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2015 will be the biggest year ever for cars at CES

Like the SEMA Show, major automakers are paying increasing attention to the CES, with 2015 expected to be one of the most auto focused yet. Ford, Volkswagen, Toyota, General Motors, Hyundai, Mazda, Audi, BMW and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles will all be in attendance when CES 2015 kicks off next week, taking up a record-breaking 165,000 square feet of space at the Las Vegas Convention Center. "We've come a long way from a single car on a carpet," Ford's Alan Hall told Bloomberg. Unlike SEMA, or a more traditional auto show, like the upcoming festivities in Detroit, CES doesn't necessarily focus on entire cars or the way they perform, but on the way our technology will interact with vehicles, and in how those vehicles will deliver information to drivers. "CES has become a major launch point for a lot of the big automakers," IHS tech analyst Mark Boyadjis told Bloomberg. "CES is a way for them to get on a global stage for technology." As for what kind of wares automakers will trot out in Las Vegas, we already know that BMW will show off an autonomous i3 electric car that can navigate its way through a multistory car park and can be hailed via a smartwatch app. According to Bloomberg, Hyundai will show off its own smartwatch app for the Genesis sedan, while Audi and Mercedes-Benz will show off autonomous vehicles next week. Automakers won't be the only companies looking to capitalize on CES. Tech firms, like chipmaker Nvidia, are becoming increasingly involved in the automotive game and will be in town showing their wares off to OEMs. "Two years ago, our booth would have been filled with PCs and people playing video games," Danny Shapiro, Nvidia's senior director for automotive business, told Bloomberg. "This year we made a strategic decision to shift the focus of the booth on automotive and de-prioritize some of the other things." Needless to say, you can expect to see a lot of news out of Las Vegas come next week. Stay tuned. News Source: BloombergImage Credit: Julie Jacobson / AP CES Audi BMW Chrysler Fiat Ford GM Hyundai Mazda Toyota Volkswagen Technology CES 2015

Feds investigating Mazda CX-9 over suspension problems

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is opening a preliminary evaluation into the 2007-2008 Mazda CX-9 because the lower ball joint in the front suspension can potentially separate while driving. An estimated 54,000 examples of the crossover might be affected. The investigation was prompted by six complaints of this happening on the road. Because the complaints are coming more rapidly as of late, NHTSA thinks the issue could be getting worse. The problem also appears to be more prevalent in states that use salt on their roads in the winter. None of the failures caused any injuries, and all but one happened at 20 miles per hour or slower. NHTSA's preliminary evaluations "assess the scope, frequency, and safety consequence" of a potential problem and can sometimes lead to recalls. Related Video: INVESTIGATION Subject : Front Suspension Ball Joint Separation Date Investigation Opened: JUN 09, 2015 Date Investigation Closed: Open NHTSA Action Number: PE15022 Component(s): SUSPENSION All Products Associated with this Investigation close Vehicle Make Model Model Year(s) MAZDA CX-9 2007-2008 Details Manufacturer: Mazda Motor Corp. SUMMARY: The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) has received six (6) complaints (VOQs) alleging incidents of front suspension LBJ separation in MY 2007 through 2008 Mazda CX-9 vehicles. The reports appear to show an increasing trend. One of the separations allegedly occurred at 40 mph and the other 5 incidents occurred at speeds between 0 and 20 mph. The first VOQ was received in October 2013, followed by 2 reports in late 2014 and 3 reports in the first 5 months of 2015. Four of the VOQs are from states using high volumes of road salts (?salt states?) which, for purposes of this investigation, include: Connecticut, District of Columbia, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. The other VOQs were from northern Virginia, which borders the ?salt state? region, and South Carolina. ODI also identified EWR field report data related to the alleged defect in the subject vehicles. A preliminary investigation is being opened to assess the scope, frequency, and safety consequence of the alleged defect. The six VOQs associated with this investigation are: 10717510, 10714469, 10695142, 10668978, 10640541, and 10546535.

Asian automakers still reluctant to use more aluminum

There's a logical progression of technology in the auto industry. We've seen it with things like carbon-ceramic brakes, which use to be the sole domain of six-figure sports cars, where they often cost as much as an entry level Toyota Corolla. Now, you can get them on a BMW M3 (they're still pricey, at $8,150). Who knows, maybe in the next four a five years, they'll be available on something like a muscle car or hot hatchback. Aluminum has had a similar progression, although it's further along, moving from the realm of Audi and Jaguar luxury sedans to Ford's most important product, the F-150. With the stuff set to arrive in such a big way on the market, we should logically expect an all-aluminum Toyota Camry or Honda Accord soon, right? Um, wrong. Reuters has a great report on what's keeping Asian manufacturers away from aluminum, and it demonstrates yet another stark philosophical difference between automakers in the east and those in the west. Of course, there's a pricing argument at play. But it's more than just the cost of aluminum sheet (shown above) versus steel. Manufacturing an aluminum car requires extensive retooling of existing factories, not to mention new relationships with suppliers and other logistical and financial nightmares. Factor that in with what Reuters calls Asian automaker's preference towards "evolutionary upgrades," and the case for an all-aluminum Accord is a difficult one. Instead, manufacturers in the east are focusing on developing even stronger steel as a means of trimming fat, although analysts question how long that practice can continue. Jeff Wang, the automotive sales director for aluminum supplier Novelis, predicts that we'll see a bump in aluminum usage from Japanese and Korean brands in the next two to three years, and that it will be driven by an influx of aluminum-based vehicles from western automakers into China. Only time will tell if he's proven right. News Source: ReutersImage Credit: Sean Gallup / Getty Images Plants/Manufacturing Honda Hyundai Mazda Nissan Toyota Technology aluminum