DETROIT——Ford Motor Co. last month announced that it was canceling plans to build a $1.6-billion small-car assembly plant in San Luis Potosi, Mexico. But, the automaker is still going ahead with plans to open two other new plants in the country: a $1.1-billion engine plant in Chihuahua, and a $1.2-billion transmission facility in Guanajuato. Both are planned to become operational later this year, supplying engines and transmissions for the US, South America, Europe and Asia.

Movies and TV shows consistently promote lead characters who are able to complete their mission with little or no help from others. In the world of fastening, self-tapping screws fit this role better than any fastener, as they have the ability to create mating threads in metallic and nonmetallic base materials.

New plastics and coatings are giving automotive engineers a wealth of options for interior design. These materials offer the promise of additional functionality beyond just decoration or passenger protection.

Integrators love a good challenge, and automotive OEMs and suppliers never disappoint. Not only do these two groups expect integrators to meet increasingly high production goals and come in or under budget. They also rely on integrators for creative solutions to all types of automation problems.

In 1998, the odelo Group developed and began production of the world’s first full-LED rear light for automobiles. Although noteworthy, this achievement is but one of many for the company, which has manufactured rear and tail lights for all German premium-vehicle OEMs since 1935.

The notion that a truly special moment comes along just once in a decade is not popular among members of the Academic Motorsports Club Zurich (AMCZ). Founded by students at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH Zurich) in 2006, the club has a long list of achievements in its brief 10-year history.

Cars and guns may be the heart of nearly every action-adventure movie, but Hollywood filmmakers aren’t the only ones with a passion for these two things.

Thirty years ago, if you had told me that Bob Dylan would win the Nobel Prize for Literature or that the president of the United States would be able to influence corporate manufacturing decisions through an electronic medium called “Twitter,” I would not have believed you. But, to quote The Bard, “The times, they are a-changin’.”

DETROIT--General Motors plans to invest $1 billion in its domestic operations.