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Auto industry insider previews tell-all book, What Did Jesus Drive?

"It's about some of the biggest crises in history. It's about who did it right and who did it wrong." - Jason Vines
Jason Vines, the former head of public relations at Chrysler, Ford and Nissan, has seen a lot during his more than 30-year career, and now he's offering a behind-the-scenes look at the auto industry in his tell-all book What Did Jesus Drive? that went on sale this month.

Ford shutters Genk assembly plant in Belgium

Ford has become the latest automaker to close one of its European assembly plants. The facility in question is located in the Belgian city of Genk and has been in operation since the early '60s when it started building the Taunus, Ford's first mass-produced, front-drive model. As part of the plan first announced over two years ago, the Genk Body & Assembly Plant is now closing its doors after half a century in the business and over fourteen million vehicles built. Although the plant itself employed some 5,000 workers, once you take into account the suppliers built up around the plant, the overall impact on employment in the area edges closer to 12,000. Genk Body & Assembly had until recently been tasked with producing the Mondeo sedan (which in its current iteration we know as the Fusion) as well as the S-Max and Galaxy minivans. Production of the Mondeo shifted in 2013 to the company's plant in Valencia, Spain, which also handles the Kuga crossover and Transit Connect cargo van, and will soon take over the minivans from Genk as well. The move follows a similar decision undertaken by General Motors to close the Opelwerk plant in Bochum, Germany. It also reflects a scaling down of automobile production in Belgium specifically: although Audi still manufacturers in Brussels and and Volvo in Ghent, Opel closed its plant in Antwerp in 2000 and Renault ceased production in Vilvoorde back in '97. However Ford still maintains its famous proving ground half an hour to the north in Lommel, Belgium. News Source: AutovisieImage Credit: Kristof Van Accom / AFP / Getty Plants/Manufacturing Ford plant ford s-max ford galaxy

MyFord Touch getting second update, extended warranty

There is no doubt that Ford has had its hands full fielding complaints with its MyFord Touch and MyLincoln Touch systems these days, but looking to keep its customers happy, Ford is once again upgrading its infotainment systems and extending the warranties. Despite having just sent out updates for its systems back in March, Automotive News says that customers are still complaining about the speed and ease of use.
Vehicles with MyFord Touch will now get a five-year, unlimited-mile warranty, while the MyLincoln Touch will have a six-year, unlimited-mile warranty. Previously, the systems were covered under basic warranties (three-year, 36,000-mile for Ford and four-year, 60,000-miles for Lincoln).
What is being referred to as "version 3.5" for the MyFord Touch and MyLincoln Touch systems will be mailed out (or downloaded) next month for owners of cars without navigation and in January for cars with nav. Owners of hybrids, plug-ins and electric vehicles will get the update sometime in the first quarter of next year.