* Microsoft expands auto platform. Microsoft, based in Redmond, Wash., has announced it will expand its automotive offerings beyond software to include services. Microsoft's Automotive Business Unit (ABU) is now providing automakers with new systems such as Microsoft Live Search for Devices. The first of many services, Live Search enables partners to develop applications for in-vehicle infotainment and makes it easier to implement the company's automotive platforms, Windows Automotive, and Microsoft Auto.
Microsoft has a history of providing award-winning software platforms for in-vehicle systems such as the Ford SYNC in North America, Fiat Auto Group's Blue&Me in Europe and South America, and state-of-the-art navigation solutions developed by Japanese auto manufacturers. ABU will increase its investment by 30 percent this fiscal year to meet its commitment to expanding its engineering resources for new automotive systems.
* New electric from Mitsubishi. Mitsubishi Motors Corp. (MMC) announced in August that it has signed an agreement with California's Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E) covering the use of MMC's zero-emissions i MiEV electric vehicle for research and demonstration purposes beginning late this year. Seven utility companies in Japan have tested the i MiEV over the past two years. The success of that program has quickened the pace of MMC to begin selling the electric vehicles in the Japanese market by next summer.
The i MiEV is a four-door unit based on Mitsubishi's "i" gasoline-powered mini-car sold in Japan. A 330-volt lithium-ion battery system, located under the floor deck, powers a magnet electric motor.
Mitsubishi's North American car sales for July were up 8.6 percent over July 2007. Galant sales of 2,286 were up 30.6 percent over July 2007; Eclipse coupe sales jumped 35.6 percent; and Lancer Evolution, with unit sales of 357, were up 141.2 percent.
* VW comes to Tennessee. Volkswagen Group of America recently announced that it will build a production facility near Chattanooga, Tenn., on a 1,350-acre site that will be owned by the city of Chattanooga and Hamilton County. Production of a new midsize VW sedan designed specifically for the North American market will be manufactured at the site, where capacity is expected to be 150,000 vehicles a year. The new facility, expected to have a $1 billion investment in the economy, will focus on environmental responsibility in landscaping and manufacturing process, VW officials said, adding that the plant will be operational by early 2011.
"The U.S. market is an important part of our volume strategy, and we are now resolutely accessing that market," said Martin Winterkorn, CEO of Volkswagen AG. "Volkswagen will be selling 800,000 Volkswagens in the U.S. by 2018, and this new site will play a key role."
Volkswagen of America reported July sales of 20,442 units, an increase of 4.0 percent over July 2007 sales of 19,653 vehicles. The VW GTI posted its best sales month since March 2006 with sales of 1,619 units, up 31.4 percent over July 2007. The automaker's Eos coupe-convertible-sunroof had sales of 1,363, up 14.6 percent over last July.
Volkswagen also recently announced that all of its 2009 vehicles will have its Electronic Stabilization Program (ESP) as standard equipment. It is one of the few automakers to offer an electronic stabilization control system on its entire line, well ahead of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's (NHTSA) 2012 deadline requiring stabilization systems. NHTSA predicts that 10,000 lives a year could be saved if all vehicles had stabilization systems as standard equipment.
* 20th anniversary celebration for Bridgestone-Firestone. More than 1,600 company personnel and their families gathered in Akron, Ohio, recently to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the alliance of The Firestone Tire & Rubber Co. with Bridgestone Corp. The joining of the two companies created the world's largest tire and rubber company, which today provides OE tires to automakers across the globe.
Bridgestone Corp. purchased Firestone in 1988 for $2.6 billion. Firestone was founded in Akron by Harvey Firestone in 1900 with 12 employees. Bridgestone (originally called Bridgestone Tire Co. Ltd.) was established in 1931 by Shojiro Ishibashi in Japan.
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