Search

Is Visteon nearing the end of its short, unhappy life? This month Reuters speculated that a major Visteon shareholder, Alden Global Capital, wants to break up the company and sell [...]

Byline: Donna Harris At many dealerships, marketing of service and parts takes a back seat to vehicle marketing. Not at Reedman-Toll Auto World in Langhorne, Pa. 'A dollar is a [...]

US car dealers that sell auto parts wholesale to independent garages and body shops believe they are providing a valuable service, despite the National Automobile Dealers Assn's assertion that the practice helps competitors and should be discouraged. Dealers that sell wholesale auto parts point out that are satisfying manufacturers as well as keeping customers happy. Auto parts wholesalers also help dealers save money by allowing them to reduce their parts inventories. However, the business is extremely competitive and requires a strong commitment on the part of the dealer.

Byline: Robert Sherefkin Geri Kottschade, co-owner with her husband, Jerry, of Jerry's Body Shop Inc., never expected trouble getting a front bumper bar for a customer's 2005 GMC Yukon Denali [...]

Byline: Michael Knauer Opel and its new controlling owner Magna International Inc. are heading into the future with a new advertising slogan and a spruced-up brand campaign. The brand will [...]

Byline: David Barkholz Billionaire investor Wilbur Ross will have some competition in his bid to buy troubled supplier Collins & Aikman Corp. Besides Ross, four prospective buyers have submitted bids [...]

Maserati will offer a conventional automatic transmission in response to complaints about the jerky shifting of the Quattroporte sedan's semiautomatic gearbox. The automatic will be offered next year, along with [...]

Byline: Mark Rechtin, Arlena Sawyers Jaguar this year will reduce sharply the number of used vehicles coming back from leases and fleets. But the underlying weakness of the brand - [...]

Byline: Marty Bernstein Reaching out to young, car-obsessed tuners in California is not a new strategy for aftermarket retailers. But marketers often have difficulty reaching tuners because their preferences tend [...]

Byline: Gail Kachadourian ASC Inc. will launch an advertising campaign next month aimed at reintroducing itself to the industry as a specialty vehicle supplier, and not just a sunroof maker. [...]

Byline: Harry Stoffer A major supplier of electronic stability controls is taking its case directly to consumers. The message from Continental Teves is: If you want protection from vehicle rollover [...]

Osamu Suzuki says his company's longtime joint venture with General Motors in Canada has become a ``fishbone in my throat.'' ``I have to pull it out before I retire,'' the [...]

In its bid to achieve $2.8 billion in global commercial vehicle sales by 2006, Delphi will rely on 3 components. 1. Advanced diesel fuel injectors 2. Engine management controls 3. [...]

General Motors' decision to make antilock brakes optional on its low-end cars deals yet another blow to suppliers who are struggling with price pressures and fierce competition. For GM, though, [...]

A key part of Hummer's growth strategy is to sell lots of accessories - and General Motors wants to spread the plan to its other divisions. ``There's big money in [...]

Dealer: Greg Rasmussen Dealerships: Land Rover of Portland, Rasmussen BMW and Mercedes-Benz of Portland, all in Portland, Ore.; and Mercedes-Benz of Wilsonville in Wilsonville, Ore. Top 3 sources of aftermarket [...]

Jeff Cauley runs two auto dealerships. One sells 30 cars a year. The other moves that many in a week. But lessons that Cauley is learning about selling aftermarket equipment [...]

Solutia Inc. is looking to expand the market reach of its windshield glass with a new line of higher-performance systems under the Vanceva brand name. The company's bread-and-butter product line [...]

DETROIT - Akebono Brake Industry Co. Ltd., one of Japan's largest automotive brake companies, plans to continue its global expansion despite a cash shortage that is limiting its North American [...]

DETROIT - Visteon Corp. will eliminate displays at industry trade shows and slash advertising and public relations costs in 2002. Visteon officials wouldn't say how much they expect to save [...]

PARIS - Delphi Automotive Systems Corp. has launched a network of common-rail diesel service dealers. Delphi's action follows the growing popularity of diesel-engine cars in Europe, says Bernhard Mrosek, managing [...]

The importance of brand names is increasing in Europe's aftermarket, says James Ross, AC Delco's European area sales manager. ``We're approaching the aftermarket in a different way (than) our competitors,'' [...]

Suppliers that launch independent distribution systems can capitalize on big opportunities in the aftermarket, a Valeo executive says. Aftermarket parts distribution is undergoing ``a profound change'' and creating openings for [...]

Ralph Nader won't like this, but General Motors still is making money off the Chevrolet Corvair. For the past decade, GM Restoration Parts, a unit of GM's Service Parts Operations, [...]

