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DETROIT (AP) -- August was astrong month for U.S. auto salesbut Hurricane Harvey is puttingpressure on some of those gains.General Motors said its sales
rose 7.5 percent over last August,while Toyota’s were up 7 percentand Volkswagen’s rose 9 percent.GM said sales of its small SUVs,including the new GMC Acadiaand Chevrolet Equinox, jumped47 percent. Toyota and Volkswa-gen also had strong SUV sales.But not everyone got a boost.
Nissan’s sales dropped 13 per-cent and Fiat Chrysler’s saleswere down 11 percent. Ford’ssales fell 2 percent.U.S. auto sales were initially ex-
pected to increase slightly inAugust compared with a yearago, but analysts say lower salesin the Houston area could eraseat least some of those gains. Har-vey likely cut U.S. sales of newcars and trucks by 1.3 percent, or20,000 vehicles, in August, fore-casting firm LMC Automotivesaid.The Houston metro area is the
ninth-largest vehicle market inthe nation.Until the last Saturday of the
month, August was shaping up tobe a strong month at the eightBayway Auto Group dealershipsthat Darryl Wischnewsky owns inthe Houston metro area. Thencame Harvey. None of Wisch-
newsky’s dealerships sufferedflooding or other damage in thestorm, but he says other dealersup and down the freeways he hasdriven have lost all of their inven-tory and their buildings havebeen damaged.His group, which includes Lin-
coln, Chevrolet, Fiat Chrysler,
Volkswagen and Volvo dealers,shut down on Saturday, Aug. 26,as the storm approached andjust started reopening on Aug.31. Losing the one Saturdayalone probably cost 60 to 70sales, Wischnewski said.
®TechCenterNews®
VOL. 41 NO. 52 SEPTEMBER 4, 2017Covers the Tech Center and the Immediate Area
WARREN, MICHIGAN
View This Week’s Edition at http://TechCenterNews.com
The end is nearer.Renovations to the GM Tech
Center in Warren are now enteringtheir final stage.Since GM first announced that
the company was making changesand improvements to the TechCenter inMay of 2015, new parkingstructures have been built and theinteriors of buildings such as theVehicle Engineering Center (VEC)have been rearranged and updat-ed with the latest technology.On Aug. 30, GM unveiled the
plans to a 360,000-square-foot ex-pansion of the GM Design studios.This is the final stage of a multi-year $1 billion investment in GM’sGlobal Technical Center, a Nation-al Historic Landmark site, said GMspokeswoman Robyn Henderson.GM will break ground in mid-
2018 on the new studio building,which will surround the iconic De-sign Dome Auditorium and view-ing patio and connect to the exist-ing Design Center, Henderson said.A substantial two-to-three-yearproject, the new building’s foot-print first requires the completionof a new parking structure current-ly under way at the southwest cor-ner of the campus.“We can only begin to predict
how mobility will change in futuregenerations,” saidMichael Simcoe,vice president of Global Design.“Investing in our creative andskilled team and providing themwith inspiring, modern spaces,new technologies and more waysto work together will foster inno-vation that leads to real solutionsfor customers.”GM’s multiyear Technical Cen-
ter campus investment has includ-ed new construction, significantrenovations of some existing facili-ties and the expansion of some op-erations, Henderson said. Con-struction began in May 2015.Significant building renovations
include:• Vehicle Engineering Center;• Alternative Energy Center,including a new StructuralDevelopment Lab;
• Pre-Production Operations;• Engineering West and South.Design and construction for
GM’s new Design studios is man-aged by Walbridge, in partnershipwith SmithGroup JJR, which re-ceived an honor award from theAmerican Institute of Architectsfor its work on the interior renova-tion of the GM Design Dome andAuditorium in 2014.Simcoe, the seventh Design
leader in GM history, has been in-strumental in the developmentand expansion of other GM globaldesign studios. Now past its 90th
year, GM Design was establishedin 1927 as The Art and Colour Sec-tion by the legendary Harley Earl.The Tech Center campus, de-
signed by world-renowned archi-tect Eero Saarinen and landscapearchitect Thomas Church, openedin 1956 and was the pinnacle of en-gineering, design and advancedtechnology at the time, Henderson
said. It was named a National His-toric Landmark in 2014 by the De-partment of the Interior and theNational Park Service.In 2000, the campus was listed
on the National Register of His-toric Places. In 1986, the AmericanInstitute of Architects honored theTech Center as the most outstand-ing architectural project of its era.
