24volt Titan 1/2" Dr Impact on 2040-parts.com

GM to slash global vehicle platforms by more than half, to 14, by 2018

General Motors says it will cut the number of vehicle platforms it uses globally by more than half over the next decade, in a bid to reduce complexity and save on product-development costs. “More of our components will be common, and more of our vehicles will be on global architectures,” GM CEO Dan Akerson told analysts on Tuesday. His remarks came as GM kicked off a series of presentations online, billed as its 2011 Global Business Conference.

Michael Ninic, Head of BMW Interior Design, dies at 53

Michael Ninic, who held the position of Head of BMW Car Interior Design for many years, unexpectedly died recently at the age of 53. Ninic, who joined the BMW Interior Design Team in 1987, was appointed head of the department in 1999. In 2001, the department also became responsible for material and color design.

Ford testing self-parking cars – with or without a driver (video)

Ford testing self-parking cars – with or without a driver It seems we’re heading to the point where cars can do more and more for the driver, and fully autonomous cars seem to be less than a decade away. On the way to the fully autonomous car, car makers will be offering stages on the way as the ability of cars to be self-controlling moves along, and Ford are heading in that direction with their new systems for parking and obstacle avoidance. Ford are running prototypes with Fully Assisted Parking, a system that manages to sense a space, control the steering, gearbox and brakes to park the car at the touch of a button, even if the driver isn’t actually in the car.