Automotive News - August 18, 2008 - (Page 8) 8 • AUGUST 18, 2008 advertising MANAGEMENT BRIEFING SEMINARS Denso’s Chrysler deal: Guaranteed business David Barkholz dbarkholz@crain.com More conference stories ➤ 22-23 many are based in North America, he said. That leaves plenty of opportunity to find cost savings and new technology overseas, he said. Of the 300, between 200 and 250 will remain long-term suppliers. Chrysler will add 100 from outside the current list, he said. TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. — Chrysler has named Japanese supplier Denso Corp. its first “Supplier of Choice.” Denso will automatically win future Chrysler LLC business and won’t have to compete to keep current orders. Chrysler will not grant more than 10 companies that designation, Chrysler purchasing chief John Campi said. He revealed the Denso agreement last week on the sidelines of the Management Briefing Seminars here. Campi said future Denso contracts with Chrysler will be negotiated and not subject to competitive bidding. As a partner, Denso will participate fully in product development on the programs it supplies, Campi said. “Here is someone with exemplary Pruning to come JOE WILSSENS Chrysler’s John Campi: Relations with suppliers can go nowhere but up. capability that we want to do business with in a different manner,” he said. Toyota Motor Corp. owns 22.9 percent of Denso. Chrysler has about 300 important component suppliers out of a global total of about 800, Campi said. But The future is less sunny for about half of Chrysler’s 800 suppliers. Chrysler buys just 5 percent of its global parts from them. The automaker will prune their ranks to operate more efficiently, Campi said. Chrysler has several initiatives unsee CHOICE, Page 29 GM: Aerodynamic design boosts Volt’s range James B. Treece jtreece@crain.com TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. — The design team for General Motors’ Volt plug-in hybrid car has added six to seven miles to the car’s electricity-only range by improving aerodynamics. “Air does not like to go around sharp corners. It creates turbulence and drag,” Bob Boniface, GM’s director of design for the Chevrolet Volt and E-Flex studio, said last week at the Management Briefing Seminars here. So Boniface made numerous changes to the original concept’s design. The goal: a 40-mile range per full electric charge. More than 70 percent of U.S. commutes are less than 40 miles, GM says. Boniface explained a numBob Boniface: ber of the changes. The concept originally had a No sharp corners blunt front with a sharp crease on the corner. The production version has a rounded look. The production car’s grille texture is largely sealed, sending air down the side of the car instead of through the engine compartment. A curving crease down the back corner of the concept has been smoothed. Both there and on the spoiler, Boniface said, GM wanted the design “so air leaves the car very quickly and cleanly.” GM added 5 millimeters to the spoiler, he said. The concept’s sideview mirror started with a patch mount, where the structure holding the mir- JOE WILSSENS A slide shows the differences made in the production Chevrolet Volt from the concept version. ror extends horizontally from the door. For the production version, that was changed to a post mount. The mirror now sits on a post lifting from the vehicle’s side and allows air to flow past more freely. The changes to the mirror and spoiler each cut drag by five counts, he said. “Why should you care, when you probably don’t even know what a drag count is?” he added. Designers care because taken together, tiny changes can yield significant improvements. For every 10 drag counts of reduction by the aerodynamic design, the design team added 0.55 miles of highway range on the vehicle’s electric charge. In total, the team cut the concept’s drag counts by 120, thereby adding six to seven miles to the car’s range on the charge. Those efforts are helping GM reach its target range of 40 miles on the electric charge for the Volt. c GM to slash its number of truck-plant suppliers Robert Sherefkin rsherefkin@crain.com TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. — General Motors plans to sharply reduce the number of suppliers to its truck plants as its light-truck sales plunge. GM purchasing chief Bo Andersson said the automaker is looking at how many truck plants it needs, and he is determining how many of its 400 truck suppliers are required. “Where we have four suppliers, we will go to two; where we have two, we will go to one,” Andersson, group vice president for purchasing and supply chain, told the Management Briefing Seminars here last week. “If we used to build 7,500 trucks a day and we are now building 3,750, we need to adjust.” Andersson said he has yet to deter- mine which suppliers will be cut. GM will decide the winners based on “best price, quality, delivery, technology and best landed cost.” He’s also looking for those with the best location. Some of the winning suppliers stand to double their content on GM’s light trucks. GM, for example, has four suppliers for instrument panels on its light trucks and four for stampings. “The effort is proactive,” he said, “to be sure that we get the best suppliers.” Among the suppliers with the most content on GM’s light trucks are Magna International Inc., of Aurora, Ontario, and American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc., of Detroit. c JOE WILSSENS GM’s Bo Andersson: “Where we have four suppliers, we will go to two.” http://www.zadv.com http://www.zadv.com
Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Automotive News - August 18, 2008 Automotive News - August 18, 2008 Smart answer: A tiny Hyundai from India Toyota idles factories — but can't lay anybody off Sharing the pain N. America: Brembo's big break? Ford adds 7 preferred suppliers; total rises to 65 Suit: Report of store's death is premature Lincoln crossover will get MKT nameplate Ligocki will head Mexican/Chinese car deal Industry tries lean lobbying at conventions Ford reins in F-150 order combinations Nissan will buy more in Mexico Leland, master of precision and luxury cars Honda will launch Prius fighter in April Porsche bolsters warranty on pre-owned vehicles CTS wagon arrives in spring GM: Aerodynamic design boosts Volt's range Denso is Chrysler 'Supplier of Choice' Kudos to Ford for improving supplier relations How do we define 'automaker'? Concept of leasing had been polluted Totaled cars: We don't need a new law Hybrids too quiet? Sounds like trouble Marketing tips for the 21st century Scion tries to get leg up when flexing its hip Scion ads show community of cool — but no owners July trucks sales fall; rate of decline slows Hargrove forecast: Good for now, bad for long term Mitsubishi plans plant to meet battery demand Mini Cooper D(iesel) delivers, but not here yet Logistics company's goal: Cut fuel use even more Transporter joins the cars it delivers in going green Saturn, Scion lost that special feeling Expert: CAFE debate irrelevant Chrysler plans unibody, fuel-efficient Grand Cherokee Panel: CAFE will change U.S. car mix Toyota revs up its aftermarket parts business Dealers Who's that sporting Brembos now? Moody's cuts GM rating Analyst Merkle moves Ford will sell stock BMW recalls 320,000 vehicles Intermet in Chapter 11 again GM adds 4 XFE models Delphi ends battery venture Chamco cases bounce around court system Mercedes sues Cobasys over batteries For a while, the party's over at Toyota Buy Hummer? Nyet, says Russian automaker What cars will be the cruisers of tomorrow? GM sets 'em up for Dems, GOP Chung sprung A good day at work: $22 million Automotive News - August 18, 2008 Automotive News - August 18, 2008 - (Page Intro) Automotive News - August 18, 2008 - Sharing the pain (Page 1) Automotive News - August 18, 2008 - Sharing the pain (Page 2) Automotive News - August 18, 2008 - Ligocki will head Mexican/Chinese car deal (Page 3) Automotive News - August 18, 2008 - Nissan will buy more in Mexico (Page 4) Automotive News - August 18, 2008 - Nissan will buy more in Mexico (Page 5) Automotive News - August 18, 2008 - CTS wagon arrives in spring (Page 6) Automotive News - August 18, 2008 - CTS wagon arrives in spring (Page 7) Automotive News - August 18, 2008 - Denso is Chrysler 'Supplier of Choice' (Page 8) Automotive News - August 18, 2008 - Denso is Chrysler 'Supplier of Choice' (Page 9) Automotive News - August 18, 2008 - Denso is Chrysler 'Supplier of Choice' (Page 10) Automotive News - August 18, 2008 - Denso is Chrysler 'Supplier of Choice' (Page 11) Automotive News - August 18, 2008 - Totaled cars: We don't need a new law (Page 12) Automotive News - August 18, 2008 - Totaled cars: We don't need a new law (Page 13) Automotive News - August 18, 2008 - Marketing tips for the 21st century (Page 14) Automotive News - August 18, 2008 - Marketing tips for the 21st century (Page 14a) Automotive News - August 18, 2008 - Marketing tips for the 21st century (Page 14b) Automotive News - August 18, 2008 - July trucks sales fall; rate of decline slows (Page 15) Automotive News - August 18, 2008 - Mitsubishi plans plant to meet battery demand (Page 16) Automotive News - August 18, 2008 - Mitsubishi plans plant to meet battery demand (Page 17) Automotive News - August 18, 2008 - Saturn, Scion lost that special feeling (Page 18) Automotive News - August 18, 2008 - Saturn, Scion lost that special feeling (Page 19) Automotive News - August 18, 2008 - Saturn, Scion lost that special feeling (Page 20) Automotive News - August 18, 2008 - Saturn, Scion lost that special feeling (Page 21) Automotive News - August 18, 2008 - Chrysler plans unibody, fuel-efficient Grand Cherokee (Page 22) Automotive News - August 18, 2008 - Panel: CAFE will change U.S. car mix (Page 23) Automotive News - August 18, 2008 - Panel: CAFE will change U.S. car mix (Page 24) Automotive News - August 18, 2008 - Panel: CAFE will change U.S. car mix (Page 25) Automotive News - August 18, 2008 - Panel: CAFE will change U.S. car mix (Page 26) Automotive News - August 18, 2008 - Panel: CAFE will change U.S. car mix (Page 27) Automotive News - August 18, 2008 - Dealers (Page 28) Automotive News - August 18, 2008 - Who's that sporting Brembos now? (Page 29) Automotive News - August 18, 2008 - Delphi ends battery venture (Page 30) Automotive News - August 18, 2008 - Delphi ends battery venture (Page 31) Automotive News - August 18, 2008 - Mercedes sues Cobasys over batteries (Page 32) Automotive News - August 18, 2008 - Mercedes sues Cobasys over batteries (Page 33) Automotive News - August 18, 2008 - A good day at work: $22 million (Page 34) Automotive News - August 18, 2008 - A good day at work: $22 million (Page 35) Automotive News - August 18, 2008 - A good day at work: $22 million (Page 36)
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