Interiors

NICK BUNKLEY

In the computer age, it's time to analog-off

3:04 pm U.S. ET | April 5, 2013
My 2-year-old son recently started asking about the clock hanging on the wall of his bedroom. What does learning how to tell time have to do with cars? Ideally, nothing, because analog clocks have no reason to be in cars anymore.... Read More »

 

MARK RECHTIN

Why the '14 Honda Odyssey won't be a crummy minivan

5:00 pm U.S. ET | March 26, 2013
Don't take this the wrong way, but the 2014 Honda Odyssey sucks. Literally. For its midcycle freshening, the Odyssey is including the "HondaVAC," which Honda claims is the first-ever in-vehicle vacuum system.... Read More »

 

Johnson Controls explores sale of auto-electronics division

2:01 pm U.S. ET | March 6, 2013
Johnson Controls said it has hired JP Morgan to explore the potential sale of its automotive electronics unit and denied having plans to sell its interiors business.... Read More »

 

Auto recovery will take longer in Europe than U.S., Visteon CEO says

9:10 am U.S. ET | March 1, 2013
The auto industry's turnaround efforts will take longer to gain traction in Europe than in the United States, where some companies were able to see the fruits of their plans within a year, Visteon CEO Tim Leuliette said Thursday.... Read More »

 

Johnson Controls to build 10 more seating plants in China

11:08 am U.S. ET | Dec. 19, 2012
Johnson Controls plans to build 10 more auto seating plants in China over the next five years as part of a long-term strategy that calls for continued growth in China and slow expansion in the North American market to offset expected slowdowns in Europe.... Read More »

 

NEW PRODUCT ANALYSIS

Toyota touts roomier 2013 RAV4 with improved transmission

12:01 am U.S. ET | Dec. 18, 2012
Toyota was the first automaker to bring a compact crossover to the U.S. market. But since 1995, Toyota's dominance of the segment has eroded. It now resides in fourth place in the segment sales race. Toyota hopes its 2013 RAV4 redesign will erase that deficit and return the brand to the thick of the chase.... Read More »

 

Audi will pursue new design strategy

Nov. 13, 2012 10:38 CET
Audi says it intends to pursue a new design strategy that will differentiate more between model lines, allow a greater integration of technical features and give emphasis to creating individual styling that pairs the exterior and interior of a vehicle.... Read More »

 

Johnson Controls names former Ford exec new Russia chief

Oct. 2, 2012 06:01 CET
Johnson Controls has picked former Ford executive Alexander Zaytsev to head its operations in Russia.... Read More »

 

Chevy marks the end to front bench seats in cars

3:02 pm U.S. ET | Sept. 28, 2012
Chevrolet has done away with front bench seats in the redesigned 2014 Impala. The century-long run for front bench seats in passenger cars ends with the 2013 Chevrolet Impala -- the last car in North America to offer them, GM said today.... Read More »

 

Visteon said to consider Leuliette as CEO while eyeing unit sale

Sept. 14, 2012 06:34 CET
Visteon is leaning toward naming interim Chief Executive Officer Tim Leuliette to the post permanently after ousting its CEO last month, people familiar with the plans said.... Read More »

 

Germany's ContiTech supplies seat material to GM's microvan venture

Sept. 12, 2012 11:42 CET
ContiTech, a division of the German supplier Continental AG, said it has started supplying interior trim material to SAIC-GM-Wuling Automobile Co., General Motors' microvan joint venture in China.... Read More »

 

Continental to build infotainment plant in China

Aug. 31, 2012 09:02 CET
German supplier Continental has signed an agreement with the Chinese city of Wuhu to build a 33 million euro (262 million yuan) plant to produce infotainment components.... Read More »

 

Johnson Controls' joint venture shares top rank in seating quality survey, J.D. Power says

Aug. 17, 2012 06:01 CET
For the third year in a row, Avanzar Interior Technologies earned a top spot in the J.D. Power and Associates 2012 Seat Supplier Quality Rankings. Avanzar, a joint venture between Johnson Controls and SAT Auto Technologies, tied with TS Tech for the top rating, the firm reported Thursday.... Read More »

 

Johnson Controls' joint venture shares top rank in seating quality survey, J.D. Power says

4:15 pm U.S. ET | Aug. 16, 2012
For the third year in a row, Avanzar Interior Technologies earned a top spot in the JD Power and Associates 2012 Seat Supplier Quality Rankings. Avanzar, a joint venture between Johnson Controls and SAT Auto Technologies, tied with TS Tech for the top rating, the firm reported today.... Read More »

 

2012 MANAGEMENT BRIEFING SEMINARS

Chrysler's Busse: Interiors now have soul

4:05 pm U.S. ET | Aug. 8, 2012
Chrysler Group's head of interior design said the automaker's bankruptcy helped transform its autos' new interiors. Klaus Busse, the lanky German ex-pat who stayed on with Chrysler when former employer Daimler departed in 2007, said the inside of Chrysler's vehicles now have the soul they lacked five years ago.... Read More »

 

Lear's Q2 profits drop 18% on weak Europe

Aug. 3, 2012 06:01 CET
Lear's second-quarter earnings fell 18 percent because of "challenging" business conditions in Europe, the supplier of seats and electric power management systems said.... Read More »

 

Lear's Q2 profits drop 18% on weak Europe

7:31 am U.S. ET | Aug. 2, 2012
Lear's second-quarter earnings fell 18 percent because of "challenging" business conditions in Europe, the supplier of seats and electric power management systems said today.... Read More »

 

Q2 ANE/PWC SHAREHOLDER VALUE INDEX

Carmakers, suppliers hit by big declines in shareholder value

July 25, 2012 06:01 CET
Any hope that this year's robust first-quarter recovery in shareholder value for Europe's automakers and parts suppliers would be extended evaporated in the second quarter. Automakers saw their average value, as measured by the Automotive News Europe/PricewaterhouseCoopers Transaction Services Shareholder Value Index, fall 12.0 percent. This followed an exceptional 27.3 percent gain in Q1. Partsmakers experienced a similar decline, relinquishing 7.... Read More »

 

2013 Ford F-150 gets Limited model, slight changes

11:34 am U.S. ET | June 4, 2012
The Ford F-150 pickup gets a handful of upgrades for the 2013 model year. The key changes include a redesigned center stack, the availability of high-intensity discharge headlamps and the addition of a new range-topping Limited trim.... Read More »