Autoblog

Hyundai to build test facility at Nürburgring

Zach Bowman — Sun, 20 Jan 2013 10:01:00 EST

It looks as if Hyundai is set to build a test facility at the famous Nürburgring. Carscoop reports the Korean automaker has commenced construction on a 10,000-square-foot test center with access to the lengthy German track. Hyundai says the $7.3 million facility will help the company focus on improving the ride and handling of its vehicles through extensive research and development.

Sounds like a plan to us. While we've seen Hyundai vehicles improve on many fronts over the past few years, the company continues to struggle with suspension refinement compared to its Japanese, German and domestic rivals.

Automakers routinely flock to the Nürburgring for testing and development thanks to the track's unusual attributes. With a variety of surfaces, banking, turns, elevation and even weather, the circuit offers engineers the ability to put a vehicle through its paces in a wider range of conditions than most facilities.

Hyundai to build test facility at Nürburgring originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 20 Jan 2013 10:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Honda to rely on racing efforts to woo back enthusiasts?

Jonathon Ramsey — Mon, 18 Jun 2012 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: Hirings/Firings/Layoffs, Honda

A scan of recent Honda headlines shows a corporate entity that you'd think few people, and even fewer CEOs, would complain about: in spite of the odd recall, Honda sales are up, it tops an ALG survey on perceived quality, has excellent relations with suppliers, was granted the right to alter its struggling IndyCar engine and then powered the car that won the Indy 500, and its intergalactically popular CR-V beat the new Mazda CX-5 in a Consumer Reports test. And it is the only major automaker to never record an annual loss. Ever.

Yet those who look closer know more: the current Honda isn't the same company that got us to love the brand in the first place. The automaker has been saying for a while now that it is determined to be the alchemist it once was, committing to building smartly engineered, fun-to-drive cars. For the first time in its history it has promoted an American, Erik Berkman, to the position of North American Research and Development chief to do just that. According to Automotive News, Tetsuo Iwamura, Executive Vice President of Honda North American says "What we expect him [Berkman] to do is, through this good knowledge and experience, fulfill his dream of making North America strong." Obviously, there's no pressure at all.

There are two other lines in the Automotive News story that give an indication of the tough road Berkman has before him. One was this: "He's planning changes in styling, materials, driving dynamics and technology across the Honda and Acura model lines." That doesn't represent merely building a fun car; that statement would more closely equate to a change in corporate philosophy for a company that keeps an eye on costs with an intensity that would make a wolf spider jealous.

But Berkman, an engineer, has a 30-year history with the company and major successes on his record: he worked on the 1999 Honda Odyssey and 2001 Acura CL, his team designed the multiple-Indy 500-winning engine, and he led the development of the 2004 Acura TL sport sedan - a car he had to fight for, and whose sales repaid his commitment and the company coffers.

Berkman didn't go into details about what he's planning, but we know it will involve more racing, including tracked-out versions of the NSX, and, taking the 2013 Accord as a guide, making incremental improvements and adding features everywhere. In Berkman's own words, the second crucial line in the story is what he feels is his mission: "We want everybody to fall over and go: There it is again. There's that Honda we used to praise." Carry on, sir - we'll be watching.

Honda to rely on racing efforts to woo back enthusiasts? originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 18 Jun 2012 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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GM to axe 100 R&D positions

Chris Tutor — Tue, 01 May 2012 16:30:00 EST

Filed under: Hirings/Firings/Layoffs, Technology, GM, India

General Motors has confirmed it will cut 100 research and development positions at its Warren, Michigan, Technical Center and will close another R&D lab in Bangalore, India.

The cuts are about a 25-percent reduction in the Warren facility and are part of a "global restructuring."

"These moves will enable the organization to better focus on commercializing customer-focused innovation in a more efficient and cost effective manner," GM spokesman Dan Flores tells The Detroit News.

If they aren't offered new positions, affected workers will have 30 days to apply for other posts within GM before the layoffs commence in early June.

GM to axe 100 R&D positions originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 01 May 2012 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Toyota retools development process with goal of creating more exciting cars

Zach Bowman — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 14:01:00 EST

Filed under: Etc., Japan, Plants/Manufacturing, Toyota, Design/Style

These days, most Toyota models are about as likely to get your pulse up as the latest hardware from Frigidaire. But it wasn't always so. There was a time when Toyota counted itself among the world's sports car manufacturers with vehicles like the Supra, Celica All Trac and MR-2. Those two-doors helped forge generations of enthusiasts before the company shuttered its go-fast ambitions, a door that is only now starting to open again thanks to the new GT 86/Scion FR-S codeveloped with Subaru. Now, according to Automotive News, the company has unveiled a new development and manufacturing framework designed to aid in producing more exciting vehicles. According to CEO Akio Toyoda, the revamped system will allow the company to design multiple models at the same time to reduce costs.

