(October 24, 2012) COLOGNE, Germany — Ford today announced a proposal to restructure its Europe manufacturing operations as part of its comprehensive plan to respond to structural market changes and deliver profitable growth in the region, ending production at a major production plant in Genk, Belgium, by the end of 2014. 

(October 24, 2012) DETROIT — General Motors is testing an industry-first thermal-forming process and proprietary corrosion resistance treatment for lightweight magnesium sheet metal that will allow increased use of the high-strength alternative to steel and aluminum.

GM wants to expand its use of low-mass parts on vehicles around the world and will pursue licensing opportunities related to this breakthrough technology. The goal is for suppliers to be able to use the process to provide significant amounts of magnesium sheet that will trim pounds from vehicle mass.

(October 24, 2012) Volvo has taken another step on the journey towards autonomous driving— self-driving vehicles — by demonstrating a new traffic jam assistance system. The new system, whereby the car automatically follows the vehicle in front in slow-moving queues up to 31 mph, will be ready for production in 2014.

(October 23, 2012) COSTA MESA, Calif. — Hyundai has teamed up with California-based tuner, Bisimoto Engineering, to develop a one-of-a kind SEMA show car. In the Elantra GT’s first concept appearance at SEMA, Bisimoto gave the car a complete re-working with an emphasis on outrageous performance gains.