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Courtesy of WardsAuto
Marysville Gets New Coat of Paint
Honda’s new paint line, ready in 2017, will use waterborne primer (replacing a solvent-based coating) and requires no sanding or baking of the primer coat. The new “Line 1” incorporates two baking processes in between coats, instead of three previously.
Sept. 28, 2015 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Jaguar Looks to Up Sales With Downmarket XE, F-Pace
The arrival of the XE and F-Pace will benefit Jaguar since it doesn’t offer a small sedan or CUV now. And the two new offerings should lower the average age of Jaguar owners while potentially keeping them in the family longer.
By Jim Mateja • Sept. 24, 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 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Can Fisker Create Better Karma Second Time Around?
Perhaps the main difference “between Fisker then and now is that we’re not under this enormous pressure for money that they were in the fundraising,” marketing chief Jim Taylor says. ‟So, we can take the time to do it properly.”
By Erik Derr 1 • Sept. 23, 2015 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Self-Driving Cars: A View From 2025
All of the main human-error causes of accidents involve functions that automated cars likely will perform significantly better than humans.
By Hilary Rowen • Sept. 22, 2015 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
UAW, FCA Narrow 2-Tier Wage Gap, Open Door to Third
The tentative agreement reached last week allows for establishment of a market-based wage for employees engaged in subassembly work insourced from outside suppliers.
By Joseph Szczesny • Sept. 22, 2015 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
The Prius Will Be OK
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.With the fourth-generation Prius launching into a market with dozens more “green” cars than the third-generation ’10 model faced six years a...
By Christie Schweinsberg Blogger • Sept. 21, 2015 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
2015 Q3 Outlook Conference Presentations
The Q3 session of WardsAuto's 2015 series of half-day conferences presenting insights and analysis of the automotive industry.
Sept. 17, 2015 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Now Project Head, He Rethinks Business Chances of Google’s Self-Driving Cars
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 appeared on the online TV show “Autoline After Hours” last year. During a rapid-fire question period, Todd Lassa of Automobile magazine as...
By Steve Finlay 2 • Sept. 16, 2015 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
FCA, UAW Reach Tentative Agreement
FCA CEO Sergio Marchionne believes the agreement resolves some key issues, including the inequitable nature of the 2-tier wage system where new workers receive less than more senior employees doing the same job.
By Joseph R. Szczesny • Sept. 16, 2015 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
JLR Academy to Sharpen Focus on Employee Training
The academy will offer training for employees, whether they are new recruits or experienced employees seeking to move to the next level. This ranges from engineering skills-enhancement programs to postgraduate qualifications.
By Alan Harman • Sept. 14, 2015 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Galpin, Fisker Offer Rocket Speedster Concept
Galpin and designer Henrik Fisker recently unveiled the Rocket Speedster Concept, a 2-seat version of the $109,100 Rocket coupe, derived from the ’15 Ford Mustang GT. The Speedster has not yet been confirmed for production.
Sept. 14, 2015 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Lambo Veteran Perini to Head Design at Italdesign
Perini comes to Italdesign from Lamborghini, where he has been design director since 2006. He succeeds Wolfgang Egger, who left Italdesign to head owner Volkswagen Group’s Interbrand Design Studio in Braunschweig, Germany.
By Giancarlo Perini • Sept. 10, 2015 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Some Leafs See 23-Mile Range Increase
The change is effective with ’16-model SV and SL grades, and is due to a new 30-kWh lithium-ion battery pack.
Sept. 10, 2015 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Rubber-From-Dandelion Research Gets Rolling Again
The joint project by Sumitomo and Kultevat represents the latest attempt to manufacture rubber derived from dandelions.
By Alan Harman • Sept. 9, 2015 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Road to Hellcat Paved With Muscle-Car Passion
“If one were sentenced to eternal damnation,” one WardsAuto editor concluded, “there’s no finer way to get there than in the Hellcat, running into the abyss at wide-open throttle while the helpless soul hangs on for dear life.”
By Gary Witzenburg • Sept. 8, 2015 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Auto Analysts Downplay China Currency Devaluation
As many foreign-branded cars are locally produced through joint ventures with relatively few imported parts, analyst Yale Zhang says the renminbi devaluation against the U.S. dollar is “almost meaningless to multinational carmakers active in China.”
By Jens Kastner • Sept. 4, 2015 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
’16 Smart Fortwo Goes For Specific Buyers
Daimler hopes the redone micro car will reverse soft sales in the U.S.
By Steve Finlay • Sept. 2, 2015 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
’16 Grand Cherokee First With Upgraded Pentastar V-6
Without 2-step variable valve lift, the ’15 version of the Pentastar always operated in high-lift mode, consuming more fuel. FCA says the new system results in less overall pumping work, singlehandedly accounting for a fuel-economy gain of up to 2.7%.
Sept. 2, 2015 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
August U.S. Sales Surge to 10-Year High SAAR
Import volume for CUVs increased 34%, spurring total import penetration to a 3-year high.
By Haig Stoddard • Sept. 1, 2015 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Why Are CUVs So Popular?
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.It’s not electric vehicles, Apple CarPlay or carbon-fiber bodies. No, the biggest change we’ve seen in the global automotive industry in the...
By John McElroy 1 • Aug. 31, 2015 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Activist UAW Members Look to End Tier 2, Pump Up Wages
Some officials express concern the union is more focused on maintaining its strike fund than using it to push for real economic gains, and they are putting the executive board on notice. “We have expectations,” notes one activist member.
By Joseph Szczesny • Aug. 25, 2015 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Researchers Look to Keep Wildlife Out of Harm’s Way
Although picture-based warning signs outperformed word-based warning signs, both RADS versions caused drivers to reduce their speed and brake earlier.
By Alan Harman • Aug. 25, 2015 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
WardsAuto Flashback – August 2015
'40-Model Output Up; Land Cruiser Returns; Rural Car Demand Off; Post War Output Rises; M-H Restarts Ford 4x4s; Auto Spiffs a Record; VW Buys U.S. Plant; A/C Soars; Record truck Output; Car Phones Grow; OHC for Pontiac; GM Quality Boost; Chrysler Seeking Partner; Light-truck Engines Surveyed;
Aug. 24, 2015 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Trends Look Good for New-Car Sales in Australia
Australians in the market for a new car in the next 12 months now number 624,000, compared with 608,000 the same time last year, Roy Morgan Research says.
By Alan Harman • Aug. 24, 2015 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
U.K. Buyers Happy With Their Plug-Ins
Despite early predictions that EVs only would be driven short distances, recent research in the U.K. and other countries indicates privately owned EVs are being driven distances comparable to those of internal-combustion-engine cars.
By Alan Harman • Aug. 20, 2015
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