Automotive News - March 3, 2008 - (Page 26)

26 • MARCH 3, 2008 Automakers hit with apartheid claims Harry Stoffer hstoffer@crain.com Mexico car and truck sales, January Jan. 2008 Jan. 2007 WASHINGTON — Apartheid, South Africa’s official system of racial segregation, ended in 1994. But several automakers still face damage claims for human rights abuses under the system. Car companies named in lawsuits by apartheid victims are General Motors, Ford Motor Co., the former DaimlerChrysler AG and Isuzu Motors America Inc. They are among dozens of international companies that have been sued for hundreds of billions of dollars for “aiding and abetting” apartheid in South Africa. Last October, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York ruled that the suits can proceed. The companies are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to reject that ruling. The companies seek to prevent a major expansion of rights for citizens of other countries to sue in U.S. courts. The Bush administration and major business associations support the challenge. The federal government often encourages companies to do business in countries with policies that Americans oppose, notes a court brief filed Feb. 11 by the National Association of Manufacturers and other business groups. The rationale is that “commercial engagement would do more to improve conditions” in those countries than isolation, the brief says During the apartheid era, the U.S. government imposed economic sanctions on South Africa but allowed trade, with conditions. The manufacturers’ brief argues that allowing the lawsuits to continue “converts the foreign policies of the U.S. government into an afterthought, exposing companies to years of litigation and adverse publicity.” The Supreme Court must decide whether to accept the appeal before it considers arguments in the case. Jus- tices get about 10,000 petitions a year and typically accept fewer than 100. “If any case calls out for Supreme Court review, it is this one,” said Quentin Riegel, vice president for litigation at the manufacturers association. He told Automotive News he could not predict what the high court will do. The case title is American Isuzu Motors Inc., et al., v. Lungisile Ntsebeza, et al. Isuzu’s North American business unit is now Isuzu Motors America. At issue in the case is an 18th century U.S. law called the alien tort statute. It was designed in part to be a remedy for victims of piracy. c MAKE THE MOST OF EVERY OPTIONS SALE WITH ADVENT HEADREST VIDEO SYSTEMS. From where we sit, no car should ever roll off your lot without Advent LCD screens looking back at you. That’s why we created systems to match the most popular vehicles on the market. And it’s why we make sure Advent systems are always easier to install, easier to service—and easier to sell. 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Car . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 683 Import truck . . . . . . . . . . 192 BMW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 875 Car . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,059 Truck . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,727 CHRYSLER LLC† . . . . . . 10,786 Mercedes-Benz import car 406 Mercedes-Benz import truck 220 Smart import car . . . . . . 82 DAIMLER AG† . . . . . . . . 708 FERRARI import car* . . . 2 Fiat import car . . . . . . . . 247 Fiat import truck . . . . . . 126 FIAT AUTO S.p.A. . . . . . 373 Ford car . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,311 Ford truck . . . . . . . . . . . 8,621 Jaguar import car . . . . . 11 Land Rover import truck 86 Volvo import car . . . . . . 144 Volvo import truck . . . . . 37 FORD. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12,210 Car . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12,879 Truck . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,608 GM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20,487 Car . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,100 Truck . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,172 HONDA. . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,272 ISUZU import truck . . . . 71 Import car . . . . . . . . . . . 902 Import truck . . . . . . . . . . 948 MAZDA. . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,850 Import car . . . . . . . . . . . 294 Import truck . . . . . . . . . . 1,096 MITSUBISHI . . . . . . . . . 1,390 Car . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12,958 Truck . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,873 NISSAN . . . . . . . . . . . . 20,831 Import car . . . . . . . . . . . 1,077 Import truck . . . . . . . . . . 155 PEUGEOT . . . . . . . . . . . 1,232 Import car . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Import truck . . . . . . . . . . 28 PORSCHE . . . . . . . . . . . 66 Car . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,101 Import truck . . . . . . . . . . 296 RENAULT . . . . . . . . . . . 1,397 Import car . . . . . . . . . . . 54 Import truck . . . . . . . . . . 24 SUBARU. . . . . . . . . . . . 78 Import car . . . . . . . . . . . 250 Import truck . . . . . . . . . . 251 SUZUKI . . . . . . . . . . . . 501 Import car . . . . . . . . . . . 2,567 Import truck . . . . . . . . . . 3,123 TOYOTA . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,690 Audi import car . . . . . . . 362 Audi import truck. . . . . . 63 Bentley import car . . . . . 1 Seat import car . . . . . . . 1,319 Seat import truck. . . . . . – VW car . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10,330 VW import truck. . . . . . . 952 VOLKSWAGEN. . . . . . . . 13,027 Domestic car . . . . . . . . . 24,434 Import car . . . . . . . . . . . 31,743 Total car . . . . . . . . . . . 56,177 Domestic truck. . . . . . . . 10,332 Import truck . . . . . . . . . . 30,337 Total truck . . . . . . . . . . 40,669 Total domestic . . . . . . . 34,766 Total import . . . . . . . . . 62,080 TOTAL MEXICO SALES . . 96,846 591 210 801 4,263 5,670 9,933 305 197 31 533 1 227 29 256 4,976 10,623 12 58 164 74 15,907 14,396 7,240 21,636 1,732 2,554 4,286 – 763 337 1,100 602 876 1,478 12,944 6,317 19,261 1,225 180 1,405 39 6 45 1,313 213 1,526 29 15 44 143 305 448 2,554 1,803 4,357 387 36 2 1,717 7 11,358 1,150 14,657 28,453 31,321 59,774 8,810 29,090 37,900 37,263 60,411 97,674 †DaimlerChrysler sold the Chrysler group on Aug. 3, 2007; Chrysler LLC totals through July 2007 are extracted from DaimlerChrysler. *Estimate Source: Automotive News Data Center and Mexican Automotive Manufacturers Association Mexico sales flat in January Sales of new cars and light trucks in Mexico fell 0.8 percent in January from a year earlier to 96,846 vehicles. Nissan was the market leader in January with unit sales of 20,831, an 8.2 percent increase. General Motors was not far behind at 20,487. GM’s sales dropped 5.3 percent compared with January 2007. No. 3 Ford Motor Co. was down 23.2 percent to 12,210 vehicles. Chrysler LLC, Mexico’s No. 4 seller, posted a gain in January. Chrysler sold 10,786 vehicles, up 8.6 percent from last year. Toyota Motor Corp.and Honda Motor Co. both reported sharp increases during the month. Toyota soared 30.6 percent to 5,690 units, while Honda jumped 23.0 percent to 5,272 units. Smaller-volume automakers posting sales gains in January were BMW AG, Fiat Auto S.p.A., Mazda Motor Corp., Mercedes-Benz Group, Porsche AG, Suzuki Motor Corp. and Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd., which makes Subaru vehicles. — Bernadine Williams 30 Built-in Games • Game Controller • Auxiliary Input • Wireless Headphones © 2008 Audiovox Corporation. Advent is an Audiovox brand. http://audiovox.com http://audiovox.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Automotive News - March 3, 2008

