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Ford Mustang is the world's best-selling sports car

The Ford Mustang is unquestionably a performance icon in the US, but now the venerable pony car can tout being among the world's favorites, too. According to the latest global data by IHS Automotive, the 'Stang is the world's best-selling sports car through the first half of 2015, with 76,124 registrations. That's a 56-percent increase for the Mustang over 2014's numbers. Making the title slightly more impressive is that this honor comes before the right-hand drive variants go on sale. The first shipments of those don't arrive until at least November. However, a line is already forming. According to Ford, there are nearly 2,000 Mustang pre-orders in the UK, almost 3,000 in Australia, and 400 in New Zealand. The popular model is also launching in South Africa, Japan, and a few other right-hand-drive countries. The Mustang's introduction is also going quite well in China, but the car is of course still most popular here in the US. Through August, deliveries are up 53.1 percent with 86,769 examples going to dealers. The 'Stang is beating its arch rival Chevrolet Camaro in sales, but given the Chevy's age that fight isn't too fair. When production of the sixth generation Camaro gets up to speed, the battle should get really interesting. Related Video: Ford Mustang: World's Best-Selling Sports Car in Early 2015; Production Begins on Right-Hand-Drive Model - Mustang is the world's best-selling sports car in the first half of 2015, according to IHS Automotive global registration data - Global Mustang momentum continues to build as production of the right-hand-drive model officially kicks off at Flat Rock Assembly Plant - 2015 marks first year Mustang is available to customers around the world in more than 100 markets and the first time a right-hand-drive model will be widely available DEARBORN, Mich., Sept. 8, 2015 – Customers around the world have made Ford Mustang the best-selling sports car on the globe during the first half of the year, according to global IHS Automotive registration data. During the first six months of 2015, customers globally registered 76,124 vehicles – a 56 percent increase versus the same period last year. "Initial global response to the Mustang has been strong, and we are only in second gear," said Stephen Odell, executive vice president, Global Marketing, Sales and Service.

The next-generation wearable will be your car

This year's CES has had a heavy emphasis on the class of device known as the "wearable" – think about the Apple Watch, or Fitbit, if that's helpful. These devices usually piggyback off of a smartphone's hardware or some other data connection and utilize various onboard sensors and feedback devices to interact with the wearer. In the case of the Fitbit, it's health tracking through sensors that monitor your pulse and movement; for the Apple Watch and similar devices, it's all that and some more. Manufacturers seem to be developing a consensus that vehicles should be taking on some of a wearable's functionality. As evidenced by Volvo's newly announced tie-up with the Microsoft Band 2 fitness tracking wearable, car manufacturers are starting to explore how wearable devices will help drivers. The On Call app brings voice commands, spoken into the Band 2, into the mix. It'll allow you to pass an address from your smartphone's agenda right to your Volvo's nav system, or to preheat your car. Eventually, Volvo would like your car to learn things about your routines, and communicate back to you – or even, improvise to help you wake up earlier to avoid that traffic that might make you late. Do you need to buy a device, like the $249 Band 2, and always wear it to have these sorts of interactions with your car? Despite the emphasis on wearables, CES 2016 has also given us a glimmer of a vehicle future that cuts out the wearable middleman entirely. Take Audi's new Fit Driver project. The goal is to reduce driver stress levels, prevent driver fatigue, and provide a relaxing interior environment by adjusting cabin elements like seat massage, climate control, and even the interior lighting. While it focuses on a wearable device to monitor heart rate and skin temperature, the Audi itself will use on-board sensors to examine driving style and breathing rate as well as external conditions – the weather, traffic, that sort of thing. Could the seats measure skin temperature? Could the seatbelt measure heart rate? Seems like Audi might not need the wearable at all – the car's already doing most of the work. Whether there's a device on a driver's wrist or not, manufacturers seem to be developing a consensus that vehicles should be taking on some of a wearable's functionality.

New UAW boss Williams talks tough, vows 'no more concessions'

Dennis Williams, the newly elected president of the UAW, had some tough words for American automakers in his inauguration speech at the 2014 UAW Convention, striking down the possibility of any additional concessions from the 400,000-strong union.
"No more concessions. We are tired of it. Enough is enough," Williams said during his speech. UAW employees have not received a raise in nearly 10 years, according to Reuters.
Considering the recent strong results for Ford, Chrysler and General Motors, the union's demands are likely to carry a bit more weight in next year's negotiations. And considering Williams' tough stance, we could be in for some fireworks once negotiations commence.