GM Tech Center Improvements in Final Phase
2017 Ford F-Series Super Duty 2017 Dodge Challenger 2018 Chevrolet Traverse
Ford and Domino’s are working on autonomous delivery cars.
GM Sees a Strong August; Weather Affects Overall Sales
It was an inevitable matchmade in automotive-mozzarellaheaven – Ann Arbor-based Domi-no’s and a Detroit automakerjoining forces.In this case, Domino’s Pizza,
the recognized world leader inpizza delivery, and Ford MotorCo. are launching an industry-first collaboration to understandthe role that self-driving vehiclescan play in pizza delivery, saidFord spokesman Alan Hall.As part of the testing, re-
searchers from both companieswill investigate customer reac-tions to interacting with a self-driving vehicle as a part of theirdelivery experience, Hall said.This research is important asboth companies begin to exam-ine and understand customers’perspectives around the futureof food delivery with self-drivingvehicles.“As delivery experts, we’ve
Ford and Domino’s BringPizza Delivery into Future
Though more than 1,000 milesfrom the Motor City, HurricaneHarvey will have a big impact onthe auto industry.The storm hit the city of Hous-
ton on Aug. 25 and according theU.S. Weather Bureau dumpedrecord amounts of rain on thecity and it surrounding suburbs.As a result, according to the
Associated Press, billionaire War-ren Buffett says the storm dam-age in Texas is staggering, but heisn't sure yet how much insur-ance companies will have to payin claims.Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway
conglomerate owns Geico andseveral other insurers, so hiscompany will be helping peoplerebuild. Buffett appeared onCNBC Aug. 30 before dining withthe person who paid nearly $2.7million in a charity auction forlunch with Buffett.Buffett says the effects of Hur-
ricane Harvey will linger forsome time. He expects that50,000 of the roughly 500,000 ve-hicles Geico insures in the areawill be total losses.Buffett says Berkshire hasn't
written much catastrophe insur-ance in recent years becauseprices were too low, so that willlimit the Omaha, Nebraska-based company's exposure.
The Detroit News reportedTexas is the auto industry’s sec-ond-largest market in the U.S. af-ter California, and major por-tions of the state’s southeast re-gion are under water with littleor no relief in sight.Auto production in the state –
led by General Motors Co. in Ar-lington and Toyota Motor Corp.in San Antonio – appears to haveavoided major interruptions.The most immediate impact isbeing felt by dealers, many ofwhom have shut down opera-tions and may have to waitweeks to know the full extent ofdamage to their properties andinventory.With a large portion of south-
east Texas effectively paralyzedby flood waters and continuingrainfall, near-term sales are likelyto take a hit. As many as 20,000to 40,000 new-vehicle sales couldbe delayed as a result of thestorm, according to Cox Auto-motive estimates.But a rebound is expected in
the final months of the year asmotorists replace damaged ortotaled cars and trucks.
Dealership SalesSwept Away byHurricane Harvey
CONTINUED ON PAGE 4
CONTINUED ON PAGE 4 CONTINUED ON PAGE 2
Rendering of how Design Center will look once construction is finished.
A rendering of the GM Design Center once construction, set to begin in 2018, is completed.
