Automotive News - May 5, 2008 - (Page 3)

MAY 5, 2008 • 3 82nd year — No. 6306 Dealers take Tundra to the people Frozen Tundras, a ‘Tater Freighter’ — whatever it takes to move big pickup Mark Rechtin mrechtin@crain.com Ford plans more UAW buyouts at 2 plants DETROIT — Ford Motor Co. will offer more buyouts to hourly workers at assembly plants in Chicago and Louisville, Ky. Mark Fields, Ford president of the Americas, confirmed in an interview Friday with Automotive News that those two plants will be part of another round of buyouts the automaker is about to begin. The new round will target only certain plants, and the offers have not been made, Fields said. “We’re going to look at some of the capacity reductions and some of the plant closures to do targeted buyouts,” Fields said. In March, Ford said it would operate just one shift at its Louisville and Chicago plants beginning this summer. Those plants assemble the Ford Explorer and Mercury Mountaineer SUVs, Ford Taurus and Mercury Sable sedans and Taurus X crossover. More buyout offers will be made at other plants, but Fields wouldn’t confirm locations. — Amy Wilson UAW official expects American Axle buyouts DETROIT — The outgoing president of a key UAW local at American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc. said Friday that he expects at least half of the 3,650 striking workers at the axle maker to take a buyout when a contract is completed. Adrian King, president of UAW Local 235 representing workers at American Axle’s Detroit complex, also said it was likely that metal forging plants in Detroit and Tonawanda, N.Y., will close. Contract negotiations were expected to continue through the weekend. The strike began Feb. 26. The UAW is negotiating worker buyouts as high as $140,000 each. It also is looking at “buydowns” that would pay $90,000 each to workers to accept wage cuts from $28 an hour to as little as $14 an hour. — David Barkholz Drive through Raleigh, N.C., and you’re likely to spot a Toyota Tundra on the streets with no doors. It’s a true head-turner, the kind of offbeat promotion that lots of Toyota dealers must do to get traction in the collapsing market for full-sized trucks. The doorless Tundra is an optical illusion — a photograph of the truck’s interior is superimposed on its passenger doors. It is part of Fred Anderson Toyota’s innovative marketing campaign for the pickup. The truck — covered with writing that spells out the Tundra’s many features — is lent for a week at a time to contractors, said Larry Pickett Sr., the dealership’s director of business development. “I go out on the streets and find people who are pulling a trailer and tell them to park their truck for a week and drive mine,” Pickett said. “We pay for the gas, and the truck does not cost them anything to drive. The truck sits still at construction sites for hours at a time during the day. It gets stares from every direction.” The Tundra is in some trouble — along with the rest of the segment — as a result of economic doldrums and soaring gasoline prices. Toyota dealers are under pressure to hit sales targets. And things will not get easier with the coming launches of the redesigned Ford F-150 and Dodge Ram, which will get massive media pushes. Through April, Tundra sales are up 23.5 percent over last year’s ramp-up period. But at 54,134 units, sales this year are well short of the 2008 target Tundra tactics Some ideas used by Toyota dealers to get potential customers into the Tundra � Sponsoring high school football � Free lunch at Home Depot � Paying dirt bike track fees � Shuttles from remote parking lots � Free lawn tractor with purchase of more than 200,000. Last year Toyota sold 196,555 Tundras. Toyota executives have said they want to sell 300,000 units by the end of the decade, but that goal was set before the recent economic turmoil. “With the segment being down, we built more inventory than we’d like to have,” said Bob Carter, Toyota Motor Sales group vice president. “Ground stock is in the mid-80 days supply. That market is challenged for To bring more people through the doors of Fred Anderson Toyota, the Raleigh, N.C., dealership lets contractors tool around in a Tundra, above, whose doors look, well, doorless. Toyota’s San Francisco region passes out ice at sporting events from its “Frozen Tundra,” inset. - the short-term.” Toyota’s other challenge is how to get truckers to sample the Tundra. Dealers are cranking up their grassroots marketing budget rather than throwing dollars at TV, radio or print. Value in grass-roots events “A grass-roots event is more costeffective than any electronic media,” said Rick Humphries, truck marketing manager for giant distributor Gulf States Toyota, of Houston. “The return on investment is tenfold better because the consumer has the opportunity to touch the vehicle,” Humphries said. “The guy who has been in a Chevy for 25 years is not going to test-drive the Tundra because he’s curious. We have to take it to the environment of the domestic owner.” see TUNDRA, Page 57 Nader and the Corvair: GM edition tells whole story General Motors would be just as happy if it had never heard the name Ralph Nader. Unless you were on the scene 40 years ago, you wouldn’t believe the trouble that that painfully smart young attorney caused the General. In 1965, Nader wrote a book that trashed the Chevrolet Corvair as Unsafe at Any Speed. Lawsuits were filed by people injured in Corvair crashes. GM suspected Nader was in cahoots with the plaintiffs’ lawyers and maybe was getting a cut of anything they collected. So GM hired private detecNader: He spied tives to investigate Nader. But GM’s spies. GM’s gumshoes were so inept, they never could have made it on a TV show. Nader spotted them immediately. He avoided them and told a Senate subcommittee about it. GM was in deep trouble. Nader was under subpoena to appear before that subcommittee — and Top auto execs to talk marketing at seminar Top marketing executives at General Motors, Toyota, Ford, Chrysler, Honda and Hyundai will discuss their companies’ changing media choices at this year’s Automotive News Marketing Seminar, May 28 in Los Angeles. Speakers include: � Dick Colliver, executive vice president, American Honda Motor Co. Inc. � Joel Ewanick, marketing vice president, Hyundai Motor America. � John Felice, Ford brand general marketing manager, Ford Motor Co. � Mark LaNeve, vice president for North American sales, service and marketing, General Motors. � Deborah Meyer, chief marketing officer, Chrysler LLC. � Randy Pflughaupt, Toyota Division group vice president of marketing, Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. Inc. The speakers will address new strategies for automakers to connect with customers. The annual event attracts more than 1,000 participants who work in advertising and for broadcast, print, online and out-of-home media, as well as for car companies. This year’s seminar is at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel and Suites in Los Angeles. The cost is $185 a ticket or $1,850 for a reserved table of 10 seats. For more information, call 313-446-0485 or go to www.autonews.com/seminar.c HOW TO REACH US 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). � Web site: www.autonews.com � Editorial staff: 313-446-0361, CORRECTION one simply does not harass a Senate witness. GM President Jim Roche went before the subcommittee and apologized to Nader on what Roche called “the worst day of my life.” Nader sued GM for invasion of privacy and was awarded $425,000. In a delicious bit of poetic justice, Nader said he would use the money to continue his investigation of GM. For the rest of the story, read Automotive News’ GM 100th anniversary edition, How General Motors Changed the World, on Sept. 15. For information, go to www.autonews.com/gm100. � An interview on Page 10 of the April 28 issue gave the wrong age for Gerry Rubin, CEO of Rubin Postaer and Associates. He is 68. http://www.autonews.com http://www.autonews.com/gm100 http://www.autonews.com/seminar

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Automotive News - May 5, 2008

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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