20140414-NEWS--0001-NAT-CCI-AN_-- 4/11/2014 6:26 PM Page 1 autonews.com ® APRIL 14, 2014 Entire contents © 2014 Crain Communications Inc. All rights reserved. $159/YEAR; $6/COPY ●●● HONDA, NISSAN: A BRAND NEW BATTLE he auto industry is always full of Nissan will introduce the redesigned which goes on sale this week, signals a head-to-head rivalries, and right Murano mid-sized crossover, at right. return to the engineering-first ethic of now the battle between Honda and Styling themes developed by Mamoru company founder Soichiro Honda. The TNissan is one of the hottest. Aoki, Nissan global design chief, aim to fold-flat rear seats provide more space, In the first quarter, the Nissan brand elevate the brand’s image, and you can and a tweaked torsion-beam rear overtook the Honda brand in U.S. sales, expect the chiseled, aerodynamic look suspension improves responsiveness — a reversal from 2013. That lifted Nissan to show up on Nissan sedans. And signs that Honda is willing to spend a to No. 4, trailing Ford, Chevrolet and Nissan is hurrying to market an few extra bucks to deliver smart Toyota. aggressive freshening of its segment- engineering. As the competition gets more intense, leading Versa sedan, just two years into And Honda says the Fit is a preview of both brands are upping their game: the car’s life cycle. | PAGE 6 | broader changes to its lineup. ■ At the New York auto this week, ■ Honda says the 2015 Fit subcompact, | PAGES 3, 20, 21 | A NIFTY 50 FOR INSIDE TODAY THE MUSTANG A look ahead to N.Y. and Beijing shows The luxury market continues to shine in China, and a slew of new models will debut at the Beijing auto show. Crossovers and mid-sized sedans will make the big news at the New York auto show. | PAGES 68, 69 | > The Ford Mustang thundered onto the American scene 50 years ago this week, PACE party honors first out of the corral in a segment that would come to be fondly known as pony the smartest parts cars. A special section on its legacy and the future of pony cars starts on | PAGE 25 | Innovators from the supplier > See photo galleries; videos hosted by Tom Worobec, Leslie J. Allen and Jennifer industry gathered in Detroit Vuong; and other anniversary coverage at autonews.com/mustang50. last week for the 20th annual PACE Awards ceremony, which honors the year’s top innovations. Clues in GM crashes easy to miss | PAGES 72, 73 | way Traffic Safety Administration, told C’mon in Driver error assumed, not a design flaw members of Congress investigating the Follow the New York auto ■ For a continually Nick Bunkley they had seen plenty of crashes in which recall this month. “I wish the connection show, the GM recall and updated primer on [email protected] airbags didn’t deploy, for a variety of rea- was as direct as we now know it is.” more this week by getting the ignition switch At the time, many of the crashes now sons. Teams of investigators hired by the Documents and interviews with po- unlimited access to stories recall, go to tied to faulty General Motors ignition National Highway Traffic Safety Adminis- lice and victims’ families suggest that and photos at autonews.com/ switches looked like the predictable tration to examine three of the crashes mistakes and bad decisions made by autonews.com. Simply sign GMresource. It consequences of drunken driving, noted that the ignition was in “accessory” some of the drivers may have helped up at autonews.com/ features a timeline, speeding or inattentiveness late at mode, but that oddity seemed to ring few mask the existence of a defect to those FreeThisWeek. The open key players, fatality night. Some were a violent and tragic alarm bells on its own. outside GM who were not in a position house is sponsored by Naked data, significant combination of all three. “I wish these crashes were as simple as to see a pattern develop. Lime. As always, subscribers documents and Police say they had no clear reason to they appear to be,” David Friedman, act- have full access. illuminating quotes. suspect anything was amiss with the cars; ing administrator of the National High- see RECALL, Page 10 MAY 13 SPEAKER LIST LOS ANGELES ON PG.71 autonews.com/LAseminar NEWSPAPER 20140414-NEWS--0072-NAT-CCI-AN_-- 4/11/2014 5:55 PM Page 1 72 • APRIL 14, 2014 20AUTOMOTIVE14NEWS BEST OF THE BEST The 2014 Automotive News PACE Award winners by category PRODUCT ■ Autoliv Inc., Vargarda, Sweden: Green Celebrating airbag inflator ■ BASF Corp., Wyandotte. Mich.: High-gloss black interior door switch bezels ■ BorgWarner Transmission Systems, Auburn Hills, PHOTOS BY JOE WILSSENS Mich.: Eco-Launch solenoid valve for transmissions innovation ■ Continental Automotive, Auburn Hills, Mich.: PACE Award winners and sponsors: Front row, from left, Mike Hanley, EY; Del Matharoo, Magna-Cosma International; Pressure sensor for pedestrian protection Steve Lietaert, Hella; Gerd Andler, Federal-Mogul; Patrick Lindemann, LuK USA/Schaeffler; Peter Tadros, Robert ■ Delphi Automotive, Warren, Ohio: ErgoMate Bosch; Chris