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Ed Welburn leaves a lasting legacy at GM design

General Motors design chief Ed Welburn retired July 1, and the soft-spoken stylist is leaving a lasting legacy at the automaker and on the industry. He became the first African American to lead design at a carmaker when he took over GM's top spot in 2003. Just six people have overseen the company's design, and Welburn followed in the footsteps of icons like Harley Earl and Bill Mitchell. When Welburn was given expanded global oversight in 2005, it wasn't ceremonial. He helped unite the company's sprawling design empire, and today is in charge of 2,500 people who have a hand in designing GM cars. "He nurtured a creative, inclusive, and customer-focused culture among our designers that has strengthened our global brands," Mary Barra, GM chairman and CEO, said in a statement." Welburn took the helm when GM and the industry were shaking off a general styling malaise that pervaded the 1980s and 1990s. During his 13 years in charge, he took risks, produced a wide range of styles for everything from hybrids to sports cars to big trucks, and leaves GM design in a better place. Welburn's replacement, Michael Simcoe from GM's international design unit, has big shoes to fill. News & Analysis News: Tesla attracted more than 325,000 preorders of the Model 3 in about a week. Analysis: If anything, the Model 3 is more popular than many expected. Elon Musk tweeted that surprising figure on Thursday, and he said just five percent ordered the maximum number of two. That seems to indicate actual owners rather than speculators are fueling the demand. With a starting price of $35,000 before incentives and an electric range of 215 miles, the Model 3 is the Tesla that's attainable for a lot of people. Clearly, that notion is resonating. News: Lincoln has drawn 40,000 hand-raisers for the Continental. Analysis: Okay, that's not a Tesla figure, but it's still an encouraging sign for Lincoln that one of its most famous and historic names still resonates in 2016. It also demonstrates using a real, albeit slightly dusty name, was the right call for the MKS replacement. "No other Lincoln vehicle has generated this much interest in this little time," Lincoln president Kumar Galhotra said in New York last month. The concept that debuted a year ago put Lincoln back on the map, and the production version remains true to that promise. It will stand out on the road when it arrives this fall, and ultimately, that kind of style will determine Lincoln's future.

Ford announces two recalls, 442k vehicles affected in North America

Ford is announcing two recalls for North American that affect a total of 442,300 vehicles and multiple model lines. The larger campaign covers the possibility of electric power steering systems that can fail in the 2011-2013 Ford Flex, Taurus, Lincoln MKS, and MKT; the 2011-2012 Ford Fusion and Lincoln MKZ; and the 2011 Mercury Milan. This recall affects 422,814 vehicles in North America, including 393,622 in the United States, 25,195 in Canada, and 3,997 in Mexico. According to the company, an intermittent electrical connection can cause the power steering to cut out, although manual steering would still work. Ford knows of four minor accidents from this issue, but there are no injuries. Depending on trouble codes from the vehicle, dealers will either upgrade software for the power steering control module or replace the steering gear. The second recall covers 19,486 examples of the 2015 Ford Mustang with the 2.3-liter EcoBoost turbocharged four-cylinder engine with a production date between February 14, 2014, and February 10, 2015 at the Flat Rock Assembly Plant. Specifically, there are 19,095 of these in the US and 391 in Canada. These pony cars can show elevated underbody temperatures, which can lead to degradation of the fuel tank, fuel vapor lines, and parking brake cable seals. There are no reports of accidents, injuries or fires from this, though. To fix things, dealers will install a better-insulated fuel tank shield, add thermal patches around the tank and parking brake cable, and put thermal wraps around the fuel vapor lines. You can read the specific build dates and locations for the models affected by the power steering issue in Ford's press release below the video. Related Video: FORD ISSUES TWO SAFETY RECALLS IN NORTH AMERICA DEARBORN, Mich., May 27, 2015 – Ford is issuing two safety recalls in North America. Four minor accidents and no injuries are attributed to one of these conditions.

Hyundai, Kia, Genesis and Subaru clean up in IIHS 2018 safety ratings

Hyundai, its partner Kia and its Genesis division are the big winners in the latest vehicle safety ratings from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, accounting for six of the 15 models that earned the Top Safety Pick+ awards for 2018. Subaru was right behind with four, Mercedes-Benz had two, and Toyota, BMW and Ford each had one. Another 47 vehicles earned the Top Safety Pick designation, where Toyota had 10 vehicle models, with Hyundai recognized for nine models. All but one of the seven vehicles in Subaru's lineup, the BRZ, qualified for one of the awards. IIHS strengthened the criteria for the Top Safety Pick+ award for 2018 to require headlights to earn a "good" rating — an "acceptable" rating was previously enough to notch the "plus" award — and good or acceptable passenger-side protection in the small overlap front crash, which replicates a crash involving just the front corner of a vehicle. It also required vehicles to have acceptable or good headlights for the first time to earn a Top Safety Pick award. Most of winners for both awards qualified on the basis of optional upgrades. IIHS in October began evaluating the passenger side of vehicles in its small overlap front crash test after it said it became clear that automakers were neglecting that side of the vehicle as they focused on improving driver-side protections. IIHS first began conducting driver-side small overlap crashes in 2012. It began measuring both how well low and high beams illuminated the road and the amount of glare they produce for oncoming vehicles as part of its ratings in 2016. The Top Safety Pick+ winners are listed below. The list doesn't include any minivans, pickups or minicars, which don't appear on either list of awardees. Small cars Kia Forte Kia Soul Subaru Impreza (sedan and wagon) Subaru WRX Midsize cars Subaru Legacy Subaru Outback Toyota Camry Large luxury cars BMW 5 series Genesis G80 Genesis G90 Lincoln Continental Mercedes-Benz E-Class sedan Midsize SUVs Hyundai Santa Fe Hyundai Santa Fe Sport Midsize luxury SUV Mercedes-Benz GLC The full list of Top Safety Pick winners is available here.Related Video: Image Credit: IIHS BMW Genesis Hyundai Kia Lincoln Subaru Toyota Safety Crossover SUV Wagon Sedan crash test