Auto News 5

Peugeot has revealed initial details of the 2008, a new crossover. This rival for the Ford EcoSport and Nissan Juke will be manufactured in France, Brazil and China. Its global debut is set for the Geneva motor show in March.

Kongsberg Automotive (KA) Pune in India has been awarded a contract for cable gear shift systems for manual transmissions from an unnamed Indian commercial vehicle manufacturer.

Automotive News Europe needs your help to find the Rising Stars in the European automotive industry.

The revival of car production in the UK has prompted the government to take action to rebuild the country's supplier industry.

It has yet to be shown that star designers can be transformed into heads of big car company divisions. So when designer Peter Schreyer was named president of Kia Motors over the holidays, we wondered about the wisdom of the move.

Audi is firming up plans for its plant in San Jose Chiapa, Mexico.

Is the theory of Win on Sunday, sell on Monday a myth? Alain Visser says yes. Volvo's sales chief is a diehard race fan, but he's also a realist when it comes to the true return on investment provided by a motor sports sponsorship.

Dah Chong Hong Ltd., a Chinese food and textile distributorship, survived World War II by relocating to avoid military occupation.

Lots of vehicles overachieved like crazy in what was a big, booming sales year for the industry, but many failed to live up to expectations in 2012. Winners benefited from fresh designs with fuel efficiency and appealing technology.

Cars and light trucks are shrinking and shedding weight to save fuel, but automakers aren't neglecting good looks and speed.

Ford Motor Co. finished 2012 with a 5 percent sales increase. But industrywide sales grew 13 percent, so Ford lagged behind many major rivals and lost market share for the second year in a row.

U.S. auto sales may not surpass 16 million units for at least two years, but with most automakers already posting healthy profits and struggling to find production capacity to meet demand, few are in a hurry to get there.

They rarely say so in public, but automakers are worried about California's law requiring that zero-emission vehicles account for 15 percent of sales in the state by the 2025 model year.

If you want a true read on the strength of General Motors in the U.S. market, wait until mid-2014. That was the message last week from GM North America President Mark Reuss as he fended off questions about GM's 17.9 percent U.S.

Daimler said global sales at its Mercedes-Benz Cars unit rose 0.4 percent to 132,589 in December as strong U.S. demand offset weaker deliveries in China and western Europe. Through December, sales rose 4.5 percent to a record 1.42 million.

Audi is firming up plans for its plant in San Jose Chiapa, Mexico.

It has yet to be shown that star designers can be transformed into heads of big car company divisions. So when designer Peter Schreyer was named president of Kia Motors over the holidays, we wondered about the wisdom of the move.

Jay Guzowski was getting more nervous by the day. As senior product planner for the redesign of the 2012 Honda Civic, Guzowski was shepherding the compact car from design freeze to market.

From GMM

The FIA has picked a successor to ousted F1 doctor Gary Hartstein.

American Hartstein, groomed by the late Prof. Sid Watkins to succeed him in 2005, last month admitted he was furious the Jean Todt-led FIA had decided not to renew his contract.

"I might launch a crusade to get some answers, or get my f***ing job back, or let the world know what's really going on on the medical side of the FIA," he said on Twitter.

Switzerland's Speed Week is now reporting that, according to sources in France, Hartstein's successor has been selected.

"The name is still a secret," read the report.

Speed Week added that "even a push by the formula one drivers in favour of the Belgian-domiciled American (Hartstein) was apparently fruitless".

Photo: WRi2

I get the opportunity to drive about 150 new vehicles every year, and as much as they continue to improve over time, there are some little details in many of them that bug me. Nothing to write home about, nothing to make me want to shoot down a vehicle or a manufacturer, just minor nitpickings that I thought I'd share with you to kill some time.

You know, those oh-so-important, First World problems.

Single-setting heated seats
Many manufacturers offer heated seats with three to five heat levels, which is marvelous. I can even live with “hi” and “lo” settings. However, a few mainstream models still only offer a single seat heat setting which, in most cases, ends up being uncomfortable; I'm constantly turning them off and on again. I want at least two temperature levels, please.
Guilty: Kia Forte, Toyota Corolla and others.

Turn signal stalk twist switch for activating windshield wipers
Not a big deal, but I prefer the right-side stalk that can be nudged up and down as opposed to a twist switch at the end of the left-side, turn signal stalk. Turning on the wipers means you must take your hand off the steering wheel to operate them, a more distractive move than simply flicking a stalk with a fingertip.
Guilty: Dodge Charger, Mercedes-Benz B 250 and others.

Temperature control buttons
Ditch the buttons for adjusting fan speed and temperature. Rotary knobs have always been, and still are, the quickest and least distractive way to adjust the HVAC or climate control system. I particularly hate having to leave my finger on a button for several seconds while the slow-witted system drops or raises the temperature setting one degree a second.
Guilty: Porsche Cayenne, Lexus ES 350 and others.

No front centre armrest
My right elbow deserves one in every vehicle. Enough said.
Guilty: Chevrolet Spark, Nissan Juke and others.

No trunk inside pull handle
Winter's here, and cars can get dirty pretty quickly. I don't necessarily feel the need to get my hands dirty, too. Is it really that much trouble to install a plastic pull handle on the inside of the trunklid, allowing me to close it while keeping my hands clean? Even if it adds 5$ to the price of the car, but costs 0.25 cents to produce, just do it.
Guilty: Chrysler 200, Mitsubishi Lancer and others.

Photo: Ford