- Nissan Set to Launch “Smart” Mirror – thedetroitbureau.com: At first glance, it looks like any ordinary Nissan Juke rearview mirror – except for the nerdy frame. But a closer look reveals it’s actually a “Smart” mirror using a hidden camera. Nissan is one of many automakers who hope to replace conventional mirrors with high-tech alternatives.
- Innovation: less shock and more awe – FT: How companies can avoid disturbing consumers with their groundbreaking new products, such as driverless cars and laboratory-grown meat
- JAPAN: Toyota to launch T-Connect telematics service – Just-auto: Toyota says it will launch its T-Connect telematics service in Japan this summer, along with compatible navigation systems and a smartphone app.
- UK: New Ford EcoBoost power-per-litre beats Bugatti – Just-auto: Ford of Britain says a new 140PS 1.0-litre EcoBoost petrol engine boasts more power per litre than the 1001hp 8.0-litre quad turbocharged W12 in the Bugatti Veyron.
- Renault previews new Renaultsport Trophy racer – Autocar: New Renault race car will join single-model race series next year, and will make its debut at the Moscow motor show in August.
- US: Details of future Tesla Model X – Just-auto: Tesla Motors has revealed more details of its forthcoming Model X to those who have ordered the vehicle.
- Renault Teases New Sport Trophy Show Car with 500 HP Nismo Engine – Via Google News: The Sport Trophy show car will also have a seven-speed sequential gearbox supplied by Sadev, specifically developed Michelin tires and a total …
- US: auto dealers report fights Tesla’s direct sales – Via Google News: Amid California-based automaker Tesla pushing state legislatures to let the company sell its cars directly to consumers, the auto dealers push back …
- Facelifted Mercedes-Benz CLS and CLS Shooting Brake revealed – Autocar: Updated Mercedes CLS to go on sale in the UK in September with new LED headlights and nine-speed automatic transmission.
- Report: Google Android to be found in cars very soon – Via Google News: Computer giant Apple has been known to be preparing a new in-car system for up and coming infotainment systems, specifically with smartphone …
- GM’s CEO to face more Capitol Hill grilling over safety crisis – Reuters: General Motors Co Chief Executive Mary Barra is returning to Capitol Hill on Wednesday to face intense questioning about whether the automaker has a grip on the safety crisis that has enveloped it this year, as recalls connected to ignition-switch issues continue to grow.
- In Another Blow, G.M. Recalls 3 Million More Defective Cars – NY Times: Keys with extra weight could cause the vehicles to switch off in a “jarring event,” and will need modification on several models, the automaker says.
- Bill to Reduce Speed Limit to 25 M.P.H. Gains Favor – NY Times: The bill would deliver perhaps the most significant change yet under Mayor Bill de Blasio’s Vision Zero plan to eliminate traffic deaths in the city by 2024.
- In G.M. Hearing, Lawmakers May Focus on Contradictions – NY Times: Lawmakers are expected to ask Mary T. Barra about contradictions between the findings of G.M.’s internal investigation and a congressional panel’s inquiry into the recall of millions of small cars.
- Julian Koenig, Who Sold Americans on Beetles and Earth Day, Dies at 93 – NY Times: Mr. Koenig, who developed the original campaign for the Volkswagen Beetle, is widely regarded as one of the 20th century’s most innovative advertising writers.
- Cadillac’s third U.S. sales chief in 2 years leaves GM – Automotive News: Cadillac’s United States sales chief Bill Peffer is out after less than 10 months, the brand’s third head of sales to leave in two years as the executive turnover continues inside GM’s sales organization.
- RPT-GM’s CEO to face more Capitol Hill grilling over safety crisis – Reuters: General Motors Co Chief Executive Mary Barra is returning to Capitol Hill on Wednesday to face intense questioning about whether the automaker has a grip on the safety crisis that has enveloped it this year, as recalls connected to ignition-switch issues continue to grow.
- Ford readies Edge SUV for 2015 launch – Autocar: Mondeo-based Edge coming to Europe next year to join Kuga and EcoSport in three-strong SUV lineup.
- Jaguar Land Rover plans to build Evoque and Freelander SUVs in China – Automotive News: Jaguar Land Rover plans to build the Range Rover Evoque and Land Rover Freelander SUVs at a new plant in China operated with joint venture partner Chery Automobile, a source said.
- US: Acura quietly axes ILX Hybrid – Just-auto: American Honda’s newly independent Acura division has dropped the hybrid version of the ILX sedan for its 2015 model year, with just 227 cars having been sold so far this year.
