Technology
Ford adding knobs, buttons to MyFord Touch
12:07 pm U.S. ET | June 17, 2013
Ford plans to revert to more traditional knobs and buttons in its MyFord Touch infotainment and control system. The system has hurt Ford's ratings in several quality surveys. Customers have complained the system is bulky, distracting and overly complicated to use. Ford has issued several software upgrades.... Read More » Comments [0] | Recommendations [0]
Apple's bid to crack the center stack
12:01 am U.S. ET | June 17, 2013
Last week Apple executive Eddy Cue said 12 car brands will let motorists link iPhones to center consoles to make calls, send text messages, use maps and issue voice commands. So Apple is poised to invade the cockpit and take over the center stack, right?... Read More »| Related topics: | Information Technology | Green Car | Future Product | Vehicle Design | Europe Manufacturing | Americas | Asia | Global News | China | Europe | Eastern Europe | Western Europe | Manufacturing | New Product | PACE Awards | Production Line |
Toyota limits online warranties
12:01 am U.S. ET | June 17, 2013
Until a month ago, Acton Toyota of Littleton had a nice little side business for five years selling Toyota-sponsored extended service contracts over the Internet. Toyota Financial Services, though, pulled the plug on the business in May, prohibiting Acton Toyota and a handful of other dealerships from selling the contracts nationally online.... Read More »Voice controls: Just another distraction?
12:01 am U.S. ET | June 17, 2013
Car companies are moving full steam ahead on voice controls and are unlikely to be slowed by the note of caution AAA sounded last week, automakers and suppliers say. The influential consumer group, which has more than 53 million members in North America, released research last week that showed voice-to-text systems can cause as much mental distraction as talking on a hand-held cellphone.... Read More »EDITORIAL
Jury's out on hands-free
12:01 am U.S. ET | June 17, 2013
As Apple squares off with Microsoft to determine which will become the dominant operating system for in-vehicle infotainment programs, there is another factor to consider. A study backed by AAA and conducted by the University of Utah found that some hands-free functions can be nearly as distracting to drivers as talking on a hand-held cellphone.... Read More »EDITORIAL
Should EVs help pay for highway maintenance?
12:01 am U.S. ET | June 17, 2013
It had to happen. State highway maintenance programs are at least partially funded by gasoline taxes. But owners of electric vehicles, plug-in hybrids and other alternative-power vehicles pay less in taxes because the vehicles use less, if any, gasoline.... Read More »DAVID BARKHOLZ
Like race for MVP, call centers pit old school, modernists
12:01 am U.S. ET | June 17, 2013
When we asked readers last month whether the business development center is obsolete, you'd have thought we had asked something as monumental as who should be Major League Baseball's MVP. Traditionalists argued for the BDC, reasoning that golden-tongued showroom stars couldn't use that magic on the phone or Internet. Modernists said no.... Read More »Dealers reap more Internet leads
12:01 am U.S. ET | June 17, 2013
Dealerships are seeing a surge of traffic on their Web sites and a greater willingness by shoppers to leave their crucial contact information, said data consultant Dataium. The brightening auto-selling climate combined with dealership Web-site improvements are prompting more Internet leads than a year ago.... Read More »Automakers spread more glue to eliminate weight, rattles
12:01 am U.S. ET | June 17, 2013
Carmakers including Audi and Mercedes-Benz are turning to high-tech adhesives as they seek ways to make vehicles lighter and tougher. Automakers are using more aluminum and exotic composites, which cannot be welded together but have to be glued with adhesives that will not lose their strength and can hold together parts even at top speeds and high pressure.... Read More »Q&A: PETER GUTZMER, SCHAEFFLER AG
Schaeffler exec: Suppliers will play bigger role in engines
12:01 am U.S. ET | June 17, 2013
Soon, waving a finger will switch radio stations
12:01 am U.S. ET | June 17, 2013
Gesture control, the use of hand gestures to control a vehicle's infotainment system, is gaining momentum. Suppliers are developing technologies that allow motorists and passengers to adjust a vehicle's audio, climate control or navigation system through motion sensors. The technology works like Microsoft's Kinect game system.... Read More »Quick-swipe plan removes pain from pairing a phone
12:01 am U.S. ET | June 17, 2013
Tired of plowing through a 300-page owner's manual to pair your smartphone with the infotainment system in the rental car you just picked up? There may be a solution. A Finnish software designer is adapting a technology called NFC to allow motorists to pair smartphones simply by swiping the phones against the instrument panel.... Read More »Car Cutaways
AUTOMOTIVE NEWS EUROPE CONGRESS
Audi sales boss calls for car-to-car data standard
12:01 am U.S. ET | June 17, 2013
The auto industry needs a standard for car-to-car and car-to-infrastructure data communication in order to keep a leading role in providing services to motorists, says Luca de Meo, Audi board member for sales and marketing.... Read More »SiriusXM offers trial to service customers
12:01 am U.S. ET | June 17, 2013
SiriusXM Radio is launching a program this summer that allows dealers to offer a complimentary two-month SiriusXM subscription to qualifying service customers.... Read More »Pop the clutch? Not with Bosch system
12:01 am U.S. ET | June 17, 2013
Any parent who has taught a kid to drive a stick knows the problem: When the clutch comes up too slowly, the engine stalls; too fast and there's lurching, angst and potential whiplash. Bosch thinks it has a solution.... Read More »Robots take the wheel for Ford road tests
12:01 am U.S. ET | June 15, 2013
Making sure vehicles are "built Ford tough" has become too tough on the test drivers whose job involves putting thousands of bone-jarring, teeth-rattling, mind-numbing miles on new models. So Ford has started giving some of that work to replacements who don't need breaks: robots.... Read More »Toyota targets fewer parts, complexity to speed product creation
12:01 am U.S. ET | June 15, 2013
Toyota has decided it no longer needs 50 kinds of air bags to protect drivers' knees. Ten, the company says, ought to suffice. In one of President Akio Toyoda's biggest initiatives since taking over in 2009, the company is winnowing the number of parts it uses and increasing common components across models.... Read More »DealerTrack sued in U.S. court for racial discrimination
3:58 pm U.S. ET | June 13, 2013
Software vendor DealerTrack and its holding company are facing a federal lawsuit for alleged race discrimination filed by two former employees. DealerTrack wrote in a statement that it believes the defendants' claims do not have merit.... Read More »Apple's connected car move creates challenge for automakers, analysts say
3:43 pm U.S. ET | June 12, 2013
Apple wants to invade automotive instrument panels by making its iOS mobile operating system accessible on vehicle screens. The initiative, which Apple discussed publicly this week, creates a challenge for automakers, who want to keep up with the latest connected-vehicle technologies but still control the overall experience with their own operating systems.... Read More »2013 AUTOMOTIVE NEWS EUROPE CONGRESS
Audi sales boss calls for global car-to-car data standard
11:00 am U.S. ET | June 12, 2013
Audi sales boss Luca de Meo wants the European auto industry to lead the way when it comes to creating a common global standard for car-to-car and car-to-infrastructure data communication.... Read More »For some, driving is more stressful than skydiving
10:54 am U.S. ET | June 12, 2013
According to research funded by Audi, driving in chaotic urban traffic can be nearly as stressful for some people as skydiving. The study, conducted by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, used Audi Q5s to test driver frustration, Audi said in a statement.... Read More »
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Special Report
 Dealer O.C. Welch's big-truck turnaroundAfter Mercury's demise, South Carolina Ford-Lincoln dealer O.C. Welch had to find a way to replace lost revenue. He decided to load up on Super Duty pickups – and sell them online. Mon., June 17» Watch the Video |
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