Title: Future technology and the automotive industry

Authors: R.B. Smith

Addresses: Chairman, General Motors Corporation, USA

Abstract: The prospects for the automotive industry depend upon its continued internationalization and the avoidance of protectionism. Internationalization should include joint ventures between companies to improve cost effectiveness and technology exchange. Companies will need to adapt their internal structures and working practices to keep pace with technical and industrial developments. Within this context new methods of adopting technology and new attitudes to industrial relations will evolve. The vehicles or the future will offer greater fuel efficiency, more usable interior space, and will incorporate sophisticated electronic control systems. They will also be constructed or new, light synthetic materials, and may well be offered with a variety of types of power trains and run on alternative fuels. Manufacturing technology will also undergo a transformation with further developments in robotics, computer control systems and computer-aided design.

Keywords: automobile industry; automotive technology; alternative fuels; computer control systems; robotics; CAD; computer-aided design; vehicle design; internationalisation.

DOI: 10.1504/IJVD.1984.061109

International Journal of Vehicle Design, 1984 Vol.5 No.5, pp.505 - 512

Published online: 25 May 2014 *

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