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With its stock price depressed to 52-week lows, and challenges from other automakers and Silicon Valley, Ford Motor Co. CEO Mark Fields is out, replaced by former Steelcase CEO and University of Michigan Interim Athletic Director Jim Hackett.  As part of the move, Ford also made about a dozen upper-management changes in various areas of the company. In announcing the changes, Hackett and Ford Executive Chairman Bill Ford said the company had three specific goals:

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Fiat Chrysler Automobiles has figured out an interesting sweet spot for its Dodge and Jeep brands: As niche manufacturers of ultra-high-performance muscle vehicles that combine modern technology and old-school looks and feel. Enter the new Dodge SRT Demon and Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk.
This hardly the first time.

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The long-awaited Tesla Model 3 small car is one step closer to reaching production.
Tesla Inc., the California electric-car manufacturer, confirmed to multiple news outlets that it was halting assembly at its Fremont plant for one week in March so it could begin preparing for the Model 3, perhaps as soon as July. Test versions of the Model 3 are reportedly under construction now.

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More than any other time in history, new-car shoppers have a rich array of sensible, practical models to choose from, in a wide variety of price points and body styles. There’s something appropriate for just about every buyer these days.
But thankfully not every automaker is trying so hard to be sensible. In fact, if you want your blood to run hot, here’s something wildly impractical, decidedly unconventional and extremely out of the ordinary.

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Description

As expected, the 2017 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Mich., was a blockbuster event, with the world’s automakers showing off their best and brightest upcoming offerings.
Three vehicles won honors as the best vehicles in their respective classes. The all-electric Chevrolet Bolt won North American Car of the Year, the Honda Ridgeline was named Truck of the Year, and the Chrysler Pacifica scooped up the title for Utility of the Year.

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The North American International Auto Show, better known as the Detroit Auto Show, will be open to the public Jan. 14-22, and as is normally the case, automakers from around the world will use the Motor City to roll out some of their most important upcoming production cars and trucks.
There will be a few surprises, of course, but here are some of the key vehicles along with their teaser photos that will be unveiled in Detroit:

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Description

Here’s a dirty little secret about the automobile business: It’s pretty conservative most of the time.
When companies are designing and building vehicles, they have to appeal to wide audiences and that means not getting too afar afield.
As a result, the public sees vehicles with similar styling cues, similar technology and similar price points. There’s a lot of sameness in the business.

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Description

While the high-tech electronics and Internet connectivity found in new cars and light-duty trucks have greatly improved vehicle safety and functionality, they’ve also opened the door for electronic hacking of data and even hijacking control of the cars.
The problem has grown exponentially in recent years. A July 2015 Wired magazine report showed how a remote hacker gained control of the transmission, steering and brakes of a Jeep.

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Description

It wasn’t all that long ago when the future of Volkswagen was highly reliant on diesel power. Today, not so much.
Volkswagen is still reeling from the effects of the infamous Dieselgate scandal over rigged emissions systems that produced bogus data about tailpipe pollutants and fuel mileage.
The flurry of legal actions that followed are expected to cost Volkswagen at least $15-$18 billion in the United States alone and perhaps as much as $35 billion worldwide. And that’s just the financial aspect of it.

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Description

As the push to autonomous vehicles moves closer to reality, the United States Department of Transportation has issued a 116-page policy for testing and developing such vehicles.
Basically, the federal government is trying to bring structure and order to a bold new frontier, one where different automakers and technology companies have pursued their own directions on research and development.