Polaris Rzr Fuel Tank Assembly 2520595 on 2040-parts.com

Hyundai integrates Smartphones in to their cars

Hyundai is harnessing the power of the Smartphone to make in-car information and driver settings integrate seamlessly. For those of us old enough to remember the first mobile phones – and the first home PCs – the realisation that we’re all walking round now with Smartphones that have more processing power than it took to put a man on the moon is almost mind boggling. Sadly, most of us use just a fraction of the capabilities of our phones, but the fact we have all that clever tech tucked in our trouser pockets gives car makers the opportunity to harness it to provide more functionality for their cars.

September sales hint at improvement

A 10 percent increase in new-vehicle sales in September is sparking optimism that the year will have a strong finish. And analysts say that deals might get better over the next few months as Toyota and Honda finally recover from shortages caused by the earthquake that hit Japan in March. Those brands might increase spending on incentives to woo buyers back into their showrooms.

Chief engineer of Ford Focus quits to lead German yacht builder

Jens Ludmann, chief program engineer for Ford Motor Co.'s new Focus, is quitting the automaker to head a German-based maker of luxury yachts. Ludmann led a team at Ford's European base in Merkenich, near Cologne, Germany, that developed the Focus, the first car from CEO Alan Mulally's global One Ford strategy and flagship of the company's new range of global C-segment products. The German native, who joined Ford in 2000, will become CEO of Bavaria Yachtbau GmbH, effective Aug.