DETROIT--Toyota’s plan to invest $10 billion in the U.S. over five years includes spending more than a billion dollars at the Georgetown auto assembly plant. The Japanese automaker executives reaffirmed that commitment during the North American International Auto Show here last week.

ALLISTON, Ont.--The federal and Ontario governments are each providing Honda Canada with grants of up to $41.8 million for upgrades and research and development at its operations in Alliston, Ont. The government money, along with up to $408.3 million from Honda itself, will go toward vehicle-assembly technology, as well as the design and construction of a new paint shop that is expected to cut greenhouse gas emissions nearly in half.

NECKARSULM, GERMANY—Audi is preparing for the future with its Smart Factory, designed to optimize automobile production lines. First mentioned last year, the company envisions a factory where humans and robots will work together, and separate workstations allow a highly flexible working routine.

It goes without saying that every manufacturer wants to ensure they are assembling a quality product. Standards and specifications from various organizations provide a guideline from which manufacturers can measure different aspects of quality, while also providing the customer with the reassurance that they are purchasing a trustworthy, long-lasting product.

Mississippi has a robust manufacturing sector that includes world-class companies such as Airbus Helicopters, GE Aviation, Ingalls Shipbuilding, Nissan, Northrop Grumman, Toyota and Viking Range. It’s also home to a world-class organization at the University of Mississippi.

Comparative claims can be positive or negative, subjective or objective. But, in every instance, their main purpose is illustrative. A common example is when someone claims that a person or process is “as slow as molasses” (which, by the way, has a viscosity of only 5,000 to 10,000 centipoise [cps]).