- Tesla Model S is going long-wheelbase for the Chinese car market – CarNewsChina.com: Tesla is developing a long-wheelbase variant of the Tesla Model S for the Chinese car market. Long-wheelbase cars are popular in China as many wealthy car buyers like to be chauffeured around town. All competitors are selling China-only stretched variants of their mid-sized sedans and the German Three only offer the long-wheelbase variants of the …
- What to expect when GM’s Mary Barra testifies on the Hill tomorrow – Washington Post: General Motors chief executive Mary T. Barra returns to Capitol Hill on Wednesday, where a House subcommittee is expected to grill her about the troubling findings of an internal report into why the automaker took more than a decade to address a deadly ignition-switch defect.
- 3D Printed Auto Parts Marketplace Seeks Funding On Indiegogo – Via Google News: A man from Boone, North Carolina wants to create a marketplace for 3D printed car parts and is using Indiegogo as a way to crowdfund his grand idea …
- Consumers and regulators drive flexible automotive production – FT: Companies need to produce tailor-made vehicles at mass-market prices in order to stay competitive
- Spy Photographers Capture Camouflaged Mini F-150 – NY Times: A Ford source confirms that the toy truck seen at the Dearborn Development Center is a Power Wheels interpretation of the next-generation F-150 pickup.
- Tesla to start deliveries of Model X crossover early next year – Automotive News:Tesla Motors will begin Model X prototype production this fall, and vehicle production for reservation holders is set for early 2015, a company spokeswoman confirmed today.
- “Deathtrap,” “Powder Keg” and “Defect” Among GM’s List of Banned Words – thedetroitbureau.com: Euphemisms are part of daily life, but GM has refined that to an art, preferring to call defects “problems,” while banning such terms as “life-threatening,” “dangerous” and “catastrophic” — never mind “deathtrap” and “widow-maker.”
- The Ferrari Files: Evolution With a Twist – Via Google News: At the 2015 Geneva show next March, the Italian sports car maker is expected to launch the M458-T Italia, powered by a twin-turbo V-8 rated …
- Car Owners Criticize Pace of G.M. Recall Repairs – NY Times: Demand has far surpassed production of parts, a concern that lawmakers are likely to bring up with the automaker’s chief this week at a hearing.
- Barra to tell Congress she ‘will not rest’ until GM fixes problems – Automotive News: General Motors CEO Mary Barra plans to tell members of Congress on Wednesday that the automaker has already taken numerous steps to address safety defects more quickly and that she ‘will not rest’ until GM has fixed the ‘deep…
- UK: Global car sharing membership tops 3.5m – F&S – Just-auto: Research firm Frost & Sullivan (F&S) estimates that the global membership of car sharing clubs now exceeds 3.5m with 70,000 vehicles in the global car sharing fleet.
- Ford Sport Utes, Crossovers Most Likely to be Stolen – thedetroitbureau.com: Everyone’s heard of “zero-down” deals for new cars, but in the case of the Ford Escape, it can mean something entirely different: it’s the most stolen SUV in America. n fact, Ford holds the top three spots on the list – Edge and Explorer are the next – compiled by the National Insurance Crime Bureau.
- GM CEO Barra Returns to Washington Amid More Recalls – Wards: The chief executive’s visit will give lawmakers an opportunity to pursue answers to questions Barra could not provide in April, when she often cited an internal investigation the automaker expected would deliver complete findings.
- SWEDEN: Cash crisis sees NEVS only partially pay suppliers – Just-auto: Troubled Swedish automaker, NEVS, says it is paying some of its suppliers but not all, as unions gather in Stockholm to discuss the crisis, which has seen a production halt of the Saab 9-3 model.
- US: AWD systems held back by cost – study – Just-auto: New analysis from researchers at Frost & Sullivan finds that the All Wheel Drive (AWD) market – comprising of part-time, full-time, on-demand, combination, and electric AWD (eAWD) systems – earned revenue of US$11.66bn in 2013 and is forecast to reach US$14.98 billion in 2020.
- TrueCar Has No Profits But Billion Dollar Valuation (TRUE) – Via Google News: According to the National Automobile Dealers Association, last year 15.5 million new cars were sold in the United States. The automotive sector is one …
- A123 buys Leyden battery tech, which may be used in Chinese parent’s EVs – Automotive News: A123 Systems, the battery maker bought by Wanxiang Group after it sought bankruptcy protection in 2012, purchased technology from Leyden Energy that the Chinese parent may use to make electric cars.
- Audi developing TT Roadster for year-end launch – Autocar: Open-top version of the new Audi TT to go on sale at the end of this year following a debut at the Paris motor show in October.