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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2013 Ford Fusion Brings Luxury Design To Family Sedan
...The reason is simple: Automakers need to sell mid-size sedans by the truckload — about 1,000 a day. To please that many people at once, the design needs to avoid offending buyers even more than it needs to entice them.
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U.S. Auto Sales Forecast to Break 15 Million in 2013
The recovering U.S. auto industry should hit its stride this year as new vehicle offerings, pickup-truck demand and a stable economy push sales above 15 million.
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Fusion Energi Gets 100 M.P.G.
The 2013 Ford Fusion Energi plug-in hybrid has been certified by the Environmental Protection Agency as getting the equivalent of 108 m.p.g. in city driving and 92 on the highway for a combined rating of 100.
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GM's Camaro 'coming home'
General Motors Co.'s next-generation Camaro will flex its muscle on American turf.
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$10M Ford Fund Project To Boost Southwest Detroit
The Ford Motor Co. Fund is launching a $10 million program called Operation Brighter Future in Southwest Detroit that will include a community center, a Gleaners Community Food Bank center and other community services.