The cable financial channelCNBC reported that with hun-dreds of auto dealerships closedand vehicle imports slowingdown, or in some cases stoppingcompletely, Hurricane Harvey isslamming the brakes on the autoindustry in southeastern Texas.By extension, the entire indus-
try will feel the impact of thestorm that continues to inundatethe Houston area.The channel spoke with Auto-
Nation executive vice presidentMarc Cannon, who said that thecompany, which owns 18 dealer-ships in the Houston area, ismaking sure that employees aresafe.Cannon said that AutoNation is
also working to get its dealershipsopen, but that will take time.Christopher Hopson, a senior
analyst for IHS Markit, said that,from what they’ve heard, produc-tion of vehicles in and aroundHouston shouldn’t be affectedthat much. GM has a truck plant inArlington, Texas, near Dallas, andToyota has a truck plant in SanAntonio.
“While we haven’t heard any-thing about the plants being shutdown, that doesn’t mean that alocal single-source supplier downthe supply chain hasn’t been af-fected by the Harvey flooding,”Hopson said. “In the past we’veseen plants in places like Japanshut down after a natural disasterbecause while the plants weren’taffected, their suppliers were.”
So, Hopson said, it’s possiblethat some lesser-known area sup-pliers affected by the storm couldcause problems later on.As to the effect on sales, Hop-
son said that, in the short term,those affected by Harvey will
probably be too busy doing otherthings to go out and buy cars.But, if the numbers reported are
correct and 500,000 vehicles havebeen flooded, then in the longerterm OEMs could see a rise insales.“Detroit automakers account
for about 60 percent of sales inthe Houston market,” Hopsonsaid.“When those insurance checks
start coming in, we will probablysee a rise in sales as people re-place vehicles they lost in the Har-vey floods.”Detroit automakers are still in
the process of determining whatto do as a result of HurricaneHarvey.In a statement to the media,
Ford reported, “we know for cer-tain that many dealers in the areahave sustained significant dam-age. We are gathering informationfrom local authorities and dealersso we can offer our assistance inthe most effective way possible.“The Ford Motor Company
Fund is contributing $100,000 todisaster relief efforts in Texas, fol-lowing historic flooding in thewake of Hurricane Harvey.“In addition, Ford Fund is
matching up to $50,000 in contri-butions to the American RedCross ...“Please join us in donating to theAmerican Red Cross. Go tohttp://redcross.org/ford-emp tohave your donation matched byFord Fund.”Fiat Chrysler spokesman Kevin
Frazier said the company is en-couraging employees to donatecleaning supplies.“There are two organizations
that we are encouraging people todonate to,” Frazier said. “One isDisaster Relief At Work (DRAW).We have bins employees can dropoff cleaning supplies at. We willtake what is collected to theDRAW facility in Waterford. Theitems will then be taken, alongwith whatever else DRAW collect-ed, to Houston.”FCA is also encouraging em-
ployees to donate other essentialsupplies to bins that will be putout in plants and offices. Thegroup “Stuff A Semi” is behind thiseffort, Frazier said.Employees will take what is do-
nated to Stuff A Semi’s facility inTroy for transportation to Hous-ton.
TechCenterNews®
31201 Chicago Road SouthWarren, Michigan 48093
586-939-6800
Contact us:[email protected]
Deadline: Thursday 5:00 p.m.for the next edition of Monday
William Springer II, publisherLisa A. Torretta, operationsJim Stickford, newsTech Center News is a registeredtrademark of Springer Publishing Co.
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PAGE 2 SEPTEMBER 4, 2017TECH CENTER NEWS - WARREN
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
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Many vehicles were stuck on flooded roads during the disaster.Cars and homes were destroyed by Hurricane Harvey.
CLINTON TOWNSHIP, Mich.(AP) – The Macomb Countysheriff’s office is looking for afew good seniors.The sheriff’s office is seeking
seniors interested in participat-ing in a free law enforcementacademy.Four workshops will be held
on Mondays from 9 a.m. to noonand start Sept. 25 at the MacombIntermediate School District inClinton Township. Registrationsare being accepted by tele-phone.The classes are intended to
educate senior citizens aboutthe operations of the sheriff’s of-fice and its various divisions inMacomb County.Classes also are scheduled for
October, beginning on Oct. 2,Oct. 9 and Oct. 16.The detective bureau, evi-
dence technician, youth bureau,firearms, corrections, Special En-forcement Team and MacombAuto Theft Squad will be amongthe operations covered by theworkshops.
