Automotive News - April 21, 2008 - (Page 46)

46 • APRIL 21, 2008 final assembly comment How I saved Delphi: Chrysler reviving A work in progress its global dreams? C J ust hours after a labor protest halted Alfa Romeo production in southern Italy, reports began circulating in Europe that Fiat is talking with Chrysler LLC about producing Alfas in North America. How convenient. Chrysler’s strategic search for partners means it could be a convenient bogeyman for all kinds of manufacturing, negotiating and labor relations bedtime stories. And it could mean a whole lot more. The deals with Nissan — especially the contract to EDWARD LAPHAM produce Nissan IS EXECUTIVE pickups in EDITOR OF Mexico — add to AUTOMOTIVE Chrysler’s NEWS. cachet. Building high-quality minivans for Volkswagen proved Chrysler could be a contract manufacturer, and approaching Chery Automobile Co. about buying vehicles suggests Chrysler is striking out boldly in several different directions. It makes perfect sense that Chrysler work with VW and Nissan. Thirty years ago, when Chrysler Corp. was teetering on the brink of bankruptcy, conventional wisdom suggested that Chrysler, VW and Nissan would form an alliance — a three-legged stool with a leg in Europe, Asia and North America. That was about the time that Chrysler sold its European subsidiaries to Peugeot, relegating itself to being a regional car company with headquarters in North America. A lot has happened since. Chrysler bought American Motors from Renault, and, as part of the deal, acquired Beijing Jeep, which became the carmaker’s true proprietary international operation. Oh, sure, there was the Magna Steyr plant in Austria that assembled Chrysler vehicles for sale in Europe. But even after Daimler acquired Chrysler, any international growth was because of exports from North America. After splitting with Daimler, Chrysler again is being linked with Nissan and VW as part of an emerging global strategy that will depend on partnerships, alliances and, most likely, joint ventures. It’s like the strategy championed by former General Motors CEO Jack Smith. The Detroit Free Press reported that Chrysler has opened an engineering office in Shanghai and plans to hire 1,000 engineers who will be posted in China, India, Mexico and eastern Europe. Could it be that Chrysler is finally doing more than just dreaming about becoming a global player? hapter 11 of Steve Miller’s new book is a heroic tale of how he pulled ailing Delphi out of bankruptcy and had begun to ride off into the sunset. Small problem: Delphi is still stuck in Chapter 11 — the Bankruptcy Court kind — and Miller is still ensconced as Delphi’s chairman. Miller conceded last week that the timing of the book’s release is a bit awkward. Delphi’s primary financial backer, Appaloosa Management, backed out of its $2.55 billion investment commitment this month, which means Delphi will remain stuck in Chapter 11 for a while. And he isn’t crazy about the title chosen by the publisher — The Turnaround Kid: What I Learned Rescuing America’s Most Troubled Companies — saying it has a “tinge of arrogance.” In addition to chronicling his time at Delphi, Miller also talks about his years tending to other notable train wrecks of American business, including Federal-Mogul and Bethlehem Steel. Miller said he finished the book with a ghostwriter almost a year ago, and publication was first scheduled UAW STRIKES >> Get the latest updates about UAW strikes against American Axle and GM at www.autonews.com. for November 2007. As Delphi’s bankruptcy case dragged on, the release date was postponed twice. But then the publisher, fearing the material would get stale, pulled the trigger this month. As a result, Miller no doubt would like to get a crack at rewriting some of the things in the book. For example: “I would leave Delphi feeling optimistic about the industry’s future. …” Stephen Feinberg speaks! (But doesn’t say much) S Hogan eyes CEO spot in startup M ark Hogan, the former General Motors executive and Magna International president, aspires to be the head of a startup automotive venture. Hogan, 56, has been raising capital since his departure from Magna late last year. “It’s a startup company, and it Hogan: A CEO is automotive, soon? and I hope to stay here,” he said last week. Hogan offered no details and said an announcement could come within 60 days. Getting investors for a startup automotive business is a tough sell in any market. Today’s credit crunch compounds the problem. Hogan spent three years as president of Magna, an Aurora, Ontario, auto supplier. Before that he was at GM for three decades. Hogan was GM’s group vice president for advanced vehicle development. He also was president of e-GM, group director for the public affairs staff at GM’s Chevrolet-Pontiac Canada group and general manager for small-car operations at GM’s North America Car group. Toyota’s trumpet-playing robot: No Louis Armstrong, but not bad. Concert in the key of C-3PO T oyota wasn’t tooting its own horn last week at the SAE World Congress in Detroit. It left that to one of its robots. Touting a project to develop robots that can replace people in some dangerous or boring jobs, Toyota showed off its trumpet-playing gizmo — named, with typical Toyota whimsy, “Toyota Partner Robot.” TPR blew out a jazzy version of “When You Wish Upon a Star,” which the Final Assembly music critic (and a fellow trumpet player) called competent, brassy and bright — “but no soul; it was a robot.” Generating volume was no problem. Just ask Magna CEO Don Walker, who had to talk over the tune while speaking at a panel discussion about a football field away. (A subsequent robot performance during a later panel discussion was rescheduled.) Toyota said it also has robots that can play the violin, trombone and drums. And a video showed a family being serenaded by a robot on the violin as a mechanical sibling approached with a tasty-looking pie fresh from the oven. (How do you say “Jetsons” in Japanese?) A Toyota spokeswoman at the robo-recital said the company is developing robots for health care (lifting patients onto gurneys), manufacturing, housekeeping and personal mobility uses, such as robotic wheelchairs. tephen Feinberg is no Howard Hughes after all. The reclusive chairman of Cerberus Capital Management, who generally refuses interviews and won’t allow his picture to be taken, seems to have realized that the silent treatment may not be the best option when you own two of Feinberg: A America’s bestrare interview known companies, Chrysler LLC and GMAC. “Our approach may have been a mistake with the public,” Feinberg admitted to New York Times columnist Andrew Ross Sorkin, who was granted a rare audience with the private equity mogul. It was Sorkin who wrote a column in February suggesting Feinberg seemed “cold and ruthless” in a letter he wrote to Cerberus investors. Feinberg’s letter wasn’t meant for public consumption, but it was widely circulated around Wall Street. One particular sentence in that letter attracted attention: “We do not need to be heroes to earn a good return on the investment in Chrysler,” Feinberg wrote. That seemed to contradict statements made by Chrysler CEO Bob Nardelli, who repeatedly has referred to Feinberg as a “true American patriot” who regards it as his duty to save Chrysler, an “American icon.” Sorkin wrote that he spent two hours in Feinberg’s office, which he said was positively “threadbare compared with most of his peers’ temples of wood-paneled walls and platinum-plated bathroom fixtures.” Feinberg didn’t reveal much of himself in the session. But he did reiterate his dedication to Chrysler: “We have a national responsibility. We can’t let ourselves fail. We’re killing ourselves because of its importance.” Tesla Motors’ lawsuit: Designer Fisker ripped us off T esla Motors, the California maker of electric cars, says a well-known designer it hired purposely did subpar work for Tesla and then stole trade secrets to start his own company. Tesla sued last week in a California court. The suit accuses designer Henrik Fisker and Bernhard Koehler, COO of Fisker’s design company, Fisker Coachbuild, of fraud, misappropriation of trade secrets and breach of The Fisker Karma contract during their yearlong effort in 2007 to style the interior and body of the Tesla WhiteStar sedan. The suit said Tesla paid Fisker, who has designed for BMW, Aston Martin and other high-end carmakers, nearly $800,000 and gave him access to Tesla’s trade secrets, business plan and proprietary engineering data developed during production of its first vehicle, the Tesla Roadster. Tesla accuses Fisker of purposely providing substandard designs for the Tesla sedan — resulting in a six- month delay of its release, to 2010 — while using Tesla’s data and holding back Fisker’s best designs for his own vehicle. Soon after completing services for Tesla, Fisker and Koehler announced they were forming Fisker Automotive to put out a four-door hybrid-electric sedan called the Karma. Said Adam Belsky, a lawyer representing Tesla: “In retrospect, Fisker had a strong motivation not to provide his best work for them.” Lawyers for Fisker Coachbuild declined to comment. http://www.autonews.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Automotive News - April 21, 2008

