Vehicles: Page
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Courtesy of WardsAuto
Many Damaged Vehicles Are Sold With Clean Bill of Health
More than 1 million vehicles throughout the U.S. were damaged by accidents or the likes of hail, tornadoes, flooding and thunderstorms during the first half of this year. According to data from Experian Automotive's AutoCheck system, more than 185,000 of these vehicles lost their damage designation when their titles were a practice used by unscrupulous sellers. When vehicles sustain damage or experience
Oct. 1, 2008 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
OEMs to Enrich Small-Vehicle Content
Auto makers will turn their former econoboxes into sporty, stylish rides replete with an unprecedented level of high-tech gadgets, safety and creature comforts to win over car buyers keen on beating high gas prices. I've said for years, when the price of fuel over here starts resembling the price of fuel in Europe, which means $8 or $9 a gallon, the North American car parc will start to resemble the
By James M. Amend • Oct. 1, 2008 -
Explore the Trendline➔
Courtesy of Toyota Motor North America
TrendlineTop 5 stories from WardsAuto
Automakers are evaluating their long-term strategies, revisiting their product mix, and approach to both retail and manufacturing approach along the way.
By WardsAuto staff -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Defining the Value Proposition
Convergence 2008 General Chairman Andreas Schell will suggest merging automotive and electronics with yet another dissimilar realm: the business world.
By Drew Winter • Sept. 30, 2008 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Wilkie Leaves Bertone to Join Mindset Electric-Car Program
Wilkie has not left Bertone entirely. Both Mindset and Bertone have agreed to allow him to follow up on projects started at the Italian design house.
By Giancarlo Perini • Sept. 26, 2008 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Chevy Volt: Bland Design, Bold Engineering
Still under-reported is the amount of technical detail and performance specifications the auto maker released on a vehicle that is not due in showrooms for another two years.
By Drew Winter and James Amend • Sept. 26, 2008 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Ondelios Concept Renault’s Play in Diesel Hybrid Game
The Ondelios is a 6-seat tourer that expresses Renault’s ambitions for a luxury reputation, but the technical hints it offers for increased fuel efficiency would apply to anything in the range.
By William Diem • Sept. 15, 2008 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
T. Boone Pickens’ Strategy Needless Distraction
Under the guise of freeing us from dependence on foreign oil, T. Boone Pickens is trying to perpetuate our addiction to fossil fuels and stealthily undermining more practical renewable fuels.
By Drew Winter • Sept. 3, 2008 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Auto Makers to Enrich Small-Vehicle Content
Small, subcompact and compact will no longer mean cheap, ugly or low quality, says GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz.
By James M. Amend • Sept. 2, 2008 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Shift to Unitized Body No Slam Dunk
In This Time of Record-High Fuel prices, the idea certainly sounds good: migrate some of the industry's big-volume models SUVs and pickups from their body-on-frame architectures to the lighter, unitized body structures on which most cars are built. With a 35-mpg (6.7 L/100 km) fuel-economy mandate now on the books, everything must get lighter, and if SUVs and pickups are going to remain viable, it
By Bill Visnic • Sept. 1, 2008 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Race for Chevy Volt Battery Contract Nearing Finish Line
No matter which one wins the bid, the auto maker wants to make sure products from both suppliers end up in its technology portfolio.
By Derek Stark • Aug. 18, 2008 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Toyota North America Earning More Fuel-Cell Responsibility
Toyota has been working on fuel-cell vehicles since 2001 in North America, says Justin Ward, advanced powertrain program manager-advanced technology vehicles, for the Toyota Technical Center.
By Christie Schweinsberg • Aug. 15, 2008 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Researchers Tout Gore-Tex Coating for Fuel-Cell Breakthrough
The advancement potentially could slash hydrogen fuel-cell prices by using the water-resistant, plastic coating in place of components made of exotic platinum.
By Alan Harman • Aug. 15, 2008 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
U.S. Needs Advanced Battery Manufacturing Strategy
USCAR is underwriting lithium-ion research in collaboration with the Department of Energy, but a strategy to make the batteries and related systems in the U.S. has yet to jell.
By David C. Smith • Aug. 14, 2008 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
IAC Moves Up Value Stream to Control Costs
IAC’s earth-elements initiative entails a process known as plastics compounding, where the engineering characteristics of less-expensive polymer resins are enhanced by adding mineral fillers and other special additives.
By Drew Winter • Aug. 14, 2008 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Small Car Shift Has Winners – and Losers
Suppliers with North American manufacturing operations tell Ward’s they see the small-car trend continuing, regardless of fuel prices.
By David C. Smith • Aug. 14, 2008 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Welcome to the Flat World
Getrag has powertrain operations in North Carolina, South Carolina and Mexico and is constructing a new $500 million facility in Tifton, IN, to manufacture dual-clutch transmissions.
By David C. Smith • Aug. 12, 2008 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Hybrids Next Frontier of Customization
Toyota research shows that as buyers downsize away from more expensive trucks and SUVs they have extra money to spend on accessorizing smaller cars.
By Christie Schweinsberg • Aug. 12, 2008 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
BorgWarner Anticipating Rising Turbo Demand, Challenges in Manufacturing
By providing extra punch to smaller displacement engines, turbochargers allow auto makers to provide passenger vehicles with greater fuel efficiency without sacrificing performance.
By James M. Amend • Aug. 12, 2008 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Measuring SEM
Many dealers know the importance of Search Engine Marketing (SEM). They also realize a reputable SEM vendor or savvy Internet marketing expert can help create and maintain successful campaigns.
By Jim Leman • Aug. 12, 2008 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Chery, Ricardo Hybrids Debuting at Olympics
China’s Chery Automobile and supplier Ricardo co-developed two distinct HEV models, both based on Chery’s A5 sedan, Ricardo says.
By Ward's Staff • Aug. 6, 2008 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Ford Leveraging Fuel-Saving Technologies
Engineers are employing two sensors on Ford’s V-6s and V-8s to monitor the frequency of knocking events through the engine block.
By Byron Pope • Aug. 6, 2008 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Rise of Private Equity Good for Interiors Business
The High Cost of Oil is Driving Up the price of many petroleum-based commodities, none affecting auto makers and suppliers more than resin, one expert says. The price of oil has a monster impact on interior components, says John Smail Jr., vice president-North America for International Automotive Components Group. Increases in the cost of resin usually lag oil prices by three to six months, he says.
By Christie Schweinsberg • Aug. 1, 2008 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Maximizing Boxy Flex Aerodynamics Challenge to Ford Designers, Engineers
Making styling modifications often can be a bitter pill to swallow, especially when such changes threaten to significantly alter the fundamentals of a design.
By Byron Pope • July 28, 2008 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
GM Holden Design, Engineering Teams Celebrate New Camaro
Much of the design and engineering work was undertaken in Victoria, giving the all-new car an important place in Australia’s automotive history.
By Alan Harman • July 24, 2008 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
OEMs Focus on Technology, Standards at Convergence
The “Car Makers Speak” panel will gauge each OEM’s interest in various technologies and standards, such as FlexRay and Autosar, as well as open-source software development.
By Tom Murphy • July 23, 2008
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