Engineering

KEITH CRAIN

Engineering matters more than ever

12:01 am U.S. ET | April 15, 2013
This week, SAE International has its annual congress and exhibition in Detroit to share the challenges and triumphs in vehicle engineering. It's always an interesting and exciting time when hundreds of technical papers about emerging technologies are delivered in just a few short days Keith Crain is editor-in-chief of Automotive News.... Read More »

 

Ford 1.5-liter EcoBoost engine to debut on 2014 Fusion

6:00 pm U.S. ET | April 11, 2013
When the 2014 Ford Fusion debuts this fall it will be offered with a new 1.5-liter, four-cylinder EcoBoost engine, the fifth member of Ford's EcoBoost family, Ford said Thursday.... Read More »

 

Ford introduces fifth version of its EcoBoost engine

April 11, 2013 23:49 CET
Ford will introduce this month a 1.5-liter version of its turbo-charged EcoBoost engine. The UK-designed engine will be offered in the Mondeo in Europe and China and in the Fusion in the United States.... Read More »

 

EcoMotors signs $200 million deal to produce engines in China

7:30 am U.S. ET | April 9, 2013
EcoMotors International, the suburban Detroit company developing an opposed piston-opposed cylinder engine, has signed a $200 million deal to build the engines in China.... Read More »

 

LARRY P. VELLEQUETTE

Can today's diesels erase Olds memories?

12:01 am U.S. ET | March 23, 2013
I've been wondering lately just how long it takes sustained execution to erase previous experience. Or put another way: What's the statute of limitations on reputation?... Read More »

 

PSA mirrors VW, readies megaplatform to cut costs

March 15, 2013 06:01 CET
PSA is planning to produce its compact, mid-sized and SUV models on a common platform that also is likely to underpin models made by alliance partner GM. The struggling French automaker is looking to borrow from Volkswagen's money-saving megaplatform strategy as a way to stem massive financial losses that have forced staff cuts and a planned factory closure in France.... Read More »

 

2013 GENEVA AUTO SHOW

McLaren vs. Ferrari Formula One rivalry spills onto the road

March 8, 2013 06:01 CET
The all-consuming rivalry McLaren and Ferrari display on the F1 racetrack was transferred to the Geneva auto show as the two carmakers unveiled competing million-euro hybrid hypercars.... Read More »

 

Under Reuss, racing spurs urgency in GM product development

12:01 am U.S. ET | Feb. 23, 2013
When the Daytona 500 starts this weekend with Danica Patrick in the pole position driving the Chevrolet SS, General Motors will be seeking something more than a winner's trophy: adding a greater sense of urgency throughout the company's engineering ranks.... Read More »

 

Ford to shift 2-liter EcoBoost engine output to Ohio plant from Spain

3:01 pm U.S. ET | Feb. 21, 2013
Ford will begin domestic production of its 2.0-liter, four-cylinder EcoBoost engine at its Cleveland Engine Plant in Brook Park, Ohio, in late 2014, the automaker said today. Ford will invest nearly $200 million and add 450 jobs at the plant, which will produce all 2.0-liter EcoBoost engines for North America. Ford had previously imported the 2.0-liter EcoBoost from its factory in Valencia, Spain, which will continue to produce the engine for Europe.... Read More »

 

Ford plans 2-liter engine output in Ohio, report says

11:19 am U.S. ET | Feb. 20, 2013
Ford Motor Co. plans to begin making in Ohio a small four-cylinder engine that it builds in Spain, according to a person familiar with the matter.... Read More »

 

Nissan seeks outsiders from Silicon Valley

2:00 pm U.S. ET | Feb. 18, 2013
Nissan wants to tap the nonautomotive world for new ideas and approaches to vehicle technology at its newly opened advanced product development center in California's Silicon Valley.... Read More »

 

Renault Twingo, Smarts will share rwd platform

Feb. 8, 2013 06:01 CET
The Smart ForFour will share a rear-wheel-drive platform with Renault's future Twingo, executives at Smart said.... Read More »

 

Chrysler aims awd 300 at Snow Belt

12:01 am U.S. ET | Feb. 4, 2013
Chrysler is doubling production of 2013 all-wheel-drive Chrysler 300s from 2012 models in an effort to gain traction in frigid locales.... Read More »

 

Hit the gas and let the awd do its work

12:01 am U.S. ET | Feb. 4, 2013
The sudden wind gusts kicked up a barrier of snow as I maneuvered a 2013 Dodge Charger with all-wheel drive around Chrysler's winter testing grounds in Michigan's Upper Peninsula.... Read More »