Macomb Sheriff’sOffice OfferingSenior Classes
Destroyed businesses could affect how fast Houston recovers.
“When thoseinsurance checksstart coming in,
we will probably seea rise in sales…”
– Christopher Hopson,IHS Markit
by Jim Stickford
Making Michigan roads safe todrive is everybody’s business.Which is why GM CEO Mary
Barra was on hand at the DetroitAthletic Club on Aug. 28 whenthe Michigan Department ofTransportation (MDOT) and theKeifer Foundation revealed theirfirst-of-a-kind public/privatepartnership to improve safety onMichigan highways using protec-tive cables to create median bar-riers.The partnership between
MDOT and the Kiefer Foundationwill involve investing $300,000 toadd 17 miles of protective cablemedian barrier on I-96 from DoanCreek to east of Dietz Road inIngham County.The Kiefer Foundation was cre-
ated by Steve Kiefer to honor hisson Mitchell, who was killed ayear ago on Sept. 19 when he washeading back to Michigan State.His vehicle was struck from be-
hind and pushed across the me-dian into oncoming traffic. Hiscar was hit by a truck andMitchell Kiefer was killed.The driver of the other vehicle
was distracted at the time of theaccident and didn’t slow downas traffic in front of her sloweddown.Steve Kiefer said that if there
had been a cable median barrieron I-96 in that part of InghamCounty, his son would be alivetoday.“Mitchell was an amazing per-
son,” Kiefer said. “He was goingto change the world. He still willthrough the foundation that wascreated to honor his memory.”Kiefer said that when he
learned of his son’s death, heand his family were devastated.But they had a choice. Theycould let this tragedy destroythem, or they could use the painas motivation to do somethingthat would honor Mitchell andhelp make the world a betterplace.The family decided to do
something positive, Kiefer said.So they created the Kiefer Foun-dation to help with traffic safetyand to raise awareness of thedangers of distracted driving.“Nine people are killed every
day on American roads becauseof distracted driving,” Kiefersaid. “That’s horrific. Distracteddriving is a behavior issue, andwe will work to change behavior.Just look back 20 years ago. Thenotion of drinking and drivinghas changed so much since then.The idea that people won’t wearseat belts has changed. The ideathat people will light up a ciga-rette in someone’s car or in arestaurant has become almost acrime, yet we will tolerate some-one grabbing a cell phone andusing it while driving a multi-tonvehicle on public roads. We canfix this. We can end distracteddriving and end deaths that re-sult from it within five years if wetry.”Barra also spoke. She said that
GM is focused on road safety andmaking cars safer. But 94 percentof crashes are caused by drivererror.“Vehicle safety is literally in
our hands,” Barra said. “That’swhy we’re so excited aboutautonomous driving technology.It will make our roads so muchsafer. But it will be a long timebefore that technology becomeswidespread. In the meantime, wecan work with drivers to helpmake roads safer. That’s why weare partnering with organiza-tions like the Kiefer Foundation.We want to help make sure thatfamilies don’t get that phone callthat will change lives forever.”State Transportaion Director
Kirk Steudle, was also present atthe announcement. He shared
some facts about cable guardrails in Michigan.Cable median barriers have
been proved to reduce cross-me-dian crash rates by 87 percent,Steudle said. They form a part ofthe state’s Toward Zero Deaths(TZD) safety campaign. Since theirintroduction in 2008, more than380 miles of cable barrier havebeen installed.Brad Wieferich, director of
MDOT’s Bureau of Development,was on hand and spoke to the me-dia after the presentation.He said the Kiefer Foundation’s
co-funding of the I-96 barrier is im-portant because these barrierssave lives, and anything that canbe done to install more is a goodthing.When asked why the state just
doesn’t put up more itself,Wieferich said that it’s a matter offunding.“Cable barriers are just one of
the many safety programs MDOThas to consider when determininghow to balance our resources,”Wieferich said. “Determining thiscosts money. Surveys have to bedone, and studies have to bemadeso that we know where we canspend money in a way that doesthe most good. This is just onesafety program among many thatneed funding.”So while cable barriers are effec-
tive, they are competing with oth-er effective safety programs forfunding. So having organizationslike the Kiefer Foundation help co-fund safety projects is somethingthat will benefit everyone, he said.
