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 to rely on SUVs in China, target growing middle class
BEIJING -- Ford's China strategy is based on four new SUVs, as that segment gains traction in the world's largest auto market, and it will build at least two of them locally, executives said at the Beijing auto show.
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Extreme Tech: Cadillac promises self-driving cars by 2015
Self-driving cars this decade? Could be. Super Cruise, a suite of General Motors technologies that lets a car drive itself on some roads, could be ready by the middle of the decade, Cadillac says.
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Sales up for EVs, hybrids
In the first three months of 2012, U.S. sales of hybrids, plug-in hybrids and EVs shot up 44 percent from the year-ago quarter, to 113,457. March sales of those vehicles were double those of January.
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But Can It Find the Perfect Parking Spot, Too?
The concept of a car that drives itself is thrilling to some, disquieting to others. But it's no longer preposterous.
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Fork in the road on driver distractions
A debate over distractions is roaring between auto industry advocates bent on preserving the wizardry of in-car technology and supporters of federal guidelines that could curb its use.