TRAM Product Planning

French billionaire Vincent Bollore is setting up the largest U.S. car-sharing program for electric vehicles

The program, beginning within eight months, will use as many as 500 of Bollore’s Bluecars and 1,000 charging stations

The U.S. arrival of the Bollore Group, which makes its own lithium metal polymer batteries for its electric cars, is the latest development in an emerging segment led by Tesla Motors, maker of the premium Model S sedan, and the Nissan Leaf electric hatchback. Bollore is counting on U.S. drivers who want access to a low-pollution alternative to gasoline-burning cars. They can be rented for as little as $10 an hour.

Japan’s automakers, aiming to take the lead in fuel-efficient powertrains, have joined forces in a new consortium to develop the next generation of fuel-sipping combustion engines.

Their goal: A 30 percent improvement in the fuel efficiency of traditional gasoline and diesel engines by 2020.

The Japanese government will aid the country’s eight automakers by chipping in half of the project’s 1 billion yen ($9.9 million) budget. The automakers will foot the rest.

Testifying before Congress last month, GM CEO Mary Barra said the recall of 2.59 million affected cars may prompt the company to make push-button start standard in all its vehicles.

In a survey conducted by auto researcher AutoPacific, consumers ranked the technology the fifth most coveted upgrade for $100 or less

Nokia Oyj plans to spend $100 million backing companies that develop intelligent-car technologies, joining the likes of billionaire Elon Musk and Google Inc. in betting that future vehicles will be smarter and more connected.

Carmakers are introducing smarter dashboard navigation systems, adding features such as real-time traffic information and automated calls to emergency services in case of accident.

Toyota Motor Corp. said in October it will introduce systems in about two years that will enable cars to communicate with each other to avoid collisions.

Some green-vehicle technologies that looked like sure bets for the second half of this decade are lagging. And some technologies that seemed like long shots seven model years ago have become viable.

Coming up on the outside in this horse race for higher fuel economy: diesel engines, aluminum bodies and -- still a long shot -- hydrogen fuel cell-powered vehicles. Struggling to live up to expectations: electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids. And the big-selling fuel-reducing technology of the moment has turned out to be a more efficient gasoline engine

Downsizing has happened more than anyone expected

The company which makes ultrasound, radar and video sensors as well as spark plugs, wants to tap into a growing market for Internet-enabled devices and systems to allow autonomous driving.

The shift toward more sophisticated cars will result in a 25 percent increase in the production of ultrasound sensors this year to 50 million devices, and the number of radar and video sensors produced will also double, to more than 2 million units, Bosch said.

its automotive technology business sector had grown "impressively."

DETROIT -- Chrysler Group says it has developed a tank to store compressed natural gas that mimics human lungs and will allow the cheaper fuel source to more easily be used in automobiles.

The design uses smaller compartments inside a larger tank to increase fuel capacity and storage, similar to the alveoli within the human lung. It would free automakers from being forced to use large reinforced cylinders to store compressed natural gas onboard automobiles and would allow fuel to be stored within non-cylindrical shapes.

Chrysler currently offers one CNG vehicle: a Ram 2500 heavy-duty pickup capable of traveling up to 255 miles powered by the fuel. The pickup is also equipped with a 35-gallon reserve gasoline tank that extends its total range to 745 miles. It is powered by a 5.7-liter Hemi V-8 engine capable of burning both gasoline and CNG.

Toyota Motor Corp. will launch a swath of powertrains in the next several years

Toyota is investing heavily in turbocharged engines, larger displacement Atkinson cycle engines, continuously variable and fixed-gear automatic transmissions, and new hybrid and fuel cell technologies

While the Detroit Three dominate big pickups, Toyota Motor Corp. has become the top mid-size truck seller in the U.S. with its Tacoma. GM, which stopped building a mid-size pickup for the U.S. last year, is returning to the segment with a redesigned version of the Chevrolet Colorado, betting it can appeal to Toyota buyers.

Along with the Colorado, GM will also offer a GMC version called the Canyon.

Ford Motor Co., whose F-Series has been the best-selling truck for 36 years, only sells full-size and heavy-duty versions, as does Chrysler Group LLC's Ram brand. Toyota doesn't offer a heavy-duty pickup while offering full-size and compact trucks.

The automaker dropped the U.S. price of the Leaf by more than $6,000 to $29,650

Supplies of the Leaf at U.S. Nissan dealers are currently running at about 20 days. Normally the company likes to keep supplies at around 60 days.

"We are supply constrained... We will start producing more Leafs probably by the end of this year -- so December January time," he said.

It's not that removing pumps makes for an inherently better vehicle. It is that automakers desperately want to improve fuel economy on the coming generation of vehicles. And that means ending the standard engineering practice of running various pumps off of engine power, like so many extension chords plugged into a wall socket. Fewer devices draining power from the engine means better fuel economy.

Bosch is also preparing to begin supplying a clutch-by-wire system called the eClutch.

Wire-based driving systems themselves require fewer moving parts

the new belt assurance system will be offered as an optional feature in select 2015 models, including the GMC Sierra and the Chevrolet Cruze, Colorado and Silverado. GM does not plan to charge extra for this feature.

the company would like buyers who opt for the belt assurance system to provide feedback to help improve the technology before it becomes standard

GM’s new belt assurance system does not use an interlock ignition, Ecclestone said. The new system taps into the sensing and diagnostic module used to detect passenger weights and turn airbags on and off. To apply it to seat belts, the SDM detects front seat passengers, and communicates with the brakes and transmission to prevent the driver from shifting the vehicle into gear before both front passengers are buckled up.

banking on brisk demand for safety sensors with plans to offer a suite of new products for mass-market cars by 2016.

The new technologies will include autonomous emergency braking, lane-keep assist and full-speed adaptive cruise control systems

And in a bid to diversify its customer base, the Toyota-affiliated parts maker will offer the new products to any automaker, not just its tried-and-true Toyota Group stalwarts.