|
|||||||||
|
|
||||||||
Day 2: Star Power Exemplifies Industry Transformation
Here are the highlights from Monday’s press conferences: North American Car, Truck and Utility Vehicle of the Year: Chevrolet Bolt EV, Honda Ridgeline and Chrysler Pacifica won the annual awards in their respective categories after evaluations of dozens of vehicles by a panel of journalists. Adient: The spinoff venture from Johnson Controls’ seating business unveiled its vision for what the interior of an autonomous and electric vehicle will look like, unveiling a prototype interior—the AI17—that features some very comfortable innovations. VDA: The German Association of the Automotive Industry reported that the growth of German OEMs in the U.S. light truck segment was 13 percent, nearly double that of the 7 percent seen in the segment as a whole. Schaeffler: The diversified German auto supplier is pursuing four important areas for automotive growth: eco-friendly drives, urban mobility, interurban mobility and management of various sources of energy. Chevrolet: GM’s mass-market brand unveiled the world debut of the 2018 Traverse. Audi: The brand is adding to its line with four new vehicles as it stretches consecutive monthly growth in sales in the U.S. market to 72 months: the all-new 2018 A4 and S5 Cabriolet, the all-new Audi SQ5 and the Audi Q8 Concept.
Ford: The company started its press conference with news of a new F-150, but the biggest applause came with the announcement that the automaker is bringing back its once-abandoned Ranger midsize truck in 2019 and the Bronco SUV in 2020. Mercedes-Benz: Executives rolled the all-new E-Class Coupe onto the stage. They also celebrated the 50th anniversary of the AMG performance sub-brand by showing the new AMG GT C-Edition 50. Mercedes-Benz also showed the Concept EQ prototype for future EVs. Volkswagen: Taking aim at the midsize SUV market in the U.S., Volkswagen introduced the sporty, 2018 Atlas R-Line SUV – a first entry in the segment for the brand. Volkswagen also took the wraps off the classic Microbus-styled I.D. BUZZ concept. BMW: The company officially took the wraps off its all-new 5, heralding the best-selling line of vehicles for the automaker in the U.S. The 5-Series is the seventh generation produced by BMW. Nissan: Nissan unveiled its Vmotion 2.0 concept car and design language as well as the Rogue Sport crossover vehicle. And as a keynote in AutoMobili-D, CEO Carlos Ghosn talked about current and future mobility, including autonomous, electric and connected vehicles. Honda: The company unveiled the fifth generation of its popular Odyssey minivan, the first in the marque’s lineup to use a new 10-speed automatic transmission, also to be built in the U.S. Toyota: The company introduced the eighth generation of the wildly popular Toyota Camry, the best-selling car in America for the last 15 years. It represents a completely new strategy to the way the company designs, engineers, and packages its vehicles. Volvo: The company introduced a real family from Sweden on stage that will drive one of the 100 cars to be involved in the company’s biggest autonomous testing program yet. Kia: Kia rolled out the world premiere of its Stinger GT, a rear-wheel drive, 8-speed sport sedan that is fueled by two engine options and can hit 62 mph in 5.1 seconds with a top speed of 160 mph. Infiniti: Infiniti took the wraps off its QX50 Concept vehicle, using 2017 NAIAS as a stage for what the luxury automaker says exemplifies its vision for a next-generation mid-sized premium crossover.
GM Urban Mobility and Maven: Maven, GM’s ride-sharing service, is already exceeding expectations in the growing number of markets in which it is operating, with plans for continuing expansion in a predominantly millennial market, the company said. Magna International: The major global auto supplier revealed a new, ultralight door architecture that will provide a savings of 42.5 percent in mass over a current production door. It was developed in cooperation with Fiat Chrysler Automotive US, Grupo Antolin and the U.S. Department of Energy. Feedback can be sent to feedback@autoracing1.com Go to our forums to discuss this article |
|||||||||
|