(June 12, 2014) NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Infiniti has announced that June 26 will be the official start of production for the new Infiniti Decherd Powertrain Plant in Decherd, Tenn., a partnership between the Renault-Nissan Alliance and Daimler AG.

The first engine assembled at the all-new facility will be a 2.0-liter turbocharged gasoline 4-cylinder. The engines will initially be used in European versions of the Infiniti Q50 sports sedan and the Mercedes-Benz C-Class assembled in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

June 11, 2014) DEARBORN, Mich. — It might seem that tomatoes and cars have nothing in common. But researchers at Ford and H.J. Heinz Company see the possibility of an innovative union.

Researchers at Ford and Heinz are investigating the use of tomato fibers in developing sustainable, composite materials for use in vehicle manufacturing. Specifically, dried tomato skins could become the wiring brackets in a Ford vehicle or the storage bin a Ford customer uses to hold coins and other small objects.

(June 11, 2014) Toyota has recalled 650,000 more vehicles in Japan over airbag problems, and the supplier, Takata Corp., cautioned further fixes may be needed. The latest recall brought to 7 million the total number of cars equipped with Takata airbags to be called back worldwide over the last five years.

Takata, the world's No. 2 manufacturer of auto safety equipment, said there could be more recalls from other automakers because of problems tracking potential defects with airbag inflators that date back over a decade.

(June 11, 2014) DETROIT — General Motors CEO Mary Barra addressed stockholders at the company’s 2014 Annual Meeting Tuesday, telling them the company is in the best position to meet and exceed competitive challenges.

“In every market, consumers have more and better automotive choices than ever before,” Barra said. “And the competition is only going to get tougher. This is a reality. Another reality is that GM is positioned to be stronger, leaner and more responsive than ever before.”