Category Archives: engineering

Magna CEO Swamy Kotagiri Speaking on Decisions That Will Shape the Next Decade of Automotive Manufacturing

Posted on 9 June 2026 by Ken Zino

“There is no single future. We are no longer moving towards one predictable outcome. We are navigating in multiple plausible futures or paths at a time, and you see that in the different adoption curves. Across regions, you see different investment logic across companies and obviously different policy priorities by margin. Electrification is a good example. The direction is clear for the long term. But the pace and the path are not uniform, and that creates fragmentation. Product mix evolves differently by region. We are seeing that investment timing varies. Industrial policies influence footprint decisions in real time.

“Historically, success came from getting the forecast right. Today’s success comes from staying effective when the forecast is wrong. So the shift is pretty fundamental from optimizing for one expected future to building systems that can perform across several realities. So that’s a different capability and increasingly a competitive one,” said Magna CEO Swamy Kotagiri. Continue reading →

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Ralph Nader Arises Again in Uber Legal Accountability Bout

Posted on 5 June 2026 by Ken Zino

Consumer advocate Ralph Nader has released an open letter to Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi condemning the company’s efforts to limit legal accountability for crashes involving rideshare drivers and autonomous vehicles. It objects to Uber’s push for federal legislation sponsored by Representative Vince Fong (Republican – Bakersfield, CA) that would limit the company’s legal exposure for crashes involving drivers using its platform. Continue reading →

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Nissan to Build Chinese Chery Vehicles in UK?

Posted on 3 June 2026 by Ken Zino

Nissan (7201T and NSANY ADR) and Chery International UK (9973.HK) said today they have signed a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the study of contract manufacturing for Nissan to manufacture Chery International UK passenger vehicles at its Sunderland Plant. … Continue reading →

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Goodyear to Make Tires for Pegasus Lunar Terrain Vehicle

Posted on 3 June 2026 by Ken Zino

Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company (NASDAQ: GT) said today that it is returning to the Moon.* As part of NASA’s Artemis program, Goodyear will supply advanced lunar tires for Lunar Outpost’s Pegasus Lunar Terrain Vehicle (LTV), projected to support astronaut … Continue reading →

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FuelFest – 2027 Toyota GR86 Sports Car Debuts

Posted on 2 June 2026 by Ken Zino

“Track testing played a key role in shaping these updates, with every lap helping engineers further refine the vehicle’s response and feel. To improve control, engineers refined the relationship between accelerator input and torque delivery to help create a smoother, more linear response. They also widened the chamfer of the shifter interlock between 4th and 5th gear by approximately 0.02 inches to help deliver a smoother shift feel,” Toyota said. Continue reading →

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Teen Drivers – Good Vehicle Buys With Solid Safety Credentials

Posted on 27 May 2026 by Ken Zino

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) and Consumer Reports (CR) said today they have identified 45 used vehicles starting under $10,000 that offer good crash protection and are suitable for teen drivers. Another 29 vehicles that also have highly rated headlights and automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection can be found for under $20,000. Continue reading →

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Toyota Eliminates Production Engineering Development Center

Posted on 27 May 2026 by Ken Zino

Toyota Motor Corporation (NYSE: TM, 7203T) said today that it is eliminating its Production Engineering Development Center. It’s part of the organizational changes TMC is taking to recover from its weak 2026 Japanese fiscal-year results as well as changes announced at the 122nd Ordinary General Shareholders’ Meeting in April 2026.

“Manufacturing engineering functions across the Production Group, Production Engineering Development Center, Powertrain Company, and other relevant organizations will be consolidated under the newly established Production Engineering Group,” TMC said in a release.

“By bringing together the capabilities and expertise cultivated in each area and further integrating engineering, production, and manufacturing engineering, Toyota will strengthen its manufacturing capabilities for the future,” TMC claimed. Continue reading →

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Stellantis FaSTLAne 2030 Financial Reform Revealed

Posted on 21 May 2026 by Ken Zino

“We have great people, the muscle of global scale, unmatched brands that connect and inspire, the deep local roots of our regions and dealer partners to meet our customers’ distinctive needs, and a relentless focus on innovation and excellence in execution. With these strengths, we are uniquely positioned to offer delight, functionality, and affordability. Adding to these the accelerating and amplifying benefits of our ‘win-win’ partnerships, we have everything we need to deliver our FaSTLAne 2030 ambitions,” claimed Filosa. [This is the corporate equivalent of betting on the come line in the Casino at Monte Carlo – AutoCrat.] Continue reading →

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Chinese Dongfeng Voyah Vehicles Coming to EU Via Stellantis

