Winston Churchill once famously said, “Democracy is the worst form of government, except all the others that have been tried.”

It’s beginning to look like the same thing could be said for unionized labor

Why doesn't R&D spending correlate with financial performance?

What will cars look like in 50 years, when ASSEMBLY celebrates its centennial? If today's designers are correct, we're all in for a wild ride ahead.

This month marks ASSEMBLY magazine’s 50th anniversary. To celebrate that event, here are some predictions for the future. Share your own comments . . . and don’t forget to check back here in 50 years.

Although purists on both sides are crying foul, the recent agreement hammered out by negotiators at General Motors and the United Auto Workers may very well signal the beginning of a new era. However, before this era can come to pass, two very important things need to happen.

In an interview with the Financial Times (London), Laurence Barron, president of the Chinese division of the Airbus consortium (Toulouse, France), recently stated that giving China a piece of the manufacturing action is an explicit condition of Airbus sales to that country.

Chrysler LLC scored a coup today when it snatched Jim Press from the top position at Toyota Motor North America Inc. It's the latest in a recent string of announcements aimed at beefing up Detroit's No. 3 automaker. Will Chrysler once again become a formidable player or is it's new investment bank owner, Cerberus Capital Management, just trying to sweeten the pot for an eventual spinoff?

China’s ongoing economic growth, while globally beneficial in many ways, has always had a dark side. State-mandated currency imbalances, blatant copyright and patent infringement, a complete disregard for the environment, the possibility that one of these days those millions of low-paid workers laboring in sweatshop conditions are going to say “enough is enough”: The Chinese “miracle” has long created the unsettling feeling things can’t keep going on like this forever.

The 2013 May Assembly includes a cover story about considerations for selecting vision systems and articles about leak testing, optimizing parts bin layout, and what's new with assembly presses. Check it out today!