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Nissan's Carlos Ghosn taps the brakes on autonomous car progress

"Self-driving cars remain a long way from commercial reality."
Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn shocked the automotive industry last year when he announced that his company plans to offer consumers an autonomous car by 2020. The automaker even showed off its self-driving Leaf prototype as proof. He was bolder recently with the pronouncement that select markets could have them in 2018, if laws allowed. The boss' optimism appears to be waning, though, and he's now sounding a lot more conservative about the future. While driverless vehicles are still on the way, Ghosn is hedging his bets with a more gradual implementation of several systems.

Weekly Recap: Chevy and Alfa plot comeback strategies

Chevrolet and Alfa Romeo were two of the 20th Century's most iconic automotive brands. Chevy embodied America's post-war power and confidence. Alfa was the definition of the stylish Italian sports car. They reached halcyon heights in the 1950s and '60s, before declining precipitously amid new competition, changing consumer tastes, and uneven corporate management. Both say 2015 is the start of something better, and this week Chevy and Alfa laid out ambitious plans and showcased new cars that they hope will make them more relevant this year, and in the coming years. Each brand sits at its own crossroads, and their paths forward are as different as the Chevy Cruze and the Alfa Romeo Giulia. Chevy is still a sales beast, as evidenced by its volume of 4.8 million vehicles sold around the world last year. Chevy executives are fond of saying one of their cars is sold every seven seconds, which illustrates the strength and reach of a car brand that is the fourth largest in the world. "Make no mistake about it, we are a brand for the people," said General Motors North America president Alan Batey. But he wants consumers to want to buy a Chevy for its design and technology, not simply because it's affordable. That starts with all Chevys now featuring a distinctive a family look, with sporty cues from the Corvette or strong lines that riff on the Silverado pickup. "We want people to fall in lust with our cars," said Mike Pevovar, executive design director for Chevy passenger cars. "That initial emotional attraction has to be right on the exterior, and that's where form comes into play." Chevy is also loading up its cars, like the freshly unveiled 2016 Chevy Cruze, with technology to appeal to a younger crowd that prizes connectivity. The Cruze will offer Apple CarPlay and Android Auto with its MyLink infotainment system, and OnStar with 4G LTE and wifi. Seeking out younger buyers is also sound business practice: Millennials now outnumber Baby Boomers as the largest single age group in the United States. Younger buyers also can improve a brand's image, which is another area where Chevy would like to improve. Chevy ranks 82nd on Interbrand's Best Global Brand's list, behind 11 other automakers. Apple is No. 1. "We need our own variation of the Genius Bar," Batey said. 2016 Alfa Romeo Giulia View 3 Photos Meanwhile, Alfa is in different shape.

'Car Wars' says Ford, Honda to pick up share, Fiat-Chrysler ambitions downplayed

Don't look for a tremendous shifts in automotive market share over the next three years because it might not be coming. That's at least according to the annual Car Wars report by John Murphy, from Bank of America Merrill Lynch Global Research.
In the report's analysis of automakers' market share from 2013 to 2017, it predicts only small changes among the major companies. Ford and Honda see the biggest positive effect with an estimated 0.5 percent increase in their shares over the next three years; to 16.2 percent and 10.3 percent respectively. On the flip side, European automakers and Nissan are expected to lose 0.2 percent each to fall to 8.3 percent and 7.8 percent each respectively. The rest of the industry is predicted to hold steady as it is now.
The biggest loser in that prediction might be Fiat-Chrysler Automobiles. The report certainly throws a wet blanket on its plan for significant gains in market share. Murphy told The Detroit News that the company's goal was "almost unattainable."