It will also cut the number of executives tied to the design review process to streamline decisionmaking. The company says that with too many people involved, vehicles have been built by "eliminating negatives" instead of focusing on their strengths. Added cooperation between the automaker's planning and design units may foster more innovative styling, including models with lower centers of gravity and better aerodynamics. Think NS4 Plug-In Concept.

The Toyota New Global Architecture will first be applied to front-wheel drive models.

Toyota retools development process with goal of creating more exciting cars originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 10 Apr 2012 14:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Porsche looking to hire 300 engineers in 2012

Zach Bowman — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 17:59:00 EST

Filed under: Performance, Europe, Hirings/Firings/Layoffs, Plants/Manufacturing, Porsche, Luxury

Porsche is investing heavily in research and development to stay ahead of the company's impressive sales growth. Automotive News reports the German automaker is spending more than 10 percent of its revenue on research and development. That figure comes from Wolfgang Hatz, Porsche's head of R&D (for comparison's sake, automakers spend between five and six percent).

A main component of the spending splurge will see Porsche hiring more than 300 engineers in 2012 as part of an effort to increase the company's core staff by around 10 percent. Porsche hired a similar number of engineers in 2010 on top of replacing staff members who left as part of standard turnover.

Porsche is hard at work on the next-generation Cayman as well as the new 918 Spyder and the Cajun small CUV, all of which are headed to market in 2013. Previously, Porsche has made it clear the German sports car maker will create around 1,000 new jobs a year as part of its current business strategy.

Porsche looking to hire 300 engineers in 2012 originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 05 Jan 2012 17:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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VW ranks #1 in R&D spending

Jeremy Korzeniewski — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 17:31:00 EST

Filed under: Volkswagen, Earnings/Financials

Time. Patience. Grit. Determination. It will take all of these and more if Volkswagen is to succeed in its quest to become the world's largest and most profitable automaker. But there's one more thing it's going to require: money. Lots and lots of spending money.

Seamus McElroy from Autoline Detroit spent some time investigating the research and development expenditures of the world's largest car companies, and there were a few surprises. As it stands, Volkswagen is the third largest automaker, yet it spent more than the two companies ahead of it, Toyota and General Motors.

Also of note: at 5.5 percent, BMW and Honda spend the largest amount of their total revenue on R&D, but VW is only behind by a small margin at 5.4 percent. Perhaps the biggest shocker is Toyota, which spends a measly 3.8 percent of its total revenue on research and development.

Down at the bottom of the list are Chrysler, Fiat, Hyundai and Kia, the last of which spent less than a billion dollars total in R&D. We'd expect that next year's spending budget for Chrysler and Fiat will move up several notches as the dual-headed automaker continues its massive product overhaul.

The Korean duo, however, seems to manage very well indeed with its relatively small R&D spending budget. As you're likely aware, Hyundai and Kia are grabbing worldwide market share by the bucketload and have introduced a number of highly competitive models over the last few years. We'd say their return on each R&D dollar spent is quite impressive.

VW ranks #1 in R&D spending originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 15 Aug 2011 17:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Hyundai opens Indian R&D facility to develop small cars

Sam Abuelsamid — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 07:30:00 EST

Filed under: Technology, Hyundai, India

Over the past decade, Hyundai has rapidly moved up into the top echelon of the worlds automakers and part of its success has come from better tailoring its cars to local needs. To help in that respect, the South Korean company has opened a network of technical centers in the regions where it does business.

Last week, Hyundai opened it fourth R&D facility outside of Korea with its new location in Hyderabad, India. The Indian center will focus on developing small cars and the home office has named it the global center of excellence for the segment.

The Hyderabad Center is starting off with 300 engineers and will also be providing support services to other locations in South Korea, Japan, Germany and the United States. The 300,000 square-foot facility took two years to build at a cost of $25 million.

[Source: Hyundai]

Continue reading Hyundai opens Indian R&D facility to develop small cars

Hyundai opens Indian R&D facility to develop small cars originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 03 Nov 2009 07:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Toyota opens second facility in Michigan, adds 400 jobs

Chris Shunk — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 17:00:00 EST

Filed under: Toyota

Michigan has been begging for good news from the auto industry lately, and the Great Lakes state got some from a company that was once considered public enemy number one. Toyota has officially opened a brand new $187 million technical center in York Township that will provide 400 more jobs to the beleaguered state while giving the Japanese automaker additional manpower to develop more new vehicles for North America. The York Township facility will compliment the 700-person Toyota research and development center in Ann Arbor that has been operational since 1997. The Ann Arbor facility has performed R&D duties for various vehicle including the Avalon, Tundra, Sienna and upcoming Venza. The added jobs at the new facility only represents a small portion of the thousands of jobs Michigan residents have lost over the past decade, but having an automotive force like Toyota investing in your state is a very good start, indeed.

[Source: Toyota]

Continue reading Toyota opens second facility in Michigan, adds 400 jobs

Toyota opens second facility in Michigan, adds 400 jobs originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 10 Oct 2008 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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