Ford plans $1.3 billion upgrade of Kentucky truck plant

Ford today plans to announce a $1.3 billion investment in its Kentucky Truck Plant to support the redesigned 2017 Super Duty pickup. Ford said the plans, including a new body shop, will create 2,000 jobs at the plant.

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Porsche makes taking the driver's test cool

Porsche teamed up with the equivalent of the French DMV to offer driver tests in a sports car.

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VW, DOJ want diesel civil cases heard in Detroit

VW and the Justice Department want a U.S. judicial panel to centralize in Detroit hundreds of civil lawsuits alleging the German automaker defrauded consumers and shareholders, according to court filings.

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Lear acquires vehicle-to-vehicle communications firm

Lear said it acquired automotive connectivity supplier Arada Systems. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Arada develops hardware and software for vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure communication technology.

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Honda plans to lift retirement age in Japan as labor force shrinks

Honda plans to raise the retirement age for employees at its Japan operations to 65 years from the current 60 years in a bid to retain workers for longer periods as the labor force shrinks.

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Ford says UAW contract boosts U.S. labor costs less than 1.5%

Ford said its new four-year contract with the UAW will increase its U.S. labor costs by less than 1.5 percent annually by letting the company hire more low-cost workers and move production to factories in other countries.

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Japan's plans to fuel world's cleanest cars hits roadblock

Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has big plans for his country to lead the way in clean cars. His bureaucrats are getting in the way.

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Toyota taps U.S. dealers' best practices for Latin America

Inspired by Automotive News' dealership Best Practices series, Toyota challenged its Latin American dealers and distributors to brainstorm their own ways to improve. At an award ceremony in Tokyo recently, Toyota's Steve St.

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Insurance Institute trains its sights on headlights

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety is developing a new stand-alone ratings program for automobile headlights, with the first batch of results due out next year.

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Nader warns of 'hazard on the highway'

On the 50th anniversary of the publication of his landmark book, 'Unsafe at Any Speed,' consumer advocate Ralph Nader says the auto industry should put the brakes on automated driving.

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New CEO says TrueCar must change

TrueCar's new CEO, Chip Perry, harbors no illusions about the task he'll face in stabilizing the company and rebuilding bridges with auto dealers.

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After 40 years, BMW's 3 series rules a tougher league

After 40 years, BMW's 3 series still rules the sporty-compact segment. But tougher competition and changing market tastes pose challenges.

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Cadillac to refocus incentives for dealers

Cadillac is drafting a new retail incentive program that could significantly boost factory payments to dealers who invest in facilities, new technology and other elements to improve the customer experience.

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Acrimony lingers as Ford, Toyota go solo in race for hybrid pickups

Long after a Toyota-Ford hybrid pickup partnership unraveled, the rivals are racing to roll out their own products. It's a battle between two champions - one in hybrids, the other in pickups - for what will be a niche but growing segment.

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Mitsubishi CEO promises an electrified U.S. rebound

Mitsubishi will fortify its fragile U.S. rebound with three electrified crossovers in five years, a bolstered listening post in Washington D.C. and an advanced technology office in Silicon Valley.

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Employees direct store's charitable giving

At Patriot Subaru of Saco, Maine, employees direct the charitable giving program. They select organizations they want the dealership to support, and managers determine the amount to give based on the employee's involvement with the cause.

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RFJ Auto Partners expands Dave Smith dealership model

New dealership group RFJ Partners is continuing to grow. With the purchase of a Nissan store in Spokane, Wash., RFJ is making the first expansion of its high-volume Dave Smith dealership brand and operating model.

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Nissan imagines tomorrow's transportation

In a small shared office not far from Venice Beach in Los Angeles, Nissan Motor Co. is gazing into the far-off future. And it looks more like one of those baseball bullpen carts than a Titan pickup or a Maxima sport sedan.

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Higher UAW wages will push Detroit 3 to find cost solutions

New UAW contracts give workers the biggest gains they've seen in years, but the deals are expected to have a negligible effect on the automakers' bottom lines.

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Acura sees its future in stronger sedans

Despite decades of muddled brand identity and mixed success with its vehicles, Acura has no plans to borrow a page from Hyundai's playbook as it launches the Genesis brand, or any other luxury brand's, for that matter.

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UAW contract costs no threat to Detroit 3, experts say

New UAW contracts give workers the biggest gains they've seen in years, but the deals are expected to have a negligible effect on the automakers' bottom lines.

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'Japanese dominate' list of innovators

If companies' randd chops are measured by the number of patents received, the Japanese auto industry -- led by Toyota and Honda -- appears to be outracing the competition.

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Cadillac wants its new vehicles to earn prices

Cadillac's decision to price the soon-to-launch CT6 sedan well below competing vehicles says a lot about the cutthroat state of the market for big luxury sedans, brand boss Johan de Nysschen says.

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Ford drops 'Friends and Neighbors' sale early, opts for traditional year-end discounts

Ford is dropping its 'Friends and Neighbors' promotion five weeks earlier than planned, after the offers failed to resonate with consumers as much as more traditional year-end discounts offered by competitors.

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Honda's Prelude dawns

The Honda Prelude, one of the Japanese automaker's first attempts at a fun, sporty car, goes on sale in Japan on Nov. 24, 1978.

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