Mercedes Benz

UPDATED: 8/28/18 4:06 pm ET Judging from the jump in General Motors Co. and Ford Motor Co. shares, the market thinks President Donald Trump's accord with Mexico to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement will enable U.S. automakers to carry on business as usual. This could be right, with one big caveat: The companies are going to need Canada to join the deal, too. The preliminary agreement announced Monday allows carmakers to import vehicles duty-free if 75 percent of the content is made in the U.S. and Mexico. That's up from 62.5 percent minimum under Nafta. Under the U.S.-Mexico deal, as much as 45 percent of parts will also have to be made by workers who are paid more than $16 an hour, according to U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer. “The vast majority of vehicles made in the U.S., Mexico and Canada are above the requirements,” said Kristin Dziczek, vice president of industry, labor and economics at the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, Mich. “If ...

You've heard the old joke about Bill Gates criticizing General Motors, noting that if the company had kept up with technology, then we would be driving $25 cars that got 1,000 miles to the gallon, or some such. And GM responds that if it built cars like Microsoft, then "for no reason at all, your car would crash twice a day." Though the exchange never happened, it hints at the complex problem facing the auto industry today. Cars have transformed from the buggies of Henry Ford's Model T into connected devices, streaming navigation, entertainment and other features through infotainment systems that vie to bring the capabilities of a smartphone, and more, to the dashboard. The 2017 Autotrader Car Tech Impact Study is reported to have found that 53 percent of consumers expect their vehicles to offer the same level of technology as their phones, keeping them connected on the move. However, manufacturers on their own are unable to produce enough software at scale and pace ...

The kit includes source code and function libraries that enable a vehicle to process audio input and triggers and handle interactions with Alexa. Amazon Alexa typically is used in the home for basic tasks such as setting reminders or playing music. But now, Amazon is making it easier to incorporate Alexa into a vehicle. The e-commerce giant has released the Alexa Auto Software Development Kit, which provides developers a way to integrate all of Alexa's core functions into in-vehicle infotainment systems, Amazon announced Thursday. Alexa, the cloud-based virtual assistant developed by Amazon in 2014, traditionally powers devices including Amazon Echo, Echo Show, Echo Dot and more. Over time, the service has expanded from voice interaction to providing real-time information, serving as a home automation system and provide other services. The kit includes source code and function libraries that enable a vehicle to process audio input and triggers and handle interactions with Alexa. I...

The kit includes source code and function libraries that enable a vehicle to process audio input and triggers and handle interactions with Alexa. Amazon Alexa typically is used in the home for basic tasks such as setting reminders or playing music. But now, Amazon is making it easier to incorporate Alexa into a vehicle. The e-commerce giant has released the Alexa Auto Software Development Kit, which provides developers a way to integrate all of Alexa's core functions into in-vehicle infotainment systems, Amazon announced Thursday. Alexa, the cloud-based virtual assistant developed by Amazon in 2014, traditionally powers devices including Amazon Echo, Echo Show, Echo Dot and more. Over time, the service has expanded from voice interaction to providing real-time information, serving as a home automation system and provide other services. The kit includes source code and function libraries that enable a vehicle to process audio input and triggers and handle interactions with Alexa. I...