10 Cars You Won’t See in Showrooms After 2015
The Ford Mustang is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, but where are the Pontiac Firebird, Plymouth Barracuda, or AMC Javelin? Long-lived car models are a rarity, and the changes coming with the beginning of the 2015 model are particularly bumpy.
When a nameplate is discontinued, multiple explanations are invoked: Its platform may have become obsolete, rendering future upgrades uneconomic (the reason Ford offered when it took the original Taurus out of production in 2007); Its body style may have fallen from fashion (such as full-size two-doors like the Chevy Monte Carlo); Or it may simply not have caught on with buyers (like the Honda Element).
READ MORE to find out which vehicles will be obsolete.
LeasePlan Names Angie Gates VP, Syndications for Truck Division
LeasePlan USA has announced the promotion of Angie Gates to Vice President of Syndications for its Truck Division. In this role, she will be responsible for the management of all syndication activity for the truck division.
Angie began her career at LeasePlan in 2004 where she was responsible for generating the lease documents for originated leases and assignment documents for the leases to be syndicated. She was also influential in helping the Truck Division set a record of the amount of business sold in her first year as the Syndication Coordinator.
Bill Ford on the Future of Transportation: We Can’t Simply Sell More Cars
During the past decade, the automotive industry emerged from one of the most challenging periods we have ever encountered, and has now entered one of the most exciting and promising times in our history. Yet, even more important is our focus on the future, which will be defined by an important trend: the automobile as part of a larger ecosystem.
This requires a change in our view of the car as an individual object to seeing it as part of our broader transportation network. It also requires a fundamental change in how we think about transportation. Customers today have extremely diverse priorities, and we must embrace these differences as we design and sell automobiles.
The facts that underpin this trend are compelling. With a growing global population and greater prosperity, the number of vehicles on the road could exceed two billion by midcentury. Combine this with a continuing population shift toward cities, with a projected 54% of the global population in cities by 2050, and it becomes clear that our current transportation model is not sustainable. Our infrastructure cannot support such a large volume of vehicles without creating massive congestion that would have serious consequences for our environment, health, economic progress and quality of life.
Ford Transit Conquers the World of Work
Over the years, the Ford Motor Co. has outflanked its rivals by quietly conquering the world of work. In the U.S., roughly 41% of the vehicles used for commercial purposes. In addition, 20% of all vehicles sold around the world are used commercially so staying on top is a strategic priority for the company.
The new Transit van, which drew on the experience and resources of the entire Ford enterprise through the "One Ford" plan, gives what Ford thinks is the best vehicle in the segment. Having a vehicle like this is critical to the company, noted Minyang Jiang, the brand manager for the Transit, which will have to compete with vehicles such as the Mercedes-Benz Spring, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles ProMaster and Nissan's new NV2500 and the Chevrolet Express.
Google’s Automotive Takeover Strategy
Google's got a plan to take over your car and promises to make driving a lot more pleasant. But it brings even bigger benefits to Google.
Android Auto, revealed at the tech giant's I/O conference in June, will let you plug your Android phone into your car, making the screen in your dashboard a big phone interface, one that's optimized for driving. You'll be able to find your way with Google Maps, stream music from Spotify, and send and receive texts while driving, among other things. Of course it's got voice control so you can do all of this without taking your hands off the wheel.
The technology, which we'll start seeing in cars by the end of the year, will be far better than anything offered by automakers, but then, the stuff offered by automakers couldn't get any worse. It will offer a seamless transition from using our phones to driving our cars. We've already seen 28 automakers sign on, including Audi, Chevrolet, Ford, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Nissan, Volvo, and VW.