Bob Nardeli's new big-idea guy New Kia boss reaches out to restless dealers Scion hits a wall Lithia losses raise caution flag Detroit 3 shun talk of NAFTA do-over Lincoln names new marketing manager Mercedes to launch hybrid sedan in '09 Mazda has new top marketing exec M-B will hit the road with 50-state diesels Pontiac puts big ad bucks into traditional media for G8 Reynolds, ADP diverge on growth strategies Ford plans to cut fleet sales 10% in 2008 Mazda: New models, styling will boost its loyalty rate Run-up to axle strike adds to supplier woes Webasto's fast heater will debut by 2010 Russian plant wants to be world's biggest A Lancer is hatched Chrysler throws out purchasing rulebook Honda sets lofty hybrid goal, with Civic's help Honda: Use of ethanol limited, must be biomass Honda CEO Fukui: No recession in U.S., despite soft sales in spots 550 hp? 620 hp? Is GM crazy? Doug Fraser was a great leader How ironic: Lyons learns caution Well done, Doug Don't let Calif. impose fuel rules on the nation Blame the dealer, not the brand Cutting weight doesn't cut safety When Lutz dumps on global warming ... JM exec Czubay: A taste for hogs, pierogi Doug Fraser: A good man to have known Fraser led UAW with 'combination of substance, politics and charm' Autonet finds success at NADA with wi-fi for cars GM to sell medium-truck business, keep dealer network Web classified ad firms renew marketing to dealers, buyers Chery designs venture's vehicles China venture eyes 20,000 Fiesta hatchback sales Toyota plans crossovers in China Dongfeng, YuAn plan minicars BMW shakes up global marketing, sales ranks Delphi divestiture boosts forging supplier Is Blackhawk purchase bucking a trend? Repair company grows as Detroit 3 struggle BorgWarner unit expands German automakers seek more parts sourced in North America Hyundai picks ArvinMeritor Japan parts firm to build Miss. plant Nissan to increase spending on IT Purchase keeps Tenn. plant open Automakers hit with apartheid claims Mexico sales flat in January Ford prices '09 Flex atop crossover line Hamp rejoins Visteon board RV deliveries decline 3.4% in December Subaru lowers Forester price Personnel Bright future for LED headlight suppliers? Valeo's Morin to Pardus: Learn before you leap German automakers aren't worried about U.S. recession Porsche's Wiedeking: We must retool VW Europe's loud debate over quieter tires Noise level depends on the tires, the road Auto industry robotics spending jumps 43% in 2007 Electronic brakes struggle to get traction Big Texas dealer returns to some domestic brands AutoNation chief sees tough '08, better '09 In downturn, Sonic looks beyond new cars GM promotes service, parts leads for dealerships 10 cool dealership technologies found at NADA Dealers Kia will build transmissions at Georgia plant Gibson leaves DealerTrack board Akebono closing Kentucky plant Feds issue Ford fire warning Magna net income drops VW to use Siemens' software A tale of 2 exhaust systems EU wants CO2 in ads; battle looms Maize malaise stalls ethanol Tata to siesta during Ford's Fiesta Honda moves its American bike offshore Honda will recycle cycle plant Tom LaSorda's multimillion-dollar smile

Automotive News - March 3, 2008

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