 

Tesla's Musk extends a hand to get Boeing Dreamliner flying again

9:50 pm U.S. ET | Jan. 28, 2013
Elon Musk has long considered Tesla Motors the bold, nimble answer to the auto industry's cautious culture. Now the electric-car maker's top executive has extended his help to another industrial giant: Boeing.... Read More »

 

Chrysler drops one shift at Dundee Engine plant line

4:00 pm U.S. ET | Jan. 24, 2013
Chrysler Group has eliminated a shift of production at its Dundee Engine plant on the line that builds 1.4-liter engines, including the turbocharged version, for the Fiat 500 subcompact and some variations of the Dodge Dart.... Read More »

 

NORTH AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL AUTO SHOW

Infiniti Q50 Hybrid will have awd option

12:01 am U.S. ET | Jan. 21, 2013
A dealer from one of Infiniti's large stores in the Northeast stopped Ben Poore during the Detroit auto show. "Just tell me that the Q50 Hybrid will come as an all-wheel drive," the dealer begged Poore. Poore assured him awd will be an option.... Read More »

 

Aston Martin seeks development partner to build high-end engines

3:50 pm U.S. ET | Jan. 17, 2013
Aston Martin, the British maker of sports cars featured in James Bond movies, is in talks with potential partners to jointly develop high-end engines and electronic parts to strengthen its sports-car lineup.... Read More »

 

2013 DETROIT AUTO SHOW

Tesla nimbly updates Model S over the air

3:02 pm U.S. ET | Jan. 16, 2013
As a start-up company building a new vehicle in a new plant with many employees new to car assembly, Tesla Motors faces its share of challenges. But Tesla's small size has meant that running changes and product updates have occurred quickly, said Jerome Guillen, the company's director of Model S programs.... Read More »

 

GM, Isuzu weigh joint development of new truck

2:40 pm U.S. ET | Jan. 9, 2013
General Motors and Isuzu Motors will discuss the possibility of jointly developing a next-generation pickup truck, GM said in a statement on today. The two automakers signed a memorandum of understanding to start negotiations, but GM declined to outline the timing of the talks or any other aspect of the potential deal.... Read More »

 

Video: Engineering dean raps route to better cars

1:57 pm U.S. ET | Jan. 2, 2013
David Munson, engineering dean at the University of Michigan, lets his hair down in this rap holiday greeting. He also touts his students' quests to tackle some of the most pressing problems of the day, including designing better vehicles and developing fuels of the future.... Read More »

 

Daimler, Obama trumpet plan to build complete powertrains in 1 plant

12:05 pm U.S. ET | Dec. 11, 2012
Starting in 2015, Daimler AG says it will have the first North American plant to produce a fully integrated powertrain -- transmissions, axles and engines with turbochargers -- for commercial vehicles under one roof.... Read More »

 

FROM THE CURRENT ANE PRINT ISSUE

BMW bets fwd architecture will keep it No. 1

Nov. 21, 2012 06:01 CET
The battle for the top spot in luxury car sales over the next decade likely will be decided by who wins the largest share of the expanding market for smaller premium cars. Current No. 1 BMW believes its new front-wheel-drive architecture will give it a competitive edge against German rivals Audi and Mercedes-Benz. Both automakers have vowed to overtake their Munich-based competitor.... Read More »

 

ANALYSIS

2013 Viper now enjoyable off the racetrack, too

12:01 am U.S. ET | Nov. 21, 2012
Chrysler Group will sell less than half as many 2013 SRT Vipers all of next year as it sold Jeep Patriots in October. Executives with the automaker's new Street and Racing Technology brand are OK with that. Unlike the rest of Chrysler's lineup, the Viper is first and foremost a racing machine with a top speed of 206 mph. It only masquerades as a luxuriously appointed $100,000 two-seater when it's off the track.... Read More »

 

Hyundai: Dual-clutch transmissions match us better than CVTs

12:52 pm U.S. ET | Oct. 30, 2012
While many automakers are developing continuously variable transmissions as a means to stretch fuel economy, Hyundai Motor is heading in the opposite direction. Inefficiencies in the CVT's basic design has caused Hyundai to chase dual-clutch transmission technology instead, Mike O'Brien, Hyundai Motor America vice president of product planning, said Monday on the sidelines of the Specialty Equipment Market Association show.... Read More »