®TechCenterNews®
SEPTEMBER 4, 2017 PAGE 3COVERS THE TECH CENTER AND THE IMMEDIATE AREA
Barra Cable barriers can stop crashing cars from crossing medians.
Barra: ‘We Can Work with Drivers to Make Roads Safer’
been watching the developmentof self-driving vehicles withgreat interest as we believetransportation is undergoingfundamental, dramatic change,”said Patrick Doyle, Domino’spresident and CEO. “We prideourselves on being technologyleaders and are excited to helplead research into how self-dri-ving vehicles may play a role inthe future of pizza delivery. Thisis the first step in an ongoingprocess of testing that we planto undertake with Ford.”As Ford builds out its busi-
ness enabled by self-driving ve-hicles, Hall said conducting re-search with companies, likeDomino’s, will be crucial to en-suring that the technology is ap-plied in ways that enhance thecustomer experience. With aplan to begin production of self-driving vehicles in 2021, Ford is
taking steps to design a busi-ness to meet the needs of bothpartner companies and theircustomers.“As we increase our under-
standing of the business oppor-tunity for self-driving vehicles tosupport the movement of peo-ple and goods, we’re pleased tohave Domino’s join us in this im-portant part of the developmentprocess,” said Sherif Marakby,Ford vice president, Au-tonomous and Electric Vehicles.“As a company focused on thecustomer experience, Domino’sshares our vision for a future en-abled by smart vehicles in asmart environment that en-hance people’s lives.”Over the next several weeks,
randomly-selected Domino’scustomers in Ann Arbor willhave the opportunity to receivetheir delivery order from a FordFusion Hybrid Autonomous Re-search Vehicle, which will bemanually-driven by a Ford safe-ty engineer and staffed with re-searchers, Hall said.Customers who agree to par-
ticipate will be able to track thedelivery vehicle through GPS us-ing an upgraded version ofDomino’s Tracker. They will alsoreceive text messages as theself-driving vehicle approachesthat will guide them on how toretrieve their pizza using aunique code to unlock the Domi-no’s Heatwave Compartment in-side the vehicle.“We’re interested to learn
what people think about thistype of delivery,” said RussellWeiner, president of Domino’sUSA. “The majority of our ques-tions are about the last 50 feetof the delivery experience. Forinstance, how will customers re-act to coming outside to gettheir food? We need to makesure the interface is clear andsimple. We need to understandif a customer’s experience is dif-ferent if the car is parked in thedriveway versus next to thecurb. All of our testing researchis focused on our goal to some-day make deliveries with self-driving vehicles as seamlessand customer-friendly as possi-ble.”Local partner Roush Enter-
prises fabricated the prototypevehicle’s pizza container, Domi-no’s Heatwave Compartment,based on its experience workingwith Domino’s on the DXP deliv-ery vehicle in 2015. Ford andDomino’s completed prelimi-nary testing of the deliveryprocess using the vehicle in self-driving mode at Mcity, the simu-lated urban environment on theUniversity of Michigan’s cam-pus, Hall said. The city of AnnArbor also has been supportiveof the testing process.“I’m delighted that Ann Arbor
continues to be at the forefrontof autonomous-vehicle re-search,” said Ann Arbor MayorChristopher Taylor. “While it’spizza delivery today, my hope isthat collaborations such as thiswill enable even more innova-tions tomorrow.”
