GM CEO Dan Akerson’s interest in a dialogue with Korean President Geun-hye Park shocked union officials, who say the two sides had just begun negotiations on a new 2013-2014 collective bargaining agreement and were looking forward to productive discussions.
This year's WardsAuto Interiors Conference was held May 22 at The Henry hotel in Dearborn, MI. The sold-out event delivered compelling keynote speeches and panel sessions, celebrated winners of Ward's 10 Best Interiors and honored student designs from the College for Creative Studies.
Lincoln’s product marketing manager explains the importance of “cultural progressives” who enjoy new experiences and a good meal. They even like to know where the butter comes from....More
Everyone appreciates an executive who cuts directly to the chase and lays it bare, but that same attitude can be expressed without being offensive....More
Analysts say the X100 investment underscores parent Mahindra’s expectations for a full recovery of Ssangyong with an earlier-than-anticipated return to profit....More
Cadillac and Lincoln have the cash to reclaim some of their greatness and continue the development of great premium cars and trucks. Both brands can seriously say they have begun a long road back to top tier in their home market. Much more is required globally....More
What all drivers have in common is a need to feel connected to their vehicles, but they also demand not to be distracted by them, a top executive says....More
Ford is ending production after 88 years, but it’s not going away. Rather, it will become a full importer. Officials say it costs four times as much to build a car in Australia as it does in Asia, and twice as much as in Europe....More
A vehicle’s improved technology and new styling, facilitated by modern design techniques, makes its predecessor look dated and less attractive when being re-sold or traded in....More
Everyone appreciates an executive who cuts directly to the chase and lays it bare, but that same attitude can be expressed without being offensive....More
The Piquette plant built 12,000 Model T’s by 1910, and by then the car’s runaway success gave birth to yet another big idea: Ford’s Highland Park plant 4 miles (6.4 km) to the north, a hulking complex 10 times larger than the humble wood and brick Piquette facility that later was used to produce Studebakers....More
If John Wayne were asked to mosey in to a design studio and help create a pickup truck, chances are he'd rustle up something like the Ram 1500 Laramie Longhorn....More
If you wager on where the automotive market is going, look at what will be required by future government regulations, what will be affordable and what will not resemble an economic stimulus for trial lawyers....More
American consumers have not used the technology in decades and an entirely new generation of buyers has entered the market since previous-generation diesels exited....More
Cadillac and Lincoln have the cash to reclaim some of their greatness and continue the development of great premium cars and trucks. Both brands can seriously say they have begun a long road back to top tier in their home market. Much more is required globally....More
Ford is ending production after 88 years, but it’s not going away. Rather, it will become a full importer. Officials say it costs four times as much to build a car in Australia as it does in Asia, and twice as much as in Europe....More
Amko Leenarts, Ford’s global interior-design chief, says the influx of technology into today’s vehicles creates challenges such as finding space for the different components....More
For the second consecutive month, U.S. light vehicles attained record fuel efficiency even as sales continued to shift toward traditionally less-efficient segments....More
WardsAuto/AutomotiveCompass Global Vehicle & Powertrain Forecasts.
Interest in autonomous vehicles continues to grow, but technical, legal, regulatory and cost hurdles remain. When will true driverless cars reach the U.S. market?
Human-machine interface systems should be designed to enhance, not distract, the driving experience, panelists here say, acknowledging mistakes have been made and that future trends point to simpler interfaces....More
“Until cars assume complete responsibility for driving, the critical challenge is to design vehicles so that drivers clearly understand how the car works. Even small design changes can violate drivers’ expectations and confuse them.”...More
Most early connected-vehicle safety technologies making their way into volume vehicles, such as lane departure and forward collision alert, are bundled into expensive option packages....More
If you wager on where the automotive market is going, look at what will be required by future government regulations, what will be affordable and what will not resemble an economic stimulus for trial lawyers....More
Researchers are developing the capability to assess and rate the new technologies’ effectiveness and promote their adoption and uptake in new cars....More
Fully automated driving may come eventually, but in the meantime the technology’s building blocks could be the ultimate answer to distracted-driving concerns....More