Trade News

When states instituted stay-at-home orders in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, OEC performance coaches found themselves in an unfamiliar position. That is, coaching parts departments virtually on how to strategically implement software solutions — a task they typically did in person. Now, as states continue to combat the virus through the summer and adjust to restrictions, the coaches' early online experiences offer useful insights into how to provide customer service from a distance. Here are a few keys:

When his team first started to offer virtual coaching to help dealerships adapt to the circumstances, Shane Murphy, OEC Manager, Field Services, told them: "Just do me one favor and start turning your cameras on." This simple request led to the coaches developing and maintaining a human connection that, despite geographical differences, eased the transition to online interactions.

Dealerships and coaches shared screens and wo…

HONG KONG -- The parent of BMW's joint venture partner in China, Brilliance Auto Group Holdings Co., is facing mounting scrutiny from investors who are increasingly worried about the state-owned company's capacity to juggle its debt load as the pandemic weighs on profits.

Brilliance Auto is the parent of Hong Kong-listed Brilliance China Automotive Holdings Ltd., which manufactures vehicles with BMW in China via a joint venture. The joint venture builds the 3 Series, 5 Series, and 1 Series alongside the X1 and X3 utility vehicles in China for BMW. It also builds the 60H from its China-only brand Zinoro, according to information on the company's website.

Speculation has been building that the group will struggle to service its liabilities after its banks set up a creditor committee to coordinate claims on the company's debt. The group needs to repay 1.37 billion yuan ($200 million) in outstanding local bonds this year, Bloomberg-compiled data show.

Brilli…

In another sign that a new law in California could force dramatic changes to ride-hailing in the state, Uber Technologies Inc. said it’s considering licensing the brand to independently operated franchises. The move would create distance between the ride-hailing company and its drivers and would serve as an alternative to classifying them as employees.

Uber said the model would look similar to its black-car operations in the early days. “Drivers would likely earn a predetermined hourly wage for their time on-app, but in exchange, fleets would likely monitor and enforce drivers’ activity and efficiency, for instance by putting drivers into shifts, dictating where and when they drive, and enforcing trip acceptance criteria,” Matt Wing, a spokesman for Uber, wrote in an email. “We are not sure whether a fleet model would ultimately be viable in California.”

The internal discussions were reported earlier Tuesday by the New York Times. The newspaper also said Lyft w…

Nexteer Automotive said Tuesday that revenue and profit fell in the first half as a result of the coronavirus pandemic but cost and investment controls helped mitigate some of the impact.

The supplier of steering and driveline systems squeezed out a net profit of $1 million in the first half, a 99 percent drop from a year ago. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization fell 58 percent to $116 million.

Revenue declined 34 percent to $1.2 billion in the first half compared with last year.

Nexteer CFO Bill Quigley said Tuesday in a call with analysts that the company's cost controls were effective in limiting some of the pandemic's impact on EBITDA.

"It's quite the accomplishment," he said, considering auto production in the U.S. and Mexico was shut down for about two months.

By region, revenue fell 38 percent in North America, 26 percent in Europe and 24 percent in Asia.

"We are …

Robert Bollinger is aiming to break the jinx of 14925 W. Eleven Mile Road in the Detroit suburb of Oak Park.

The 36,600-square-foot building, constructed in 1996 and located about 3 miles north of Detroit's northern city limits, is no stranger to pickups, electric vehicles and other automotive ventures.

But nothing that has emerged from its walls this century has met with much commercial success.

The building was once operated by ASC Inc. — the former American Sunroof Corp. — and the first production vehicle engineered there was the star-crossed 2004-06 Chevrolet SSR pickup with its novel retractable hardtop.

The first few SSRs were hand built at the Eleven Mile Road plant before production was transferred to GM's Lansing Craft Centre in Michigan, which was used to assemble GM's low-volume specialty vehicles such as the Buick Reatta and GM EV1.

GM expected to produce 13,000 SSRs a year but ended up selling…

Cadillac attorney Newell Wright on Aug. 18, 1905, filed a trademark application for the company's crest, based on the family arms of French explorer Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac, the minor aristocrat who founded Detroit in 1701.

The registered trademark — number 54,931 — was granted on Aug. 7, 1906.

The Cadillac arms had been used as early as September 1902.

The original crest, which featured a seven-piked coronet surrounded by a laurel wreath, was closely based on the registered design, with merlettes slanting down to the left and a wreath composed of tulip-shape flowerets arching up to a seven-point crown.

For decades, two trios of merlettes swam in the golden stripes of the Cadillac crest. They're knightly symbols of the Crusades and stemmed from the family crest of Cadillac, with three representing the explorer's mother's noble lineage and three representing his father's lineage.

The New York Times once c…

Glenn Gardner, a key Chrysler engineer on the 1980s team that developed the industry's first minivan and who later led large car development at the company, died Aug. 7 in Longwood, Fla. He was 84.

Gardner held a variety of engineering and management posts and was a key architect of Chrysler's efforts to overhaul product development and tap suppliers to lower costs and lead times.

In addition to working on the minivan and Dodge Dakota, Gardner was the first chairman of Diamond-Star Motors Corp., the manufacturing joint venture formed in the 1980s by Chrysler and Mitsubishi Motors in Normal, Ill.

The role, which Gardner took on in 1985 and held for four years, "was supposed to be largely a job of guardianship — looking after Chrysler's 50 percent stake in the greenfield site," Automotive News reported in 1998. "But Gardner pulled something extra out of the assignment, learning all about Mitsubishi's methods of project management an…

DETROIT — General Motors is appealing the dismissal of its racketeering lawsuit against Fiat Chrysler Automobiles to the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals after a judge denied GM's motion to revive the case last week.

GM filed the notice of appeal late Monday.

U.S. District Judge Paul Borman said last week that new evidence GM presented as it asked the court to reinstate the case was "too speculative."

GM alleged that FCA and co-conspirators were guilty of "corporate espionage" that directly harmed GM. FCA and co-conspirators used a network of offshore bank accounts containing millions of dollars to harm GM, the automaker alleged in a proposed amended complaint this month. GM also named former UAW members as defendants in the amended complaint. Initially, only FCA and ex-FCA officials were defendants.

In the lawsuit, which was filed in November, GM said that FCA coordinated a yearslong bribery scheme with UAW leaders to g…

Join Automotive News Publisher Jason Stein for a daily podcast series about the coronavirus crisis. He’ll speak with industry experts, insiders and Automotive News reporters about how the virus is impacting and reshaping the automotive industry.

Automotive News reporter Larry Vellequette explains where COVID-19 continues to hamper vehicle production and how dealers are navigating a ''touchy situation'' in showrooms.

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The Chevrolet Tahoe is nearly all new inside and out for 2021 and comes with a much bigger footprint because it is now 6.7 inches longer than the outgoing model. Two V-8 engines power the 2021 Tahoe but are now paired with a standard 10-speed automatic transmission. Four-wheel drive is optional, as is a planned 277-hp, 3.0-liter inline-6 turbodiesel engine. The 5.3-liter and 6.2-liter V-8 motors ride on a new independent rear suspension with available adaptive dampers and a four-corner air suspension. We've rounded up a selection of early 2021 Tahoe reviews.

"Most of the new SUV's improvements are below the surface, including an independent rear suspension that improves ride, and, more important, transforms the third row of seats from an automotive penalty box into a premium perch my passengers wouldn't vacate even after we measured. The independent rear suspension provides a remarkably smooth ride. Nicely tuned steering made the massive SUV easy to man…