Joe Dehner, Head of Dodge & Ram Exterior Design talked to Lou Ann Hammond, CEO, Driving the Nation, about the 2014 Ram 1500 and the subtleties of change. A complete overhaul/change wasn't needed for the 1500 so Ram talked to their customers and changed only the things those customers wanted changed. Dehner talks about those [...]
changing the future Timothy Kuniskis, President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) - Dodge Brand, Chrysler Group LLC, talked to Lou Ann Hammond, CEO, Driving the Nation. Kuniskis told us that his boss, Sergio Marchionne, asked him, "If you are here, how are you going to change things?" - basically telling them that the present is [...]
The three tenors were not Italian, two of them were Spanish, but the idea of the three tenors came from an Italian man. Two of the three engines are not American, one of the transmissions is Korean, but the idea is headed by the Italian conductor, Sergio Marchionne. Dave Schmidt, the Chief engineer for the [...]
Politics and Presidential Candidates It was 2008, and drivingthenation.com was following the Presidential candidates around the Cobo Arena. All the Republican candidates were there, John McCain with his sidekick, Joe Leiberman, Mike Huckabee, and Mitt Romney with his wife Ann, son Tagg and his wife Jen, at the 2008 North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) [...]
Top ten things to know before you tow We have an eclectic group of friends with many different interests: some of them including towing and hauling animals and cars. Ed owns the Aerocar, the 1958 Moult Taylor designed flying car. Ed has two sons, one lives in Florida, the other in Auburn, CA. Both sons [...]
2013 North American Car and Truck of the Year (NACTOY) nominees It's that time of the year again, time to whittle down the long list of new cars and trucks to decide which one is crowned car and truck/utility of the year award for 2013. The list below is referred to as the long list. [...]
Reid Bigland, President & CEO of Dodge talked to Lou Ann Hammond, CEO, www.drivingthenation.com, about the 2013 Dodge Dart. From Dodge's press release: “The all-new Dodge Dart is a groundbreaking car that will surprise and delight customers who want a no-compromise, fun-to-drive car that's a great value,” said Reid Bigland, President and Chief Executive Officer [...]
New York International Auto Show (NYIAS) David Vieau, President and CEO of A123Systems and Lou Rhodes, Vice President-Advanced Vehicle Engineering and President of ENVI sat down with me at the 2009 New York auto show to talk batteries & Chrysler hybrids. The heart of ENVI's battery system is a scalable battery module, built by A123. [...]
Jim Press, President and Vice Chairman, Chrysler LLC took questions from the Western Automotive Journalists (WAJ). The questions answered were: 1. Is the Dodge Viper for sale and how would the sale be done? 2. What about the GEM? Isn't Chrysler the largest manufacturer of electric vehicles? 3. How is Chrysler aligning the dealers with [...]
Electrified vehicles Glenn Denomme, chief engineer, hybrid powertrain programs explain the difference between a straight hybrid and a two-mode hybrid Combine the advanced technology with a proven transmission that optimizes city and highway driving. Of course, you can't have advanced technology without new anagrams and new technology words, such as EVT, controls, power electronics, regen [...]