NEEDED: 'THICK SKIN'

GM designer knows crucial launches produce a love-hate response

12:01 am U.S. ET | May 20, 2013
Chevrolet designer Tom Peters describes the blocky, chiseled front end of the 2014 Silverado pickup as a "fist in the wind." The metaphor also could describe the resolve Peters needs to weather his critics as the lead designer for two of the most closely scrutinized vehicles on the planet: the Silverado and Corvette.... Read More »

 

A tech triumph for the S class?

12:01 am U.S. ET | May 20, 2013
With a technology-rich S-class redesign arriving this fall and several derivatives to be added by 2015, Mercedes-Benz aims to boost stalled sales of its flagship.... Read More »

 

M-B redesigned S class with China in mind

12:01 am U.S. ET | May 20, 2013
The redesigned Mercedes-Benz S class made its world debut last week in Hamburg, Germany, but Shanghai might have been more appropriate. Why? China accounted for 49 percent of all 2010-12 S-class sales.... Read More »

 

Infiniti to add new halo car, more crossovers

12:01 am U.S. ET | May 20, 2013
Nissan Motor Co.'s Infiniti marque plans to add a halo nameplate above its Q70 flagship sedan and expand its crossover offerings, President Johan de Nysschen said.... 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 »

 

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 »

 

Audi Q7 will shed weight

May 17, 2013 06:01 CET
The redesigned Audi Q7 that debuts next summer in Europe will weigh about 363kg less than the current model, company insiders said, adding that Audi is also planning a hybrid version of the next-generation large SUV.... Read More »

 

AUTOMOTIVE NEWS EUROPE E-MAGAZINE

Nissan plans potentially polarizing changes to top-selling Qashqai

May 14, 2013 06:01 CET
Nissan promises an innovative new look for the next Qashqai – the automaker's top-selling model in Europe – when the replacement debuts early next year.... Read More »

 

Domestic brands score well in owner-perception survey

8:00 am U.S. ET | May 13, 2013
Volkswagen Group and Ford fared well among automakers in an annual study released today measuring quality and how deeply consumers feel about a new car or light-truck purchase after several months of ownership.... Read More »

 

CARS & CONCEPTS

Audi Q7 will shed weight

12:01 am U.S. ET | May 13, 2013
The redesigned Audi Q7 that debuts next summer in Europe will weigh about 800 pounds less than the current model, company insiders tell German sibling publication Automobilwoche.... Read More »

 

CARS & CONCEPTS

Next Corolla gets CVT, 2 engine choices

12:01 am U.S. ET | May 13, 2013
The redesigned 2014 Toyota Corolla that debuts here on June 6 will have a continuously variable transmission and will be offered with a choice of two engines, company officials have told dealers.... Read More »

 

CARS & CONCEPTS

Albaisa leads Infiniti design

12:01 am U.S. ET | May 13, 2013
Alfonso Albaisa, the Cuban-American designer who has led Nissan's worldwide passenger car design strategy for a year, has been named global design chief for Infiniti.... Read More »

 

'14 Silverado: More brawn, quieter ride

12:01 am U.S. ET | May 13, 2013
Chevrolet packs more power and torque, better fuel economy and a much improved interior into the first redesign of its Silverado full-sized pickup in seven years.... Read More »

 

MIKE COLIAS

Silverado hand-wringers should relax -- for now

12:15 pm U.S. ET | May 9, 2013
There was hand-wringing, even some flat out panic, when General Motors unwrapped its next-generation Chevrolet Silverado in December. Many dealers, enthusiasts and writers questioned whether the pickup's design went far enough. Did GM whiff on its most critical vehicle launch since its 2009 bankruptcy? No.... Read More »

 

Infiniti picks veteran Nissan stylist Albaisa for new global design post

May 9, 2013 06:01 CET
Infiniti has named a global design chief as part of the luxury brand's ongoing effort to distance itself from parent company Nissan's mass-market Nissan marque.... Read More »

 

Infiniti picks veteran Nissan stylist Albaisa for new global design post

4:01 pm U.S. ET | May 8, 2013
Infiniti has named a global design chief as part of the luxury brand's ongoing effort to distance itself from parent company Nissan's mass-market Nissan marque.... Read More »

 

JAMES B. TREECE

Is Akio Toyoda cut from the Steve Jobs mold?

12:48 pm U.S. ET | May 8, 2013
Toyota Motor Corp. President Akio Toyoda wants to take personal responsibility for injecting design and performance pizazz into the Lexus brand.... Read More »

 

Reuss: Buick earns product pizazz

12:01 am U.S. ET | May 6, 2013
There's little chance that the flashy Buick Riviera concept will ever grace a Buick showroom. But dealers should view the Riviera as a signal that GM is serious about adding pizazz to the Buick lineup.... Read More »

 

AUTOMOTIVE NEWS EUROPE E-MAGAZINE

The making of LaFerrari

May 6, 2013 06:01 CET
Ferrari's limited-edition supercars are special. Ferrari Chairman Luca Cordero di Montezemolo says the new LaFerrari is no exception because of features such as the supercar's gasoline-electric hybrid powertrain, F1-inspired carbon fiber cockpit and a state-of-the-art aerodynamics.... Read More »

 

AKIO TAKES THE WHEEL

Toyota's car-buff president makes Lexus his pet project

12:01 am U.S. ET | May 6, 2013
By Akio Toyoda's own admission, his beloved Lexus luxury brand has a big problem. Unlike its German rivals, Lexus has no heritage, no narrative. Now the Toyota Motor Corp. president is investing himself personally in the brand by taking direct control of all things Lexus.... Read More »

 

Ford's latest high-tech twist: Granddad's old-school knobs

12:01 am U.S. ET | May 6, 2013
Joe Hinrichs, Ford Motor Co.'s president of the Americas, won't say directly how the company plans to fix its troubled MyFord Touch control system, which has hurt Ford's ratings in quality surveys. But here's a hint: knobs.... Read More »

 

New LaFerrari blends speed, technology

12:01 am U.S. ET | May 6, 2013
Here is an in-depth look at some of the challenges faced en route to delivering the LaFerrari, the company's fastest, most technologically advanced road car.... Read More »

 

FINAL ASSEMBLY

Back from the grave

12:01 am U.S. ET | May 6, 2013
Frank Stranah, co-founder of Champion Spark Plugs, once owned this 1940 Packard Super 8 Formal sedan -- which spent 44 years welded inside an old gasoline storage tank before it was liberated in 2011.... Read More »

 

Audi and Cadillac target young Chinese buyers

May 3, 2013 06:01 CET
Audi is fueling its growth in China with a range of less pricey compact crossovers and sedans -- such as the A3 sedan introduced this month in Shanghai -- to expand its appeal to retail customers.... Read More »

 

BMW studies China for hints on global trends

May 1, 2013 06:01 CET
BMW is studying ways to meet the fast-changing demands of China's car buyers to determine whether trends such as tele-dining and a heavy reliance on voice messaging will expand globally.... Read More »