Suppliers and automakers must build strong relationships now to help them get through a potential downturn in sales and production, a panel of executives said here today.

Jeneanne Hanley, Lear's vice president of global trim and craftsmanship, said that many female students have a dated view of manufacturing.

Can 10 little cars on the streets of San Francisco help a global automaker predict the future? Nissan is counting on it, says Rachel Nguyen, head of the small Renault-Nissan Alliance research unit Future Lab.

As Volkswagen works toward resolving its diesel emissions scandal, it is mobilizing “Strategy 2025,” which includes as many as three dedicated platforms for electric vehicles, more utility vehicles and several new budget vehicles.

Automakers and suppliers would be better off addressing cybersecurity concerns by thinking of them as issues of quality, a cyber expert said here on Wednesday.

Even as it sells millions of new vehicles a year, GM also likes the idea of consumers sharing them. “The whole idea of owning a car, parking it for $1,000 a month and letting it sit there 90 percent of the time is just ludicrous,” said Julia Steyn, GM’s vice president of urban mobility programs.

Artificial intelligence, robotics and the cloud will result in vehicles that are safer, more personalized and better connected to other cars, infrastructure and smartphones, said James Kuffner, chief technology officer at Toyota Research Institute.

The auto industry has a tendency to lean heavily on technology solutions to improve safety, but changing human behavior must also be part of the solution, the nation's top safety regulator said Wednesday.

Varroc Lighting has engineered a lighting system called adaptive-drive beam that allows a vehicle's high beams to remain on all the time without blinding oncoming drivers. The technology eliminates the need for the driver to manually switch from high and low beams while driving at night.

Seating and electrical component supplier Lear Corp. is pushing to become a player in connectivity.

Automakers might think they're making exciting electric cars, but they're really doing nothing more than building boring appliances. At least that's what Diarmuid O'Connell, Tesla vice president of business development, says.

Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne and Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder signed a memorandum of understanding with the Canadian province of Ontario to increase the region's competitiveness in the auto industry.

Setting up the supply chain to produce the low-volume Acura NSX supercar in Marysville, Ohio, presented special challenges to Honda's purchasing organization, according to Tom Lake, vice president of purchasing for Honda North America.

When it comes to corporate takeovers and turnarounds, Accuride Corp. CEO Rick Dauch has been there, done that.

Christopher Heiser, co-founder of Silicon Valley startup Renovo Motors, says the traditional concept of a vehicle platform faces potential radical change in an era dominated by software, electronics and the rise of autonomous vehicle technology.

Energy independent vehicles, or EIVs, are capable of rolling without physically connecting to any energy source, whether an electric plug or a gasoline pump.