Posted on 20 May 2026 by Ken Zino

Stellantis (NYSE: STLA) and the Dongfeng Group today announced their intention to form a European joint venture for shared sales, distribution, manufacturing, purchasing, and engineering activities. The joint venture would take responsibility for the sales and distribution of Dongfeng’s Voyah-branded vehicles in designated markets in Europe. This would circumvent EU tariff’s on Chinese-made vehicles. [Stellantis and Dongfeng Group recently announced the production of all-new Peugeot and Jeep models in China for the domestic market and export – AutoCrat]*

“The plans we are announcing today take our recently strengthened cooperation with Dongfeng to an all-new dimension of an international partnership to the benefit of customers around the world,” said Antonio Filosa, Stellantis CEO. “With this new chapter in our collaboration, we will give our customers an even greater choice of competitive products and pricing, leveraging the best of Stellantis’ global footprint alongside Dongfeng’s access to China’s advanced new energy vehicles ecosystem.” Continue reading →

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Stellantis, Jaguar Land Rover Sign MOU on Tech Development

Posted on 20 May 2026 by Ken Zino

Stellantis (NYSE: STLA. STLAM.MI) and Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) today announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to explore opportunities to collaborate on product development in the United States. Under the terms of the non-binding MOU, Stellantis and … Continue reading →

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Volvo Cars and Google Gemini Add AI Tech

Posted on 19 May 2026 by Ken Zino

“The EX60 provides an ideal platform to explore the future of contextually aware driving experiences,” said Alwin Bakkenes, Head of Global Software Engineering at Volvo Cars. “Working closely with Google as a lead device partner allows us to help bring the latest advances in AI into the automotive environment faster and more collaboratively than ever before.” Continue reading →

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HondaJet APMG S Upgrade Expands to Mexico

Posted on 19 May 2026 by Ken Zino

Honda Aircraft Company said today that the so-called APMG S program (footnote 1) is now available to owners in both the U.S. and Mexico of HondaJet Classic and APMG aircraft. This improves performance and adds the capabilities of recent technical innovations.

“We are excited to provide our customers in Mexico the opportunity to upgrade their aircraft with the advanced technology and performance of more recent iterations of the award-winning HondaJet,” said Amod Kelkar, Senior Vice President, Chief Commercial Officer at Honda Aircraft Company. “We are pursuing additional international certifications and hope to expand availability of the APMG S upgrade package to more HondaJet customers around the world soon.” Continue reading →

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Chrysler Recalls Jeep Cherokee Models for PTU Failures

Posted on 18 May 2026 by Ken Zino

Chrysler (FCA US) is recalling ~62,000 2019-2023 model year Jeep Cherokee vehicles. The Dauch Corporation supplied power transfer unit (PTU) may fail resulting in the sudden loss of power or parked vehicle rollaways. The driver may notice a Service 4WD message, noise, vibration or change in drive quality.

“Some 2019-2023 MY Jeep Cherokee vehicles may have been built with two-speed Power Transfer Unit (PTU) which may fail internally,” FCA said in the mandatory safety defect filing made public by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) this morning. “A loss of motive power can cause a vehicle crash without prior warning. A vehicle that rolls in PARK can cause a vehicle crash without prior warning or injury to others outside the vehicle.” Continue reading →

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Coming Soon Chinese-Built Jeeps?

Posted on 15 May 2026 by Ken Zino

“Dongfeng Motor has always taken the transformation and revitalization of Dongfeng Peugeot Citroën Automobile Co., Ltd. (DPCA) as a key strategic priority, fully supporting and advancing its sustainable development. Through the signing of this strategic cooperation, by integrating Hubei’s industrial strengths, Stellantis’ global layout advantages and Dongfeng’s intelligent electric vehicle technologies, a new path featuring complementary strengths and win-win outcomes for all parties has been forged. This will undoubtedly inject strong momentum into DPCA’s transformation,” said Qing Yang, Dongfeng Group Chairman. Continue reading →

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First Glance – Acura Hybrid SUV

Posted on 14 May 2026 by Ken Zino

“Honda will reallocate more development and production resources into hybrid models to accelerate the market launch ahead of the original schedule and increase the number of compelling products,” said Toshihiro Mibe, global CEO of Honda Motor Co., Ltd. “We have made steady progress in the development of hybrid vehicle technologies, where Honda has strengths, based on our belief that hybrid models will continue to be the key to addressing environmental challenges.” [Today Honda posted its first Japanese full-year loss in history taking ~$9 billion in costs ‌to restructure its electric-vehicle business. Honda also dumped its longer-term EV sales forecast.-AutoCrat] Continue reading →

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