GM's dealerships open in Bandung, Semarang
JAKARTA: PT General Motors Indonesia (GMI) announced last Thursday that it has opened two new Chevrolet dealerships in Bandung and Semarang to further strengthen its customer service outside the Greater Jakarta area.
Both dealerships offer sales, service and spare parts services operated by two different companies.
The dealership in Bandung is operated by PT Surya Sinergi Transportama under the Allbrite brand while the one in Semarang is run by PT Sun Motor. These new facilities bring the total Chevrolet network across Indonesia to 37 dealerships, six showroom outlets and five authorized service centers.
"Now that we have a solid range of passenger vehicles in Indonesia, including award-winning models such as Optra, Aveo and Spark, our job is to make sure these popular models are adequately represented especially in other major cities outside of Jakarta," said Harold Koh, president director of GMI.
Koh added that the company is committed to a US$7.5 million scheme aimed at providing customers with easy access to highly professional sales staff, competent mechanics and readily available spare parts. -- JP
;JP;NVN; ANPAc..r.. Roadmark-Toyota-contest Toyota holds technician contest JP/17/ROAD
Toyota holds technician contest
JAKARTA: PT Toyota Astra Motor (TAM) held a National After-Sales Service Skills Contest divided into five divisions: general repairs, service advisor, spare parts, body repair and paint repair.
There were 46 participants from Toyota's main dealers of Auto 2000, New Ratna Motor, Agung Automall, Hadji Kalla and Hasjrat Abadi.
"Through this contest, we expect to identify qualified service and parts technicians as part of our after-sales service to our customers," said PT TAM president Johnny Darmawan.
The company is also preparing a new training program for its technicians to keep them abreast with the latest developments in technology. -- JP
;AFP; ANPAc..u.. US-auto-safety-SUV Ford to offer anti-rollover device as standard on certain SUVs JP/20/ROAD
Ford's anti-rollover device on offer
DETROIT: The Ford Motor Co. is adding a stability control device to its best-selling Explorer and three other SUVs for the 2005 model year in a bid to prevent rollovers.
On Thursday, the automaker announced that the patented anti- rollover system would come as standard equipment on its Lincoln Aviator, Lincoln Navigator, Ford Explorer and Mercury Mountaineer sport utility vehicles.
It will be an option in the full-size Ford Expedition, the automaker said at a preview of its 2005 lineup.
The safety device -- pioneered by the Swedish automaker Volvo, now owned by the US automaker -- uses a gyroscopic sensor to determine the vehicle's body roll angle and roll rate.
If it detects the vehicle is about to roll, it applies the brakes and/or reduces engine power by up to 15 percent to keep the wheels on the pavement.
Critics of the high-riding vehicles claim that SUVs are susceptible to rollovers during sharp maneuvers because of the combination of a higher center of gravity and a narrow wheel base.
The Ford Explorer has come in for particular criticism, partly because of the 2000-2001 tire recall fiasco. Ford and its tire supplier recalled millions of Firestone tires on Explorers after they were shown to suffer from tread separation at high speeds, causing rollover accidents.
Regulators traced at least 271 traffic deaths to the accidents. During the controversy, Bridgestone/Firestone suggested the design of the Explorer was flawed, but regulators gave the vehicle a clean bill of health. --AFP
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US-auto-safety-SUV AFP
GetAFP 2.10 -- JUL 23, 2004 21:59:53