John Martin, Nissan North America’s senior vice president of manufacturing and supply chain management, had some harsh words for Tesla on Friday. According to him, Uber — not Tesla — is the real disruptor, and what Tesla is doing now is relatively easy, Automotive News reported.
“Lot’s of people are calling Tesla a disrupter. They are not,” he said while arguing that building a performance vehicle that’s priced over $100,000 is much easier than manufacturing an electric car for under $30,000.
And what about Apple and Google? Martin doesn’t foresee either of them getting into the auto manufacturing business anytime soon.
As Opel begins its retail roll out of the new Astra across Europe, some enterprising spy shooters have found the Opel’s Chinese-market twin wearing Buick tri-shields and Verano GS badging.
And holy shit, this is about to get very, very confusing.
According to Autohome, the Verano GS — marketed as Buick Weilang GS in China — is expected to be revealed at the Guangzhou Auto Show with GM’s 169 horsepower, 1.5-liter turbocharged engine and 7-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission. The same engine will be used in North America in the new Malibu, albeit with a six-speed automatic transmission.
Now before you get too excited about those GS badges, it may not mean what you think it means, at least in this case.
As national contract talks begin between the UAW and FCA US, the union’s lead negotiator for FCA says most of the locals have tentative agreements ready.
United Auto Workers Chrysler Department head of labor negotiations Norwood Jewell said in a letter to the union’s members Monday a few of the remaining locals were “having challenges reaching an agreement,” The Detroit News reports. The locals negotiate their own contracts — covering individual plant rules and issues — at the same time the union as a whole hammers out a national contract with the automakers.
Bowing at the 2015 Frankfurt Auto Show, the 2016 Infiniti Q30 “active compact” aims to attract a new generation of buyers now flocking to GLAs and XT5s.
The first vehicle to leave Infiniti’s newly upgraded facility in Sunderland, United Kingdom, the Q30 also marks the first time the premium brand is playing in the compact crossover space. The main goal behind the Q30 is to attract Gen X and Millennial buyers who believe a car “is an expression of ‘self’ rather than ‘status,'” desire vehicles which defy traditional categorization, and offer a “made-for-me” approach to luxury.
Former Hyundai America CEO and TrueCar president John Krafcik has been hired by Google to head the California tech giant’s autonomous vehicle program.
Per Automotive News, Krafcik will begin his new work as the program’s director in late September, while current director and former Carnegie Mellon University robotics researcher Chris Urmson will remain aboard to lead technical development.
“There are varying degrees of hugs. I can hug you nicely, I can hug you tightly, I can hug you like a bear, I can really hug you,” said Marchionne to Vellequette. “Everything starts with physical contact. Then it can degrade, but it starts with physical contact.”
Ford is out at Sebring testing their newest toy — the Ford GT LM GTE — in preparation for the 2016 FIA World Endurance Championship. Thankfully, someone was on location and captured a few laps on video.
I’d like to personally thank this intrepid track video reporter. The car sounds like a four-wheeled warzone, completely with six turbocharged AK-47-esque cylinders.
Topped only by FIFA, the two next-least trustworthy international sports associations have joined forces today to speculate that we could see Formula E cars race through Tokyo streets for the glory of games and country in 2020, according to F1Insider (via Road & Track).
The original report, which was written in German, says FIA executives pitched the idea to Olympic organizers and offered the Formula E cars for competition.
Canadian driver Jacques Villeneuve said he would “definitely” participate and added that 30 years ago tennis wasn’t part of the Olympic program, but now it’s a staple.
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