Automotive News - May 19, 2008 - (Page 3)

MAY 19, 2008 • 3 82nd year — No. 6308 Gas plan came from the troops Dealership managers pushed Chrysler’s latest incentive Bradford Wernle bwernle@crain.com Crossover production resumes at GM plant DETROIT — Production will resume today, May 19, at a General Motors assembly plant that has been on strike since April 17. On Friday, members of UAW Local 602 ratified a contract agreement that was reached with GM the day before. The union represents about 3,300 workers at the Delta Township, Mich., plant. The factory makes the Buick Enclave, GMC Acadia and Saturn Outlook crossovers. UAW Local 602 President Doug Rademacher said members ratified the pact with 74 percent approval. A GM spokesman could not be reached for comment. — Craig Trudell Delphi sues Appaloosa DETROIT — Delphi Corp. said Friday that it filed complaints against investor Appaloosa Management LP and others that it said prevented the troubled supplier from getting the exit financing it needed to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last month. The complaints filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New York allege that nine plan investors schemed to avoid as much as $2.55 billion in financing commitments. Delphi is alleging breach of contract and fraud and is asking the court to provide as much as $2.55 billion in equity funding and to order compensatory and punitive damages in an amount to be determined at trial. Delphi Vice President David Sherbin said in a statement: “We believe that the plan investors breached their obligations under the equity purchase and commitment agreement that was the financial foundation for our court-approved plan of reorganization.” — Craig Trudell DETROIT — Chrysler LLC’s $2.99 gasoline promotion was born at lateFebruary sales meetings at the Royal Park Hotel in Rochester, Mich. As part of a new policy of talking with people on the front lines, Chrysler invited about 25 general sales managers and finance and insurance managers to Detroit to ask what they were hearing from customers. Many had never been here since Chrysler historically has invited dealer principals to such meetings. The small meetings provided the germ of the idea for Chrysler’s headline-grabbing $2.99 gasoline incentive. But it took a task force of 40 to 50 people two months and thousands of employee hours to work through the potentially tricky pitfalls of the program, which was finally launched to consumers on May 7. Though it’s early, dealers say the program is giving them badly needed showroom traffic. ‘Little speed bumps’ Back in February, the managers visited the Walter P. Chrysler Museum, then convened at the hotel and divided into two working groups to brainstorm on incentive ideas. Kevin Phillips, general sales manager of Cass Burch Chrysler-DodgeJeep in Valdosta, Ga., told his group about a January promotion in which his dealership offered new-car buyers a $250 Shell gasoline card. “I was telling them the response was so overwhelming we couldn’t get to the customers quick enough,” said Phillips, who added that others came up with similar ideas. Michael Keegan, Chrysler’s vice president of sales operations, said see CHRYSLER, Page 42 Milt Lull makes a sales pitch to Misty Ontiveros at Golling Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge in Bloomfield Hills, Mich. Gasoline prices hedged ➤ 42 HOW TO REACH US Web site: www.autonews.com Editorial staff: 313-446-0361, e-mail autonews@crain.com or fax 313-446-0383 Advertising: 313-446-6050 or fax 313-446-8030 To locate information that has been published in Automotive News, call 313-446-1662. To start or renew a subscription or to report an address change or a delivery problem, e-mail subs@crain.com or call 888-446-1422 (in the U.S. or Canada) or 313-446-1662 (in all other locations). Automotive News staffers win Wheel Awards Five Automotive News staff members were honored for outstanding automotive journalism last week at the annual International Wheel Awards ceremony. Deputy Managing Editor Mary Beth Vander Schaaf and Staff Reporter Mark Rechtin won a firstRechtin: Toyota Lapham: Column, place award for a special issue Vander Schaaf: editorial winner called Turning Points: 25 Pivotal Edited Toyota 50 50 reporter Decisions in Toyota’s 50 Years in America. fort to cultivate conservative talk show hosts. Over nine months, 20 reporters interAnd Staff Reporter Richard Truett won a viewed dozens of Toyota executives, retirees, third-place award for “Redoing the diesel,” dealers and suppliers. The result: the inside an analysis that explained how automakers story of Toyota’s rise, in the words of the and suppliers have upgraded the perforpeople who made it happen. mance of diesel engines. Executive Editor Edward Lapham won a The Wheel Awards are sponsored by the first-place award for his editorial “New wave Detroit Press Club. Award categories include of Toyota bashing is unfortunate.” Lapham news stories, editorials/columns, product also won second place for his column “To- reviews, wire service stories, Internet stories, day’s UAW heroes see the big picture.” TV and radio reports and special sections on Staff Reporter Mary Connelly won a third- automotive topics. place award for “GM woos the radio stars,” Awards were presented at the Automotive an article that detailed the automaker’s ef- Hall of Fame in Dearborn, Mich. c Two new Crain vice presidents: Christopher Crain, left, is Advertising Age associate publisher, and KC Crain is publisher of AutoWeek. Crain names 4 new VPs Christopher Crain and KC Crain are among four executives promoted to vice president of Crain Communications Inc., the parent company of Automotive News and more than 30 top business publications. Christopher Crain, 32, is associate publisher of Advertising Age and also has been associate publisher of Crain’s Detroit Business. Over the past six months, he helped launch the business weekly Crain’s Manchester Business in England. KC Crain, 28, was named publisher of AutoWeek in March 2007. He previously was associate publisher and advertising director for the magazine. He also has been a reporter for Automotive News and was an early member of Crain Communications’ new-media department. Allison Arden, 37, publisher of Advertising Age, and Jill Kaplan, 42, publisher of Crain’s New York Business, also were named vice presidents. Crain Communications is based in Detroit and employs more than 1,100 people in 17 offices around the world. c CORRECTIONS A story on Page 6 of the April 28 issue gave the wrong figure for Federal-Mogul Corp.’s annual global sales. The supplier had total sales of $6.91 billion in 2007, of which $4.24 billion were sales to automakers. http://www.autonews.com http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crain/an2553897945CBMLM/index.php?startpage=6 http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crain/an2553897945CBMLM/index.php?startpage=6