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
PAGE 4 SEPTEMBER 4, 2017TECH CENTER NEWS - WARREN
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No driver means customers walk to the car to get their pizzas.
Ford and Domino’s BringPizza Delivery into Future
“Just that one day in Houston,that’s thousands of cars,” hesaid. “I think it will probably af-fect the national numbers aswell.”Now service is busy, but buy-
ers are few as people try to re-cover from the massive rainfall,so the Labor Day weekend is like-ly to be slow.Sales are expected to pick up
in September and October aspeople replace cars destroyed byfloods. Black Book, a service thatdetermines used car prices fordealerships, estimates total loss-es of 500,000 to 1 million cars inthe Houston area due to Harvey’srainfall. Vehicles also were dam-aged at around 500 dealers, theservice said.For August, automakers sent
out these reports:• General Motors Co. said its
sales jumped 7.5 percent to275,552. SUV sales were strong,as new SUVs like the GMC Ter-rain arrive in dealerships anddealers offer good deals on old
ones. GM also said its sales torental car fleets rose 29 percentto 7,600 vehicles. But August wasan anomaly; GM said it’s still ontrack to cut low-profit rental carsales by 50,000 vehicles this year.• Ford Motor Co. said its sales
fell 2 percent to 209,897. Fordsold more than 77,000 F-Seriespickups in August, a 15 percentgain over last August. But its SUVand car sales were down.“We continue to see customers
choosing high trim-level F-Seriestrucks for Super Duty and withnew 2018 F-150 orders. We areseeing high demand overall forour F-Series lineup this year, out-pacing full-size truck segmentgrowth 2 to 1 with a 15 percentincrease for August,” said MarkLaNeve, vice president for U.S.Marketing, Sales and Service forFord.• Fiat Chrysler’s sales fell 11
percent to 176,033. Sales of someindividual models, like the JeepGrand Cherokee and Dodge Cara-van, saw strong growth, but salesof the company’s best-seller, theRam pickup, dropped 7 percent.
While FCA sales were downoverall, FCA spokesman RalphKisiel said six FCA vehiclesrecorded their best August salesever, including the Dodge Chal-lenger and Chrysler Pacifica. TheJeep Compass, Jeep Renegade,Ram ProMaster and Ram ProMas-ter City also posted their best-ever August sales. The JeepGrand Cherokee and Jeep Wran-gler turned in double-digit per-centage increases in August,compared with the same montha year ago.The Dodge Grand Caravan
posted a 62 percent year-over-year sales increase for its bestAugust sales since 2004.“We had a very strong month,
and grew our retail and commer-cial fleet business on thestrength of robust crossoversales at all four of our brands,”said Kurt McNeil, U.S. vice presi-dent of Sales Operations. “Butour focus is on the unfolding cri-sis in Texas and what we can doto help our customers, employ-ees, dealers and everyone elseimpacted by the flooding.”
GM Sees Stronger Sales Despite WeatherCONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
DETROIT (AP) – Tesla Inc. isstarting production of the cellsfor its solar roof tiles at its facto-ry in Buffalo, N.Y.The company has already be-
gun installing its solar roofs,which look like regular roofs butare made of glass tiles. But untilnow, it has been making them ona small scale near its vehicle fac-tory in Fremont, Calif.Tesla’s Chief Technical Officer,
JB Straubel, says the companynow has several hundred work-ers and machinery installed in its1.2-million-square-foot factory.
“By the end of this year, we willhave the ramp-up of solar roofmodules started in a substantialway,” Straubel told The Associat-ed Press Aug. 31. “This is an inter-esting milestone that we’re pret-ty proud of.”The Buffalo plant was original-
ly begun by Silevo, a solar panelstartup, on the site of an oldsteel mill. Solar panel maker So-larCity Corp. bought Silevo in2014.
