Information Technology
OUTSIDE-IN STRATEGY
Fields lures another Ford newbie in push for fresh thinking 12:01 am U.S. ET | Feb. 23, 2015
Ford CEO Mark Fields has plenty of reasons to fear being left behind as Tesla, Google and Apple shake up the auto industry. That’s why he’s hired another outsider to help his 112-year old automaker control its own destiny....Read More »
Did you hear the one about the GM phone? 12:01 am U.S. ET | Feb. 23, 2015
News reports about Apple getting into the car business were the talk of Detroit and Silicon Valley last week. Many in Detroit think the maker of the iPhone is biting off more than it can chew. Many in Silicon Valley think an Apple car would be better than anything from Detroit. Jokesters on the Internet also had a field day....Read More »
TrueCar to stress mobile shopping as revenue surges 7:51 pm U.S. ET | Feb. 19, 2015
TrueCar is rebuilding its computer interface around mobile car-shopping to seize on a pronounced trend in its traffic volume, CEO Scott Painter said. In January for the first time, 50 percent of shoppers on TrueCar’s website got there via a mobile device, Painter said; that figure is expected to grow to 90 percent in 18 months....Read More »
Ex-GM CEO Akerson cautions Apple on trials of making cars 6:15 am U.S. ET | Feb. 18, 2015
Dan Akerson, retired CEO of GM, said Apple should steer clear of the business of making cars, though a push into automobile electronics would be a better move for the iPhone maker....Read More »
LARRY P. VELLEQUETTE
Thanks, but no thanks, to an Apple car 12:18 pm U.S. ET | Feb. 17, 2015
I know some of you will accuse me of heresy against a Higher Power for saying it, but I don’t like Apple. Never have....Read More »
NEWS ANALYSIS
5 ways that Apple is already poised to become an automaker 12:01 am U.S. ET | Feb. 15, 2015
Apple may already be positioned to evolve into a global automaker in many ways that other Silicon Valley companies aren't. While Apple often tests ideas that don't get released, but a secret project underscores the company's long-held desire to play a greater role in the automotive space, which is ripe for more of a merging with users' digital lives....Read More »
Senators to propose vehicle ratings for data security 6:11 pm U.S. ET | Feb. 11, 2015
Two senators want new-vehicle stickers to include a “cyber dashboard” that would include ratings for security systems designed to protect cars and light trucks from hackers and for privacy controls that safeguard vehicle data....Read More »
Senator's report cites cars' data security holes 2:40 pm U.S. ET | Feb. 9, 2015
Connectivity technologies have made automobiles vulnerable to hackers who could gain control of vehicle functions or compromise the security of vehicle data, according to a report released today by a leading congressional voice on auto safety....Read More »
Google can disrupt car industry but is no automaker, Zetsche says 2:00 pm U.S. ET | Feb. 6, 2015
Technology companies such as Google are unlikely to become mass car manufacturers, even if they have the potential to disrupt an industry increasingly focused on software and automated driving, Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche says....Read More »
COOL THINGS
Inspired technology keeps dealer complacency at bay 12:01 am U.S. ET | Feb. 2, 2015
The four biggest software providers at the exhibition -- Cox, Reynolds and Reynolds, CDK Global and Dealertrack Technologies -- reported being busy with demos and customers each day of the three-day show....Read More »
Over-the-air auto software updates opens market to acquisitions 2:47 pm U.S. ET | Jan. 28, 2015
Over-the-air software updates -- a no-fuss, no-muss infotainment feature popularized by Tesla Motors -- is rapidly spreading to the entire auto industry, fueling high-price acquisitions in the segment....Read More »
EJECTING CD PLAYERS
Hyundai's new infotainment strategy: Leveraging smartphone apps 12:01 am U.S. ET | Jan. 26, 2015
Over the next few years, Hyundai plans to remove CD players from mainstream cars such as the Elantra and Sonata as it rolls out an infotainment system called Display Audio that's built around Apple's CarPlay and Google's Android Auto interfaces....Read More »
Maps to track every bump in the road 12:01 am U.S. ET | Jan. 26, 2015
Navigation maps that display roads and highways accurately to within 20 centimeters could be available as early as 2017....Read More »
