5 Cool Design Stories from the Automotive Arena

1. 2015 Concept Vehicles Explore the Future -- This year’s North American International Auto Show in Detroit featured fewer concept vehicles than past shows, and most of them were variations—some mild, some wild—of the standard sedan.

2. Robots on BMW's Assembly Line --  Richard Morris, vice president of assembly and logistics at BMW Manufacturing Co., discusses BMW’s strategy to use robots on the assembly line, including final door assembly.

3. Apple Could be Building its Own Car -- With Google and Uber already having made clear intentions toward developing automated/driverless cars, rumors are brewing that Apple is getting into the game as well.

4. Connected Cars Can Be Easily Hacked -- Virtually all "connected cars" on the road are vulnerable to hackers who could steal data or gain control of the vehicle, a report from a U.S. senator said Monday.

5. Tesla Comes Up Short in Earnings and Deliveries -- Tesla reported fourth-quarter numbers, coming in well below estimates for both earnings and revenue.