Cars are more than just a metal frame that gets us from point A to point B. It's a place where people escape and listen to music or just focus on the stretch of road ahead and unwind. These vehicles are often an expression of our personality and hold dear places in our hearts. With 2015 about at the halfway mark, we examine how the last few months have been for the supply chain of our favorite cars, trucks and SUVs.

Sales get a green light
Near the beginning of the year, the rough winter made it seem as though people weren't going to make any big purchases because the weather often dictates spending habits. Appliance, car and home sales all sank as the weather turned our places of residence into igloos. However, as we thawed out and emerged back into the world, car sales increased about 2 percent for May, reported IndustryWeek. Even though the price of gas inched its way back up over $2.50 per gallon in most areas, this did not dissuade buyers looking to purchase a car.

Gas prices remain low for summer averages and encourage buying in other areas, noted the source.

Autopilot, coming soon
It seems that Tesla Motor Company and its CEO Elon Musk are in the news for many reasons these days. Whether it's Musk's venture into privatized space travel or the Tesla battery as an alternative energy source, Musk keeps us on our toes.

He recently announced that his company is constantly testing out autopilot features that may be available on the brand's first SUV, according to a separate IndustryWeek piece. Select members of the Tesla community can test out this function as early as the end of June. The source indicated that Musk is very hands-on with this project and is quite excited about Tesla's upcoming offerings.

Red light for airbags
Airbags continue to be a pain point for the vehicle supply chain. Honda Motor Company set aside a sizeable sum to fund the necessary recall, a slim $363 million in addition to the already small fortune that these over-zealous safety devices have caused, as noted by Manufacturing.net. This is but one of the 10 enterprises that will expand its recalls, assuring the public that they are keeping passenger safety in mind first, and not their bottom line.

The supply chain has certainly seen some interesting things over the past few months - increased car production, sophisticated new technologies and a recall of massive proportions. What will the next six months have in store?

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Carole Boyle

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