GM tablet tool aims to lift service revenue 2:00 pm U.S. ET | Jan. 24, 2015
About 1,200 General Motors dealerships have begun using a tablet tool, part of a software program called Service Workbench, that lets service advisers quickly pull up a vehicle's history, whip through an inspection and point out a menu of factory-recommended maintenance items....Read More »
JAMES B. TREECE
Building a new fortress to protect data 2:00 pm U.S. ET | Jan. 23, 2015
When it comes to protecting sensitive data against hackers, the days of building thick digital walls and moat are over....Read More »
Q&A
How some customers cheat themselves 2:00 pm U.S. ET | Jan. 23, 2015
When Hennessy Buick-GMC in Georgia signed up this year for an Equifax system that automatically verifies employment and income, Finance Director Blake Bailey thought the system would mostly identify people who had overstated their income....Read More »
ONWARD ONLINE
After decades of store confinement, the F&I office is inching digital 12:00 pm U.S. ET | Jan. 22, 2015
Lou Bregou, a director of operations at Driver's Village in Cicero, N.Y., says he has embraced putting financing tools on the dealership group's e-commerce website. Why not? The features that enable online car shoppers to get firm financing quotes, monthly payment calculations and trade-in values are helping the 16-dealership, 20-franchise group sell vehicles....Read More »
Ford to open r&d lab in Tesla's backyard 4:16 pm U.S. ET | Jan. 21, 2015
Ford CEO Mark Fields, seeking to burnish his company's high-tech credentials, will announce Thursday the opening of a Silicon Valley r&d center that is believed to be one of the auto industry's largest....Read More »
TrueCar says more than half of its web traffic now is mobile 8:13 pm U.S. ET | Jan. 21, 2015
As technology plays a more pivotal role in the vehicle-shopping process, mobile shoppers, for the first time, have begun to make up the majority of TrueCar's web traffic....Read More »
Hyundai posts biggest gain in global patent filings, report says 1:07 pm U.S. ET | Jan. 19, 2015
Hyundai posted the biggest gains in the number of patent filings over the past five years, narrowing the gap with industry leader Toyota, according to an analysis of global patent applications released today....Read More »
Ford tests 'beacons' to beam info to shoppers 12:01 am U.S. ET | Jan. 19, 2015
Ford Motor Co. is testing a new way that shoppers browsing on a dealership lot can learn about the vehicles they're looking at. Ford is demonstrating the technology, which it developed in conjunction with Cisco Systems, on an F-150 at the Detroit auto show....Read More »
2015 AUTOMOTIVE NEWS WORLD CONGRESS
Luxury brands seek an edge with tech 12:01 am U.S. ET | Jan. 19, 2015
The horsepower race is dead, giving way to advanced hybrid technology and smaller displacement engines. Digital technology has become central to selling vehicles, not only on smartphones and tablets but in innovative showroom settings. These are some of the ways that luxury brands are embracing the megatrends discussed at the Automotive News World Congress....Read More »
NEWS ANALYSIS
After '11 quake, Renesas is ready for next disaster 12:01 am U.S. ET | Jan. 19, 2015
At the International CES this month, chipmakers such as Renesas, Nvidia and Freescale were eager to brag about their readiness to supply the silicon brains for infotainment and driverless cars. But when I chatted with Ali Sebt -- chief of Renesas' U.S. operations -- I was preoccupied with thoughts of floods, earthquakes and fires....Read More »
2015 AUTOMOTIVE NEWS WORLD CONGRESS
Bosch outlines 10-year path to door-to-door driverless car 6:27 pm U.S. ET | Jan. 14, 2015
Germany's Robert Bosch GmbH -- the world's largest automotive supplier -- is preparing to roll out the technology needed to allow cars to pilot themselves and change lanes at high speeds on the autobahn....Read More »
2015 AUTOMOTIVE NEWS WORLD CONGRESS
Suppliers learn to innovate quickly 2:35 pm U.S. ET | Jan. 14, 2015
From Tesla to the Google driverless car to the aluminum 2015 Ford F-150 pickup to active safety systems that promise zero fatalities, the auto industry is changing at an unprecedented pace. For auto suppliers, that means relentless pressure to innovate at warp speed....Read More »
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