| | | | | | | | | | With Japanese back, production expected to rise in second quarter
 North America's auto industry will gain more momentum in the second quarter. LMC Automotive has forecast North American assembly plants will build 3.6 million light vehicles from April through June, up from 3.1 million units a year earlier. IHS Automotive also expects second-quarter production of 3.6 million units. For the full year, IHS Automotive expects North American vehicle production will total 14.4 million units, up 10 percent from 2011. That's significantly stronger than its previous 2012 production forecast of 13.9 million units. And much of that increase is coming in the second quarter. ...
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| | North America car and truck production -- January
| | | Jan. 2012 | Jan. 2011 | Jan. % change | | AutoAlliance | 12,091 | 5,616 | 115% | | BMW Mfg. Corp. | 25,931 | 17,302 | 50% | | Chrysler Group | 185,283 | 139,791 | 33% | | Ford Motor Co. | 201,174 | 178,509 | 13% | | Ford incl. joint venture* | 208,038 | 181,114 | 15% | | General Motors | 253,366 | 225,083 | 13% | | Honda | 149,746 | 111,925 | 34% | | Hyundai-Kia Automotive | 55,672 | 46,598 | 20% | | Mercedes-Benz | 13,353 | 10,812 | 24% | | Mitsubishi Motor Mfg. | 1,752 | 3,521 | -50% | | Nissan | 109,501 | 94,594 | 16% | | Subaru | 26,305 | 22,312 | 18% | | Think | 0 | 41 | - | | Toyota** | 145,292 | 114,570 | 27% | | Toyota incl. joint venture* | 154,096 | 122,178 | 26% | | Vehicle Product Group** | 324 | 0 | - | | Volkswagen | 37,955 | 35,959 | 6% | | Other truck | 38,030 | 23,036 | 65% | | Total North America car | 558,896 | 433,195 | 29% | | Total North America truck | 696,879 | 596,474 | 17% | | Total U.S. | 836,456 | 632,646 | 32% | | Total Canada | 213,720 | 190,071 | 12% | | Total Mexico | 205,599 | 206,952 | -1% | | TOTAL NORTH AMERICA | 1,255,775 | 1,029,669 | 22% | | TOTAL NA LIGHT VEHICLES | 1,217,745 | 1,006,633 | 21% |
| | *Not included in grand totals | | **Automotive News estimate | | Source: Automotive News Data Center and company sources | |
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|  | Suppliers to the 2012 Nissan Versa
The redesigned 2012 Nissan Versa has a new 1.6-liter engine and a revised continuously variable transmission. This supplier data is compiled by SupplierBusiness. Click here to download our supplier list in PDF format
| JUST IN TIME |
Auto gadgets lag computing power of smartphones
Every time the mobile phone industry sports a cool new app -- such as the Siri voice technology used in Apple's iPhone 4 -- automakers lumber into action with their own version three or four years later.
And that's a problem for which there's no quick fix.
If we take a closer look at Siri, we can see why the auto industry will always lag.
Apple's Siri software is designed to figure out the intent of a user's question. For example, it will respond to the statement, "I'm hungry" with a list of local restaurants.
Great stuff, eh? If automakers can adapt that technology for vehicles, motorists wouldn't have to memorize menus of voice commands.
In 2010, Ford eased its reliance on memorized commands when it introduced 10,000 "aliases" -- alternative word usages -- that its SYNC voice technology would recognize as commands.
That made SYNC more user-friendly, but there are three reasons why this approach has its limits. First, Siri draws on the limitless computing power of "the cloud" to understand and answer the user's questions.
That's problematic in a vehicle. Automakers have to design infotainment systems that will work even if the motorist doesn't have a smartphone or a data plan.
And even if the motorist has a data plan, the infotainment system must function in areas that lack mobile phone reception.
Second, the Apple iPhone -- or any other smartphone, for that matter -- relies heavily on visual readouts. But if you are barreling down the highway at 80 mph, you can't afford to squint at your display screen to sort out lunchtime options.
Sure, automakers are using HTML5, the industry standard for presenting Web content, to create user-friendly graphics. But HTML5 is a tool -- not a panacea.
Ford and General Motors have approved only a handful of infotainment apps because they must make sure they don't confuse or distract the driver.
Third, the average smartphone's processor is a lot more sophisticated -- and expensive -- than the processors used for automotive infotainment. So there will always be a lag in computing power.
The bottom line: If you want to find out what your car's infotainment system will look like three to five years from now, buy a new cell phone. The auto industry will catch up -- eventually.
Published: Feb 14 12:01 am U.S. Eastern time
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Mandate for back-up cameras should boost infotainment market
 A federal mandate to require backup cameras in all vehicles, expected Feb. 29, will be a bonanza for suppliers of collision-avoidance equipment. But the mandate also could provide an unintended boost to the infotainment industry. ... story
| Sync to adopt more conversational commands
 The voice recognition software that has made the Apple iPhone 4 such a big hit is finding its way into automotive infotainment. Nuance Communications, the company that developed some of the voice technology used in Apple's Siri software, is working with Ford Motor Co. ... story
| Supplier personnel
Personnel changes for Behr America, the Automotive Industry Action Group and Continental AG ... story
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Supply Line
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Top 10 vehicles
produced in North America,
January | | | Jan. 2012 | | 1 | Ford F series/Super Duty | 63,423 | | 2 | Honda Civic | 44,362 | | 3 | Toyota Camry* | 44,247 | | 4 | Chevrolet Silverado | 38,914 | | 5 | Honda Accord | 35,333 | | 6 | Dodge Ram | 33,964 | | 7 | Nissan Altima | 29,029 | | 8 | Ford Escape | 27,504 | | 9 | Honda CR-V | 27,171 | | 10 | Toyota Corolla* | 23,610 |
| *Automotive News estimate
Source: Automotive News Data Center and company sources
| » Click here to download our latest production table by nameplate (Data Center subscription required)
» Click here to download our latest production table by assembly plant (Data Center subscription required)
» Click here to view our library of production data (Data Center subscription required) |
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|  | | North America car and light-truck production by plant -- Top 10 plants for January | | | Jan. 2012 | | 1 | Toyota Georgetown, Ky. (C)* | 44,410 | | 2 | Honda Marysville, Ohio (C/T) | 41,050 | | 3 | Ford Kansas City, Mo. (T) | 40,195 | | 4 | Nissan Aguascalientes, Mexico (C)* | 40,090 | | 5 | Honda Alliston, Ontario (C/T) | 36,291 | | 6 | GM Oshawa, Ontario (C/T) | 34,937 | | 7 | Nissan Smyrna, Tenn. (C/T) | 32,971 | | 8 | Toyota Cambridge, Ontario (C/T)* | 30,251 | | 9 | Ford Dearborn (Mich.) Truck (T) | 30,201 | | 10 | Hyundai Montgomery, Ala. (C) | 29,244 |
| *Automotive News estimate
Source: Automotive News Data Center and company sources |
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