Then Tesla acquired SolarCityfor around $2 billion late lastyear. SolarCity was run by
cousins of Tesla CEO Elon Musk,who sat on SolarCity’s board.“This factory, and the opportu-
nity to build solar modules andcells in the U.S., was part of whythis project made sense,”Straubel said.Tesla’s partner, Panasonic
Corp., will make the photovoltaiccells, which look similar to com-puter chips. Tesla workers willcombine the cells into modulesthat fit into the roof tiles.The tiles will eventually be
made in Buffalo as well, along withmore traditional solar panels.
Tesla Plant Starts Work on Solar Panels
SEPTEMBER 4, 2017 PAGE 5TECH CENTER NEWS - WARREN
PAGE 6 SEPTEMBER 4, 2017TECH CENTER NEWS - WARREN
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The younger generation trav-els differently than previous gen-erations, and that’s made a dif-ference in GM’s long-term plans.Millennials love to travel and
socialize during the summer andthey don’t mind spending moneyto do it, said GM spokeswomanAnnalisa Bluhm.This information came from
Maven, which surveyed morethan 2,000 millennials ages 18-35and profiled their social calen-dars, spending habits and sum-mer adventures.During summer 2017 (June 21-
Sept. 23), the Maven surveyshowed that millennials on aver-age will attend 37 events andspend an incredible $1,300 onsocializing, Bluhm said.They also said they are much
more likely to attend socialevents in the summer comparedwith the winter.This generation also has un-
met travel needs. More than onein three wish they had access toan SUV/crossover, and nearlytwo-thirds of those surveyedwould travel 100 miles or morefor an event, Bluhm said. In fact,30 percent of millennials’ socialevents take place outside of thetown or city where they live.Enter Maven, the personal mo-
bility app offering hourly anddaily vehicle rentals in 14 NorthAmerican cities. Maven is help-ing with all that summer socializ-ing by providing free gas and in-cluding 180 free miles per day inevery reservation.Maven is a personal mobility
app that provides hassle-free,on-demand vehicle access fortravel, work and everyday life.Consumers and businesses canchoose from tech-savvy vehiclesthat fit every need: hourlyrentals for errands, weeklyrentals for freelance work, ormonthlong reservations. Mavenmembers enjoy all the benefits
of car ownership without thehassle, upkeep and cost. Allreservations include insurance(minus a deductible). Mavenleverages GM’s portfolio ofChevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadil-lac vehicles.Members can use Maven four
different ways:• Maven Gig allows members
to earn money on their ownterms by providing a vehicle thatcan be used delivering goods ortransporting people.• Maven City offers vehicles
with dedicated parking spots foreasy city driving, and gas is in-cluded.• Maven Reserve lets mem-
bers in Maven city markets use avehicle from seven to 28 daysand comes with a $100 gas card.• Maven Home provides on-
site car sharing for residentialcommunities.With Maven, millennials will al-
ways arrive in style to the poolparty or barbecue, Bluhm said.Maven members – 80 percent ofwhom are millennials – can hitthe road in a sporty crossover orSUV such as the Chevrolet Equi-nox and Tahoe, or the GMC Aca-dia, Buick Encore and CadillacEscalade.“Maven has a car for every oc-
casion and experience,” saidMegan Stooke, Maven chief mar-keting officer. “From SUVs to
eco-friendly sedans, matchingthe best vehicle to the experi-ence is part of what makesMaven a unique offering.”More than half noted that nice
weather makes them more likelyto attend or travel to a socialevent, followed closely by lowgas prices, someone else driving,light traffic and access to a vehi-cle.Additionally:• 37 percent wish they had ac-
cess to a vehicle with better gasmileage.• $851 spent per summer per
person on travel costs alone(not including work-related trav-el).• They spend 4 hours and 47
minutes per week traveling fornon-work reasons and 62 hourstraveling for social events eachsummer.• 62 percent are more sponta-
neous during the summer.• 63 percent are more likely to
cancel social plans in coldermonths.“This research reinforces that
experiences for millennials arecritically important,” Stookesaid. “Maven provides seamlessconnectivity through an on-de-mand app, available for use bythe hour or by the day, allowingour members to be there for mo-ments that matter. We are a keyenabler.”