Reider, Delphi Automotive; Jerry Lavine, Henkel; Jeff Waterstredt, BorgWarner Transmission Systems; connector Jason Stein, Automotive News. Back row, from left, Tobias Aderum, Autoliv; Johan Lofvenholm, Autoliv; Amit Kapoor, ■ Continental Automotive; Ludger Reckmann, ZF; Blake Zuidema, ArcelorMittal; Frank Billotto, Dow Automotive Systems; Dow Automotive Systems, Auburn Hills, Mich.: Mark Minnichelli, BASF; Bill Kozyra, TI Automotive; Peter Reilly, Valeo Vision Systems; Jeff Sprague, TRC Inc. Betamate structural adhesive for untreated aluminum ■ Federal-Mogul Corp., Wiesbaden, Germany: Lead-free bearings for high-performance engines 2 ■ Hella KGaA Hueck & Co., Lippstadt, Germany: LED matrix beam headlights ■ Robert Bosch, Farmington Hills, Mich.: Spray enhancements in gasoline direct injection enabled by laser drilling ■ Schaeffler Group, Wooster, Ohio: Torque converter with centrifugal pendulum absorber ■ Valeo, Bietigheim-Bissingen, Germany: Backup protection ■ ZF Friedrichshafen AG, Saarbrucken, Germany: Nine- speed automatic transmission MANUFACTURING PROCESS AND CAPITAL EQUIPMENT ■ ArcelorMittal and Magna-Cosma International, 1 Chicago: Laser-welded, hot-stamped door ring ■ Henkel Corp., Madison Heights, Mich.: Bonderite 2798 process for coating aluminum 345 ■ TI Automotive, Auburn Hills, Mich.: Flexible manufacturing process for blow-molded plastic fuel tanks INNOVATION PARTNERSHIP ■ Ford Motor Co. for high-gloss black interior door switch bezels with BASF Corp. ■ General Motors for Eco-Launch solenoid valve for transmissions with BorgWarner Transmission Systems ■ Honda R&D Americas Inc. for laser-welded, hot- stamped door ring with ArcelorMittal and Magna-Cosma International ■ Paccar Inc. for Betamate adhesive for untreated aluminum with Dow Automotive Systems ■ Tesla Motors Inc. for Tegra visual computing module with Nvidia Corp. Celebrating their achievements: 1. Burt Jordan, Ford; Mark Minnichelli, BASF Corp.; J Ferron, director of PACE judging; and Mike Whitens, Ford 2. Tobias Aderum, Autoliv 3. Tod Xelowski, Tesla Motors; Rob Csongor, Nvidia Automotive ■ Volvo Car Corp. for pedestrian protection airbag with 4. Deborah Kullman, Eaton 5. Steve Lietaert, Hella; Mike Hanley, EY Autoliv Inc. Innovation, safety are winners at PACE Awards Charles Child make vehicles with much more alu- earned awards for three suppliers. oxygen and inert argon gas. [email protected] minum content,” Jerry Lavine, More PACE Continental Automotive won for The independent PACE judges al- ETROIT — It’s difficult to Henkel vice president, said at the on the Web sensors that help lift the hood to so awarded Innovation Partnership look disruptive dressed in awards ceremony. Ⅲ Summaries of 16 protect pedestrians during a colli- awards to six automakers for out- a tuxedo. Ford Motor Co. will use alu- winners, with judges’ sion. standing collaboration with suppli- D But that’s the best de- minum for the 2015 F-150 pickup. comments and 34 finalists: Hella KGaA Hueck & Co. won for ers. scription of the supplier executives More high-volume aluminum vehi- autonews.com/pacewinners headlights that dim automatically Volvo Car Corp., for instance, and engineers who gathered in De- cles are sure to follow. to protect the vision of oncoming won for its partnership with Autoliv Ⅲ Video clips of the winners: troit last week for the Automotive One innovation won’t mean autonews.com/pacevideo drivers. Inc. to develop an airbag installed News PACE Awards. goodbye to steel, spot welders and And Valeo won for a system that near the windshield wipers that de- The awards honor innovation by much more. But several open up gives drivers an extended view of ploys if a car hits a pedestrian. suppliers. And innovation, which the possibility. Music Center here. The awards are objects behind them while they are “It’s all about expanding our her- can radically change vehicle tech- Dow Automotive Systems won a sponsored by EY, the Transporta- backing up. itage of safety — not only inside the nology and production methods, is PACE Award for another enabler of tion Research Center Inc. and Auto- Autoliv Inc. won for a technology vehicle but outside, too,” said Hele- nothing if not disruptive. aluminum bodies: betamate epoxy, motive News. best described as environmental — na Bergstrom Pilo, vice president of Take aluminum. Bonderite 2798, which is used along with rivets to Sixteen suppliers won awards in a a green airbag inflator — even body and trim engineering for Vol- a 2014 PACE Award winner from join aluminum parts. field of 34 finalists. though it applies to a safety feature. vo. Henkel Corp., is a coating that pre- The 20th annual awards were The biggest single pattern among The device replaces sodium azide, The other partnership winners: pares aluminum for paint. The handed out before an audience of this year’s honorees was safety. In- the so-called pyrotechnics used to Ford, General Motors, Honda R&D coating allows automakers “to more than 450 at the Max M.