Information TechnologyFord to offer SiriusXM app for in-vehicle radio 4:06 pm U.S. ET | June 19, 2013  Ford is the first automaker to offer in-vehicle access to the SiriusXM Internet Radio App, the companies announced today.... Read More »
Tesla recalls some Model S vehicles due to seat-mount defect 8:44 am U.S. ET | June 19, 2013  Electric car maker Tesla Motors said it will recall 1,228 of its 2013 Model S cars manufactured between May 10 and June 8 due to a defect in the mounting bracket of the rear seat.... Read More »
Tesla recalls some Model S vehicles due to seat-mount defectJune 19, 2013 14:44 CET  Electric car maker Tesla Motors said it will recall 1,228 of its 2013 Model S cars manufactured between May 10 and June 8 due to a defect in the mounting bracket of the rear seat.... Read More »
Chrysler changes course, elects to inspect, modify older Jeep SUVs in U.S.June 19, 2013 06:01 CET  Chrysler Group, saying it has settled a dispute with U.S. federal safety regulators, will inspect older-model Jeep Grand Cherokee and Jeep Liberty SUVs and install a trailer hitch assembly if necessary to “better manage crash forces in low-speed impacts.”... Read More »
Chrysler changes course, elects to inspect, modify older Jeep SUVs 2:22 pm U.S. ET | June 18, 2013  Chrysler Group, saying it's settled a dispute with federal safety regulators, will inspect older-model Jeep Grand Cherokee and Jeep Liberty SUVs and install a trailer hitch assembly if necessary to “better manage crash forces in low-speed impacts.”... 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 »
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 »
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 »
HANS GREIMEL Honda's little radiation-proof robot does nuke duty 8:58 am U.S. ET | June 17, 2013  In the highly radioactive crucible of Japan's crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant, there are simply some areas too hot and hazardous for humans to venture for cleanup. Now, Honda is parlaying its expertise in robotics into a helping hand.... Read More »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
GM expands SUV recall to 480,000 vehicles for fire risk 4:03 pm U.S. ET | June 16, 2013  GM is recalling about 231,000 additional SUVs that might be in danger of an electrical short that could cause a fire. The move is an expansion of a recall from last August to check 249,000 SUVs for a short in a circuit board in the driver's door that could lead to a fire.... 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 »
AUTOMOTIVE NEWS EUROPE E-MAGAZINE Tech edge, global reach help European suppliers, CLEPA boss saysJune 14, 2013 06:01 CET  Europe is in a deep slump but the head of the region's suppliers group says many partsmakers are growing their businesses because of their global footprints. Another key for Europe's component makers is to maintain their lead on technology, CLEPA CEO Jean-Marc Gales says.... 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 »
U.S. study sounds alarm on voice-to-text features in carsJune 13, 2013 06:01 CET  The voice-to-text features that car companies are offering to keep drivers' eyes on the road may also be highly distracting, the consumer group AAA warned as it released the results of a two-year research project.... Read More »
2013 AUTOMOTIVE NEWS EUROPE CONGRESS Jaguar Land Rover, ZF, Tesla are 2013 L.E.A.D.E.R. winnersJune 12, 2013 18:00 CET  Jaguar Land Rover, ZF Friedrichshafen and Tesla are the 2013 winners of the fourth annual Automotive News Europe/Automotive Intelligence Center L.E.A.D.E.R. awards.... Read More »
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