Information TechnologyGM recalls more than 27,000 Cadillac SRXs with possible wheel issue 12:01 am U.S. ET | May 23, 2013  General Motors is recalling worldwide more than 27,000 Cadillac crossover vehicles whose wheels could fall off due to potentially loose wheel nuts.... Read More »
Small BMW team rethought electric cars for huge citiesMay 23, 2013 06:01 CET  Nearly six years ago, BMW's Project i began to position the automaker for the future. Project i chief Ulrich Kranz explained how the idea of a carbon-body car for megacities emerged from his team.... Read More »
PSA will close r&d site to reduce spendingMay 22, 2013 09:49 CET  PSA will shut a French r&d facility as part of a program to reduce spending.... Read More »
Automakers, dealers remain opposed to bill preventing rental firms from renting recalled vehicles 6:34 pm U.S. ET | May 21, 2013 Major automakers and auto dealers told a Senate panel Tuesday that they remain opposed to legislation that would prohibit rental car companies from renting or selling vehicles that are subject to a federal safety recall.... Read More »
CARS & CONCEPTS NSX's electric motors will help handling 12:01 am U.S. ET | May 20, 2013  Technical details on the Acura NSX coming in 2015 are scarce, but large-project leader Ted Klaus offered a few nuggets last week as Honda officials announced that the sports car will be built in Ohio.... Read More »
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY Snap-Happy 12:01 am U.S. ET | May 20, 2013  Donna Gebers, general manager of East Bay BMW and East Bay Mini in Pleasanton, Calif., makes no apologies for including at least 60 photos of each used vehicle. The 60 photos per used-car listing required of Hendrick-owned stores is at least three times the average number that appear in listings on many third-party shopping sites.... Read More »
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY Veteran Texas dealer mines data to sell pickups 12:01 am U.S. ET | May 20, 2013  It takes something special to get Hayden Elder's attention now that he has run a Chrysler dealership in Texas for decades. But software installed at Elder Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram in the past month has turned his head.... Read More »
Cost is key to fate of talking cars 12:01 am U.S. ET | May 20, 2013  Cars that communicate with each other to avoid crashes or traffic jams will save lives, but the cost of the systems will determine consumers' acceptance, the U.S. transportation secretary said last week.... Read More »
Akerson's global goal: Rebuild GM into an IT powerhouse 12:01 am U.S. ET | May 20, 2013 General Motors is hiring thousands of workers and spending hundreds of millions of dollars to rebuild the in-house information technology capability it began dismantling nearly two decades ago.... Read More »
NHTSA confirms new deputy, considers push for automatic braking 3:51 pm U.S. ET | May 15, 2013 The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has confirmed David Friedman, previously a transportation analyst at the Union of Concerned Scientists, as its new deputy administrator.... Read More »
U.S. to monitor cybersecurity risks as car connectivity grows 3:04 pm U.S. ET | May 15, 2013  Rising cybersecurity risks to drivers as their cars become increasingly powered by and connected to computers have prompted federal auto safety regulators to start a new office focusing on the threat.... Read More »
Survey: Consumers are ready for new tech ideas in cars 10:29 am U.S. ET | May 15, 2013 A new survey about what vehicle consumers want and don't want suggests that the auto industry is lagging consumers when it comes to technology ideas.... Read More »
Cost to be big factor in 'talking' cars acceptance, LaHood says 3:51 pm U.S. ET | May 14, 2013  Cars that "talk" to each other to avoid crashes or traffic jams, like those being tested here, will save lives but the cost of the systems will determine consumers' acceptance of such technology, the transportation secretary said today.... Read More »
BEST PRACTICES Dealer pairs test driver's phone to car 12:01 am U.S. ET | May 13, 2013  A Chrysler Group dealer in Michigan has turned a 30-second routine into a better way to demonstrate his technology-laden vehicles.Before the start of each test drive at Extreme Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram, the salesperson showing the vehicle asks the customer in the driver's seat for his or her smartphone and -- with permission -- connects the phone to the vehicle's infotainment system.... Read More »
Report: Vehicles sold in Brazil lack safety features 1:10 pm U.S. ET | May 13, 2013  Automakers are having widespread success selling vehicles in Brazil, but thousands of Brazilians are dying each year in auto accidents that experts blame on a combination of unsafe vehicles and often dangerous driving conditions, according to an Associated Press report.... Read More »
Michigan couple appeal sentence in GM trade-secret case 6:07 pm U.S. ET | May 13, 2013 A Michigan couple sentenced to prison for stealing General Motors hybrid-car technology trade secrets filed appeals Friday with the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati.... Read More »
GABE NELSON Why Wednesday hearing could be connected cars' moment of truth 4:12 pm U.S. ET | May 13, 2013  In the software industry, people talk about vaporware -- products that are heavily promoted but never seem to go on sale. Automakers are at the point that they must prove that connected cars, which talk to each other over Wi-Fi to stay out of fender-benders, are more than just vaporware.... Read More »
Toyota puts high beams on headlight regulation 12:01 am U.S. ET | May 13, 2013  With a recent petition, Toyota has intensified the pressure on safety regulators to approve new headlights currently forbidden on U.S. roads. The headlights use cameras to detect other cars and automatically dim the portions of the high beam that would shine in other drivers' eyes.... Read More »
GM says new data centers will improve vehicles, margins 1:35 pm U.S. ET | May 13, 2013  General Motors said it is investing $546 million in two new Michigan data centers in hopes it will free up millions of dollars to boost vehicle quality more quickly.... Read More »
Akerson sees GM profits streaming from in-vehicle connections 12:33 pm U.S. ET | May 13, 2013  One of the first things Dan Akerson did as CEO of General Motos in 2010 was dive into the automaker’s telecommunications business to get more profit from that in-car connection.... Read More »
New needs, more speeds 12:01 am U.S. ET | May 13, 2013  In March, luxury maker Land Rover proudly told an audience at the Geneva auto show that it would soon bring to market the industry's first nine-speed transmission. One month later, Ford Motor Co. and General Motors announced that they would jointly develop 10-speeds. Can 12-speeds really be that far behind? And why not a 24-speed?... Read More »
Corvettes from 2005-2007 being probed over headlight problems 10:21 am U.S. ET | May 10, 2013  Federal auto safety regulators have launched a preliminary investigation into the Chevrolet Corvette from model years 2005 to 2007, citing dozens of complaints that the car's headlights can turn themselves off without warning.... Read More »
Tesla CEO talking with Google about 'autopilot' systemsMay 10, 2013 06:01 CET  Tesla CEO Elon Musk said the electric-car maker is considering adding driverless technology to its vehicles and discussing the prospects for such systems with Google Inc.... Read More »
Microsoft wants to become key player in auto softwareMay 9, 2013 06:01 CET  Having reshaped a big piece of the world's economy around its Windows software, Microsoft now wants to do the same thing in the car business. What the Seattle giant sees there says as much about the future of cars as it does about itself.... Read More »
Study: 90% of parents admit to driving distracted 1:49 pm U.S. ET | May 7, 2013 Nearly nine of 10 parents admit to talking, texting or otherwise driving distracted while transporting their children in the past month, a new study by the University of Michigan reveals.... Read More »
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