Design Services: Motorcity Europe

A recent Business Week article stated that "never before has design been so vital to an auto maker's success, maybe even to its survival". Much of the reason for this is the close parity in quality between different brands and the general high quality of new cars; according to J.D. Power, vehicle quality has improved 24% in the past five years.

Toyota Prius+ gets a bit of a tweak for 2015

Toyota Prius+ gets a bit of a tweak for 2015 It’s more than three years since Toyota took the Prius and turned it in to the world’s only seven-seat MPV – the Toyota Prius+ – and more than two years since it arrived in the UK. So it’s time for a tweak or two. The cosmetic changes to the Prius+ are, by any standards, minor and consist of the normal facelift fodder with tweaks at the front – new grill design and badge and LED lights – and the back – redesigned bumper, slightly different lights and some trim round the numberplate – being pretty much it for the exterior.

Mercedes-Benz to cut production time, halve number of vehicle architectures

Mercedes-Benz is restructuring its global production network to cut the average production time for its models to 30 hours by 2015 from 43 in 2008. "We have increased productivity by 2 percent a year over the last few years. We will be accelerating our productivity efforts," Mercedes production boss Wolfgang Bernhard said during an investor conference that was part of the automaker's plant opening in Kecskemet, Hungary, on Thursday.