OEM CoverageCARS & CONCEPTS U.S. tweaks boost Leaf's mpg score 12:01 am U.S. ET | May 20, 2013  U.S. production of Nissan's Leaf electric vehicle has resulted in improved EPA fuel economy numbers for the car. The production move from Japan to Nissan's plant in Smyrna, Tenn., this year gave the automaker a chance to make a small number of midcycle engineering changes.... Read More »
CARS & CONCEPTS Sporty Bentley models in the works 12:01 am U.S. ET | May 20, 2013 Bentley plans to launch a 650-hp Continental Supersports as early as 2014, featuring carbon-fiber panels and a stiffer chassis, sources told Autoweek.... Read More »
CARS & CONCEPTS Honda to return to F1 racing 12:01 am U.S. ET | May 20, 2013 Honda will return to Formula One as an engine supplier after exiting the racing series in 2008. The Japanese automaker will provide engines to its former F1 racing partner McLaren starting in 2015.... 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 »
CARS & CONCEPTS Lambo's design exercise 12:01 am U.S. ET | May 20, 2013  The jet fighterlike Lamborghini Egoista concept shown this month at the company's 50th anniversary celebration in Bologna isn't planned for production, but it does have a purpose: countering critics who think Lambo has lost some of its design edginess.... Read More »
CARS & CONCEPTS Sources: Chrysler plans high-hp Hellcat V-8 12:01 am U.S. ET | May 20, 2013 Chrysler Group is developing a supercharged Hemi V-8 with power approaching the 640 hp of the SRT Viper's V-10.... Read More »
EDITORIAL GM, Chrysler are still working on supplier relations 12:01 am U.S. ET | May 20, 2013 Are General Motors and Chrysler Group playing hardball with suppliers again? The latest automaker-supplier relations study by the consultant firm Planning Perspectives Inc. was troubling... Read More »
DAVE GUILFORD Price is next hurdle for Tesla growth 12:01 am U.S. ET | May 20, 2013  Tesla has had one hell of a run lately. It reported its first quarterly profit. It's brainstorming self-guided cars with Google. The stock is sizzling. Let's just take a deep breath. Amid all the buzz, it's important to realize what Tesla has and hasn't accomplished Dave Guilford is enterprise editor of Automotive News.... Read More »
FINAL ASSEMBLY Again, Tokyo show a no-go for Detroit 3 12:01 am U.S. ET | May 20, 2013 The Detroit 3 will sit out the Tokyo Motor Show, no-shows for the third straight time.... Read More »
FINAL ASSEMBLY And the condo elevator goes from 0 to 60 in ... 12:01 am U.S. ET | May 20, 2013  Pininfarina, the Italian design house famous for styling Ferrari cars, also does condos.... Read More »
FINAL ASSEMBLY Tesla's soaring stock price buries short sellers 12:01 am U.S. ET | May 20, 2013 The recent rocket ride of Tesla stock has put the hurt on holders of "shorts" -- those gambling that the price of the stock will fall.... Read More »
Industry: EU trade deal would lift exports 12:01 am U.S. ET | May 20, 2013 U.S. auto exports to Europe could quadruple within 15 years if regulators get rid of tariffs and adopt standard vehicle-safety rules, automaker associations say.... Read More »
TALK FROM THE TOP: JIM LENTZ, CEO, NORTH AMERICA REGION, TOYOTA MOTOR CORP. Toyota streamlines decision-making for North America 12:01 am U.S. ET | May 20, 2013  Toyota Motor Corp. President Akio Toyoda restructured the company's management this year to give more authority and autonomy to local regions. Nowhere was this more evident than in North America, where Jim Lentz, CEO of Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A., was placed in charge of all Toyota sales and manufacturing for the region.... Read More »
TALK FROM THE TOP: LUDWIG WILLISCH, CEO, BMW OF NORTH AMERICA BMW counts on new models to keep luxury sales crown 12:01 am U.S. ET | May 20, 2013  Mercedes-Benz led the U.S. luxury-brand sales race through April of 2013, but BMW of North America CEO Ludwig Willisch expects BMW to repeat as No. 1 for the year. Willisch says help is on the way in the form of three models debuting this fall: the 3-series GT crossover, 4-series coupe and a redesigned X5 crossover.... Read More »
Kogai takes reins of Mazda's comeback 12:01 am U.S. ET | May 20, 2013  Mazda Motor Corp.'s CEO designate, Masamichi Kogai, had a big hand in creating the more stable, profitable carmaker he inherits. But formidable challenges lie ahead.... 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 »
Acura seeks image boost by reviving NSX in Ohio 12:01 am U.S. ET | May 20, 2013  Honda officials hope the revived Acura NSX, an advanced hybrid sports car scheduled to arrive in 2015, will strengthen Acura's luxury footing. Honda said last week that it will invest $70 million in Ohio to assemble the NSX.... Read More »
Small BMW team rethought electric cars for huge cities 12:01 am U.S. ET | May 20, 2013  Nearly six years ago, BMW AG's Project i began to position the automaker for the future. In an interview with Automobilwoche, a German language sibling to Automotive News, Project i chief Ulrich Kranz explained how the idea of a carbon-body car for megacities emerged from his team.... Read More »
PRODUCTION LINE Chafing against engine friction 12:01 am U.S. ET | May 20, 2013 Friction is enemy No. 1 for powertrain engineers striving to meet rising fuel-economy standards. Lower friction enables engines to efficiently produce more horsepower per liter of displacement.... Read More »
PRODUCTION LINE Q&A: AUDI'S BERND MARTENS Audi plans 90% local sourcing in Mexico 12:01 am U.S. ET | May 20, 2013  In September, Bernd Martens took over Audi purchasing as a member of the Audi management board. Martens, 47, gave Automotive News' German-language sibling publication, Automobilwoche, a look at how he and his team explored sourcing in Mexico.... Read More »
Chevy will get a version of small Nissan cargo van 12:01 am U.S. ET | May 20, 2013  General Motors will sell a restyled version of Nissan's four-cylinder NV200 commercial van as the 2015 Chevrolet City Express in the fall of 2014.... 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 »
Hyundai, Kia losing ground to luxury imports at home as tariffs fall 12:01 am U.S. ET | May 19, 2013  Foreign brands have seen their share of South Korea's market for premium vehicles surge to 41 percent from 28 percent in the past two years, according to Korean industry groups, as lower tariffs make their cars cheaper and local buyers abandon a decades-long preference for domestic brands.... Read More »
Toyota plans big hike in lithium ion battery output 12:22 pm U.S. ET | May 19, 2013  Toyota is planning to increase production of lithium ion batteries by six times, as the automaker prepares to eventually use them in its flagship Prius gasoline-electric hybrid cars, the Nikkei business daily reported on Sunday.... Read More »
Audi overtakes BMW as India's top-selling premium brandMay 18, 2013 06:01 CET  Audi has overtaken BMW as India's top seller of luxury vehicles, and Audi executives say the success is due to the automaker's rapid expansion outside large urban centers, as well as the Q3 SUV introduced last year.... Read More »
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