Information TechnologyMIKE COLIAS Why GM should put wireless connections in its trucks 10:17 pm U.S. ET | April 17, 2014  At an exhibit on the auto show floor here, I sat inside a Cadillac XTS sedan equipped with General Motors' new 4G LTE wireless connection. But I couldn't help but think: GM should have put the 4G demo unit in a Chevy Silverado or GMC Sierra pickup.... Read More »
AUTOMOTIVE NEWS EUROPE E-MAGAZINE China's Qoros uses Slovakia to prepare for a full European roll outApril 16, 2014 06:15 CET  Chinese automaker Qoros is using Slovakia as its first global export market with the goal of rolling out the brand across western Europe within two years.... Read More »
MyFord Touch bugs are getting squashed, Hinrichs says 3:10 pm U.S. ET | April 15, 2014  Ford has brought its problem-plagued MyFord Touch communications system up to exceed industry-average reliability -- and plans an upgrade to improve the system's capability, Ford executive Joe Hinrichs said today.... Read More »
2014 NEW YORK AUTO SHOW Refreshed 2015 Chevy Cruze enhances connectivity, revises styling 8:24 am U.S. ET | April 13, 2014  Chevrolet is refreshing the compact Cruze, General Motors' top-selling car in the United States, and adding enhanced connectivity features for 2015. It will be introduced this week at the New York auto show.... Read More »
THE GM RECALL Deadly GM ignition switches started with 2003 Saturn Ion 3:13 pm U.S. ET | April 11, 2014  The 2003 Saturn Ion was supposed to be a pivotal car for GM. Instead, it came to represent the compromises and corner cutting that almost destroyed GM and now find the company in a global recall of some of its most popular models. The Ion debuted two years before the Chevy Cobalt, the model most associated with the current recall of 2.6 million vehicles, and it was the first car with the defective ignition switch linked to at least 13 deaths, when engines turned off, disabling airbags.... Read More »
ADP Dealer Services to spin-off and go public 11:07 am U.S. ET | April 10, 2014  ADP Dealer Services, a dealer software giant, is poised to become an independent public company, according to a statement today by parent company ADP. The board of directors of ADP approved the spinoff, the statement said.... Read More »
2014 BEIJING AUTO SHOW Lexus previews production NX compact crossover 2:11 pm U.S. ET | April 7, 2014  Lexus has published a preview of the 2015 Lexus NX luxury compact crossover, scheduled to debut April 20 at the 2014 China auto show in Beijing. The upcoming Lexus NX is meant to battle the likes of the BMW X1, the Audi Q3, and the Mercedes-Benz GLA, and it was previewed earlier in concept form as the LF-NX.... Read More »
GM tablet tool aims to lift service revenue 12:01 am U.S. ET | April 7, 2014  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 »
Backup camera mandate boosts suppliers 8:09 am U.S. ET | April 5, 2014  The biggest beneficiary of the new federal mandate for rearview cameras is likely to be Magna International, which claims 40 percent of the North American market for the equipment. Other suppliers such as Delphi Automotive, Gentex, Panasonic and Valeo also are poised to profit.... Read More »
Tesla, Alliance seek U.S. regulators' OK to ditch side mirrors 3:37 pm U.S. ET | March 31, 2014  As long as there have been cars, there have been side mirrors. But if Tesla Motors and the auto industry's main lobbying group in Washington get their way, automakers could soon be allowed to ditch these old-school visibility aids in favor of a high-tech solution: cameras.... Read More »
Mustang gets new AppLink 12:01 am U.S. ET | March 31, 2014 Ford Motor Co. says the redesigned 2015 Mustang that goes on sale this fall will be the first vehicle available with the next generation of Ford's AppLink smartphone connectivity system.... Read More »
Is a hacker's access to a Tesla just a password away? 9:01 am U.S. ET | March 29, 2014  Tesla's electric vehicles can be located and unlocked by criminals remotely simply by cracking a six-character password using traditional hacking techniques, according to newly released research.... Read More »
