There's a good chance that in eight years, Detroit's automakers will not be producing sedans in favor of the more lucrative crossovers and SUVs
Mid-size sedans like the Chevrolet Malibu and Ford Fusion have gotten bigger, making the Taurus or Chevy Impala less necessary. A consumer who needs more space will just buy an SUV.
“You can call 2018 the death of the car,” said Mark Wakefield, head of the auto practice at consultant AlixPartners. “Just look at all the new model launches in crossovers and the dearth of launches in cars. You can see where people are putting their money.”
Read the article at Bloomberg.
Inventor Hugo Spowers has a dream: to replace today’s cars with his own hydrogen prototype.
Fuel cells work by electrochemically combining hydrogen, stored in a pressurized tank, with air to generate an electric current; the only emission is water vapor. Development of fuel cell technology has been slow. They are expensive to produce (platinum is a key component), as is hydrogen.
In 2016, Spowers unveiled his first production-ready car: the Rasa, a radical, ultra-light two-seater powered by a hydrogen fuel cell. Spowers hopes to have the car on the market in 2019. “As far as we can tell,” he says, “we are the only independent hydrogen car startup in the world.”
Read the article at The Guardian.
Donlen has been recognized by the National Association for Business Resources (NABR) for the third year in a row as one of the 2017 Best and Brightest Companies to Work For® in the Nation.
“One of the core values of Donlen is that we strive to attract and retain the best, brightest, and most engaged employees through rewarding work and exceptional career development and advancement opportunities. When employees are engaged and invested, they provide higher levels of customer satisfaction, and our clients appreciate that,” Donlen’s president Tom Callahan said. “To be recognized as one of the Best and Brightest Companies to Work For in the Nation for our efforts for the third year in a row is an honor and an affirmation for all of us at Donlen.
After a visit to the Detroit Auto Show, the newest in-car technology shows that automakers have fallen behind with features already available in the iPhone X.
While many drivers wish their infotainment systems worked like their phones, the biggest deterrent to making your car too much like your phone is that you may look at it more than you’re supposed to (when your eyes should be on the road).
“It’s great with the digital stuff with the hype and everything, but we forget we are analog people that want to look at and touch something. We must not forget the real world for the virtual world,” said Mercedes-Benz design chief Gordon Wagner.
Read the article at The Verge.
By Mark Boada, Senior Editor
By all accounts, when it comes to the world’s electric vehicle (EV) present and future, China is the 800-pound gorilla. Consider the following, as reported in This Week in Asia last August:
Elsewhere, you’ll find these facts: