Month: May 2013

Two weeks ago, our class had the opportunity to meet with Scott Whitlock, a retired lawyer-turned plant manager of the first American Honda assembly plant in Marysville, Ohio. During his time as a plant manager, Mr. Whitlock faced a unique challenge that many of his counterparts at other facilities and other auto manufacturers did not: his plant was the largest (and one of the only) in the U.S. whose workers were not unionized. While this did afford him some advantages in managing his workers, it also presented many difficulties, as he was managing a largely unprecedented situation.

After reaching a settlement regarding unintended acceleration in their vehicles last year, a “fairness hearing” in California will determine additional settlements will be paid to Toyota owners…

During the middle of the last decade, Americans were driving less for the first time in sixty years. Throughout the recession, many people sought ways…

Audi’s decision to place the plant that will build the new Q5 crossover in Mexico resulted from more than cheaper labor and government incentives. According…

Almost everyone who uses a computer knows the risks associated with being hacked and having valuable personal information stolen. The media continues to demonstrate with each new release of ill-advised celebrity photos that were obtained by having their cell phones hacked that something we carry in our pockets everyday is vulnerable to invisible thieves. Is it time to start worrying about our cars being hacked as well?

As communication between cars continues to increase, the connectivity between their electronic systems does as well. Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller worries that just as connectivity between phone and computer systems makes them susceptible to hacking, cars are now facing a similar threat. Cars are becoming more and more electronic, and therefore have more potential technological weaknesses. Today’s typical luxury car has more than 100 million lines of computer code, while software and electronics account for 40 percent of the car’s cost and half of warranty claims¹. The primary concern is that in the future cars will be able to be controlled remotely.