“The first test demonstration of multi vehicle platoon technology has been successfully completed. Intrigued? Take a look to find out more about SARTRE (Safe Road Trains for the Environment) and Volvo’s contribution to this unique project.”

FROM BLOOMBERG:  Ford can’t make enough Fusions to outsell the Camry, the top car in the U.S. for the past decade, according to researcher IHS Automotive. Instead, with Fusion, Mulally is aiming for a balance between commanding top dollar for each car and selling a lot more of them.

“Between price and volume, we’ll sort out the right mix,” Jim Farley, Ford’s global marketing chief, said in an interview. “I don’t think we’re very enamored with being No. 1 just to be No. 1. We’re much more enamored with getting the right price point and the right kind of people to buy the car.”

Ford’s approach with Fusion stands in contrast to the industry’s quest for sales crowns.  MORE»

 FROM REUTERS: A history of Ford Motor Co could be told with the succession of slogans it has used over the decades – some remembered within the company as rallying cries, some more as punch lines.

Now, six years into a comeback from near collapse, the automaker has a new slogan that underscores confidence that its recovery is almost complete: “Go Further.”

For an automaker with 166,000 workers worldwide and a history of riding boom into bust, the slogan is intended in part as a warning against complacency after three years of profits, executives say. MORE»

 THE SYDNEY MORING HERALD:  The world’s smallest car is making a comeback.

Two British businessmen have resurrected the single-seater Peel P50, the car listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the smallest production car ever made.

The three-wheeled single-seater, famously driven through the corridors of the BBC by Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson, is being revived in a small production run of just 25 units.

 The company is also building a limited 25-car run of the diminutive bubble-top two-seater, the Trident. Only 50 P50s and 45 Tridents were made in the 1960s and the new owners, car enthusiasts Gary Hillman and Faizal Khan, claim that original models sell for as much as $150,000. The pair is hoping to develop a merchandise business to capitalise on the retro appeal of the quirky runabouts. MORE»

FROM CNET: More car manufacturers are turning to touch-screen interfaces for their streamlined look, and they could use the smart fabric to simplify infotainment systems and declutter the center stack. It’s only a matter of time until consumers start seeing this technology in vehicles, and according to New Scientist, BMW has plans to install touch-sensitive fabric in future models. Other sources report that the researchers have also piqued the interest of GM and Bombardier.” MORE»

Read more: http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13746_7-57364077-48/bmw-to-use-touch-sensitive-smart-fabric-in-cars/#ixzz1kRJ2mJDG

“You can only invent the car once; after that, it’s just constant refinement. That’s what we’ve been doing with safety. From crumple zones and the airbag—and even before that—we’ve kept on pushing the boundaries of what’s possible, all in an effort to make the road a safer place for everyone. Note that some features depicted in this video are specific to the European market.”