Trade News

Google “FMEA” and you’re likely to find a variety of definitions. Risk assessment tool. Process methodology. Predictive failure analysis. It’s used as a noun, a verb and an adjective. So, what is it and why does it matter?

Failure mode and effects analysis is a process methodology created to help manufacturers and suppliers perform risk analysis and meet product, process and safety performance requirements. It ensures that potential problems are considered and addressed throughout design and product development to identify where they may happen, prevent them from happening and mitigate their impact.

Created in the 1940s by the U.S. military, FMEA provides manufacturers with a predictive step-by-step approach to identify all possible failures in a design, manufacturing or assembly process or product. Fast forward to the 1970s, when Ford Motor Co. introduced FMEA to the automotive industry for safety and regulatory consideration in the wake of its Ford Pinto sca…

Rachel Blair's background made her a perfect candidate for Kia's Veterans Technician Apprenticeship Program.

Her family farmed tobacco and cotton. As a young girl, she repaired lawn mowers and small tractors and attended car shows with her father. She did her first engine rebuild at age 17 on a $400 car her mom bought her. A local parts store was so impressed by Blair's frequent visits that it hired her; she eventually became store manager.

Blair joined the U.S. Army National Guard and trained as a combat medic. She also learned to drive big trucks and trained as a diesel technician.

After leaving the armed services in 2010, Blair became a truck driver. But long stints on the road — and away from her young son — persuaded her to find another career. She heard about Kia's Veterans Technician Apprenticeship Program and applied.

"Getting the experience necessary to become a master automotive technician with Kia, getting paid to learn on the job and…

Mitsubishi Electric's new in-cabin system can detect potholes, black ice and other hazardous road conditions and relay that information to the driver through the vehicle's display.

It's intended to show a driver, on the infotainment screen, where hazardous conditions are on the road ahead.

The system uses basic automotive cameras, as well as lidar sensors that were custom-made for the supplier's larger in-cabin system called Project Jabiru, said Michael Horani, director of advanced development at Mitsubishi Electric. Jabiru debuted in April to showcase the technologies the supplier intends to roll out on future vehicles.

Horani spoke with Staff Reporter John Irwin about the system's road monitoring capabilities. Here are edited excerpts.

Q: How does this system work?

A: It uses lidar to emit light and measure the reflectivity of the road surface. If there's a sheet of ice, you're going to have a higher level of reflectivity compared to a …

General Motors is working to open a warehouse for electric vehicle parts at the former American Motors Corp. site in Detroit to serve its nearby Factory Zero assembly plant.

The automaker confirmed it will control a new 793,520-square-foot warehouse on the city's west side, but it will be staffed and operated by Logistics Insight Corp., an affiliate of the Moroun family trucking giant Universal Logistics Holdings Inc.

"The site, scheduled to open in the second quarter of 2024, will support the production of electric vehicles including the GMC Hummer EV, Chevrolet Silverado EV and Cruise Origin by optimizing the delivery, storage and processing of parts and products," a GM spokesperson said in an email to Crain's Detroit Business.

Home to American Motors until it was abandoned in 2010, the site is being redeveloped by NorthPoint Development LLC. The construction project is being aided by about $32 million in tax increment financing from the city and $5.…

Carvana, the used-car retailer famous for its vehicle vending machines, said Thursday it is launching a national advertising campaign in August starring celebrity couple Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard. But don’t take this as a sign that the brand has fully healed from a brutal 2022. 

After achieving significant success during the height of the pandemic, Carvana began losing its momentum in the latter half of 2021. Throughout the following year, it succumbed to increasing inflation and a cooled used-vehicle market, resulting in a 98 percent drop in its stock price and the erasure of $37 billion of market capitalization.

As a way to cut costs, Carvana slashed its advertising by 64 percent last quarter as compared to the year-earlier period. This conservative approach is still at play, despite several marketing efforts in May as well as its upcoming campaign in August. 

The focus for Carvana remains returning to growth, not revitalizing advertisin…

Volvo Cars' biggest product launch since the XC40 in 2017 is hamstrung by an issue many automakers are grappling with in this age of advanced technology vehicles.

Volvo has delayed production of the new electric EX90 crossover to mid-2024 as engineers work to incorporate a key safety technology into the flagship model's new platform. On the company's earnings call Thursday, Volvo Cars CEO Jim Rowan pinned the "five- or six-month" delay on the "complexity of the software code" around the EX90's lidar system.

The remote-sensing lidar technology uses laser light pulses to render precise images of the environment around the vehicle. Volvo said lidar and other sensors on the EX90 create an "invisible shield of safety" that can help reduce accidents that cause serious injuries or death by up to one-fifth.

The EX90 is the first Volvo to incorporate lidar and will offer the technology as standard equipment.

