Volvo solves autonomous revenue riddle with package deals

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) – Swedish truckmaker AB Volvo’s first commercial autonomous truck deal shows how it is bundling services to generate revenue from a technology that is years away from wide deployment. FILE PHOTO: A self-driving Volvo electric truck with no cab called Vera is seen during a presentation in Berlin, Germany, September 12, 2018. REUTERS/Emma… Continue reading Volvo solves autonomous revenue riddle with package deals

Greenhous Group acquires Southampton’s Adams Morey

Greenhous Group has acquired £61 million turnover Adams Morey to grow its representation with Fiat vans and Daf Trucks and Ford van servicing. The Telford-based retail group rose from 15th to 14th in the AM100 rankings last month and looks set to continue its growth in 2019 following the new acquisition, which adds to its… Continue reading Greenhous Group acquires Southampton’s Adams Morey

Greenhous buys Adams Morey van and truck business

Greenhous Group has acquired Southampton-headquartered Adams Morey for an undisclosed sum. The Adams Morey business features Fiat vans and Daf Truck sales and also a strong Ford van servicing operation. Greenhous is rated 14 in the Motor Trader Top 200 with annual turnover of £1.05bn. Adams Morey is an established group of commercial vehicle dealerships… Continue reading Greenhous buys Adams Morey van and truck business

Ferrari one-off models have five-year waiting list

The growing trend for one-off Ferraris is in response to clients’ increasing demands for extreme personalisation, says Ferrari commercial and marketing boss Enrico Galliera. Such is demand, Galliera says unique models “have the longest waiting list of all our product lines” at four to five years. “The client has not only a unique car but… Continue reading Ferrari one-off models have five-year waiting list

Thursday in Ivrea strike and demonstration of Manital workers

The crisis at Manitalidea spa and the entire Manital Consortium is affecting thousands of workers and workers throughout the national territory. “The Piedmontese company, based in Ivrea, which in the region employs no less than 1,500 people, has not been able to guarantee salaries for some time and is putting the already precarious economic conditions… Continue reading Thursday in Ivrea strike and demonstration of Manital workers

Carmakers’ designs on patents for the future

In 1959 an engineer at Volvo patented a device with the potential to transform driving — the three-point seatbelt. The carmaker then did something extraordinary. Rather than guarding the technology closely and using its innovation to give it a competitive edge, it released the design into the public domain. “Thanks to its decision to share… Continue reading Carmakers’ designs on patents for the future

Auto executive Bob Lutz said Lee Iacocca was ‘a master salesman’

Chrysler Corp. Chmn. Lee Iacocca posing in front of full-sized clay model of the proposed Viper sports car being worked on by staff technicians in the Advanced International Design studio at the new Chrysler Tech Center.Taro Yamasaki | The LIFE Images Collection | Getty ImagesBob Lutz, a longtime executive who worked closely with the late Lee Iacocca, called his mentor and colleague “a master salesman, brilliant communicator and extremely convincing.”
“Sometimes it was dangerous to listen to him because he could make the illogical seem logical and you believed him till you walked out of the office again,” Lutz said in an interview with CNBC's “Squawk on the Street ” on Wednesday — the day after Iacocca's death. “Whether it was devising the plan, executing the plan, eliminating the obstacles or selling something that was difficult to sell, he was a master of all of those things.”
VIDEO6:1006:10Former GM vice chair Bob Lutz remembers auto legend Lee IacoccaSquawk on the StreetThe former Ford and Chrysler executive praised Iacocca's leadership and willingness to hear different opinions.
“Large organizations respond to leadership, not administrative heads and not managers but leaders, and Iaococca was a brilliant leader,” Lutz said, adding that he wasn't always right and sometimes made mistakes. “He valued people who would stand up to him and explain to him when he wasn't right and I think all strong leaders will do that because they like to get the job done, but they also like to stay out of trouble.”
Lutz was also quick to point out that though Iacocca is being remembered for pioneering the Mustang and the Minivan, his greatest achievement is still paying dividends for his former company today.
“His biggest accomplishment was in 1987, when against all advice from Wall Street and internally and I admit I was against it — the purchase of American Motors. We barely had the cash to do it but what came with American Motors? The Jeep brand and the Jeep brand today is the goose that laid the golden egg” for Fiat Chrysler.
Lee Iacocca was 94. He is survived by two daughters and eight grandchildren.

Alphabet’s self-driving car company tests free Wi-Fi and music to entice riders – CNBC

Students use the Waymo driverless vehicles to get to school. Source: Waymo Waymo is rolling out amenities to entice riders to use its self-driving taxis, creating a potential route to profitability in a money-losing industry. The Alphabet subsidiary is testing complimentary Wi-Fi in its robotaxis in greater Phoenix, where hundreds of the company’s identical, driverless… Continue reading Alphabet’s self-driving car company tests free Wi-Fi and music to entice riders – CNBC

James Glickenhaus Calls Out De Tomaso For Copying The Ferrari P4/5 – Carscoops

De Tomaso used the Goodwood Festival of Speed to unveil the new P72 and it appears not everyone is a fan. While the car is pretty stunning, it also looks a bit familiar. James Glickenhaus believes there’s a good reason for this as he suggested the model is nothing more than a copy. In a… Continue reading James Glickenhaus Calls Out De Tomaso For Copying The Ferrari P4/5 – Carscoops