLC last week launched technology for vehicles, called uconnect, meant to compete with Ford Motor Co.’s Sync system. One feature transforms vehicles into Internet hot spots. Passengers can log in to surf the Web on a laptop, play video games or send photos. The products will be sold in the aftermarket by dealers. could owe millions of dollars in repair claims and other fees if settlements of two class-action lawsuits are approved. The suits involve Dex-Cool engine coolant. GM has used Dex-Cool since the 1995 model year. Thousands of customers allege in the lawsuits that the coolant failed to protect corrosion of V-6 engines in more than 30 models of cars and light trucks from the 1995 through 2004 model years. In a hearing scheduled for Aug. 29, a California Superior Court judge in Alameda will rule whether to approve or dismiss one of the class action suits, which affects customers in 49 states. The only state not included, Missouri, has a hearing scheduled for Sept. 5. Survey: Concerns about mpg reduce owners’ happiness with new autos Andrew Grossman agrossman@crain.com Toyota replaces 2 N.A. execs ERLANGER, Ky. — Toyota Motor Corp. is replacing two top North American executives. It named Tetsuo Agata, 55, head of European r&d, president and COO of Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America Inc. Toyota also appointed Shigeki Terashi, 53, who had been head engineer at a Toyota development center in Japan, executive vice president of the division and president of Toyota Technical Center. Agata replaces Seiichi Sudo, 57, who is returning to Japan. Terashi replaces Yasuhiko Ichihashi, 56, who also is returning to Japan to be a senior managing r&d director. Nissan’s 2009 Maxima SV ’09 Maxima sticker: $29,950 NASHVILLE — Nissan Motor Co. said last week that the 2009 Maxima has a sticker price of $29,950 for the Maxima S, up from $28,790 for the 2008 basic Maxima. Nissan also is selling the 2009 Maxima SV for $32,650. Prices include shipping. The new Maximas reached showrooms last week. Americans found their new vehicles slightly less gratifying this year than last year. That decline was caused in large part by declining consumer gratification with the fuel economy of their new vehicles, according to this year’s J.D. Power and Associates Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout Study. The average overall score in this year’s study fell two points, to 770 out of 1,000. “Even though more consumers are now achieving the gas mileage they expect compared with previous years, the increased cost of filling their vehicles still leads to a greater level of dissatisfaction with fuel economy than in the past,” study co-director David Sargent said in a statement released last week. Still, the brands that delighted their customers the most last year were not the ones with the most fuel-efficient vehicles. Luxury brands dominated the top half of the list, with Porsche, Jaguar and BMW taking the top three spots. Jeep, Subaru and Suzuki took the bottom three. Buyer satisfaction with the Enclave boosted Buick’s scores in the J.D. Power study. Sargent said luxury brands tend to rank highest because the survey focuses on things such as performance, interior styling and features. This year customers were more delighted by their audio, entertainment and navigation systems. “Consumers really appreciate having these new features in their vehicles,” Sargent said, “so long as it works well and is intuitive.” The Honda brand won the most model segment awards, with the Fit small car, Ridgeline pickup truck and Odyssey minivan winning top honors in their classes. But overall, Honda saw a decline in owner gratification. Its score declined 12 points from last year, to 764. Buick saw the largest increase in owner gratification, up 20 points, to 770. Toyota’s Scion brand posted the largest decrease, falling 36 points, to 773. Sargent said the Buick increase resulted almost entirely from the release of the Enclave, which was the highest-ranked vehicle in its segment. Ford’s score increased 14 points, largely because of the high rankings of the Ford Focus. The small car contributes heavily to the brand’s score because of its high sales volume. Sargent said the Focus was the industry’s most improved vehicle. J.D. Power said the annual survey, known as the APEAL study, was conducted from February through May and surveyed 81,500 U.S. vehicle purchasers and lessees. The survey was conducted to assess the first 90 days of vehicle ownership. c GM settlement hearings set DETROIT — General Motors stock watch Manufacturers Closing price June 27 Closing price June 20 Weekly percent change 52-week high 52-week low Brown family fared well at Plastech, documents show By Ryan Beene rbeene@crain.com 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 $47.85 25.50 4.98 11.55 