Latest Stories | Wards Auto

Latest Stories

Kerkorian to Increase Stake in Ford; Auto Maker Asks Investors to Hold Onto Shares
May 9, 2008 1:32 PM, WardsAuto.com, By Ward’s Staff From Wires
The announcement by Ford reverses a sentiment the auto maker expressed yesterday, when it called Kerkorian’s interest a welcome sign that its turnaround was progressing.

GM to Fund Up to $200 Million in American Axle Buyouts
May 8, 2008 4:08 PM, WardsAuto.com, By Ward’s Staff
The money will help AAM fund the employee buyouts, early retirements and buydowns.

Toyota Likely to Lower U.S. Forecast; Mississippi Plant Delayed
May 8, 2008 3:22 PM, WardsAuto.com, By Christie Schweinsberg
Late last year, Toyota called for about 3% sales growth in the U.S. in 2008, but later revised the rate downward to just 1%-2%.

GM Reaches Local Contract in Ohio; Walkouts in Michigan, Kansas Continue
May 7, 2008 1:48 PM, WardsAuto.com, By Ward’s Staff
GM continues to negotiate local agreements with three other facilities where the UAW has extended strike notices.

Hyundai Deal With Microsoft ‘Not Another Sync’
May 7, 2008 1:22 PM, WardsAuto.com, By Drew Winter
A voice recognition system for 11 different languages and the ability to record songs directly from the radio are two differentiating features.

Suzuki Announces Free Gas for Summer Event
May 6, 2008 3:56 PM, WardsAuto.com, By Ward’s Staff
The Japanese auto maker’s free-fuel program will run for three months, with buyers receiving a pre-paid gas card if they purchase an ’07 or ’08 Suzuki through June 30.

Former Jag Exec to Head Maserati in U.S.
May 6, 2008 2:04 PM, WardsAuto.com, By Ward’s Staff
Marti Eulberg takes over atop the importer June 1, filling a slot vacated by the sudden departure of James Selwa in late February.

Transportation Secretary Runs Down Talk of Higher Fuel Tax
May 6, 2008 1:39 PM, WardsAuto.com, By James M. Amend
Mary E. Peters calls the current tax “increasingly outdated, inefficient and unpopular.”

Chrysler Spiff Takes Fuel Cost Out of Buying Equation
May 6, 2008 1:06 PM, WardsAuto.com, By Ward’s Staff
Chrysler says the program comes as a result of feedback from its Customer Advisory Board, whose members are “very” or “extremely” concerned about fuel prices.

UAW Strikes GM Fairfax Plant
May 5, 2008 2:33 PM, WardsAuto.com, By Ward’s Staff
The UAW threatened to strike the plant last month but agreed to extend the contract deadline as negotiations to forge a new plant-level labor deal continued.

GM Shanghai Pushing ‘Drive to Green’ Marketing Campaign
May 5, 2008 11:58 AM, WardsAuto.com, By Vince Courtenay
The program, which runs through 2012, involves a 3-point strategy that calls for developing vehicles with better fuel economy and lower greenhouse-gas emissions.

Indian Auto Makers Search for Strategies to Steer Through Slowing Economy
May 2, 2008 11:41 AM, WardsAuto.com, By Sudhakar Shah
Rising steel prices are pushing up vehicle retail prices, while anti-inflationary steps by the government are forcing banks to increase auto loan interest rates and charges.

Taiwan Consortium Aims to Corner Light-Electric Vehicle Market
May 1, 2008 11:01 AM, WardsAuto.com, By Byron Pope
Instead of recharging depleted batteries, they could be swapped out at service stations in the same manner that propane tanks are exchanged for the backyard barbecue.

Former Ward’s Art Director Inducted Into Michigan Journalism Hall of Fame
Apr 30, 2008 11:46 AM, WardsAuto.com, By Ward’s Staff
Dick Mayer’s cover paintings and inside graphics for Ward’s AutoWorld contributed significantly to the magazine’s exceptionally high readership year-after-year.

Ford Economist: Most Americans Won’t Spend Tax Rebates
Apr 29, 2008 10:12 AM, WardsAuto.com, By Steve Finlay
Studies show temporary tax rebates have a near-term effect on economic growth, but that fades after the checks are distributed.

CAW, Ford Reach Historic Tentative Contract
Apr 28, 2008 4:49 PM, WardsAuto.com, By Eric Mayne
“We’ve now established the pattern,” says CAW President Buzz Hargrove. “We do not anticipate getting in any kind of a fight with General Motors or Chrysler.”

Final Oz-Built Mitsubishi Goes for A$100,000
Apr 28, 2008 1:03 PM, WardsAuto.com, By Alan Harman
The auction is “a fitting result for such a fantastic and well-built car,” Mitsubishi Australia CEO Robert McEniry says.

Kerkorian’s Tracinda Targets Ford
Apr 28, 2008 12:26 PM, WardsAuto.com, By Byron Pope
Ford CEO Alan Mulally downplays the impact of Kerkorian’s overture, calling it a vote of confidence in the auto maker’s ongoing restructuring strategy.

VW Creates New Procurement Posts
Apr 25, 2008 1:33 PM, WardsAuto.com, By Ward’s Staff
Rudiger Koch, currently head of procurement at Volkswagen Group China, will be responsible for purchasing throughout North America.

Pennsylvania Site of Cellulosic Ethanol Pilot Plant
Apr 25, 2008 1:12 PM, WardsAuto.com, By Ward’s Staff
The pilot plant will be located at the Westinghouse Plasma Center, current site of a pilot-plant gasifier needed to make ethanol via the Coskata manufacturing process.

GMDAT to Launch Nine New Chevrolets Over Three Years
Apr 25, 2008 10:44 AM, WardsAuto.com, By Vince Courtenay
The new models include replacements for six existing Chevrolet vehicles produced by GMDAT, plus two brand-new vehicles for the brand’s portfolio.

Private Equity Good and Bad for Industry, Gettelfinger Says
Apr 24, 2008 3:18 PM, WardsAuto.com, By Byron Pope
Private equity groups create a sense of “apprehension” among salaried and hourly workers, the UAW’s president says.

Coskata, GM to Reveal Location for Ethanol Plant
Apr 24, 2008 2:51 PM, WardsAuto.com, By Jim Mateja
The new plant will produce 40,000 gallons of the fuel for testing.

Toyota to Promote Lenz to Non-Japanese Managing Officer
Apr 24, 2008 2:06 PM, WardsAuto.com, By Ward’s Staff From Wires
The Japanese auto maker makes the announcement amid a shakeup in top management.

VW Narrows Plant Site List
Apr 24, 2008 11:22 AM, WardsAuto.com, By Ward’s Staff From Wires
The site list contains a couple of surprises, namely the absence of rumored frontrunner North Carolina and inclusion of long-shot candidate Michigan.

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