Automotive News - May 5, 2008 - (Page 20)

20 • MAY 5, 2008 Nissan’s Dominique gets to the big dance L ike many native Detroiters, Larry Dominique has the auto business in his blood. His father and grandfather worked in the industry. Dominique joined General Motors as an electrical engineer and later worked for Chrysler Corp. before joining Nissan Motor Co.’s fledgling engineering group in Michigan. Fast forward two decades, and Dominique finds himself based in Nashville — and often on an airplane. He flew to Japan 18 times last year. At Nissan, he is responsible for North American product planning. He oversaw the creation of the Titan pickup truck and Infiniti QX56. Name: Larry Dominique Title: Vice president, product planning, Nissan North America Inc. Age: 45 Personal life: Married, three teenage daughters Lives: Franklin, Tenn.; Ladera Ranch, Calif. Works: Nashville Education: Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering, Lawrence Person to person Technological University, Southfield, Mich. Big break: “The chance to move from engineering to product planning at Nissan, where I could see how the whole picture comes together.” Tell us something about yourself that might surprise people. I used to be a disco dancing instructor. I’ll tell you how I got involved in it. Back in the 1970s, a friend and I wanted to take lessons, and the class we signed up for had four women for every man. So the teacher said we could keep attending free as long as we kept coming. Do you still disco? Outside of Disney World, not too many places play disco music anymore. But I still enjoy dancing seen something on a blog and sends me the link. But I read autoblog, Edmunds and a couple of others. Freshalloy is a favorite for us around here at Nissan and Infiniti. I like to know when somebody has leaked our product information. I don’t mind it so much when they’re wrong. own apartment there? No way. I wouldn’t be able to get room service. What do you carry with you when you travel? My daughter gave me a pair of minispeakers for my laptop that are great for music. I like to have music with me when I travel. I keep music playing in the background when I work. Usually jazz. I love music. What are your favorites? I keep a wide range of stuff on my iPod, from Led Zeppelin to Norah Jones; rock, jazz, soft jazz. But I’m not a fan of classical music. How do you keep your office so neat, given all your different projects? I really try to avoid paper. I tell my team, “Don’t bring any paper into my office.” I have a display screen on my conference table if they need to show me something. I tell them, “You’re just going to hand me a stack of paper, and I’m going to end up throwing it away.” — Lindsay Chappell Nissan’s Larry Dominique: “Not too many places play disco music anymore. But I still enjoy dancing when I get the chance.” when I get the chance. My wife and I have taken ballroom dancing instruction. It’s great fun. Do you read blogs? Sometimes. More often, it’s because someone on my team has How about a favorite Web site when you’re on the road? When I’m traveling, my schedule is really compact. I’ll have 16 hours of meetings a day in Japan, and by the end of the day I usually just want to decompress. So I’ll go to Wine Spectator’s site. I’ll check out CNN for the news back home. How often do you travel to Japan? I was there 18 times last year. That’s a lot of frequent-flier points. I’ve got 3.5 million miles right now on Northwest. I think I logged 240,000 miles last year. You’re in Japan so much — have you thought about keeping your ® Dana seeks new business with Japanese companies Hans Greimel hgreimel@crain.com PurigeN98 tire inflation pumps 98% pure nitrogen into your customers’ tires while pumping more profits into your business. Everything else is just hot air. The likeness of Jeff Gordon and other related trademarks and copyrights are used with the permission of Jeff Gordon, Inc. TOKYO — Armed with a new CEO from Toyota, driveline supplier Dana Holding Corp. aims to expand its business with Japanese carmakers, particularly in emerging markets. Dana, which emerged from Chapter 11 reorganization in February, needs the new revenue sources as demand shifts from its longtime area of expertise in framed pickups and SUVs. That means branching into unibody cars, crossovers and small SUVs while also ramping up commercial-vehicle drivelines, says Shin Watanabe, director of Dana Japan Ltd. “These are the areas where Dana has little business with Japanese customers and thus represents tangible opportunity for the emerged Dana,” Watanabe says. “Another growth opportunity for Dana’s Japanese business is the commercial-vehicle market, with customers such as Isuzu, Hino, Nissan Diesel and Mitsubishi Fuso.” Dana also is looking to expand its