The U.S. Auto Industry is a Leader in Research & Development
Automakers and their suppliers are the world’s third biggest investor in R&D.
Designing and producing autos is a massive engineering challenge, which is why automakers and their suppliers invest approximately $130 billion in R&D each year – behind only pharmaceuticals and technology hardware.
American Automakers are Leaders in Research & Development and Innovation
In the U.S., automakers and their suppliers invested approximately $23 billion in 2018, representing approximately $1,333 of R&D for each car sold here that year, on average.
Over the past decade, automaker R&D has driven braking technology from anti-lock brakes (which help a driver brake faster) to electronic stability control (which keeps a vehicle moving safely when the driver has lost control), to automated emergency steering systems (which control braking, steering, and throttle functions)
Meanwhile, research into the use of new materials, better joining (welding, fasteners, adhesives), and fabrication could reduce a vehicle’s body weight by 10% to 20% from 2014 through 2020.
FCA, Ford, and General Motors each spend more per year than General Electric, Boeing, AT&T, and Tesla.
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Ford F-150 Chosen as Best Light-Duty Pickup Truck by PickupTrucks.com and Popular Mechanics Magazine
DEARBORN, Mich., June 17, 2013 – The Ford F-150 has been named winner of the 2013 Light-Duty Challenge by the editors of PickupTrucks.com and Popular Mechanics Magazine.
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SYNC and MyFord Touch Sold on 79 Percent of New Ford Vehicles, New Technology Drives Quality Satisfaction
DEARBORN, Mich., June 17, 2013 – Ford SYNC® voice-controlled connectivity and MyFord Touch® touch screen technologies are attracting more customers and selling at a much higher rate than competitors, as MyFord Touch helps drive higher customer satisfaction with vehicle quality.
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Robots test Ford vehicles at Michigan proving grounds
A Transit commercial van barrels down a straightaway at Ford Motor Co.’s Michigan Proving Grounds in Romeo, careening over about a dozen curbs before stopping, spinning around, and doing it all over again.
There is no one in the van — the closest person is a few hundred yards away, monitoring the test tracks by video — and no one has a remote-control in hand to steer the van from afar.
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GM CEO: Bring us your apps
"With an army of coders working to write 4G-optimized programming for our cars, our GM App Shop may someday be as popular as iTunes or the Android Marketplace".
General Motors CEO Dan Akerson has issued a personal invitation to software programmers to develop applications for GM vehicles.
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GM CEO calls on programmers to develop apps for vehicles
General Motors CEO Dan Akerson issued a personal invitation to software programmers to develop applications for GM vehicles.
The invitation, delivered Thursday in Boston, one of the nation’s entrepreneurial hot spots, comes as GM is preparing to integrate AT&T’s high-speed wireless Internet into its 2015 model-year vehicles.