Auto News 5

It's Easter weekend here which means Friday and Monday off for us and many others worldwide.

News 24 Mar, 2016

Mazda's MX-5 roadster wins overall WCOTY title, with Audi R8 the best performance car and BMW 7 Series the best luxury car

Last week, I recently enjoyed an entertaining trip to BMW's annual AGM and plant 'show 'n' tell' (links here in last week's TWTW column) and, as threatened, this week I've published a yarn about some of the worker-assist innovations they've come up for the Munich and other factories. My favourites: the Exoskeleton 'chairless chair' pilot project at Plant Munich, the ProGlove laser-embedded smart glove and, not least because I got to Have A Go, the gesture-controlled lightweight robot. The ingenuity of plant engineers - and the line and logistics workers who often suggest ideas and help the engineers with development - never cease to amaze me.

Upscale interior materials provider Alcantara is enjoying rapid growth of turnover as it reports higher demand for its artificially created 'suede effect' material from premium automakers.

UK automakers, including Toyota, Jaguar Land Rover, Ford, the Ford/PSA joint venture and BMW collectively made 230,868 engines in the UK in February, up 11.1% year on year. Production for the UK market rose 44% to 101,967 while output for export fell 5.9% to 128,901.

Lincoln is hatching major changes for the Navigator as previewed with a new concept. Here's what people are saying about the newest Navigator, Lincoln's alternative to the Cadillac Escalade.

British commercial vehicle manufacturing made moderate gains in February with overall output up 1.5% year on year to 8,471 units, according to Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) data.

News 24 Mar, 2016

Hot new Mercedes-AMG E 63 saloon and estate could have up to 600bhp to compete with BMW M5

BMW's iconic Mini brand is launching bigger cars as it seeks to broaden its appeal without losing the true fans who helped to bring the marque back to life in 2002.

It was a politician's remark delivered mid-speech at last week's Russian Automotive Forum (RAF) in Moscow, which struck me as indicative of just how parlous a state are The Kremlin's finances.

Donald Trump's threats to slap steep tariffs on Chinese and Mexican imports may have won him votes in Republican primaries but they would likely backfire, severely disrupting automakers and U.S.

News 27 Mar, 2016

Bigger, more upmarket fourth-gen Ford Focus will arrive in two years time to take on the Vauxhall Astra

Toyota unveiled a new version of its Prius plug-in hybrid with more than double the battery-only range of its predecessor.

Toyota is trialling its Winglet personal mobility robot (PMR) in public for the first time on the sidewalks of Tokyo's Waterfront City.

Carlos Ghosn, CEO of the Renault-Nissan Alliance, has struck an upbeat tone on the outlook for overall vehicle sales this year in North America and Europe.