Archives: April 2006

Ghosn tells it how it is

Posted by: Ian Rowley on April 28, Categories: Design

After attacking "cookie cutter" designs at the New York auto show earlier this month, Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn took another swipe at the commoditization of the auto industry in Tokyo...

Fixing GM is an Escalade-sized job

Posted by: David Welch on April 21, Categories: Markets and Management

First, the good news about General Motors. Though the company did lose more than $500 million in the first quarter, its losses are half what they were a year...

Dodge Caliber and the Case of Fairy Dust

Posted by: David Kiley on April 19, Categories: marketing

So, is Dodge offending gay people or not? Ad Age columnist Bob Garfield wrote this week that a new Dodge ad featuring a fairy was disparaging to gay people....

Automobile Magazine--Happy 20th. Many Happy Returns.

Posted by: David Kiley on April 19, Categories: Rankings and Spankings

Automobile Magazine celebrates its 20th anniversary in the April issue on newsstands now with some lists bound to generate argument and discussion in hotel bar rooms from Detroit to...

Another case against Saab

Posted by: David Welch on April 18, Categories: Brands Under Fire

Maybe I am beating a dead horse here. But here is some interesting info on Saab. A General Motors source tells me that since the auto giant bought into...

Even Toyota Cuts Corners

Posted by: David Welch on April 18, Categories: Design

Yeah, it’s true. Sometimes, the best auto makers in the world cut corners. Even beloved Toyota, with its $46 billion cash hoard, sometimes does things on the cheap. For...

Another New Campaign for Saturn

Posted by: David Kiley on April 18, Categories: marketing

Next month, GM's Saturn division kicks off a new ad campaign. The slogan, "Like always, like never before" will replace "People First." Saturn didn't show the new ads at...

VW's "Drivers wanted" is Dead. But Jetta Drivers Aren't in New Ads.

Posted by: David Kiley on April 17, Categories: Brands Under Fire

You can pretty much take this to the bank. Though VW executives have been hedging, Volkswagen's ten year-old "Drivers wanted" tagline is dead. The new GTI work from new...

Lutz On Warpath with Media

Posted by: David Kiley on April 17, Categories: Brands Under Fire

Bob Lutz, GM's product boss, is angry these days with the business media. He thinks that we are being unfair to GM. Check out this excerpt from a speech...

New York's next for Honda's Civic GX

Posted by: Ian Rowley on April 17, Categories: Environmental alternatives

New York looks like being next in line for Honda's natural gas-powered Civic GX. According to Monday's Nihon Keizai Shimbun, Japan's leading business daily, unnamed Honda officials say New...

Volkswagen Tries To Juice Golf Sales With Rabbit Hop

Posted by: David Kiley on April 13, Categories:

Media attendees at The New York Auto Show were taken aback to see that Volkswagen will rename its Golf model in the U.S. Rabbit, hearkening back to the 1970s...

Rick Bites Back

Posted by: David Welch on April 11, Categories: Brands Under Fire

We know that General Motors Chairman and CEO G. Richard Wagoner Jr. played a little college hoops during his days at Duke University. You’d figure that during his time on...

Any color you want as long as it's green

Posted by: Ian Rowley on April 06, Categories: Environmental alternatives

In the era of the hybrid car and global warming--not to mention rising gas prices--Japanese carmakers don't need to be asked twice to talk up their tree-hugging credentials. Just look...