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Automotive News - May 19, 2008

Automotive News - May 19, 2008 Ford eyes smaller F-150 cousin Sonic: Mercedes tries to 'extort' store upgrades Chrysler seeks 25% slash in parts prices Dealership managers pushed Chrysler's latest incentive Crain names 4 new VPs Automotive News staffers win Wheel Awards GM will keep cutting sales to fleets GM studies the future of full-sized trucks American Axle plans to expand in Asia At Lexus, the sales laggards are cars VW positions Tiguan as 'GTI' of small SUVs Tata enters race for 100-mpg car Harley Earl was the daddy of auto design Focus will follow Fiesta as a global vehicle Lexus shows how it sweats details Industry slows tide of state CO2 rules Chevy tweaks Cobalt to add fuel economy Be careful; don't do anything dumb Looking ahead to different industry They thought they knew everything Cerberus doesn't belong in autos Dealers as scapegoats Smart, steady growth works best for suppliers Farley's smart to value Ford's heritage Absurd logic in the U.S., cowardice in Germany BMW, Daimler keep a wary eye on U.S. economy James Franey Dealers' approach can lessen pain of staff cuts GM plans to distinguish Opel with image makeover Make or buy? Software can estimate costs for company Honda, Toyota see robots in their futures Bosch aims to lead in hybrids technology King of hearts Clarke aims to get GM back on track in N.A. Fields navigates Ford through 'white water' LaSorda steers Chrysler's global ventures Toyota's Lentz: A crash course in hard times Truck sales fall 13% in April Modine sells Thermacore unit Alcoa to close Mexico plant Toyoda Gosei expands in Mexico Hayes Lemmerz plans to close Georgia factory Japan's sales slide 2% in 1st quarter; output climbs Dealers Hyundai let U.S. direct Sonata freshening After .com and .edu, is it time for .car? Panoramic sunroof of Lincoln MKS boosts Inalfa sales Chrysler hedged gas price bet Smart phones help dealerships retain customers CAW completes pacts with GM, Chrysler early GM, UAW resolve 2 disputes New media buyer for Chrysler Visteon names Stebbins CEO Convertible registrations drop Ferrari: From denial to debut Buildings Porsches in U.S.? Depends whom you ask Toyota will go slow in Tupelo Ghosn is glum on prices, U.S. sales prospects Pischetsrieder has earned a celebratory cigar NHTSA spins VINs, averts meltdown F_RD GU_S WI_ BUI-_KS 50 PEOPLE FOR 50 YEARS Yutaka Katayama Clarence Talley Jim Morton Pete Brock Marvin Runyon Yoshikazu Hanawa Bill Bruce Shin Maki Jack Collins Mitsuya "Scape" Goto Bob Link Soichi Kawazoe Jerry Hirshberg Takashi Ishihara Roy Rogers John Parker Bob Thomas Teruo Uchino Morrie Sage Bob Thomas Nobe Wakatsuki Earl Hesterberg Carlos Ghosn Lee Clow Jerry Benefield Yutaka Kume Doug Betts Tim McCarthy Jed Connelly Atsushi Nakatsuji Dave Hubbard Joe Opre Patrick Pelata Yoshiyuki Kimura Diane Allen Mad Mike Taylor Chuck King Larry Dominique Mark Igo Mitsuhiko Yamashita Shiro Nakamura Tom Mignanelli Dick Roberts William Cushing Emil Hassan Chester Luby Jane Nakagawa Louis Schweitzer MR. K Ray Lemke Richard McCutcheon

Automotive News - May 19, 2008

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