Latest automotive comment

THE WEEK THAT WAS: Advanced technologies in the news and behind it 11 Jul 2014

Dave Leggett

The boffins at Jaguar Land Rover revealed this week that they have come up with something akin to an on-board assistant built into your car.

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COMMENT: Electric avenue fires Formula E into life 9 Jul 2014

Simon Warburton

Michelin's quite fond of using the phrase "track to street" - it's a nifty way to neatly encapsulate what the tyre manufacturer is trying to do with its move into, well, if not quite Formula 1, then its electric cousin, Formula E.

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THE WEEK THAT WAS: More GM recalls 4 Jul 2014

Graeme Roberts

General Motors started this week by continuing to honour CEO Mary Barra's oft-repeated promise - which is essentially to make good any car not good - so back to US dealers will go another 400,000-odd locally (and even Australian)-made cars for fixes various.

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COMMENT: UK wrestles with Brexit/Scotland dilemma 3 Jul 2014

Simon Warburton

In the - presumably now smoke-free - corridors of the European Commission (EC) last week - Britain's Prime Minister - with his Hungarian counterpart - raged against the leviathan machine of Brussels - and lost.

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THE WEEK THAT WAS: Interview time 27 Jun 2014

Graeme Roberts

We've been hearing from several key auto industry chiefs this week.

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COMMENT: UK docklands spirit evokes back to the future 27 Jun 2014

Simon Warburton

Britain's Society of Motor Manufacturers & Traders (SMMT) Meet the Buyer event in London's rejuvenated docklands area this week was an apt choice of venue given the topics up for discussion.

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COMMENT: 'Spontaneous deployment of air bags' 26 Jun 2014

Graeme Roberts

Spontaneous deployment of air bags. Not a nice thought, especially for a young woman in Georgia.

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THE WEEK THAT WAS: Similar superminis 20 Jun 2014

Graeme Roberts

Being more or less permanently welded to the just-auto newsdesk, I don't get out much though, after this week's experience of overcrowded trains, airports and Dutch motorways, that's probably not a bad idea. But I was briefly cut free again, this time to go try Toyota's new tiddler.

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COMMENT: 'New Saab summer' sees suppliers fire warning shot 19 Jun 2014

Simon Warburton

It's all starting to sound eerily reminiscent of two and a half years ago up in the stretches of northern Europe.

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THE WEEK THAT WAS: An electrifying experience in a Nissan van 13 Jun 2014

Graeme Roberts

I have been indulging my fetish for electrified vehicles this week, heading for sunny Barcelona to see what happens when the powertrain and various other bits of Nissan's Leaf, a personal favourite, are stuffed into the NV200 van.

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COMMENT: Russian monogorods blink in market glare 11 Jun 2014

Simon Warburton

Only a few years ago, the vast, sprawling factory that is home to AvtoVAZ in Togliatti, apparently accounted for a staggering one in seven of the population in this central western city in Russia.

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COMMENT: Corporate turnaround and renewal from within 9 Jun 2014

Dave Leggett

I was in Brussels last week for the Automotive News Europe Congress. One strong theme that emerged was corporate turnaround and the kinds of things that company leaders need to do in an industry as highly competitive as automotive.

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COMMENT: Farewell Ambassador, long in the post 9 Jun 2014

Graeme Roberts

It looks like the final Hundustan Ambassador - Amby to the locals - has rolled off the line in a plant that looks about as jurassic as the car it made since the mid-1950s.

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THE WEEK THAT WAS: Recall axe falls at GM 6 Jun 2014

Graeme Roberts

There are 15 vacant desks at General Motors in the US today - the latest development in the debacle that saw a faulty ignition switch design cleared for production and installation in around 2.6m cars.

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COMMENT: Google's driverless car vision 2 Jun 2014

Dave Leggett

Here's something for all of us to think about. How will driverless vehicles emerge and what will it mean for car companies?

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THE WEEK THAT WAS: Eyes on Russia 30 May 2014

Graeme Roberts

In a bit of a change from my usual weekly epistle, may I first draw your attention to some articles from Our (occasional) Man in Russia, Simon Warburton, fresh back from (deep breath) the St Petersburg International Economic Forum 2014. We've bundled up his articles, including the odd travelogue blog, here in one handy all-inclusive take-home pack. Well worth a read.

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SPIEF 2014: Ear to the ground St Petersburg 30 May 2014

Simon Warburton

This year's St Petersburg International Economic Forum provided a boost for Russia's beleaguered image, but The Kremlin didn't have it all its own way. Here is a snapshot of some of last week's more memorable quotes.

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COMMENT: SPIEF argues calm heads prevail against current crisis 28 May 2014

Simon Warburton

What to make of last week's St Petersburg International Economic Forum? (SPIEF).

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THE WEEK THAT WAS: JCI's Chinese interiors joint venture 23 May 2014

Graeme Roberts

Johnson Controls' announcement of a global joint venture with a Chinese interiors supplier attracted much interest from just-auto readers this week as you'd expect. Yanfeng Automotive Trim Systems is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Huayu Automotive Systems, the component group of Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation, Chinese JV partners of General Motors and Volkswagen, so this is a partnership of two real auto industry biggies.

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COMMENT: Buoyant SMMT opens toy shop for a day 23 May 2014

Graeme Roberts

An invitation to SMMT Test Day is keenly sought after by automotive journalists here in the UK. And little wonder.