| | | | | | | | | | At Infiniti and Hyundai, humans backstop voice commands
 Despite voice recognition's growing popularity, two brands - Infiniti and Hyundai - have hedged their bets on infotainment systems by using call centers to backstop voice commands. This belt-and-suspenders approach, in which human operators interpret a motorist's command when software is unable to do so, suggests that certain basic drawbacks to voice recognition technology have yet to be fully solved. But for Agero Inc., which provides backup call centers for Infiniti and Hyundai, voice technology's failings are a business opportunity. ...
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| | North America car and truck production -- March and YTD
| | | | March 2012 | March 2011 | March % change | 3 mos. 2012 | 3 mos. 2011 | 3 mos. % change | | AutoAlliance | | 15,614 | 9,991 | 56% | 41,688 | 26,518 | 57% | | BMW Mfg. Corp. | | 29,056 | 23,534 | 24% | 82,235 | 62,103 | 32% | | Chrysler Group# | | 214,421 | 202,060 | 6% | 597,244 | 487,789 | 22% | | Ford Motor Co. | | 236,943 | 263,157 | -10% | 655,098 | 641,713 | 2% | | Ford incl. joint venture* | | 245,949 | 270,195 | -9% | 678,321 | 657,320 | 3% | | General Motors | | 311,401 | 311,080 | 0% | 861,812 | 786,111 | 10% | | Honda | | 158,678 | 113,062 | 40% | 460,242 | 334,365 | 38% | | Hyundai-Kia Automotive | | 55,731 | 55,741 | 0% | 170,605 | 151,360 | 13% | | Mercedes-Benz# | | 15,663 | 14,933 | 5% | 43,825 | 40,705 | 8% | | Mitsubishi Motor Mfg.# | | 1,489 | 4,266 | -65% | 6,031 | 11,911 | -49% | | Nissan# | | 124,756 | 112,833 | 11% | 354,762 | 298,959 | 19% | | Subaru# | | 27,415 | 23,569 | 16% | 79,956 | 68,043 | 18% | | Think | | 0 | 69 | - | 0 | 153 | - | | Toyota# | | 153,033 | 122,273 | 25% | 437,712 | 345,056 | 27% | | Toyota incl. joint venture* | | 162,263 | 131,013 | 24% | 464,608 | 368,952 | 26% | | Vehicle Product Group | | 243 | 0 | - | 753 | 0 | - | | Volkswagen# | | 78,174 | 51,593 | 52% | 177,070 | 128,940 | 37% | | Other Truck | | 35,209 | 30,462 | 16% | 100,043 | 76,417 | 31% | | Total North America car | | 659,751 | 556,307 | 19% | 1,830,662 | 1,451,009 | 26% | | Total North America truck | | 798,075 | 782,316 | 2% | 2,238,414 | 2,009,134 | 11% | | Total U.S. | | 946,845 | 872,260 | 9% | 2,677,209 | 2,212,685 | 21% | | Total Canada | | 223,192 | 215,242 | 4% | 641,794 | 588,797 | 9% | | Total Mexico | | 287,789 | 251,121 | 15% | 750,073 | 658,661 | 14% | | TOTAL NORTH AMERICA | | 1,457,826 | 1,338,623 | 9% | 4,069,076 | 3,460,143 | 18% | | TOTAL NA LIGHT VEHICLES | | 1,422,617 | 1,308,161 | 9% | 3,969,033 | 3,383,726 | 17% |
| | *Production are not included in grand totals | | #Automotive News estimate | | Source: Automotive News Data Center and company sources | |
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|  | Suppliers to the 2013 Ford Escape
The redesigned 2013 Ford Escape, due this summer, will be loaded with electronic features, such as parking assist and Curve Control, which automatically slows the vehicle when it's going too fast in a corner. Ford is dropping an available V-6 and a hybrid version. This supplier data is compiled by SupplierBusiness. Click here to download our supplier list in PDF format
| JUST IN TIME |
Avoiding collisions -- the new frontier in vehicle safety -- has arrived
If you want to know how collision-avoidance technology will develop, study the new Mercedes GL.
The crossover, unveiled last week at the New York auto show, is a rolling advertisement for collision avoidance. Among its many features:
- Radar-based Collision Prevention Assist, which works at speeds of 20 to 155 mph. The feature, often called active cruise control, monitors distances to vehicles ahead and applies the brakes to avoid collisions.
