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GM NAMES WAGONER
CEO
GM, FORD UP FOR JANUARY, DC
DOWN
JANUARY’S TOP TEN SELLERS
FORD OFFERS EMPLOYEES HOME COMPUTERS
VW
MAY JUMP IN DAEWOO GAME
GM EXERCISES SAAB
OPTION
FORD IGNORED WARNINGS TO UPGRADE
BOILERS
NO INTERNET SALES FOR TOYOTA
GM SHAREHOLDERS GET HUGHES STOCK
FORD LOOKING AT CUTS IN EUROPE, STRIKE POSSIBLE
TOYOTAS GET ONSTAR SERVICE
AUTOMAKERS AIM FOR NEW AIRBAG TEST
ACCIDENTS DECLINE, BUT CLAIMS RISE

For more about Wagoner's promotion, click here.
GM, FORD UP FOR JANUARY, DC
DOWN U.S. vehicle sales were up for both Ford and General Motors for the
month of January, while DaimlerChrysler sales fell, marking its third drop in
four months. Both Ford and GM said the rise was partly due to vehicle
incentives; they logged 3.3- and 12-percent increases respectively. Although
European and Asian automakers continued to gain market share over the Big Three,
DaimlerChrysler was hit the hardest, with a drop of 5.9 percent. Overall the
U.S. automakers’ share declined 1.7 percent from last year, to a 68.5-percent
share.
JANUARY’S TOP TEN SELLERS Here are the twenty best-selling vehicles in the country for January, according to wire reports:
1. Ford F-Series 59,428
2. Chevrolet Silverado 45,804
3. Toyota Camry
40,285
4. Ford Explorer 30,058
5. Dodge Ram pickup 26,795
6. Dodge
Caravan 24,665
7. Honda Accord 24,241
8. Ford Taurus 23,131
9. Honda
Civic 21,873
10. Ford Ranger pickup 21,150
11. Jeep Grand Cherokee
19,750
12. Ford Focus 19,018
13. Toyota Corolla 18,635
14. Chevrolet
Blazer 16,672
15. Chevrolet Cavalier 16,062
16. Chevrolet S-Series
15,946
17. Chevrolet Malibu 15,650
18. Pontiac Grand Am 15,138
19 Ford
Windstar 14,929
20. Ford Expedition 14,232
FORD OFFERS EMPLOYEES HOME
COMPUTERS Some 350,000 Ford hourly employees will have the option to
get Hewlett-Packard home computers and printers with unlimited Internet access
for $5 a month. The deal is part of an agreement with the United Auto Workers
union, who believe that employee’s access to e-mail will improve communications.
Chairman Bill Ford said that the company is making the move because "the
Internet will be the equivalent of the moving assembly line in the
21st Century." Hewlett-Packard has said that it expects to ship about
300,000 computers to Ford workers. Analysts estimate the program will cost Ford
$10-$17 per month per worker.
VW MAY JUMP IN DAEWOO GAME As if
there hasn’t been enough speculation about the state of Daewoo Motor, the South
Korean Finance Minister had to stir the pot a bit more. Lee Hun Jai told a local
television station that Volkswagen was also interested in bidding when the
automaker goes up for auction. VW, who declined comment, would join General
Motors, Ford, Hyundai and Fiat SpA in the bidding process.
GM EXERCISES SAAB OPTION General
Motors paid $125 million to exercise its option to buy the 50 percent stake of
Saab Automobile that was held by Investor AB, a Swedish investment group. If it
had not exercised the option by the end of January, Investor could have sold
half its stake to GM later under a put option. GM purchased 50 percent of Saab
in 1990.
FORD IGNORED WARNINGS TO UPGRADE
BOILERS Documents gathered by state regulators showed that Ford and Rouge
Industries ignored auditors recommendations to upgrade the boiler controls at
the power plant where last year an explosion killed six workers. The Detroit
News reported that the two companies received the advice from at least four
outside auditors in 1987. The February 1999 accident, considered one of the
costliest in U.S. industrial history, injured 30, killed six and caused about $1
billion in damage.
NO INTERNET SALES FOR TOYOTA
Expressing concern that its customers may not receive good service for cars
purchased online, Toyota president Fujio Cho told reporters that the company had
no plans to sell its vehicles over the Internet. Toyota’s Japanese site Gazoo
(http://gazoo.com/index.htm) allows visitors to purchase
products such as stationery and food online. "We’ll offer information (about
Toyota vehicles) on our home page and Gazoo, but sell our products at dealers,"
Cho said.
GM SHAREHOLDERS GET HUGHES
STOCK The board of directors at General Motors agreed to offer shareholders
$8 billion in tracking stock from the Hughes Electronics unit. Another $7
billion will be contributed to retirement-benefit plans, allowing the company to
realize $15 billion in value from Hughes. Investors, who had expected an
announcement of this sort, traded GM stock heavily, resulting in an overall rise
of $4.6875 per share at the NYSE’s close on Tuesday.
FORD LOOKING AT CUTS IN EUROPE,
STRIKE POSSIBLE After saying that its European performance was unacceptable,
Ford’s European chiefs indicated yesterday that it will decide whether and how
to cut European capacity in the first half of the year. In the meantime, 3000
design, engineering and administrative workers in the U.K. have voted for a
strike in a ballot, according to union officials. Ford, who has said that it has
made its "final offer" with the group, is likely to see a halt in U.K.
production if the group strikes.
TOYOTAS GET ONSTAR SERVICE
Toyota announced that vehicles sold in the U.S. will offer General Motor’s
OnStar emergency communications service as an option. A final agreement has not
been reached but OnStar spokesperson Todd Carstenson indicated the company was
optimistic that a deal would be made soon. Separately, Toyota executive VP
Kosuke Yamamoto said that because of the companies’ history together, GM had an
edge over Ford in the efforts to get Toyota to join each automaker’s online
supply networks.
AUTOMAKERS AIM FOR NEW AIRBAG
TEST Industry groups and automakers met with the Office of Management and
Budget, the group that handles government regulations, to urge that a
slower-speed airbag test by adopted by the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration. Automakers say that the controversial 30-mph airbag test
requires using more powerful airbags that can be harmful to children and small
adults. The companies propose adopting a 25-mph test instead, which would allow
an airbag that deploys with less force to be used. The new regulations are
expected March 1.
ACCIDENTS DECLINE, BUT CLAIMS
RISE Despite the fact that the number of auto accidents has declined over
the last 20 years, a new study reports that people are more likely to claim
injuries from an auto accident. The Insurance Research Council reported that
bodily injury claims jumped 33 percent overall between 1980 and 1998, although
these claims have declined slightly since 1996. The organization said that it
had seen an improvement in the frequency of accidents recently, which it
attributes to safer car designs and campaigns against drunk
driving.
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