If Nissan isn't a major party in the combined FCA-Renault, it will be a massive missed opportunity, especially in pivotal North America.

Two industry-watchers from Automotive News walked the floor at the New York auto show and issued their views and verdicts.

Honda will stop second-shift production on one assembly line at its flagship Marysville, Ohio, complex in August so the factory can be refurbished and retooled to make electrified vehicles. No layoffs are planned. 

Lyft, that hot-pink little rival to Uber, sold stock to the public late last month with a gobsmacking valuation of $22 billion. That's about two-thirds of the value of Ford Motor Co., which is very good at making money on pickups and SUVs. Lyft's profits? Stuck in reverse.

CEO Mike Manley refused to rule out any deal that could make the Italian-American company better, and a French rival reportedly sees FCA as a possible partner.

The new Telluride and the X-Line version of the Soul should give Kia a better shot at the booming utility market, while also boosting dealers, said Bill Peffer, vice president of sales operations for Kia Motors America.

Subaru expects its slowest growth rate in years, even though dealers can barely keep new models in stock.

Subaru would be forecasting even higher U.S. sales for 2019 but it's short on factory capacity now, says CEO Tom Doll.

The new Telluride and the X-Line version of the Soul should give Kia a better shot at the booming utility market, while also boosting dealers, said Bill Peffer, vice president of sales operations for Kia Motors America.

As we gather in San Francisco, where teams are trying to build robots that can drive cars among traffic lights and SUVs and pedestrians, it feels like someone ought to be able to write a program that lets people buy cars online.

With more trucks from Mexico, Jim Lentz, CEO of Toyota's North American business, anticipates a minimal sales slide in 2019.