- A surround-view camera, which uses data from four cameras in the front and rear to create a bird's-eye view of the vehicle's surroundings on the center-stack screen. Surround view helps drivers prevent low-speed accidents in city driving.
- Crosswind stabilization, which applies brakes to stabilize the vehicle in the event of strong crosswinds.
- Active parking assist, which maneuvers the vehicle out of a parallel parking spot.
One thing about collision avoidance is clear: It's a field dominated by the big boys -- major global suppliers with well-funded research labs, such as Bosch, Continental AG, Denso, TRW, Autoliv and a few others. Small fry need not apply.
I don't know who will prevail, but I will make one prediction: This technology will quickly find its way into the mass market. That's where the real profits are.
Published: Apr 10 11:00 am U.S. Eastern time
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Belt maker Autoliv pursues crash avoidance
 Autoliv Inc., the world's largest maker of airbags and seat belts, continues to muscle into collision avoidance. After a series of acquisitions, the company is developing products in nearly every segment of active safety, such as night vision, intelligent cruise control, blind-spot detection, 360-degree accident detection and pedestrian detection. Steve Rode, president of Autoliv Electronics, a ... story
| Cars that drive themselves? They're coming
 Driverless vehicles, which allow an onboard computer to accelerate, brake and steer in place of the motorist, may be closer than you think. Continental AG has equipped a Volkswagen Passat sedan with radar sensors, video cameras and onboard computers that enable it to drive itself under a variety of road conditions. ... story
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Supply Line
JOB LISTINGS
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Top 10 vehicles
produced in North America,
March and YTD | | | March 2012 | | 1 | Ford F series/Super Duty | 67,237 | | 2 | Chevrolet Silverado | 56,139 | | 3 | Toyota Camry* | 43,103 | | 4 | Honda Civic* | 42,939 | | 5 | Honda Accord* | 38,253 | | 6 | Dodge Ram* | 35,853 | | 7 | VW Jetta (6th gen.)* | 35,136 | | 8 | Toyota Corolla* | 33,318 | | 9 | Honda CR-V | 32,497 | | 10 | Nissan Altima* | 31,154 | | | | | | | | 3 mos. 2012 | | 1 | Ford F series/Super Duty | 198,478 | | 2 | Chevrolet Silverado | 147,482 | | 3 | Toyota Camry* | 128,881 | | 4 | Honda Civic* | 127,617 | | 5 | Honda Accord* | 110,229 | | 6 | Dodge Ram* | 103,747 | | 7 | Nissan Altima | 89,914 | | 8 | Honda CR-V | 89,484 | | 9 | Ford Escape (old) | 86,731 | | 10 | Toyota Corolla* | 83,035 |
| *Automotive News Data Center 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 March and YTD | | | March 2012 | | | 3 mos. | | 1 | VW Puebla, Mexico (C)* | 66,371 | | VW Puebla, Mexico (C)* | 143,098 | | 2 | Nissan Aguascalientes, Mexico (C)* | 47,343 | | Toyota Georgetown, Ky. (C) | 129,616 | | 3 | Toyota Georgetown, Ky. (C)* | 42,920 | | Honda Marysville, Ohio (C/T) | 123,753 | | 4 | Honda Marysville, Ohio (C/T) | 41,974 | | Ford Kansas City, Mo. (T) | 123,193 | | 5 | Ford Kansas City, Mo. (T) | 41,767 | | Nissan Aguascalientes, Mexico (C)* | 110,207 | | 6 | Honda Alliston, Ontario (C/T) | 38,362 | | Honda Alliston, Ontario (C/T) | 108,502 | | 7 | Nissan Smyrna, Tenn. (C/T)* | 36,190 | | Nissan Smyrna, Tenn. (C/T)* | 101,917 | | 8 | GM Fort Wayne, Ind. (T) | 35,283 | | GM Oshawa (Ontario) | 97,863 | | 9 | Chrysler Windsor, Ontario (T)* | 34,680 | | Ford Dearborn (Mich.) Truck (T) | 94,155 | | 10 | Ford Hermosillo, Mexico (C) | 33,311 | | GM Fort Wayne, Ind. (T) | 92,321 |
| NOTE: C=car plant; T=truck plant
*Automotive News estimates
Source: Automotive News Data Center and company sources |
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