EDITORS: Media interested in attending the seminars or obtaining a complete agenda should consult the MBS Web page at www.mbs2002.org or call CAR/Altarum at (734) 662-1287.

ANN ARBOR—The 37th annual Management Briefing Seminars, the automotive industry’s premier conference event, will be held Aug. 5-9 at the Grand Traverse Resort and Spa near Traverse City, Mich. William Clay Ford Jr. of Ford Motor Co., Hiroyuki Yoshino of Honda Motor Co., Dieter Zetsche of DaimlerChrysler Corp. and Robert Lutz of General Motors Corp. will be among more than 100 executive-level speakers from major auto manufacturers, suppliers, other related businesses and industries, government and academia. The week-long event will feature the three-day flagship 2002 Automotive Management Briefing (Aug. 7-9), The Future of Auto: Fast, Fun and Scary, moderated by industry analyst David E. Cole, president of the Center for Automotive Research (CAR) at Altarum. Additional seminars focusing on topics such as product-process development, supply chain management, business models, program launches and advanced power technologies will take place Aug. 5-6. The Future of Auto seminar will address the industry’s major challenges, including the significant issue of profit erosion for many suppliers and manufacturers. “For those organizations that thrive on competition, the fun of a faster business climate may be only beginning,” Cole says. “For those organizations ill-prepared to move intelligently and quickly, the future will be frightening—their survival is at stake.” More than 1,500 leaders from the global auto industry are expected to attend the conference, which is co-sponsored by CAR, the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute’s Office for the Study of Automotive Transportation and the U-M College of Engineering’s Center for Professional Development.

Related Links:

• www.mbs2002.org