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Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) said today that the Michigan Central Station* will offer a first look at the interior restoration of its ground floor this week, during its reopening as part of Michigan Central OPEN from June 6-16. Ford started the preservation project after acquiring the abandoned train station in 2018 to be the centerpiece of Michigan Central, a 30-acre technology and cultural hub in Detroit’s Corktown neighborhood. Michigan Central will bring Ford employees together with external partners, entrepreneurs, students, and competitors, to co-create new products, services, and technologies that add value to a new generation of Ford customers and help build a better world.
“Michigan Central means a great deal to us all. In many ways, this building tells the story of our city. This Station was our Ellis Island – a place where dreamers in search of new jobs and new opportunities first set foot in Detroit. But once the last train pulled out, it became a place where hope left. In 2018, I decided it was time to change that by re-imagining this station as a place of possibility again. Over the past six years, Ford Motor Company and teams of forward thinkers, designers, community leaders, and more than 3000 skilled tradespeople have worked to bring this landmark back to life,” said Ford Executive Chair Bill Ford. Continue reading
Toyota Releases More Details on Vehicle Certification Fraud
Akio Toyoda – scion of the Toyoda family and Chairman Toyota Motor Corporation.
Toyota Motor Corporation* and Toyota Motor East Japan are under investigation since January by Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism for fraudulently certifying that vehicles were complaint with required tests. Today, Akio Toyoda, Chairman said, “As the person responsible for the Toyota Group, I would like to extend my sincere apologies to our customers, car enthusiasts, and all stakeholders for this issue, following Hino, Daihatsu, and Toyota Industries Corporation. I am truly sorry.” AutoInformed here notes that Toyota certifies ~ 50 models per year, but over the years tens of thousands of reports are filed. Toyota stopped production in Japan of the Corolla Fielder, Corolla Axio and Yaris Cross. The issue thus far doesn’t affect off-shore production.
“All the cases are related to certification. The certification system in Japan verifies whether a product meets the established standards mainly in the fields of safety and environment using measurement methods in accordance with rules. Vehicles can only be manufactured and sold after meeting certification test standards. The point of this issue is that the vehicles were mass-produced and sold without going through the correct certification,” Toyoda said. Continue reading →