34.19 15.80 16.44 53.10 87.67 24.50 94.33 55.45 Closing price June 27 $50.25 25.50 5.81 13.79 33.66 15.80 16.54 54.30 87.67 25.50 97.71 57.10 Closing price June 20 –4.8% – –14.3 –16.2 1.6 – –0.6 –2.2 – –3.9 –3.5 –2.9 Weekly percent change $68.80 34.85 9.70 43.20 37.80 23.16 23.75 92.50 165.75 33.25 128.33 60.85 $47.85 14.15 4.94 11.10 27.01 14.25 15.88 52.70 87.67 23.60 91.21 30.45 Retail Groups 52-week high 52-week low Asbury Automotive Group $13.29 AutoNation 10.44 Group 1 Automotive 20.63 CarMax 14.85 Lithia Motors 5.39 Penske Auto Group 15.00 Sonic Automotive 13.59 $13.70 11.97 21.33 15.52 5.88 15.95 14.32 –3.0% –12.8 –3.3 –4.3 –8.3 –6.0 –5.1 $25.67 22.76 42.96 27.42 26.71 22.92 30.60 $11.71 10.44 19.81 14.50 5.33 13.57 13.43 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 June 27 Closing price June 20 Weekly percent change 52-week high 52-week low DETROIT — Today, June 30, pieces of Plastech Engineered Products Inc. will be sold off to companies buying the business units of what had once been the largest minority-owned supplier in the U.S. auto industry. As the five-month bankruptcy saga drew to a close last week, Crain’s Detroit Business obtained documents Plastech’s lawyers had tried to keep private: compensation details for CEO Julie Brown, her husband, Jim, and eight other family members on Plastech’s payroll. Those details are missing from the official court record, but Crain’s discovered the details — from salaries to car allowances to country club memberships — in a document previously filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Detroit. It’s not unusual for privately held companies to hire family members of owners. And compensation for Brown and her family does not seem out of line for the titles. But by omitting details from the court record, the details quickly became an industry curiosity. for Brown’s membership at the Fairlane Country Club in suburban Detroit, worth $22,263; and a $1.84 million bonus. Precisely when Brown, a Vietnam native, received the $1.84 million bonus is unclear. No date was provided in the document listing the details of Brown’s compensation. Jim Brown, Julie Brown’s husband and Plastech COO, topped the Brown family roster with a $2.25 million compensation package in the 12 months ended Feb. 1. It included a base salary and life insurance benefits worth $2.21 million and company car use worth $39,541.25. Julie Brown’s three brothers, two sisters-in-law, sister, cousin and nephew also were on Plastech’s payroll for a total of $6.4 million for the 2007 fiscal year. The base salaries of Brown and her family members were left off an attachment to a $9.25 million proposed settlement between Brown and some of Plastech’s lenders filed June 19. JOE WILSSENS Plastech CEO Julie Brown earned $3.23 million in compensation in the 12 months ending Feb. 1. “In a closely held business, it’s not unusual to have several family members who are part of the business,” said Walter Koziol, a past chairman of the Michigan Association of Certified Public Accountants. “Most of these businesses do not have a nepotism policy to speak of.” Koziol said he was unfamiliar with the day-to-day operations of Plastech, so it would be impossible to comment on specifics about the Brown family members employed at the company. Family members on company payroll are often closely scrutinized if the company is having financial problems, Koziol said, adding: “Typically what happens when a turnaround person comes in, the first thing they will look at is this issue.” c Judge OKs settlement U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Phillip Shefferly approved Brown’s $9.25 million settlement on Thursday, June 26. Also included with the settlement proposal was an excerpt from Brown’s 2007 W-2 that indicates Brown’s personal driver, cook and two housekeepers were paid by the company. The employees were listed on Brown’s W-2 because they were not working directly for Plastech, and could not be declared on company taxes. Losers American Axle Lear Corp. ArvinMeritor Tenneco Automotive Visteon Corp. $3.23 million $8.43 15.17 13.19 14.30 2.93 $11.03 19.11 15.72 16.94 3.40 –23.6% –20.6 –16.1 –15.6 –13.8 $31.00 41.33 23.65 37.73 8.18 $8.43 14.25 9.08 14.30 2.82 Information obtained as of 4:00 p.m. on Friday, June 27, 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 According to the documents filed with the court, Brown earned $3.23 million in the 12 months before the financially troubled company’s Chapter 11 petition on Feb. 1. Her compensation package included a base salary and life insurance benefits worth $957,724; company-paid aircraft use totaling $379,465; dues

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Automotive News - June 30, 2008

Automotive News - June 30, 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.