Operations: Page 155
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Your Car Built for You – While You Wait
The first street-legal 3D-printed cars from Local Motors are expected within 24 months. Renowned Ford GT designer Camilo Pardo is lobbying to design one.
By Bill Visnic • Aug. 6, 2015 -
Australia’s LV Market Rides SUVs to Record July
An industry group says SUV deliveries rose 13.4% during July, the segment’s fourth record month of the year, and accounted for more than 35% of the new-car market.
By Alan Harman • Aug. 6, 2015 -
Explore the Trendline➔
Courtesy of Toyota
TrendlineAutomotive Manufacturing
Production strategies are changing rapidly as tariffs and shifts in consumer buying patterns affect the industry.
By WardsAuto staff -
Would You Rent Your Car? You May Have No Choice
The growth in megacities and likely resulting restrictions on automobile access could force consumers into car sharing, a Ford official predicts.
By Bill Visnic • Aug. 5, 2015 -
Green Cars No Lost Cause…Or Are They?
While broccoli is good for people, they’d rather have doughnuts, much in the same way new-car buyers would rather drive light trucks than fuel-efficient small cars or hybrids, says Honda dealer Forrest McConnell III.
Aug. 5, 2015 -
Sales Without End, Somebody Say ‘Amen’
Editor's note: This story is part of the WardsAuto digital archive, which may include content that was first published in print, or in different web layouts.I love optimism as much as the next guy. The last thing we need in our business are perpetually negative people.I am neither an optimist nor...
By Jim Ziegler 2 • Aug. 5, 2015 -
Mexico Emerging as Global Player
An expert says lower wages, growing technology prowess, improved quality and productivity, plus its favorable location amenable to exports, are contributing to Mexico’s success in luring automotive investment.
By David C. Smith • Aug. 5, 2015 -
Reporter Notebook: Keeping It Simple
WardsAuto writers pass along the buzz at this week’s Center for Automotive Research’s Management Briefing Seminars in Traverse City, MI.
By WardsAuto Staff • Aug. 5, 2015 -
July Sales Keep New Zealand on Pace for Record Year
Toyota remained the overall market leader with 1,856 sales for an 18% share. Ford’s and GM Holden’s shares were 10% and 9%, respectively.
By Alan Harman • Aug. 5, 2015 -
North America Sales to Average 20 Million-Plus; Production to Top 18 Million
An irony of the 1.5 million units in new production capacity being added in North America in the next four years is that sales penetration of domestically made vehicles won’t rise significantly.
By Haig Stoddard • Aug. 4, 2015 -
Panel: Styling Still Matters When Self-Drivers Hit in 2025-2030
Vehicle design is “still part of who you are,” Denso’s Patton says, no matter if you’re behind the wheel or asleep in the backseat.
Aug. 3, 2015 -
Steel Fights Back With Ultra HSS
Steel already has cut weight substantially. If a ’94 Taurus were made with today’s high-strength steel, it would weigh 30% less.
By David C. Smith • Aug. 3, 2015 -
July U.S. Sales Soar to 17.5 Million SAAR
Sales of large trucks rebounded from a June decline that ended 15 straight increases, but were uneven across segments and possibly aided by some spot incentives.
By Haig Stoddard • Aug. 3, 2015 -
Ukrainian Auto Industry Has Nowhere to Go But Up
A Frost & Sullivan report says emerging middle classes in countries such as Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan will create a demand for more, and updated, cars.
By Mark Rowe • Aug. 3, 2015 -
Ferrari 488 Snapped Up in Oz
The average age of Ferrari owners in Australia is decreasing and now is at 48 years old, an executive says, with demand accelerating as confidence levels rise among small-to-medium-sized business owners.
By Alan Harman • July 31, 2015 -
Malaysian Auto Group Looks for Second-Half Upturn
“We have yet to discount our target of 700,000 units for 2015,” Malaysia Automotive Institute CEO Madani Sahari says.
By Alan Harman • July 31, 2015 -
UAW Loses Ground As Mitsubishi Closes Illinois Plant
Chronically low capacity utilization, an aging, high-seniority workforce and an upcoming new contract left Mitsubishi with “a big cost bubble coming soon with little return,” says Justin West, former president of UAW Local 2488 at Normal.
By Joseph Szczesny • July 30, 2015 -
World Vehicle Sales Up 0.5% in First Half
Growth in North America and Europe balanced losses in South America and Asia.
By Erin Sunde • July 30, 2015 -
Thai Sales Remain Weak, Though Slight Gain Seen for Second-Half 2015
Toyota Thailand President Kyoichi Tanada says the sales decline is being fueled by concerns over global economic instability.
By Alan Harman • July 30, 2015 -
U.K. First-Half Car Production Achieves 7-Year High
With production volumes up more than 50% since 2009 and many new models going into production in the coming months, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders says the region’s car industry is growing on a global scale.
By Alan Harman • July 28, 2015 -
No Laughing Matter With Blinker Bozo at the Wheel
Editor's note: This story is part of the WardsAuto digital archive, which may include content that was first published in print, or in different web layouts.There are worse offenses among drivers than being a Blinker Bozo. But that’s no consolation while you’re following one.Blinker Bozo-ness, th...
By Jim Irwin • July 27, 2015 -
Luxury-Car Sales Numbers Small But on Rise in Russia
Sales have jumped in part because most luxury automakers and their dealers have refused to raise prices while also offering additional benefits and incentives for customers.
By Eugene Gerden • July 27, 2015 -
With TRW, ZF Shows Off ‘Wide Portfolio’
Engineers and designers from ZF and the former TRW have been sharing notes, exchanging ideas and identifying best practices, and some of the resulting technologies will be ready for market in the near future.
July 23, 2015 -
Celerio Leads Maruti Suzuki’s Push Into Rural India
India’s No.1 automaker saw rural sales jump 23% in 2014, the year of the Celerio’s introduction, compared with 11% in urban areas.
By Sudhakar Shah • July 22, 2015 -
Mcity Sets Stage for Self-Driving at Willow Run?
Ann Arbor’s Mcity test track includes four traffic lights, an underpass, metal bridge deck, gravel roadways and parking spaces that are angled, perpendicular and parallel. Efforts are under way to open a similar but larger facility nearby in Ypsilanti.
July 21, 2015 -
Bridgestone Launches Indonesian Joint Venture
The tire manufacturer has hooked up with Indonesian auto-parts producer PT Astra Otoparts, holding 51% and 49% of the JV, respectively.
By Alan Harman • July 21, 2015