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Filed under: Plants/Manufacturing, BMW, Chrysler, Ford, GM, Honda, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Toyota, Volkswagen
Before financial Stargate opened in September of 2008 and transported us to an entirely new economic dimension, it was oh so common to read about domestic automakers hammering Tier One suppliers to lower their prices. Of course, suppliers are still asked to find efficiencies, but pre-2008, it seemed a point of honor to hold a supplier's feet to the fire. No more: in the latest Working Relations Index survey of suppliers by Detroit firm Planning Perspectives Inc.,
General Motors and
Chrysler rocketed up the charts to bring the bunch much closer together.
Admittedly, the two companies are still in last place, with GM just ahead of Chrysler and
Toyota and
Honda still up top. But perspective and improvement is the issue here: in 2005, Toyota scored 415 and GM scored 114. In this year's survey, Toyota scored 296 and Chrysler scored 248. It is the first time in the 12 years of the survey that the six automakers covered have been separated by less than 50 points. Chrysler's jump was led by the efforts of the
the late Dan Knott, whle GM's improvement has been led by Bob Socia.
And yes, this is also a matter of the perennial leaders, Toyota and Honda, suffering a dip:
in 2010 Toyota scored 327 and Honda 309, two years later, Toyota has dropped 31 points. Every automaker, however, from top to bottom acknowledged that they still have work to do with supplier relations. The benefits of good feelings are that suppliers tend to present their newest tech to, and make better parts for, the automakers with whom they have the best relationships. Naturally, it has been found that the reverse is true as well.
Nissan and Ford make up the middle two spots, where they've been for years.
BMW,
Mercedes-Benz,
Volkswagen and
Hyundai aren't on the list yet; PPI feels it doesn't have enough data on the Germans to yet to officially include them, and it doesn't have enough data on Hyundai to rank it at all. If the data gathered on the Germans was included, though, they would sandwich the rest of the field: BMW and Mercedes at the top, Volkswagen at the bottom a point shy of Chrysler.
Toyota, Honda top supplier survey with lower results, GM and Chrysler improve originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 15 May 2012 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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May 15th, 2012
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Filed under: Sedan, Plants/Manufacturing, Nissan
"We are ready to make this car the top seller if the customer agrees."
Nissan started Job One production for the
2013 Altima sedan at its Smyrna, Tennessee plant today.
Nissan has big plans for the fifth-generation Altima, which was the number-two selling car in the United States in 2011. The company is adding a third shift at Smyna, and shifting models around between this plant and its Canton, Mississippi plant with an eye toward the Altima passing the
Toyota Camry as the top-selling model in America.
Toyota sold 308,510 Camrys last year, compared with Nissan's 268,981 Altimas.
"We haven't built and designed this car the way we have, and made all these changes with a goal of being number-two," said Nissan Americas vice chairman Bill Krueger. Krueger admits that the consumer will vote on whether the Altima becomes the top selling car. "But we are ready to make this car the top seller if the customer agrees."
Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam chimed in on the rivalry. "We are going to give the folks down in Georgetown [Kentucky] a serious run for the money," said Haslam, speaking of Toyota's plant in the neighboring state.
Nissan definitely has the capacity to pass the Camry, as it builds Altimas at two plants.
Krueger says he is not willing to cut and slash profit margins to chase the top-seller number for Altima. Nissan has long been more aggressive in incentive spending than its Japanese rivals in large part because it does not have the brand cachet and reputation for durability and quality that
Toyota and
Honda have.
Nissan built 570,000 vehicles in the U.S. last year and is adding a third shift to Smyrna. Nissan executives, however, won't pinpoint what total capacity is for Smyrna and Canton for competitive reasons. But it definitely has the capacity to pass the Camry's sales, as it builds Altimas at both plants.
Driving impressions of the 2013 Altima are embargoed until May 25, but we are allowed to tell you about a new feature we think is pretty cool. The tire pressure monitoring system not only tells the driver specifically what tire is low, but when you inflate each tire to the ideal, manufacturer-specified level, the car's horn sounds. Pretty neat, huh?.
2013 Nissan Altima production kicks off in Smyrna, aims to pass Camry for #1 originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 15 May 2012 17:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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May 15th, 2012
Nissan’s new (we can’t bring ourselves to say “all-new” because the chassis and engines are carryover) will be in showrooms on June 26, little more than a month from now. We don’t think the 2013 Altima’s styling is pushing...
May 15th, 2012
Nissan is set to expand its Nismo offerings with new "RS" packages. While standard Nismo packages will continue to focus on suspension upgrades, the RS packages will include engine upgrades. Or so says Andy Palmer, executive vice president of...
May 15th, 2012
Filed under: Coupe, Sedan, Infiniti, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan
The current
Infiniti G has soldiered on since the 2009 model year with few updates, so it is about time for a design change. But how much longer do we have to wait? Inside Line reports that the new G will arrive next spring with a new design, fresh engines and a possible hybrid variant.
Nissan VP Andy Palmer reportedly let loose the G's tight time line, while providing room for us to speculate what engineering changes could come with the redesign. The high-ranking executive told IL that the partnership between Nissan and
Mercedes-Benz is progressing as planned, and we know that a four-cylinder engine is among the
early collaborative endeavors. In fact,
just last week Autocar reported that the next G will feature diesel and four-cylinder engines with Mercedes DNA.
Such a powerplant could replace the 2.5-liter V6 under the hood of the G25, and turbocharging could be on order as well. Palmer added that a turbocharged six could also be in the cards, noting that there is a business case for blown sixes that deliver V8 power with V6 fuel economy. Given that the entry Infiniti sedan doesn't currently feature a V8 option, we're all for more G-power for 2014.
The last interesting tidbit is the possibility of a G hybrid model. The addition of a battery-assisted G makes sense given that the automaker already features a hybrid option in its
M sedan, and using the powertrain in more applications helps lower development costs.
Next Infiniti G to arrive in a year's time originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 15 May 2012 09:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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May 15th, 2012
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Filed under: Motorsports, Coupe, Performance, Nissan, Racing
After eight days, 3,300 miles, nine tracks and untold bloody knuckles and zip ties, the song remains the same: Leh Keen and the No. 3 TopSpeed Motorsports Nissan GT-R emerged victorious at the 2012 Tire Rack One Lap of America on Sunday. Keen, his co-drivers Doug Wilks and Lawrence Richard, and their 2010 GT-R put on a clinic, remaining atop or near the top of the leaderboard of every event, from road courses to ovals to drag races and autocrosses.
If Keen's name sounds familiar, it's either because you follow racing - the Georgia native is a multiple Grand Am Rolex GT series champion, currently campaigning a Porsche 911 GT3 with Brumos Racing - or because you follow One Lap (this is the third victory in a row for Keen and his second victory in a row at the wheel of the black and green GT-R). In fact, the top three spots this year were all occupied by Nissan's heavyweight, with the No. 4 2009 GT-R of Todd Treffert and Tyson Timperley and the No. 7 2012 GT-R of Hugh Bate and Craig Kahle rounding out the podium. A total of seven GT-Rs entered this year's One Lap, though none were officially sanctioned Nissan efforts.
Of course, for most competitors and fans, Brock Yates' One Lap isn't actually about winning - there's no prize money doled out and trophies are modest. The event is more about the camaraderie among driving enthusiasts that inevitably results from one of the most unique and challenging tests in motorsports - a week-long pressure-cooker test of man and machine. For more results, photos, videos and tall tales, check out One Lap of America on their website or Facebook page.
Nissan GT-R dominates 2012 One Lap of America originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 14 May 2012 18:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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May 14th, 2012
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