AUTOS
From Times Staff and Wire Reports
GM and Volkswagen Executives Meet: Several top executives of General Motors Corp. and Volkswagen AG met over the weekend, apparently in an attempt to ease tensions between the two auto makers. GM Chief Executive Officer John Smith also met separately with Jose Ignacio Lopez de Arriortua, VW’s parts chief and formerly one of Smith’s top deputies in Detroit. GM has leveled charges of industrial espionage against Lopez, GM’s former chief of worldwide purchasing operations, who defected to Volkswagen in March. Lopez has denied the allegations.