GM Tracks How Millenials Spend Free Time
DETROIT (AP) – A Volkswagenengineer who had a key role inthe company’s diesel emissionsscandal was sentenced Aug. 25to more than three years inprison and a $200,000 fine, asteeper punishment than prose-cutors requested.James Robert Liang, 63, knew
the German automaker wascheating and worked to cover itup, U.S. District Court JudgeSean Cox said during the sen-tencing hearing in Detroit. Thejudge imposed a 40-monthprison sentence.“The conspiracy perpetrated a
massive . . . and stunning fraudon the American consumer thatattacked and destroyed the veryfoundation of our economic sys-tem,” Cox said.Liang, who faces deportation
to Germany upon his releasefrom prison, declined to speakon his own behalf. Prosecutorshad requested a 36-month prisonterm and a $20,000 fine.Prosecutors said Liang was
aware that VW used software tocheat U.S. emissions rules onnearly 600,000 diesel vehicles.His lawyer said he’s not “greedyor immoral” but followed ordersto keep his job and support hisfamily.“What occurred here was
wrong,” defense attorney DanielNixon said. “But he wasn’t themastermind. He was not motivat-ed by greed.”Liang pleaded guilty last year
to one count of conspiracy to de-fraud the government andagreed to cooperate with investi-gators. Liang had asked thejudge to consider a sentence ofprobation and 1,500 hours ofcommunity service.He is one of two VW employ-
ees to plead guilty. Earlier thismonth, Oliver Schmidt, 48, a for-mer manager of a VW engineer-ing office in suburban Detroit,pleaded guilty to conspiracy andfraud charges related to thescandal. He is scheduled to besentenced Dec. 6.VW itself pleaded guilty in
March to defrauding the U.S. gov-ernment and agreed to pay $4.3billion in penalties, on top of bil-lions more to buy back cars.Others charged in the case are
in Germany and out of reach.Volkswagen and U.S. environ-
mental regulators announcedagreement last month on a planfor the automaker to fix most ofthe diesel cars involved in theemissions cheating scandal.Volkswagen has admitted that
the cars were sold with illegalsoftware programmed to turn onemissions controls during gov-ernment lab tests and turn themoff while on the road. Investiga-tors determined that the carsemitted more than 40 times thelegal limit of nitrogen oxide,which can cause respiratoryproblems in humans.The company got away with
the scheme for seven years untilindependent researchers report-ed it to government regulators.
Federal Judge SentencesVW Exec to Three Years
The Lakeshore chapter of theThe Vintage Motor Car Club ofAmerica is holding its 21st annu-al car show on Sunday, Sept. 17,at Blossom Heath Park, 24800Jefferson Avenue in St. ClairShores.The event begins at 10 a.m.
and will last five hours, said clubspokesman John Ambrogio.“This is a popular event we
hold every year,” Ambrogio said.“There is absolutely no cost tospectators and we think this is apretty good way for car buffs toend the summer car show andcar cruising season.”Ambrogio said that show car
registration will take place theday of the show and that allshow cars must be parked onthe field by 11 a.m. The cost ofentering a show car is $20.A sale corral will also be held,
Ambrogio said, as well as swapspaces. The fee for setting asidea space in either the corral orthe swap space is $15.“Local car clubs affiliated with
the VMCCA and our regions offera great way to meet friends,”Ambrogio said. “You don’t haveto own a car to belong to theVMCCA. If you enjoy old cars,you can join our club.”Those wishing to learn more
about the show should call 586-293-1284. For swap show info,call 586-776-5373.
Local Car ShowTo End 2017
Cruise Season
SEPTEMBER 4, 2017 PAGE 7TECH CENTER NEWS - WARREN
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