Automotive News - April 21, 2008 Reorganization plan gives more muscle to 4 sales-channel execs Hummer plummets, Saturn soars in sales per franchise Chrysler-Nissan: Loads of partnership potential LIFESTYLE PICKUPS Strike averted Friday at GM transmission plant Hyundai to phase out Tiburon Veteran lobbyist looks back on decades-long mpg battle Autonews.com offers news customization GM offers free digital marketing package to dealers Lithia extends vehicle repair warranty to 3 years/50,000 miles With new products, is there life in Saturn? Ford plans $100M-plus F-150 launch Ford broadens its diesel strategy GM pitches its management system to dealers Supplier to help Mahindra offer diesel hybrid Transplants top 40% of N.A. output in March Geely chief: 'We are still an ant' Honda could import cars from China GM redirects efforts to serve emerging markets Beijing showstoppers New Challenger is appetizer for full line in 2009 Last week, I got a glimpse of the future Service contracts: Federal oversight is needed Delphi mess drags on Can't we stop importing oil? Ryan revolutionized this business An editorial glass ceiling? Driving on hydrogen — pros and cons BMW should build even more here Not what New York ordered Magna exec: More suppliers will fail Canada sales off 0.4% in March Bosch pushes crash avoidance Chrysler plans hybrid Dodge Ram Honda engineer is honored by SAE for safety efforts Panel: Diesels may hit 20% of U.S. market by 2020 Automotive News PACE Awards: Night of black ties, trophies, praise PACE Awards honor innovation Truck sales drop 31% in March Honda's new Pilot is bigger, more upscale In China, GM looks to fresh vehicles in 2009 U.S. economic woes hurt shareholder values Judge refuses to toss GMC franchise-award case Dealers Farley: Ford's marketing team is ready to roll Landry: Chrysler's consolidation will spawn service-only stores Profits up at Johnson Controls Hyundai to fix airbag problem GM to build $200 million Brazil plant Convis is CEO of Dana Holding Denso names Katoh CEO Stephen Feinberg speaks! Hogan eyes CEO spot in startup Chrysler reviving its global dreams? How I saved Delphi: A work in progress Tesla Motors' lawsuit: Designer Fisker ripped us off Concert in the key of C-3PO

Automotive News - April 21, 2008

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