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. - Covisint LLC has sold subscriptions for 500 seats on its Virtual Project Workspace during the first half of this year. Automakers and suppliers are using the [...]

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. - Kevin English, CEO of Covisint LLC, has a lot of work ahead of him if comments made by suppliers at the Management Briefing Seminars here earlier [...]

American Honda's experimental modification package for the Civic Japan-market Honda shocks, retuned in United States Hand-built sway bars Lower springs Engine air intake by AEM Target price: Less than $1,000 [...]

Volvo's captive finance company will give U.S. dealers a chance to buy off-lease vehicles online before they are sent to a physical auction. Beginning in July, Volvo Finance North America [...]

Name: Mark Gibson Title: Internet sales manager Company: Capitol Chevrolet, Austin, Texas Favorite personal-tech device: The telephone; 1-800 numbers, he says, are great E-mail coping strategy: It needs some work; [...]

Call it a mini online focus group. When it began building a customer home page, The Price Automotive Group (priceeasyroad.com) in New Castle, Del., chose seven loyal customers willing to [...]

The mantra in the dealer and automaker world is 'Thou shalt listen to the customer and build a relationship.' Multiline Delaware dealer Mike Price, who owns Price Automotive Group (priceeasyroad.com), [...]

While some of the large Tier 1 suppliers have pulled out of this year's SAE World Congress, Behr America Inc. is taking the opposite approach by increasing its efforts at [...]

The St. Regis Hotel's crystal chandeliers, Louis XVI-style furniture and $5,000-a-night rooms make a posh setting for Wall Street's high-powered money managers. So it was fitting that Richard Snell, one [...]

I I Auto Mortgage.Com Booth 3627 Baltimore, Md. Finance kjkern2@aol.com I-CAR Booth 2016 Rolling Meadows, Ill. Auto repair training ILCO UNICAN Booth 2051 Rocky Mount, N.C. Transponder key and decoding [...]

DETROIT - Delphi Automotive Systems Corp. will use a new Web site for aftermarket distributors to double its aftermarket sales to more than $4 billion during the next four years. [...]

Dealers with video e-mail technology can: Send customers general or personalized messages Send customers information about a product, such as a video brochure outlining details about a vehicle of interest [...]

Callers who get Barry Murphy's telephone voice message are advised that he is ``either on another line or out and about selling Autoliv stock.'' Pitching Autoliv Inc. takes much of [...]

Two of the world's largest automotive suppliers are chasing the aftermarket as if it were a modern day gold rush. Last fall, Delphi Automotive Systems Corp. announced plans to double [...]

LONDON - Tier 1 suppliers such as Delphi Automotive, the world's largest parts maker, are busy working out how to respond to the new online purchasing networks being built by [...]

DETROIT - Long typecast as a favored supplier of starters and alternators to Toyota Motor Corp., Japan's Denso Corp. is trying to expand its image and customer base in North [...]

Internet auctions save Delphi $58 million DETROIT - Delphi Automotive Systems Corp. of Troy, Mich., reported saving $58 million while paying about $370 million in parts and materials via online [...]

PARIS - Delphi Automotive Systems' new aftermarket operation will be branded and managed as a separate division of the U.S. supplier giant. Some of those brands will include Diavia air [...]

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. - Dana Corp. soon will begin supplying an independent rear suspension for the Holden Commodore in Australia as part of Dana's entry into modules in the Pacific [...]

Engineers, marketers and lawyers are equally hard at work on Dana Corp.'s disputed Hydra-Lok differential as the company prepares to broaden sales of the device. Last week, Dana rolled out [...]

GM subsidiary keeps behind the curtain to introduce its brand of audio systems For years, Delco Electronics tied its name to every in-vehicle system it touched. Its Delco identity was [...]

When Ford Motor Co. begins its drive later this year to sell more components to other automakers, the company appears likely to focus on electronics and the cockpit. Industry analysts [...]

ANDERSON, S.C. - Ask most vehicle owners about their oxygen sensor and they'll probably offer a blank stare. Research shows that more than 99 percent of consumers don't know their [...]

Eaton VORAD Technologies and Delco Electronics Corp. expect automobiles to feature obstacle detection technology by 199. Eaton VORAD is promoting its EVT-2000 Collision Warning System while Delco is batting for its Forewarn system. Both suppliers already provide their technologies to trucks but they intend to corner the light-vehicle market as well.

An increasing number of automobile suppliers are turning to marketing in an effort to make consumers aware of their brand names. At present, the only suppliers with a strong brand image are the tire manufacturers but analysts envision a market where customers can specify the kind of wiper system, suspension and other components they want in the vehicle they are purchasing. In addition, suppliers are hoping that increased brand awareness among end-customers can generate the kind of marketing pull which can help them sell their products to automakers.