"We're writing a lot of [the] software ourselv…

Mercedes-AMG will debut its first performance hybrid crossover following this spring's redesign of the workhorse GLC model.

The 2024 Mercedes-AMG GLC 43 compact crossover will arrive at U.S. stores in early 2024. The 2025 Mercedes-AMG GLC 63 S E Performance will follow later in the year.

Mercedes delivered 65,531 GLC crossovers in the U.S. last year, up 26 percent from 2021.

The GLC 43 mild hybrid is powered by an AMG hand-built 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine with an electric exhaust gas turbocharger. It produces 416 hp and an extra 13 hp via a starter generator at lower engine speeds. The GLC 43 accelerates from a standstill to 60 mph in 4.7 seconds.

Mercedes said the M139l engine is the only production engine in the world turbocharged with an electric exhaust gas turbocharger. Derived from Formula One technology, the new form of turbocharging "guarantees particularly spontaneous response across the rpm range," the automaker said.

The GL…

A number of forces are disrupting the automotive landscape, making this an especially pivotal time for dealership groups. Seismic industry shifts, driven by the pandemic and subsequent inventory shortages, have altered consumer shopping and buying habits. New offerings — including electric vehicles — are accelerating the changes dealers need to make to operate and position themselves to thrive now and in the future.

Urban Science has created a precise, best-in-class, turnkey solution to help dealership groups make merger and acquisition (M&A) decisions rooted in science, not speculation. It’s a solution that enables you to access Designated Marketing Area (DMA) data never before seen at the dealer level.

WILMINGTON, Del. — Tesla Inc.'s directors agreed to settle a shareholder lawsuit challenging their compensation by returning to the company the value of 3.1 million stock options, worth $735 million, according to a Monday filing in a Delaware court.

The settlement resolves a 2020 lawsuit by a retirement fund which holds Tesla stock and challenged stock options that were granted to Tesla directors starting in June 2017.

The settlement does not impact the $56-billion compensation package of Elon Musk, which is being challenged by shareholders in a separate lawsuit that went to trial last year. A ruling is expected soon in the Musk case.

The directors, including Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, agreed to return the equivalent value of 3.1 million Tesla stock options, according to a court filing.

Tesla did not respond to a request for comment. The directors acted in good faith and in the best interests of Tesla stockholders but agreed to settle to e…

In an era of rapid technological innovation and growing consumer demand for more advanced vehicles, a robust work force prepared to meet the needs of this evolving market is critical to the success of the U.S. automotive manufacturing industry. New data shows that international automakers are rising to meet this moment, preparing their work forces while supporting a resurgence in U.S. manufacturing and creating thousands of good-paying careers nationwide.

Making up nearly half of our nation's automotive manufacturing production, international automakers are a critical part of the fabric of the U.S. auto industry. Findings from Autos Drive America and the American International Automobile Dealers Association's 2023 Economic Impact Report show that investments from international automakers reached $107 billion last year, up $6 billion from 2021, with total investment increasing by 49 percent over the past nine years. International automakers directly employ more than 15…

Ford Motor Co. on Monday reduced prices for its F-150 Lightning electric pickups by about $6,000 to $10,000, depending on trim, citing lower material costs and higher production capacity.

The price cuts could help the company maintain strong sales when most electric vehicle inventories are rising as production levels outstrip demand. They follow more price cuts by Tesla, which remains the leading EV seller despite increasing competition from Ford, General Motors and others.

Ford on Monday said the cheapest Lightning model, the commercial-focused Pro trim, now will start at $51,990 including shipping. That's still 25 percent more expensive than the truck was when it launched in April 2022.

The highest-priced trim, the extended-range Platinum model, now starts at $93,990 including shipping, down $6,079.

Ford had raised Lightning prices multiple times, most recently in March, before Monday's cuts undid some of those actions.

"Shortly af…

LANSING, Mich. — Chevrolet is loading the next-generation Traverse crossover with its first-ever off-road trim, more standard safety features and larger touchscreens.

The 2024 Traverse, scheduled to go on sale early next year, has an updated design and a new engine with more horsepower and torque, General Motors said Monday. The redesigned three-row crossover will come in four trims — LS, LT, RS and, for the first time, the off-road Z71.

GM did not disclose pricing while revealing the third-generation Traverse at the mid-Michigan plant that will assemble it, though executives said the crossover will be competitive in its segment. The 2023 Traverse starts at $35,915 with shipping.

"Our new Traverse is designed and engineered to act and look more like an SUV," Scott Bell, vice president of global Chevrolet, said in a statement. "Led by the all-new Z71, the 2024 Traverse builds on the success of its predecessor and will undoubtedly enable us to be in more…