Friday, June 3, 2005

Global Automotive Report

Ford names Aston Martin design chief

Detroit News staff, wire and Bloomberg News reports

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GAYDON, England -- Ford Motor Co. named Marek Reichman as director of design for Aston Martin, one of the automaker's European luxury brands. Reichman is joining Aston Martin from Ford North America, where he most recently was a director of design focused on the automaker's interior design strategy, among other responsibilities. He also designed the recent Ford Fairlane concept. He replaces Henrik Fisker, who resigned as Aston Martin's design chief in December. Reichman joined Ford in 1999 as chief designer for Ford and Lincoln-Mercury brands.

Supreme Court says Ford supervisor can be liable for sexual harassment

LANSING - A Ford Motor Co. plant supervisor who is accused of sexually harassing a female worker can be sued under the state's civil rights act, the Michigan Supreme Court has ruled. The court, in a split 4-3 opinion released late Wednesday, said both employers and their employees can be held liable for sexual harassment. The decision overturns a 2002 ruling by the state appeals court that only an employer can be sued for harassment.

Chief Justice Clifford Taylor, writing for the majority, said the earlier ruling was inconsistent with the actual language of the civil rights act. The case before the high court involved Lula Elezovic, an Albanian immigrant and worker at Ford's Wixom plant who sued both the automaker and her supervisor, Daniel Bennett, in 1999.

Elezovic's suit against Ford was dismissed after a Wayne County Circuit Court ruled that she failed to tell higher managers about the harassment. A Michigan Court of Appeals panel begrudgingly threw out her case against Bennett, too, citing an earlier ruling that supervisors aren't liable for sexual harassment under the state's civil rights act. The Supreme Court ruling means Bennett can be sued. The court agreed with lower courts that Ford shouldn't be held liable.

Lansing GM plants to lay off workers

LANSING - Workers at two General Motors Corp. assembly plants in Lansing will be laid off next week due to slow sales of the products built at those factories, the automaker said Thursday. The Lansing Grand River plant builds the Cadillac CTS, SRX and STS and the Chevrolet SSR is produced at the Lansing Craft Centre. About 2,000 workers will be affected by the temporary shutdown.

GM venture to build engine plant in China

SHANGHAI, China -- General Motors Corp.'s joint venture in China signed an agreement to take over an automobile plant in Qingdao to increase production of commercial mini-vehicles. The SAIC-GM-Wuling Automobile Co. joint venture will buy Etsong (Qingdao) Vehicle Manufacturing Co., with production set to start in the second half of this year. The new plant will have an annual production capacity of 60,000 to 70,000 units. SAIC-GM-Wuling started construction on a new engine plant in Liuzhou, Guangxi, in southern China. The joint venture is investing about $386 million in the engine plant, which is expected to be completed by 2007 and will manufacture engines for mini-vehicles.

Volvo recalls 13,000 trucks worldwide for steering failure

STOCKHOLM, Sweden - Swedish truck and bus maker Volvo AB confirmed Thursday it is recalling 13,000 trucks worldwide because of a risk of steering failure. The problem was discovered after an accident last spring, and the company notified its garages in February that it would recall the FH 16 trucks, manufactured between 1993 to 2002, said Claes Claeson, a Volvo Trucks spokesman. Volvo, which sold its car division to U.S.-based Ford Motor Co. in 1999, also makes buses and construction equipment, including loaders and lifters.