offerings in thermal and sealing products, Watanabe says. The key to making it happen will be winning new contracts with Japan’s growing auto companies, especially as they set up shop in emerging economies such as Russia, China, India and Brazil. Sales to Japanese automakers accounted for about 11 percent of Dana’s $8.7 billion in revenue last year, leaving ample room for growth. While Dana struggled in bankruptcy protection, archrival American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc. expanded rapidly in Asia. Dana could get a lift in doing business with Japanese automakers, thanks to the appointment last month of Gary Convis as its new CEO. Convis retired last year as chairman of Toyota Motor Manufacturing in Kentucky after 20 years with that company. Today, Toyota is Dana’s third-largest customer. c Maintain tire pressure. Retain customer loyalty. The UltraFill® 99+ Nitrogen Tire Inflation System offers the highest purity and the ability to service multiple bays in a compact, low-cost unit. We also offer an Automatic Inflation Cart that can fill all four tires to uniform pressure at once while still on a vehicle. © 2008 Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. Offering UltraFill 99+ high-purity nitrogen tire inflation is the best new customer retention tool. With UltraFill 99+, you can build loyalty and repeat business by helping your customers enjoy better fuel efficiency, longer tire life, and greater safety. Our systems also reduce the problems and hassles of false TPMS alarms. UltraFill 99+ systems provide 99.5% pure nitrogen— the highest purity available—so you can fill tires to the recommended 95% purity level in less time for less cost. Supported by a comprehensive training and promotion program that can help you sell nitrogen more effectively, the system can pay for itself in just months. 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Automotive News - May 5, 2008 Dodge dealers battle to bust Ram logjam Used-car price slump slams luxury makes INDUSTRY IN DISTRESS Tesla opens first dealership in L.A. Los Angeles Top auto execs to talk marketing at seminar Nader and the Corvair: GM edition tells whole story Dealers take Tundra to the people UAW official expects American Axle buyouts Ford plans more UAW buyouts at 2 plants Honda to some dealers: Upgrade or else Hyundai: Powertrains will take us halfway to mpg target Diesel dynamo Daimler cuts Chrysler value, again Ford domestic dealer count dips below 4,000 Seems like old times: More cash on the hood Toyota sister car poses a challenge for Subaru Suzuki to offer standard navigation in $16,000 car Mpg plan fuels states-rights battle Kerkorian interest buoys Ford stock Henderson: GM will keep tight rein on inventory Is it real, or is it just temporary? Ford Motor must stay focused on recovery 'Have you lost your mind?' Dealers are victims of Axle strike Federal oversight? Good heavens, no Geoff Polites: A salute Save a board seat for the UAW A car for everyone or cut, cut, cut, cut? Think of Buick as part of B-P-G Costs up in China, but bargains still abound Mexico sales fall 17% in March Obituary Hyundai reworks Sonata sooner rather than later Nissan's Dominique gets to the big dance Dana seeks new business with Japanese companies ZF will supply Nissan Certified Tool closes a plant German engineering company plans Ala. factory Dealers A Lexus colossus Used-vehicle leasing boosts showroom traffic Certified buyers opt for extended service contracts Repossessed vehicles offer dealers a profit opening Prepaid plans spark service visits beyond oil changes Key to managing floorplan costs: Be realistic Long-term loans: Convenience or bad deal? Dealers hunt upside-down buyers with leases, incentives and long-term loans Where have all the investors gone? Dealer rebounds from contract mess Dealers must choose: Reynolds, GM — or start over AutoTrader.com makes big pitch to bump up new-vehicle sales CAW, Ford reach extensive early labor deal Infiniti asks: Do you smell something? Sure, Nissan GT-R is impractical — but what a rush Faurecia: We'll break even in N.A. Suppliers join carmakers' charge into Russia Chrysler small cars, Jeep crossovers are hot A dreary April in Detroit Penske earnings rise in 1st quarter Lithia posts $1.9 million loss GM makes 2nd ethanol deal Group 1's earnings slip Magna profits down; sales rise AIADA picks dealer of the year Vox(wagen) populi — plus a sales pitch Wagoner's pension shift: More earlier, less overall COMMENT: Bargaining barbs will sting for a long time Bugging the boss: Who's listening to Porsche CEO? New models from the post office Critics have kind words for Pontiac's G8 Ford can't picture kids at design studio

Automotive News - May 5, 2008

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