BlackBerry determined to maintain lead in connected-car technologyMarch 27, 2014 13:48 CET  BlackBerry says it's determined to keep its lead in connected-car software, even though its share of the global smartphone market has tumbled below 1 percent, crushed by rivals Apple and Google.... Read More »
Ford Mustang goes high-tech to cast global net 5:58 pm U.S. ET | March 24, 2014  Ford has packed the redesigned Mustang with new technologies to boost its global appeal.... Read More »
Off F&I menus, LoJack sales perk up 12:01 am U.S. ET | March 17, 2014  A couple of years ago, LoJack Corp. was starting to look like an afterthought. Then company CEO Randy Ortiz had an insight: Get LoJack out of the F&I department -- where it often got lost on menus listing a dozen or so products -- and into the showroom.... Read More »
LIMITING DISTRACTION Some systems let passenger, but not driver, access apps 12:01 am U.S. ET | March 17, 2014  To avoid driver distraction, automakers typically disable certain infotainment functions, such as entering navigation destinations by hand, when the vehicle is in motion. But suppliers are working on systems that give the passenger access to certain apps.... Read More »
DAVID SEDGWICK The big question: Who really owns vehicle data? 12:01 am U.S. ET | March 17, 2014  According to a study released in February by Frost & Sullivan, vehicle data will generate $700 to $800 per vehicle in savings for automakers, vehicle owners, service providers and local governments. That's a fair-sized pot of money, but naturally there's a catch.... Read More »
NEWS ANALYSIS Ford plans apps from car data 12:01 am U.S. ET | March 17, 2014  This quarter, Ford Motor Co. is providing third-party app designers access to vehicle data -- such as speed, location and acceleration -- generated by the redesigned EcoSport crossover, which is to go on sale in June in Europe.... Read More »
Developers, automakers grapple with the app gap 12:01 am U.S. ET | March 16, 2014  Get the right apps and you get the right shoppers, in the sweet spot of the market: tech-addicted millennials who will be buying cars for decades to come. But the barriers for app developers are formidable.... Read More »
NTSB chief, frequent critic of automakers, to step down 1:28 pm U.S. ET | March 11, 2014  Deborah Hersman, the public face of the National Transportation Safety Board and a frequent critic of the auto industry, is stepping down to head a safety-advocacy group.... Read More »
Audi, starting with A3, aims to update in-car software faster 5:32 pm U.S. ET | March 10, 2014  In an era when smartphones are replaced every year or two, and seem downright prehistoric within five or six, Audi AG has decided that the auto industry’s standard product cycle is too long to bear for in-car software.... Read More »
Automakers tap smartphone technology in battle over city carsMarch 8, 2014 06:01 CET  Carmakers are tapping smartphone technology to spruce up low-cost minicars and try to get an edge in a market that has grown to account for almost 10 percent of new-car sales in Europe.... Read More »
JENNIFER CLARK Apple's CarPlay is smart but simple 12:01 am U.S. ET | March 6, 2014  Apple's new CarPlay system is as simple to use as you would expect from a company that has perfected the art of easy-to-use technology.... Read More »
Opel will offer 4G OnStar systemMarch 4, 2014 15:13 CET  General Motors' Opel/Vauxhall unit said it will launch a WiFi-enabled version of GM's OnStar connectivity system in major European markets by 2015.... Read More »
Apple rolls out CarPlay technology in Ferrari, Mercedes and Volvo vehicles 9:21 am U.S. ET | March 3, 2014  Apple says an automotive version of its mobile operating system, dubbed CarPlay, will debut in Ferrari, Mercedes-Benz and Volvo vehicles this week and will enable users to access functions of their iPhones on the vehicles' infotainment screens. Other automakers slated to integrate CarPlay include Honda, BMW, Ford, General Motors, Nissan and Toyota.... Read More »
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 How a Texas Toyota store solved used-car-supply challengeMike Shaw Toyota in Corpus Christi, Texas, struggled to find good used cars. So it started providing free appraisals to service customers and offered to buy their vehicles on the spot. Mon., April 14» Watch the Video |
