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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Auto buyers are more satisfied with major automakers, list says
Customer satisfaction with major automakers has returned to its highest point in the nearly 20 years of the widely tracked American Customer Satisfaction Index.
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Expansion of GM plant in Arlington hums right along
ARLINGTON -- So what will $530 million buy at the General Motors plant?
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Who needs a license? Self-driving cars coming our way
(Reuters) - It's been more than half a century since some of the first concept cars boasting self-driving features were presented to the world and they're still not on the roads. But many auto executives say the industry is on the cusp of welcoming vehicles that make the idea of keeping both hands on the wheel an anachronism.
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Piston power! Automakers still improving engines
That ol' four-banger has some life left in it yet: Automakers are tinkering with internal-combustion engines to try to get just a little more performance and fuel economy out of them.
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Consumers Opting for Better Fuel Economy This Year
An analysis indicates that the fuel efficiency of vehicles purchased by consumers in the United States set a new record in the first half of this year. It attributed the shift to automakers’ offering a wider variety of models with good fuel performance, and to shoppers’ reacting to higher gasoline prices by choosing smaller models.